The Backstory

After not having a bike to work on for a good 7 or 8 months, and having relocated to an area where you can ride year-round (from the cold snows of Vermont via the frigid streets of the District), it was time to rectify the situation. I started cruising craiglist in the Bay Area looking for my next project. For one reason or another, I have always been partial to Yamaha machines - my first bike was a 1982 XV750 Virago - I can't explain my attraction to them, but there it is.

After cruising the listings for a few days, I narrowed in on a bike I'd not heard of before, the XS850 Special. From 1976 to 1981, Yamaha produced two sizes of Triples (Three cylinder engine motorcycles) - a 750cc called the XS750, and the 850cc XS850. The XS750 and XS850 were an interesting attempt by Yamaha to differentiate - unlike the other Japanese and European brands, they were three-cylinder, shaft-driven, aluminum-cast wheeled beasts. Many of the features that appeared on these machines would later become standard bother for Yamaha, and the rest of the Japanese motorcycle segment.

I bought this XS850 Special for $850 from a young man in Santa Cruz, California. He had bought the bike off a guy in San José, and was planning for it to be his first street bike after riding dirt bikes for several years. After getting it home and riding it around, however, he decided that it had a little bit too much power for him. It also didn't run properly, bucking wildly and demanding the rider run it with full choke.

The XS850 at its former owner's house

Before landing in Santa Cruz, the bike had been modified quite a bit - the stock headlight, tail light, and directionals had all been removed, the back end chopped off, and a shoddy custom seat added. Clearly someone's bobber project gone awry, there was a lot of potential.

I forked out the cash, rented a UHaul trailer, and dragged the little beast back to the Bay.

XS850 getting ready for the move

Lurking inconspicuously in my Employee Parking

Bike Parking Only