Why Yamaha Owners Love Their Triples

Original article appeared in Cycle World magazine November 1979

In 1976, Cycle World called the Yamaha XS750 one of the ten best motorcycles in the world.  We’ve tested it in several versions since then and we still like it.  As we said in April 1977, it’s fast, efficient, attractive and, “The exhaust note alone is worth the price of admission.”  Nice words for a new bike, but after the newness fades, is the Yamaha XS750 still such a rewarding machine?  We can only put so many miles on our test bikes but our owners surveys have no such limits.  The XS750 owners responding to this survey have put nearly two million miles on their Yamahas and their experiences are remarkably similar.

Most (89 percent) bought the bike new.  They‘ve put an average of 9,915 mi. on their bikes while those with used machines average 6,650 mi. for an overall average of 9,550 mi.  The XS750 does many things well and this is reflected in the types of riding they’re used for.  Commuting and transportation were listed by 76 percent of our respondents, touring by 70 percent and pleasure riding by 80 percent.  Only two riders raced their Yamahas (drag racing). One rider commented. “If you want a road racer, look elsewhere - but the Triple will get you home every time.  In a month it’ll take me to Nova Scotia.”

Riding styles are mostly “average” (47 percent) or “moderately hard” (37 percent).  The remaining 16 percent is evenly split between “very hard” and “gentler than average.” They ride moderately, but they ride a lot, some doing up to 25,000 mi. year and the average figure is 7,415 mi. yearly.

Fuel economy is important in a touring bike (especially these days) and here the Triple does pretty well.  The XS750Ds average 41.8 mpg, the 2Ds get 40.8, the E models get 46.1 and the 1979 F models average 45.4 mpg according to the owners.  Individual figures ranged from the high 30s to the mid 50s.

Almost all the XS750 owners take advantage of its ease of maintenance with 98 percent doing at least some of their own work.  Twenty four percent always do their own repairs, 51 percent usually do and 23 percent sometimes work on their bikes.  Only 2 percent rely entirely on dealers or repair shops, and only 1 percent describe the XS750 as difficult to work on.  Sixty eight percent say it is average and 29 percent call the maintenance very easy.

Leading the short list of maintenance problems is the shim-type valve adjustment.  Only 6 percent mentioned it, but everyone who did thought a screw-and-locknut type adjustment would be better.  No one commented positively on the shim-type adjustment.  Other problems include points adjustment on the D and 2D (later models have magnetically triggered electronic ignition), noted by 5 percent, high oil consumption and frequent carb synchronization, 3 percent each and frequent cam chain adjustment, difficulties with middle gear oil changing, fork oil changing, greasing the wheel bearings (grease fittings were suggested), and carb removal, all listed by 2 percent of the Yamaha owners.

Breakdowns are relatively infrequent in the Yamaha 750s.  Not counting flat tires and running out of gas, 13 percent of the Yamahas have broken down or stranded their owners.  Various electrical problems were the most common cause, with three ignition, two coil, three voltage regulator and two fuse failures reported.  Other breakdowns were caused by random failures of primary chains, carbs, a clutch cable, a petcock, an exhaust pipe, oil leaks, a wiring short and a couple of failures to start when cold.  The majority of Yamaha 750 owners (87 percent) never experienced a breakdown and comments such as “It’s the most reliable bike I’ve owned.” were common.

Under “Other than normal maintenance” only five areas are listed by 5 percent or more of the Yamaha owners.  Fork seals were replaced by 9 percent, 7 percent had primary chain problems, 6 percent had leaks from the clutch input shaft (There IS a new updated seal) and voltage regulator/rectifier and exhaust pipe (mostly premature rusting) problems were each reported by 5 percent of the owners.

Parts availability isn’t a problem most of the time with 79 percent of the XS750 owners finding that parts always (23 per cent) or mostly (56 percent) available.  Thirteen percent say they are sometimes hard to find and only one respondent said parts are always hard to find.  But when the needed parts aren’t in stock, Yamaha 750 owners often have a long wait.  We averaged the times reported by those who had their bikes out of service waiting for parts (21 percent of those responding to our survey) and found times ranging from one or two days to six months and the average to wait is 32 days.

