Comments on: 1979 Yamaha XS750: The Original Three-Cylinder Experiment

By: JerryH

JerryH — Fri, 05 May 2023 04:01:48 +0000

The XS750 standard was a dowdy looking bike, leaps and bounds ahead of anything made today, but it paled in comparison to the XS750 Special, which was gorgeous. And shaft drive is a wonderful thing. I have put over 400,000 miles on shaft drive bikes (all Japanese) and never had a single problem. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be any shaft drive Japanese bikes left. (except the Goldwing, but it is more 2 wheeled car than bike. Yamaha’s huge Venture touring bike is belt drive) They were all the rage during the late ’70s and into the 2000s.

The XS650 however, was an absolutely wonderful bike. I have owned four of them, all Specials, and wish I still had one. They weren’t fast, but speed is not why I ride. They were solid, reliable, beautiful, and had a ton of character, compared to “modern” parallel twins like Kawasaki’s W800. The W800 feels like a sewing machine. The XS650 would shake your teeth out. Production ended in 1983, but they have gone on to become a cult classic, and probably have a bigger aftermarket than all other Japanese bikes combined.

By: verucht

verucht — Thu, 04 May 2023 23:29:04 +0000

My first bike was an 1980 XS850 that was kickstart only since the starter gear never made it back in before I bought it. I learned a lot on that bike. It was a bit top heavy, but it was pretty fast. When I took it in to get tires, the bike shop said it was “unrideable” but I was new and it was rideable to me. I then got bit by the nostalgia bug a couple times and bought another one, rode it to Sturgis, bringing what had to be the lowest cost bike at the rally ($400) since it needed work. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a hell of a lot of fun. FYI, they don’t like Pod filters if you don’t have them jetted just right. Some electrical things were common but fixable.

By: windblown101

windblown101 — Tue, 02 May 2023 20:45:46 +0000

Had a ’79 XS750 with a Vetter fairing for awhile. Not a bad bike for it’s time. Not something I’d go out of my way to buy again. It was very much a UJM.

By: Mack Knife

Mack Knife — Tue, 02 May 2023 12:02:02 +0000

In reply to NoelJ.

Some to show that what is behind them isn’t a disaster. It’s just pictures, often the seller will send pics of them installed.

You know, for certain bikes, side covers are worth more than some complete bikes and for older ones they can be fragile. So they get left off for daily rides.

Try to source a side cover, unbroken for some bikes and you’d be astounded at the price, if you can even get them.

By: thynk3r

thynk3r — Mon, 01 May 2023 22:36:10 +0000

I owned one of these in early 80s. Great bike, never had problems.

By: Sjoerd Bakker

Sjoerd Bakker — Mon, 01 May 2023 00:25:56 +0000

In 1979 I bought an XS750 ,just like the one in the photo but in boxcar red. I do not “hate ” it but I was rather disappointed by it after 140700km during 13 years .
The attraction is the three cylinder engine for the lovely Ferrari 12 cyl sound it made at high revs when NEWish. It was a competent touring bike well suited to highways of all types . Its downfall is that same three cylinder engine which has a number of design flaws , and I suspect my bike was not a rare outlier of these issues . Coming to the XS from a history on English bikes it did give the impression of reliability but that was a relative assessment requiring adjustment after experiencing different Japanese bikes .
In the summer of ’79 I immediately took it on a long tour and ran up 25000km before the end of riding season , and three more such long summer riding seasons before cutting back some .
– The electric starter was too weak for the job and resorting to the kick starter was faster .
-USA regular gas was fine but the XS would not run happily on Mexican Nova gasoline on three trips there and it would detonate wildly sometimes dying but after a cooldown wait it restarted every time .
– the single run roller cam chain stretched rapidly requiring replacement after each 45000 km . . A stretched cam chain could risk jumping a sprocket tooth esp. if bike rolled back while in gear .Tensioner needed to be reset manually at regular intervals .
-the wide “HyVo” primary chain (manually adjusted ) stretched readily and slapped inside the case and required replacement at 73000km in ’82.
– the metal covers around the ” resistor spark plug caps ” grounded out the sparks in rainy weather , solved by removing those covers and substituting solid copper rods for the resistors .
-cylinder compression went way down at 102000km , temporary fix was a light top end overhaul of honing the barrels , new rings and valves -grind .
-with the head off it became obvious why it detonated so readily . The sparkplug hole is a long tunnel down through a mass of aluminum and the stock N7Y Champion plugs ended with the spark electrodes still 10mm or more above the combustion chamber .
– the double walled exhaust pipes rusted through the inner tubes which began rattling loudly overpowering the great 3 cyl sound . NEVER again would I buy a bike with double walled pipes .
The bike was heavy but easy riding , the frame was solid , the drive shaft was well oiled with oil bath in the U-joint compartments – a feature BMW ought to have .
In the end years i had a second bike which I rode more and in ’93 I parked the XS .

