Yam 750 Street Tracker

Jays100

Jays100

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Joined
May 29, 2020
Total Posts
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Location
Enfield, CT USA
I built this some 15 yrs ago while working in Illinois, finished in a barn and borrowed garages in Massachusetts and before settling in Connecticut.
It started life as a 76 XS650 standard that the previous owner had bobbed. Tons of engine work later and it breathes fire, oversize Ti valves, 38 Mikunis, Shell cam, 750 Big Bore, etc. The frame was lightened and you can see the monoshock with aluminum swingarm. A friend in Chicago at a boutique Ducati shop (Triple O Service) had an insurance repair job on a Ducati Monster that he replaced the front forks on, smoke smudges. So the front is Ducati Monster. ✌️

The front wheel is wholly Yamaha, the Ducati discs are the same bolt center dimension as Yam and were used. Had to adroitly file on the brake caliper inside casting edges to clear the spokes but no porosity from Brembo! And no leaks, whew!

Rear hub is from a Honda CR125, added a double bearing on the sprocket side and laced it to the Yamaha Akront rim. Really like that look.
 
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The fuel tank was taken apart, dents fixed, shortened, re-welded and painted. Like this shape too.
The seat is fiberglass layup over a YZ 250 fender (actually inside so the surface was resin rich) and shaped. This was the longest process in this whole build.

Many of the parts I already had laying around, lots of hand crafting too.
 
Nice work you've been hiding Jay. The big Yamaha twin has always fascinated me though I never bothered to do anything about it, but I always enjoy seeing one that has been worked over. Though you did a clean job of it (more than can be said for most who do them), I wish you hadn't wrapped the pipes. The second picture shows nice clean pipes, ceramic coated would have been good.
 
Have no fear, the pipe wrappings are off. They weren’t reliable anyway. At the time, it was a cool (so I thought) trend.

In retrospect, I wish I had done a rebalance of the crankshaft/rotor. This bugger will shake the fillings out of your teeth.

It’s pure fun though, especially on a gravel turn!
 
Jays100 said:
It’s pure fun though, especially on a gravel turn!
Click to expand...
I can only imagine, and think of the fun (and tickets) you could get doing powerslides on Daytona Beach. I love that stuff! (but not enough to build a tracker)
 
Has anyone built a 450/500T tracker? I think one would be very cool!

Stock frame (adding lightness of course) geometry is good. Moving the balance a bit forward by longer swingarm and/or shorter reach triple clamps would be enough.

Anyone?
 
I like it, and I went to the page to read about that gas tank. Custom narrowed CB450 tank, oh well. Always looking for slightly larger tank options for my 450. That guy does quality work.
 
A chap over here in the UK converted a batch of imported XS650's into flat trackers like this:

summer bud.JPG
More details here:

www.bikebound.com

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 unit construction, a horizontally-split crankcase, and SOHC valve operati
www.bikebound.com www.bikebound.com
 
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