Yesterday we showed off a “Midnight Special” – today we’re going back to daylight, I guess. In varying forms, the Yamaha XS650 was built between 1968–1985. In 1978, Yamaha introduced a “Special” variant that was more of a cruiser, as well as a Special II that had less chrome, decals instead of plastic on the side covers, and for some reason, a downgrade to a drum brake on the year instead of the usual disc.
No matter the model, the motor was the same: a 654cc parallel twin that produced 50 horsepower. In 1980, Yamaha switched away from points and to electronic ignition. In a ’79 test, Cycle World saw 51.4 mpg and a quarter mile in 13.86 seconds at 96.05 miles per hour.
This example has 5,435 miles and looks quite nice despite a small dent on the tank. The owner acquired it from someone who it had in storage inside for about 3 decades. He brought it back to life, rode it around about 200 miles after servicing it with several new parts: battery, Renthal bars, grips, oil filters, UNI air cleaner, EBC front brake pads, carb kits, stainless steel braided brake lines, petcock rebuild kit, NGK spark plugs, and more. He rode the DGR with it this year and has a walkaround video if you’d like to check it out:
Find this XS for sale in Elmhurst, Illinois with a BIN of $3,500 here on eBay.