No big deal about the quote .

Interesting info there about the XS Yamaha !
The 650 Yam is one of bikings best kept secrets .
Ignored by many , unglamorous compared to the 4 cylinder bikes available at the time , this bike however has a lot going for it .
A very well built motor , SOHC , performance slightly less than a good Bonnie or a BSA LIghtning .The oil stayed inside and it didn't fall apart .But it did vibrate a bit and the handling was less than perfect .

You can pick them up for a few hundred dollars , I have 4 : 3 runners and one parts bike .The weakest part of the bike is the alternator and electrics [ the Prince of Darkness didn't have it all his own way ] -- it's usually the reason the bike was parked and never used again .
The engine was used for moto cross sidecar racing in Europe and for flat tracking in the US , so plenty strong .
A replacement permanent magnet alternator is now available as is a modern reg/rectifier .If you can find one cheap - buy it !

The bike I always lusted after was the Norton Commando .The styling was up to date ,exhaust note incredible , performance and handling good and the adverts had those gorgeous girls sitting on the bikes !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But all I could afford was a Norton Atlas [750] which although it had the power and handling ,vibrated like a bastard and looked old fashioned .

Post 1970 Triumphs and BSA twins had that horrible "oil in the frame" and were ugly courtesy of the "stylists" at Umberslade Hall .
I could see right there that they had lost the plot .I rode a couple and was not impressed .

Part of the problem with Brit bikes was that roads had improved so much that ,instead of chugging along at 60 mph with the occasional blast for a short period at "the ton" ,we were able to cruise so much faster and expected so much more out of them . The modern Japanese OHC multis could cope , the overstressed pushrod twins couldn't .

Even Norton had not woken up , they were still thinking about replacing the Commando engine with a twin .

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Blessed are the cracked, for they let in the light. - Spike Milligan
"When you come to a fork in the road ,take it ! When you come to a spoon in the road ,take that also ."