By: KLX250s

KLX250s — Sun, 30 Apr 2023 15:34:20 +0000

XS650 was a better bike in my opinion, more class.

By: Rider79

Rider79 — Sun, 30 Apr 2023 01:19:05 +0000

In reply to guns_equal_freedom. Actually, the shaft-drive works quite well, and is never icky; chains, on the other hand, get quite icky and dirty and oily. Some may say that belt-drive is the best way to go; having had two belt bikes, I would say they may be right.

By: Rider79

Rider79 — Sun, 30 Apr 2023 01:10:00 +0000

In reply to jehu. Why would anyone willingly just destroy a motorcycle engine? Sounds like sickos.

By: Rider79

Rider79 — Sat, 29 Apr 2023 21:26:41 +0000

I bought a 1979 XS750F new in 1979, and it immediately proved to be a great bike. Best-riding bike I have owned to this day (a 2020 H-D Deluxe was probably the second-best), with decent handling (as long as one was not trying to be a real canyon-carver). Braking? Quite good, and the seat and ergos were great from the start. And the feel, beat, and sound of the triple remains one of the highlights of my motorcycling life. And, in the black/gold colour combo, what a beauty!

By: DR790

DR790 — Sat, 29 Apr 2023 19:17:11 +0000

I think mine was a ’79.I rode it across Canada with my wife as a passenger with all our camping stuff.It was a good reliable bike Had one flat tire on the front.I liked the 3 cyl. engine and the drive shaft worked well.

By: doug s.

doug s. — Sat, 29 Apr 2023 15:51:40 +0000

years ago, i bought a leftover xs850 triple. i wanted the seca 750, but it was a bit much for the budget. the xs850 was a relative steal that the dealer wanted gone. it was an ok ride; the bike definitely lost power on really hot days. it was absolutely smoked by the ’83 vf750f that replaced it…

By: dr_rock

dr_rock — Sat, 29 Apr 2023 06:02:33 +0000

In reply to XS500RUS. Man all four Japanese manufacturers were making desirable bikes back the. Maybe because I was a kid but 73-86 is my favorite era for Japanese cars and bikes.

By: MWValley

MWValley — Sat, 29 Apr 2023 00:54:24 +0000

My 1978 XS 750E is a wonderful bike. With the recently added stainless steel 3 into 1 exhaust it sounds just right. It is a practical fun to ride street bike with a great vintage vibe. I’d ride it cross country tomorrow if I needed to without a bit of concern. I couldn’t buy a Honda Navi with what I have invested in this Yamaha. And I’d say the XS is infinitely more useful.

By: gonerydin

gonerydin — Sat, 29 Apr 2023 00:20:43 +0000

My first street bike was a 1971 XS1B. Bought a new XS750 in 1977. It was comfortable, slow and thirsty. Got spanked by my buddy’s Triumph Trident and SMOKED by 750 & 500 Hondas. Happily traded it for a new XS Eleven in 1978.

By: path_finder

path_finder — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 22:04:50 +0000

I owned one for a short time – I got a good deal on a slightly used one. It was extremely smooth in fourth but was buzzy in 5th (top gear). It was also heavy and guzzled gas. I sold it after a couple of months.

By: TS888

TS888 — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 20:18:24 +0000

In reply to Frank-n-stein. Must have been an '80 then. I think I picked it up late in '79, but that was a couple beers ago...

By: wheel_muse

wheel_muse — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 15:48:44 +0000

I had a 2nd hand (1977?) XS750 back in the day. I used it for commuting and general riding. I really like the look and unusual 3 cylinder/shaft drive aspects. It had more power than any moto I had owned previously.

But mine came to an abrupt halt alongside the freeway with a main bearing failure. Pre-internet scuttlebutt hinted at lubrication problems. I sold my basketcase to a friend as a spare for his own XS who somehow remained a friend.

One of Yamaha’s few stumbles in their outstanding history!

By: Stephen Bogert

Stephen Bogert — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 14:01:58 +0000

I think you have it a bit wrong, Yamaha was looking at Euro bikes for inspiration, the XS 650 looked a lot like a Triumph 650 twin; their TX 500 was certainly aimed at the Triumph Daytona 500 and I saw the XS 750/850 s as inspired by the BSA/Triumph 750 triples but of course the also added the BMW inspired shaft drive. Honda had already with the Gold Wing shown that the Japanese could build a shaft drive model and soon after Yamaha Suzuki would do so also. Yamaha should have offered well integrated saddlebags to better compete with BMW, that would have been a big attraction in my opinion.

