My cousin had owned the 1980 Yam XS250 since new, 17 years worth of riding adding up to 54000 miles. In the last six months he'd had new electrics, forks and back wheel fitted to the bike. The engine was still basically stock, just some clutch plates replaced.
He was finally ready to move on to a bigger bike. Wait for it, a Honda CB250 Two-Fifty. The dealer was willing to give him 600 notes for a trade-in deal and I could have the XS if I could match that price. Not a bike I ever had dreams about but enforced poverty didn't exactly give me a load of choice and it had to be better than the knackered old Urinal 650 that loitered out front. No-one showed any inclination to nick it even when I left the key in the ignition.
There was nothing basically wrong with the Yamaha. Just that the mileage suggested the OHC vertical twin motor couldn't be far off meeting its maker. But then I knew the owner had treated it well, done regular maintenance and oil changes. The bike had gone through a vile phase when the electrics started to rot - typical of the breed, by the way - but that had all been sorted by complete replacement.
The specs worked out as hardly earth shattering, 30 claimed horses, an effective top speed of 90mph on the clock, good fuel at 65-75mpg and about 360lbs of mass to fling around. All the chassis bearings were new so the handling was steady, the bike basically a breeze to pot around on as long as you didn't mind a bit of throttle and gearbox work.
I didn't. Was amazed at the gearchange, (after the Ural) which should've been a bit loose and imprecise at this kind of mileage but wasn't. The new clutch plates must've helped. No real problems for the first few months then one of the silencers lost its baffling. The exhaust had been replaced twice over the years, so don't expect more than 20,000 miles from a set.
An XS with a baffleless silencer doesn't just sound odd, it runs very oddly, too. Large gaps in the powerband and not a lot of inclination to go above 7000rpm, where most of the power hides. Not willing to pay Yamaha prices, I fitted a set of cans from the breakers. Easy enough with a bit of cutting and couple of Jubilee clips. I also got a spare length of chain as that was becoming a bit stringy (cheap, short-lived stuff).
The bike ran a touch lean, as in not wanting to start from cold and hesitating around 6500rpm. On the other hand, it went deeper into the red when pushed hard and the indicated top speed improved to 93mph if I was in a desperate mood.
The engine never really vibrated even when the tacho went off the scale. In fact, the harder it was revved the smoother it seemed to run. The motor had a relatively simple design, lacked any balancers. Which meant no Superdream style tensioners to adjust. Hurray! The only serious maintenance needed was valve adjustment every 750 miles, the exhaust's clearances having a tendency to tighten up and burn out the valves.
The bike was a bit lacking in poke, I tended to rev it madly everywhere. Much to the old owner's annoyance, his Honda Two-Fifty couldn't keep up! The CB was nicer to look at and sit on, but in terms of performance it was a total loss, barely able to keep up with the cages on the open road.
All the mad thrashing finally took its toll on the bike, but not until I'd had more than 14000 miles and fourteen months out of the deal. The initial decline was down to worn carbs, became impossible to balance them and the tickover went all erratic, with lots of cutting out in traffic and then refusing to start. A couple of holes in the airfilter helped for a while.
Later, whenever I used the engine in anger there was a harsh grinding sound, like something was breaking up inside the mill. I put it down to my imagination and carried on regardless. Suddenly, there was a total lack of power below 3000rpm, the drag from engaging first gear stalled the motor dead numerous times. Soon, pulling the skin off a rice pudding was way beyond the bike's abilities and I began to wish for pedal assistance.
Finally, the engine clunked up solid with a very final crunch. Dead meat. I haven't bothered stripping the motor yet as it was obvious that the built-in obsolescence had caught up with it. At the moment a GS125 engine has been shoehorned into the chassis. An unlikely combination but it gets me out and about!
Dave Williams