Middlweight rivals to the Honda CX500
1978 Yamaha XS500
- 38hp, 110mph
- 498cc
- Air-cooled
- 5-speed
- Dual disc front, single disc rear
- 423lb (dry)
- 40-50mpg
- $800-$1,800

Unlike its bigger brother, the legendary Yamaha XS650, the two-cylinder XS500 (first introduced in 1973 as the Yamaha TX500) never really caught on.

Why? For starters, it developed a reputation as being wildly unreliable, with reports of a balancer and cam chain arrangement that needed constant attention, and heat dissipation issues that caused valves to burn up and cylinder heads to crack.

The vertical twin’s performance didn’t make many hearts flutter when it was introduced, either, as the bike posted below-average quarter-mile speeds in its class and reviewers noted problems with drive-train backlash and dodgy throttle response on early models.

On the plus side, the bike boasts many of the features that made classics of the XS650 and the three-cylinder XS750. Its combination of a 180-degree crank with a vibration damper, electric start and twin carbs makes for a smooth and easy ride, and its styling lines are clean and were quite fashionable in the day. It's still a handsome bike today.

Yamaha logged the complaints about the 500, made refinements and continued to produce it until 1979. A surprisingly high survival rate suggests they weren’t nearly as unreliable as many believed, as nice examples surface regularly.

1980 Moto Guzzi V50 Monza
- 48hp, 109mph
- 490cc
- Air-cooled
- 5-speed
- Dual disc front, single disc rear
- 353lb (dry)
- 45-55mpg
- $2,000-$4,000

Based on the V50 that Moto Guzzi introduced in 1977 as a down-sized option to its successful 850cc V-twins, the sporty Moto Guzzi V50 Monza was an attempt to inject some excitement into a bike the U.S. market simply didn’t find attractive.

Where the standard V50 was somewhat austere and devoid of any gee-whiz factor, the Monza had the go-fast styling of its celebrated big brother, the LeMans. Its 490cc V-twin pumped out a respectable 48hp (the same as Honda’s CX), and like most Italian sport bikes it was endowed with excellent handling, something you couldn’t say about all its Japanese competitors.