Yasashii Garage’s Yamaha XS650 Custom Roadster… According to the Merriam Webster definition, a dark horse is “a usually little known contender (such as a racehorse) that makes an unexpectedly good showing.” You could make a […]
Tag: Yamaha XS
Racer Reborn: Yamaha XS650 Café Racer
Purpose Built Moto builds a 700cc vintage twin café… Tom Gilroy of Australia’s Purpose Built Moto has climbed into the elite echelons of the custom bike world over the past several years, and his Signature […]
Period-Correct Goodness: 1970 Yamaha XS650 “Bugsy”
James “The Eggman” Eckman recreates the bike he sold 50 years ago… Motocross arrived on American shores quite a bit later than some folks realize. Though the first European FIM championship was held in 1952, […]
Style for Miles: MotoRelic’s Yamaha XS650 “Adult Schwinn”
For Sale: An XS650 inspired by the ’68 Schwinn Sting-Ray Orange Krate! For many of us, the love of motorcycles starts with childhood pedal bikes. Not only is the bicycle the first taste of freedom […]
Summerbud Specials: Yamaha XS650 Street Trackers
A former pro speedway racer crafts small batches of XS650 street trackers… The Yamaha XS650 debuted in 1969, taking styling cues from the British twins of a previous generation, but with advanced technology such as […]
From Romania With Love: Yamaha XS650 “Violet”
Parts donor to reborn roadster, with Romania’s Bandisca… The Yamaha XS650 is one of our favorite vintage Japanese motorcycles. Sometimes known, tongue in cheek, as the “greatest British bike never built,” the straight-twin machine combined […]
Lightweight Bob: Yamaha XS400 Bobber by DOTi
By the mid 1970s, the Big Four Japanese motorcycle manufacturers had already seen the end looming for the two-stroke street bike. Emissions laws, noise regulations, and a new emphasis on fuel economy were ringing the […]
Excess 750: Yamaha XS650 Motocrosser!
Pikes Peak winner builds a 775cc twin motocross machine! Introduced in 1970 as the XS-1, the Yamaha XS650 combined the style of the classic British twins with an engine that was quite sophisticated for the […]
Yamaha XS650 Flat Tracker by Alex Leathers
The Yamaha XS650 has been called the “best British bike never made” — a tongue-in-cheek reference to the large debt the bike owes to the British twins of the 1950s and ’60s — and the […]
Wild Horse: Yamaha XS400 by A.G. Custom Motorcycles
“Everything you need to ride on the roads of the Basque country.” The Yamaha XS400 was the company’s middleweight four-stroke, offered from 1977-1982. The SOHC parallel-twin made 36 horsepower, good for a top speed of […]