Despite the occasional wait for parts, most of the XS750 owners are well satisfied with their dealers.  A “very good” rating was earned by 38 percent of the dealers with 28 percent rated “good” and an additional 19 percent rated “fair.” Only 9 percent were called “poor” and fewer still (6 percent) rated “very poor.”  Several owners who are dissatisfied with their local dealers wrote that they travel 30-40 mi. to go to a distant, but better dealer.

Touring accessories lead the list of additions made by the XS750 owners.  Fairings were added by 60 percent, luggage racks by 56 percent, sissy bars by 44 percent, crash bars by 41 percent, saddlebags by 32 percent, brighter headlights by 22 percent custom seats by 20 percent.  Thirteen percent added louder horns and some sort of cruise control, 12 percent added either different handlebars or a box on the luggage rack and 10 percent installed an aftermarket exhaust.  Clearly the touring accessories were more common additions to the Triple than performance accessories.

The Yamaha line of optional accessories received the greatest number of both favorable and unfavorable comment.  Twenty five riders praised the Yamaha equipment in general but there are some gripes about individual items.  Most frequent are complaints about the difficulty of opening the seat with the luggage rack in place.  One rider said he cut off the seat tailpiece and mounted it on the frame cure the problem. A few riders said the case guards are too small, a few said too large and they drag on the ground and a couple of riders said the bars saved a leg or the engine cases when the bike went down. The saddlebags were criticized by a few riders as being too small and for having leaky and flimsy tops.  Four riders had fairing mounts crack or didn’t get enough protection from the Pacifico fairing, but didn’t specify whether it was the fairing made by Pacifico for Yamaha or Pacifico’s own Shadow fairing.  Three other riders said they were well satisfied with their Pacifico fairings.

Closely following the Yamaha accessories in popularity is the Vetter Windjammer which got high marks from 20 of the XS750 owners.  Other accessories rated highly by our respondents include Fiamm horns, Michelin M-45 tires, S&W shocks, Plexi fairings, Lockhart oil coolers and Amco luggage racks.  There are also a few raves for Cibie, Marchal and other, unspecified brand quartz-halogen headlights.

Many of the owners list modifications and hints for the XS750, but they don’t follow any discernable pattern.  Among the most useful ideas are:  put a canister (an old Armor-All container) on the oil breather hose to keep the oil spray off the bike and the back tire, tighten the front engine mount bolts periodically as they can loosen and increase vibration, use Permatex Disc Brake Quiet to reduce brake squeal and swap the brake pucks from side to side to equalize wear.  Several riders said to be wary of the brakes in the rain and one rider suggested, “Yeah, practice a lot before you go downshifting in turns.  Shafties are different!”

One thing Triple owners agree on is its best feature.  The shaft drive was listed as a best feature by 59 percent of the owners.  Power or torque were cited by 45 percent, dependability was listed by 35 percent and 31 percent praised the Yamaha’s clean styling.  Rounding out the five best is comfort listed by 20 percent of the owners.

There is less agreement on the Triple’s worst features.  Twenty one percent are bothered by vibration, but nearly as many (18 percent) say smoothness is one of the XS750’s best features.  Driveline snatch was mentioned by 16 percent of the owners, 15 percent said it is too heavy, 13 percent dislike the seat or its position and 10 percent think there is too much shifting clunk.

Changes suggested by the owners include widening the swing arm so larger tires can be fitted (11 percent), modifying the throttle linkage or carbs to reduce the off-idle suddenness, (10 percent), larger gas tank, (10 percent), and improve the rear shocks (9 percent).

Buy another?  This is the key question and XS750 owners are nearly unanimous in their reply - “Definitely!”  An overwhelming 97 percent say they would buy another Yamaha.  One satisfied owner told us. “If we run out of gas before I reach 100,000 mi. I’m gonna convert to alcohol and go till it breaks at 200,000 mi.  Then I‘m gonna polyurethane it and mount it on my living room wall because I think its the best bike going.”

Sixty seven percent of the owners said they would buy another XS750 and the only reason that figure isn’t higher is that many riders said they can’t wait to move up to an XS11 and several already have. One pleased owner sent us a picture of his XS750 sitting next to his Christmas tree and commented, “The bike just happened to be in my living room at Christmas so I decorated it. We sang ‘Oh Christmas Bike’ and other famous motorcycle carols.”

Survey Results Chart