Resources and Research - Before the Yamaha XS Buy

I truly believe that the single greatest thing about the Internet is it's ability to bring communities from around the world together for some common good. (Too bad it works for evil, too.) In this case, the common good is your prospective good old motorcycle! Before I went to look at the Yamaha XS750, I scoured the web for forums devoted to:

• Vintage Japanese motorcycles
• Forums specific to Yamaha motorcycles
• And most importantly, forums specific to the motorcycle you're going to look at/buy!

It's easy enough to do, and so worth signing up to gain decades of advice from people who ride and wrench on these old motorcycles. I can't begin to tell you the number of things that these folks have experienced first hand and are all too happy to share with you on your vintage journey. Some of my favorites for the Yamaha XS750 and XS850 are:

1. The Yamaha Triples Web Community -Awesome resources and great group of folks here.
2. The Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Owners Group - More general, but still useful
3. Simon's XS750E Rebuild Site - Simon rebuilt his XS from the ground up and documents it here
4. Marshall Ringler's XS100 Site - Marshall has been kind enough to post non-1100 related service manuals and owner's manuals that can otherwise be hard to find our outrageously expensive.

 

You can certainly look for more. One personal peeve - the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club looks interesting but you have to fork over $30 a year if you want to be a member. Heck, I only paid $400 for the bike, man! I'd like if they'd at least offer something less expensive for web only access - and skip the magazine.  I think that's enough for today. Go do some Google searching!