r3en

To full fill my childhood dream. I finally got myself a motorcycle. It's an old Yamaha xj650. I've always love cruiser. especially older bikes.

It's an old bike, with 9800 miles, runs well. But definitely need some TLC to bring back the shine. The battery went. I will look into that. Any good bike shop in brooklyn?

And I don't have a motorcycle license yet. Will get that taken care of asap.

Tips and pointers on riding?

Will post real pics soon. it looks like this. and it has flaring with windshield on.

2ks2knyc

I love those classic bikes too. Good luck. Pointers .. watch out for the pot holes in brooklyn lol

This bike is easy to ride. You can do figure 8's all day on that type of bike. Much easier than sport bikes. Get your MD class quick. I got busted at fountain ave once with a permit and the cops busted my chops and gave me a few tickets. It didn't help that we were drag racing out there lol

r3en

Haha, you story is funny. I am totally new to riding. A friend of mine taught me years ago. Prolly rode 20 minutes since then.

Is it hard to work on bikes? I am looking to change the oil and some stuff. It shouldn't be harder than working on cars right?

2ks2knyc

Much easier. A buddy of mine used to do all that work for me. There is no hood to be under and it's all in reach. If you change the oil on your car you should be fine with the bike. If your that new to bikes and just want to cruise along, that bike is perfect. They give you a good upright seating position and you can learn to turn with ease. I took my drivers test on one of those and passed easily in the pouring rain. Not sure if you know but the test consists of a few circles some figure eights all while not putting a foot down. Then some basic ridding and stopping.

kels_2k

Looks exactly like my first bike
Yamaha virago, now ride a r6
But Those things are easy to learn to ride.

Tip and pointer from me is get some good gear
Alpinestar, shoei, tecknic, agv etc. All good brands and well worth the investment and beware or cagers. Lol
Have fun and ride safe

fastkx125

My first bike was a 81 Yamaha Seca 750, bored over to 810 with flatslide carbs. It looks allot like your bike just a tad sportier. Get a good helmet, I only wear Arai but their a little pricey for some people. Shoei is good to. Working on bikes is super easy. Be careful with your oil filter cup, they have a tendency to warp if over tightened I went through like 3 of them lol.

fastkx125

Oh and change the oil in the diff (the Seca was shaft drive I assume yours is too) check the date codes on the tires, old tires are dangerous even if they look good. Other then that have fun those motors are Damm near instructable, mine had around 80 or 90,000 miles on it.

Xtian8

Take MSF class if you can...

Complete Gears and life insurance. jk.

ride safe and goodluck with the bike...

r3en

Yes. The bike is shaft drive.

Where in NY I can shop for bike gears? If possible I'd like to try them on in the store, then buy them cheaper online if possible. Kinda dick move i know. But penny save is a penny towards maintenance.

fastkx125

Best bet would be a large dealer, they have a good selection of gear and you could try stuff on write down sizes and sneak out without being bothered lol. But deff try on what your gonna buy, every companys sizes are wayyyy different.