I went to see this Yamaha XV535 and was appalled. The owner had seen fit to bung on some extended forks, they were about a yard longer than stock and pitched the whole machine back at a crazy angle. I was going to tell him I would not be seen dead on such an abortion, indeed that would be the likely result if I had to ride it any distance, when he pressed the starter and this lovely deep V-twin rumble echoed through the street of terraced houses. He was quick to add, having seen my look of horror on viewing the bike, that he had the stock forks in the house and would be willing, indeed very happy, to fit them back on for me.
My brief test ride revealed that the 1988 machine must be in good condition because it was a death trap to ride over 30mph! The thing flopped hastily into the corners, the forks buckled under the effect of the single disc and the whole chassis went into a vicious wobble at 30mph. Apart from these minor handling deficiencies which I assumed would be cured with the fork swap the machine looked immaculate and the engine was devoid of rattles. I had to hand over the cash before he would do the fork swap.
I found out why, the forks were pitted and his mechanical technique consisted of combining an adjustable wrench with a lump hammer. I flung him aside before he could do any serious damage, sat him down with a bottle of Newcastle Brown on which to suckle and managed to find a couple of cheap spanners from the mess of his living room cum workshop. The transfer took about an hour, in which time the vendor had accumulated seven empty bottles of Brown. He slurred the best of luck, mate, adding once I was safely out of his house that the motor was due for an oil change and service.
Which probably meant that in the year and 7000 miles he had claimed to do on the bike he had never touched the engine - from his previous mechanical efforts I concluded that this was a very good thing! At home, I changed the oil and filter, but everything else was in good order.
With its original forks which retained their oil despite the pitting, handling was much improved. The low centre of gravity (the seat height was only 27”) gave the bike a feel of natural stability, extenuated by the rake of the forks. Going around corners required a bit more effort, limited ground clearance and a slight tendency to want to flop over were the main drawbacks to its pseudo chop layout.
The 535cc V-twin engine was old technology for Yamaha, more SR500 than FZR600. With OHCs and two valves per cylinder it managed to puff out 45hp, reasonable enough for a chop that weighed in at only 400lbs. Power was never abundant in its delivery but adequate for most situations. A five speed box combined with a shaft drive produced gearchanges that clunked and clanked each and every time but never actually missed a shift.
The shaft helps the XV maintain a clean look, it is one of the better attempts by the Japanese to emulate Harley D’s... even down to the single front disc which is as old tech as the engine. Fading after a repeated series of stops, twisting the forks when it works well and being dubious in the wet when it suffers an all too long lag many a heart stopping moment were experienced, including one where the bike slewed to a halt at an angle of 90 degrees. The rear drum was so mild it might not have been there.
Fuel worked out at a reasonable 55 to 60mpg, whilst consumables proved durable in the extreme. Despite its appearance suggesting it was not a very practical motorcycle its dynamics made it a cheap one to run. Were it not for a series of mechanical problems detailed later, which may just have been bad luck, the XV would certainly have worked out as the cheapest bike I've owned for many a year!
Top speed proved to be just over the ton, though for any sustained length of time not much more than 75mph, the riding position letting the wind try to throw you off the back. Also, above 80mph a mild weave sets in that threatens to become a large one with every extra mph added to the speedo. Buying this kind of bike you must put up with that kind of thing for the joy of posing in town and the laid back buzz down the quieter roads. Non-standard, almost straight through silencers added to the joyous thump of the V-twin, surely one of the best tunes a motorcycle has to offer!
What I was not expecting, with 12400 miles up, was the clutch to start slipping. A new set of plates was all that was needed. Either I was getting better at it or the renovated clutch had improved the gearchange. The next problem, about 800 miles later was the starter motor jamming on and making an horrendous racket. I sent this off to be fixed by an advertiser in MCN who didn’t return it for two months, and only then after a series of increasingly irate telephone calls.
At 15000 miles the rear head gasket started leaking. When I took the cylinder head off to replace it I found that the camshaft lobes were pitted to hell and the rockers had an excess of play... funnily enough, there were no discernible rattles coming from the head and who knows for how long I could have kept it running! I managed to find the bits in a breakers who said he wasn't surprised at the problem.
Everything ran well for the next 3000 miles until there was an appreciable increase in the vibration - you could usually feel the V-twin engine grumbling away but with 18000 miles on the clock it had the kind of shakes more normally associated with a big British single. What could the matter be? It became a bit more obvious when blue smoke started pouring out of the exhaust... the rear piston had decided to melt its rings and then burn a hole in its top. The bore was so scored it had to be scrapped. Another breaker, another pile of dosh down. I was becoming a dab hand at motorcycle repairs, much to my annoyance!
To tell the truth, I was becoming a bit pissed off with the Yamaha. Some local yobs had somehow acquired Harleys and kept making derisive comments about my supposed pride and joy. was beginning to agree with them! Still, my finances were in an even bigger mess than the XV's engine and the brute still polished up nicely (a daily chore, though).
With 21300 miles on the clock I heard this weird knocking noise from the engine. Assuming the worst (crankshaft bearings) I had a poke around - it was only the clutch that had come loose on its shaft; easily fixed. I did a few runs with the Harleys, they were cantankerous old beasts, the XV had no problem burning them off but they always stole the show when we parked up. Talk about women being impressionable, they flocked to these pig-faced yobbos as if they were movie stars!
Shooting back home from one trip, the back wheel started wobbling - it felt like the tyre had blown but was caused by the spokes breaking up! About a third of them had pinged loose. The AA took me home and a local wheel-wright rebuilt the back wheel with stainless steel, heavy duty spokes.
The front wheel, obviously feeling neglected, caused the next problem, or at least its disc brake did. It had always been a bit of a bugger, but now it decided to seize solid, half on. By the time we reached home the disc glowed brightly enough to light up my garage... the warped disc and wrecked caliper were replaced by stuff from my local breaker.
Now, the bike has 25600 miles on its still shiny clock and sits in the driveway waiting to be ridden as I write this. It is not a fast bike but, in its way, an enjoyable one to ride. I would prefer a Harley but there’s no way I can stomp up the cash for one. I have talked to other XV riders with machines of a similar mileage who have had none of my problems, so perhaps my bike was clocked, or maybe it was a Friday afternoon special. I will be keeping her for the foreseeable future... if only because I can’t afford anything better.
Mike Cleaves