Four stroke Triples are not ‘naturally well balanced’, The BMW K 75 was super smooth because they gave it a balance shaft as the more recent Hinckley Triumphs have.

By: brstar

brstar — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 13:53:42 +0000

I bought new the 1st model.
An XS750D.
It had a 3 into 1 exhaust complete with a monster muffler.
And 3 sets of points on a single adjustable plate ignition setup.
Result?
It never ran properly.
60hp was all it made.
I called it the slug.
A few years on I swapped in an XS750 E engine. With electronic ignition.
It went much harder.
But sadly blew a diode while lane splitting at speed on a freeway without emergency lanes, (true and I lived to tell the tail)
Had to refit the points the trade it after dropping it while holidaying in Tasmania.
It was yet another underdeveloped Japanese bike sadly.
Should have been an awesome bike if a little heavy
They tended to loose/wear out second gear as well.
Mine was a great long distance ride if it could be kept in tune.
Shame really.
Yamaha stuffed up on the TX750 over minor fatal details but still had not worked it out with the XS750.
Latter they did on succeeding bikes.

By: Aldog

Aldog — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 13:51:33 +0000

In reply to Frank-n-stein.

i had the exact same seat on mine, thought
i was the only one who had put it on.
plus the crash bars with highway pegs.
hell that could be my bike i sold back in 81.

By: XS500RUS

XS500RUS — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 12:54:48 +0000

In reply to Frank-n-stein.

Awesome bike! My brother’s got a ’79 XS750F and I’ve got a ’78 XS1100E as well as a ’76 XS500E. There’s just something special about this era of “Yamahammers!”

By: XS500RUS

XS500RUS — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 12:53:24 +0000

In reply to madeouttaglass. It was very likely to be a break in the coil pickup wires caused by fatigue in the wires due to the moving ignition plate from the vacuum advance setup. Super common problem that really threw people for a loop unless you're aware of it.

By: XS500RUS

XS500RUS — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 12:52:01 +0000

In reply to Piper87c. IIRC Yamaha with its popular and well-priced "Specials" was nipping at the heels of Honda in overall sales during this time period. Americans just loved that "factory custom" style and Yamaha (and Kawasaki) arguably did the best job of it aesthetically. The Honda and Suzuki attempts at it looked super cheesy (IMO).

By: XS500RUS

XS500RUS — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 12:50:30 +0000

In reply to Chris Addison.

“The problem was the chain drive from the crank to the gearbox. No motorcycle that I know of does that any more.”

that was a pretty common setup back then to be honest, sounds like they screwed up that particular one.

By: Randomtechnology

Randomtechnology — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 12:14:21 +0000

I purchased a 79 XS750 right after graduating from college in NYC.
I wanted the XS1100 but as my first road bike was a bit over cautious thinking 1100cc might be a bit ambitious. The XS 750 was also less expensive. In retrospect I sould have purchased the XS1100 but… That 750 was a real gas. I drove it for a year in and around NYC and then cross country where i added a 3 into 1 exhaust for cafe style motoring on the hills of San Francisco. Great times!

By: TheBiggestKnarp

TheBiggestKnarp — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 11:51:56 +0000

In reply to elgreen. Yeah, probably. I got enough money to buy a rideable CM400, which was honestly a better bike to learn to ride on... It worked out ok.

By: hppyfngy

hppyfngy — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 10:05:21 +0000

Why would you call this “the original 3 cyl experiment” when others had been making 3’s for years? And 32k miles is not a lot for 40+ years, but it’s hardly low mileage.

By: RogerRZ

RogerRZ — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 09:23:18 +0000

In reply to Jon Mulack. Ain't nothing like a two-stroke triple. Even a lowly XLT with a set of triple pipes sounds da bomb.

By: XS500RUS

XS500RUS — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 08:47:57 +0000

In reply to Frank-n-stein. Dealing with the same headache with my XS1100E. Came to me with a cheapo chinese manual petcock on the left side and a leaky vacuum one on the right (a Yamaha OE replacement one). Bought a NOS one for the left side to make it "right," come to find out the OE parts diagram is wrong for superceded part numbers (they sent me a right-hand only one). Honestly tempted to just order a matching generic manual valve for the right side and call it a day. No worrying about whether that vacuum petcock really shut off or not.