My Barn Find 1982 Yamaha XZ550 Vision

"Luc - The Acadian Oppo" (luc5)
04/24/2016 at 15:53 • Filed to: Yamaha Vision, organ donor

I bought this bike from the original owner who had bought this bike brand new in 1982 to commute with as he attended university. He put on a staggering 3,870kms (~2,400 miles) on the bike while in school. Once he completed university the bike went into heated storage and it sat there ever since. That is until last year when the owners son decided it would be a cool project to get going again. So last year they brought the bike to one of Edmonton’s most reputable shop to give the bike a total look over. All Fluids were changed,both carbs rebuilt and tuned, brand new tires,checked over every electrical connections and so on and so on. I have the invoice for all this how much you ask? Just under $1100 bucks. The bike is now 100% ready to go and road worthy.

Let me tell you a bit more about the bike itself. The Yamaha Vision was only produced for 2 years, 1982 & 1983. The bike features an over squared(bore is larger than the stroke) 550cc high revving 70deg DOHC V-Twin that you can wind up all the way to 10,000rpm. The bike has an absolutely beautiful exhaust note. Since the engine is pretty much the same configuration as a Ducati it sounds pretty much exactly like one. The bike produces 65HP @ 9,500rpm & 37 ft-lbf of torque @ 8,500rpm. The bikes ready to ride wet weight is a respectable 467lbs. The bike is also shaft driven for many many trouble free miles.

The bike is 100% original, 100% stock, 100% unrestored. The bike has also never been dropped. I know his is not some rare Ferrari but to me this is just as exciting of a barn find since this one is actually sitting in my garage right now.

I plan on keeping the bike exactly as it sits with the exception of adding “2 finger” brake and clutch levers. This is just a personal preference of mine but I’ll hang on to the stock ones so I can return the bike to original again.

The bike also came with aftermarket saddle bags and a custom made bike cover.

How much does such a sweet bike cost? A whopping $1,500 Loonies. Considering the mileage and condition this is beyond a good deal. I pretty much stole it for that much.

DISCUSSION (26)

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
04/24/2016 at 00:19

SOmething important and cool to note - your bike is shaft driven. No chain or belt like the majority of bikes. My nighthawk is the same way and it is AMAZING. Apparently the chain drive is still better for some things but I like the no-fuss nature of it and that it isa fluid you can just change like oil.

lone_liberal > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
04/24/2016 at 00:24

Damn, in the 80s even bikes had squared off gauge pods. What a time capsule!

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
04/24/2016 at 00:26

I was noted but thanks anyway. Bike also came with an array of Yamalube including driveshaft oil.

Birddog > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
04/24/2016 at 00:35

That is such an amazing find.

You pegged the bang for the buck needle.

Words escape me. That’s rare!

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
04/24/2016 at 00:36

Whelp, I can’t read. But worth repeating that the shaft life is best life IMO.

shop-teacher > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
04/24/2016 at 01:26

Beautiful!

TheOnelectronic > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
04/24/2016 at 01:31

The two big issues with shaft drives are the weight, and that most have significantly more driveline slack than a chain or belt drive which can make going on/off throttle a bit more jarring.

And if you’re in my line of work, they’re a fucking pain in the ass to remove. I’M LOOKING AT YOU, HONDA. FUCK YOUR C-CLIPS INSIDE U-JOINTS.

Ahem.

TheOnelectronic > lone_liberal
04/24/2016 at 01:32

Are you ready for the most 80's motorcycle gauge cluster ever?

Kinja'd!!!

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
04/24/2016 at 03:38

Very cool! That bike was a hell of a deal.

AdverseMartyr > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
04/24/2016 at 03:42

Much squaredness... so 80's...very nice.

garagemonkee > TheOnelectronic
04/24/2016 at 04:45

graph paper is best paper to the 1980's

jimz > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
04/24/2016 at 07:59

I’m surprised you were able to find what you needed. buddy of mine has an XJ650 Maxim and trying to find parts for that thing is a bitch.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > jimz
04/24/2016 at 09:48

For a bike that had such a small production run. It has a HUGE following. Pretty much a cult classic. There is some guys out there on the forums that have dozens of these for parts. There is also a surprising amount of nos for these bikes. Eventually there maybe something I have a hard time finding but for now I’m not hugelly concerned. I’m very excited to be the owner of this bike as it meant a whole lot to the owner and he was not ready to sell it to just about anybody.

jimz > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
04/24/2016 at 10:06

Probably cos it was such a departure from the traditional UJM. The XJ650 was made for 4 or 5 years, but even small shit like the screens for the carb needles are $20 each. Plus those things are known for lunching the alternator rotors. Hell, one single carb joint is like $80.

vicali > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
04/24/2016 at 10:41

Nice score, glad you found it!

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > TheOnelectronic
04/24/2016 at 17:00

I guess I learned how to cope with the slack because it was my first bike, but the weight is a real downside. I sat on bikes for an aternoon at a dealershipand the 100lb difference between a ducati scrambler and a triumph scrambler sold me on the ducati before I even fired it up. Given that my nighthawk is between the two in weight, I would think if it dropped the 20ish lbs a shaft adds (making some assumptions)and maybe another 5-10 here and there it would gain some maneuverability that you would feel.

But for a first bike, the ease of upkeep is a major plus.

Danger > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
04/24/2016 at 17:04

Solidly NP. Have fun with that thing.

TheOnelectronic > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
04/25/2016 at 00:40

It seems to be about 10-15 pounds for most bikes. Chain and sprockets I’d say come in around 5-7 just by feel. We’ve never weighed any because nobody wants to buy them used.

uofime-2 > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
04/25/2016 at 10:52

Where’s the video? I want to hear that beast!

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > uofime-2
04/25/2016 at 10:58

I might take one tonight.

Pickup_man > jimz
04/25/2016 at 11:23

I was confused at your first comment about parts being hard to find because I have an XJ750 and haven’t had much of a problem. Your second comment cleared things up though. Parts aren’t particularly tough to find for these bikes (the 650 and 750 share a ton of parts) but they do tend to be pretty expensive.

jimz > Pickup_man
04/25/2016 at 11:25

the other difficulty is that his is an ‘81 which doesn’t have YICS, and from what I’ve been able to find there are some key differences between the ones with YICS and without.

Pickup_man > jimz
04/25/2016 at 11:33

Yeah, I’m not sure why the 650's didn’t get YICS when 550's and 750's did.

Justin Hughes > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
04/25/2016 at 14:55

This is basically the PERFECT starter bike. Great find! I love those 80s-tastic wheels. I’ve never even heard of the Vision before, and I do like the early 80s Japanese bikes.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > Justin Hughes
04/25/2016 at 15:07

It’s a great bike! I love it. Especially with this one being showroom fresh it makes it an honor that the previous owner would entrust me with it.

Even if I ever upgrade to a new bike I’ll still be keeping this one.

BillJ > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
08/02/2017 at 17:30

I have a 1982 Vision. Bought it new. Been sitting in my garage for 20 years. Not sure if it will start. Do you have any thoughts about what I should do to get it on the road? That is, aside from the obvious things like oil, tires, battery, plugs, brake fluid, carb, etc. I’ve been told that there could be “dried out seals” which would fail and cause big problems.