First reactions to this 750 triple were its mass and power re: a previous bike, a BSA B50SS, its smoothness and uncomfortable pillion seat. Typically, it was raining all the way home so I couldn't do much scratching, but I soon realised it handled like a camel and those high bars gave it a top heavy feel. The brakes didn’t work in the wet (despite the fact they had had lots of time to cure it) and even in the dry it was worrying because of the sponginess (I later bled them but it made no difference so it's down to crap caliper design and lack of braided hoses).
I was always worried about the small dimensions of the rear lamp, especially in fog, so to keep the cars away I fitted a rear fog light. The motor required precise setting of the choke - the lever also needed plenty of oil to keep the action smooth - just past first click position when cold. The switch was the usual Jap stuff that works well, whilst the clutch lever worn at its pivot and vibrated at speed in an annoying manner. The winkers were either self cancelling or could be shut off manually by pushing the button, but the only time I didn’t do it manually was on motorways, leave the indicators to their own devices and you’re likely to have a car hit you in retribution.
Not being into road racing, I dumped the rev counter and centrally mounted the speedo, something that added to the mystique, as the custom 750 triple was quite a rare device. After the first service I fitted gaiters front and rear, and within 3000 miles had fitted a new Roadrunner. At town speeds the high bars made manoeuvring impossible, and after rolling the Yam on its side one time whilst trying to park, I changed to a flatter bar.
I also pushed the forks up in the yokes an inch which helped stop the back wheel trying to overtake the front. I had already replaced the plug caps and sealed the HT leads with clear Instant Gasket, and the switches were sprayed with WD40 every so often, whilst exposed electrical connectors were smeared with Vaseline, so water would be no problem. By 8000 miles I had to fit a new rear tyre, so a Mk.2 Avon was bought, then the front went a few miles later and was replaced by an S-rated ribbed. A strange combination you may well think, but one that I found worked very well and was reassuring in most circumstances and whatever the weather.
At 12000 miles I had to fit a new shim to one of the valves, it was at this point that I realised that you shouldn't believe everything you read. I thought my maths was letting me down because after I fitted the new shim the valve clearance still wasn’t right. After buying a micrometer the problem was solved, the 2.70mm shim was actually 2.73mm, so always check.
At 16000 miles the brakes all required attention. The rear master cylinder had new rubbers, as did the front. The front calipers were seized up and were overhauled, fitted with new pads and bolts. Strangely, the caliper mounting bolts had to be replaced every 5000 miles because they kept bending - no-one could explain this and the lack of depth to the mounting holes dissuaded me from fitting HTS bolts.
I also needed to fit a new exhaust system. The stock system costs a laughable £310, so I bought a Motad. After hacking the old system off, I found the dealer had sold me a system for the standard model which wouldn’t fit the custom bike and the bike was off the road whilst I awaited the dealer to get his act together and order the correct system from Motad. Even this wasn’t perfect, needing exhaust compound when assembling to compensate for the sloppy fit of the components.
By 18000 miles I had to spend £12 on a new flasher unit. By 22000 miles I had fitted two new tyres and the primary chain was also replaced (£80) using a GT380 wheel spindle as a rotor puller. This turned out to be a simple enough job but I’d begun to feel that I would have to spend more and more money on the beast. The camchain was due for replacement and the original rear pads should have been replaced and the mudguards were getting rusty and...
Within a week I'd part exchanged the Yam for a low mileage R80RT. To sum up, it wasn’t a bad bike - very heavy (even by R80RT standards), it averaged 50mpg with a fair turn of a speed, it never let me down (although I did maintain it meticulously) and although handling with my sort of riding wasn’t too bad trying to miss a cow pat or drain cover on a fast bend could induce mass hysteria in following cars. It may well have lasted 50000 miles but I never did like blowing engines on the motorway.
Throw in those feebly mounted front anchors and self destruct clutch cables (10000 miles).
Service items are air filter £10, oil filter £6, V rated spark plugs £3 each. In five years of ownership I spent £500 on it, which includes service items, spares and a Krauser rack. It devalued by 50% even though I'd kept it in good condition, although I wouldn’t dream of keeping a machine any other way. It makes me wonder whether it pays to be so fanatical with maintenance in this throwaway age. If this machine had been given only very basic attention - just brakes and oil top ups, plus the odd clean to keep Mr Plod away, would it have been worth that much less? Dangerous thoughts, eh? So, if you go for one, get it cheap with low mileage, stick on an XJ750 front end and some sensible handlebars. Or go for the stock XS750/850, which has the same motor.
Paul Russell