Custom Yamaha XS650 Street Tracker

By Robert Smith
Published on August 12, 2010
1 / 5
Joe Smith’s lean, mean Yamaha XS650 street tracker.
Joe Smith’s lean, mean Yamaha XS650 street tracker.
2 / 5
Joe’s own custom seat pan and “Mile” pipes from Omars really look the part.
Joe’s own custom seat pan and “Mile” pipes from Omars really look the part.
3 / 5
A stock XS650 is a nice bet from any angle — Joe’s street tracker ups the ante.
A stock XS650 is a nice bet from any angle — Joe’s street tracker ups the ante.
4 / 5
Owner/builder Joe Smith with his Yamaha street tracker. Is he proud? You bet. Wouldn’t you be?
Owner/builder Joe Smith with his Yamaha street tracker. Is he proud? You bet. Wouldn’t you be?
5 / 5
A school bus mechanic by day, Joe does all his own work. The engine on his street tracker is only mildly modified from stock.
A school bus mechanic by day, Joe does all his own work. The engine on his street tracker is only mildly modified from stock.

Custom Yamaha XS650 Street Tracker
Years produced:
 1970-1983
Total production: 250,000 (est., all styles)
Top speed: 105mph
Engine type: 653cc SOHC air-cooled parallel twin
Weight (wet): 425lb (approx.)
Price then: $2,499 (1980)
Price now: $1,750-$3,500
MPG: 50mpg (avg.)

Harleys may still be the kings of the modern custom crowd, but few bikes satisfy the creative fantasies of classic custom motorcycle builders better than a Yamaha XS650 Street Tracker.

Joe Smith agrees: “You can do anything with them,” he says. “They’ve been chopped up, they’ve been café’d, they’ve been tracked. They’re a good platform for just about anything.”

There’s no questioning that Kenny Roberts’ 1973 AMA Grand National Championship win inspired a legion of Yamaha fans to produce street tracker replicas of King Kenny’s Yamaha XS650 track bike. Although his subsequent exploits on the brutal TZ750 and the whiplash 500cc GP strokers overshadowed his earlier success, it was the Yamaha XS650 flat tracker that made Kenny king of the track in 1973.

So many flat track fans have sought to replicate the iconic Seventies XS specials that a whole industry has grown up for custom Yamaha motorcycles and Yamaha street tracker replicas. Companies like Omar’s in Concord, Calif., can supply period and reproduction flat-tracker goodies while shops like Mike’s XS in Brooksville, Fla., carry an extensive inventory of Yamaha XS parts. That means it’s not too tough to build a basic street tracker from off-the-shelf parts. So what makes the difference from one bike to the next? Attention to detail and the quality of workmanship. And that’s where Joe’s XS Yamaha street tracker stands above the rest.

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