1976 Yamaha XS500C - 6-Page Vintage Motorcycle Road Test Article

Description

1976 Yamaha XS500C - 6-Page Vintage Motorcycle Road Test Article
Original, vintage magazine article
Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm) each page
Condition: Good
IT HAS BEEN three years now since
the Yamaha dohc 500 Twin first
joined us, a period in which the
machine has gone through the usual
Japanese letter prefix changes indicating
the model, as well as minor trim, color
and mechanical alterations. Many of the
machine’s revisions have been so subtle
that even service technicians intimate
with the workings of the XS have had to
pore over technical bulletins with the
zeal of a sleuth in order to notice
anything different.
Of course, lack of change is often an
indication that the original product was
on target; and the 1973 TX500 Yamaha
Twin was precisely that. Now, three
years later, we have a 1976 model
designated the XS500C, and looking,
from all outward appearances at least,
totally new. Does that mean that some-
thing was amiss? Not at all.
Underneath the new sheep’s clothing
most of the same wolf smiles. . .and
benefits from the passage of time and
technological advancements that have
been made. New concepts that shine
from the latest XS500C may well take
us into motorcycling’s 1980s.
Bold styling is angular and un-
common enough to attract the eye of
the layman; no wonder, then, that those
in the know all but fall over themselves
trying to get their first look at Yamaha’s
latest medium weight tourer. The color,
referred to as “Marge Brown,’’ is a
somewhat muted, non-metallic hue that
receives emphasis from black and white
pin-striping and a black panel on the
fuel tank. The striping and color panels
are vinyl-like decals that go on after the
base finish is applied. A sturdy gloss
coat seals and protects the paint and...
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