Yamaha XT 500

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Yamaha
Xt500.JPG
XT 500, built in 1978
XT 500
Manufacturer Yamaha
Sales description XT 500
Production period 1976 to 1989
class motorcycle
design type Enduro
Motor data
Air-cooled single cylinder four-stroke engine
Displacement  (cm³) 499
Power  (kW / PS ) 27/33 at 6500 rpm
Torque  ( N m ) 34.4 at 4500 rpm
Top speed (  km / h) 140
transmission 5 courses
drive Chain
Brakes Simplex half-hub drums, front 160 mm, rear 150 mm
Wheelbase  (mm) 1420
Dimensions (L × W × H, mm): 2200 × 880 × 1130
Seat height (cm) 83
Empty weight  (kg) 141
successor Yamaha XT550

The Yamaha XT 500 is an enduro from the Japanese vehicle manufacturer Yamaha Motor and was the first off -road mass-produced motorcycle with a single-cylinder four-stroke engine and 499 cm³ displacement. The XT 500 was first presented to the press in Marrakech in 1976 and then at the IFMA and was built until 1989. In Germany alone, over 25,000 pieces were sold.

Enduro

The term Enduro , which, for example, the 1977 model had on the side cover, is based on the English term Endurance [ ɪnˈdjʊərən (t) s ] for "endurance". Enduro was used for a new category of motorcycles which, in contrast to the non-street-legal motocross machines, were ideally suited for long journeys with luggage on or off the road thanks to their off-road capability and robustness. In 1978, Peter Falb's 16,000 km journey through North Africa and especially the Sahara laid the foundation for the legend of the “indestructible” enduro bikes. The successful participation in meanwhile countless desert rallies showed the robustness of the concept and began with the start of the first Paris-Dakar with successes at the Dakar Rally in 1979 and 1980 .

In the James Bond film " Deadly Mission ", James Bond is pursued by villains who drive the XT 500. The chase leads over ski slopes and through the bobsled run of Cortina d'Ampezzo .

The XT was the approved version of the off-road model TT 500 designed for the United States, which was not designed as a pure competition machine, but had no lighting and no speedometer and was structured differently in some details. Later, in 1978/79, the HL500 followed in small series of 400 as a pure competition motorcycle . The reliable XT-500 engine was in turn the first four-stroke engine that Willi Heitman, founder and owner of the Heos company, implanted in an off-road sports frame he built himself.

technology

The chassis of the XT was based on earlier two-stroke machines . In contrast to some Yamaha DT models, no cantilever suspension was used, but conventional stereo struts. The fork offered a spring travel of 195 mm, which was large for the time .

An essential success factor was the air-cooled single-cylinder four-stroke engine with 499 cm³ with an overhead camshaft and two valves, whereby the dry sump lubrication was the only special feature of the otherwise simple engine. The high-torque engine was started with a kick starter , which required some practice to operate.

The drivers of the XT 500 often make modifications to the machine. Following the example of the Paris-Dakar racing versions and the Yamaha XT 600 Ténéré , the standard 8.8-liter tank was and is being replaced more frequently by larger tanks with up to 25 liters of fuel, which means that the standard range of just 170 km was increased to up to 400 km. Other common extensions are a 12-volt system including H4 halogen headlights and double direct lubrication.

Model history

Yamaha XT 500 in the classic silver / black design

Before the street-legal XT 500, the TT 500 came onto the market in the USA. The TT was designed for US standards as a "fun vehicle" for off-road trips similar to the VW buggy or as a basic vehicle for desert rallies like the Baja 1000 in Mexico . Until 1986, the XT only had a weak 6-volt AC headlight, the output of which is speed-dependent. Taillights, indicators and horn were retrofitted and operated with DC voltage so that they could still function poorly with the battery at the traffic lights. As early as 1976, the first 200 machines that u. a. differ from later versions by a low-lying exhaust manifold and the full output of 24 kW (33 PS), approved in Germany by individual acceptance.

From 1977 the XT 500 was officially imported into Germany with a different exhaust system and a modified intake manifold to 20 kW (27 PS). The reasons given for these measures were the development of noise and the lack of stability at high speeds due to the frame geometry and the lugged tires that are not suitable for motorway speeds. The abolition of the displacement-oriented insurance classification and the introduction of insurance classes according to engine output were also essential for the reduction in output. As a result, the XT with its output of 33 hp was only just above the new class up to 27 hp and would have been classified unfavorably without throttling. In the meantime, due to a parts certificate obtained by Yamaha for the SR 500 to increase the performance, it is also possible to legally convert the XT500 to the "open" output of 25 kW (34 PS).

Already in 1977 approvals were registered in Germany in 2005, in 1981 the highest annual number of approvals was achieved with 4160 pieces.

The XT 500 engine has proven itself and was installed almost identically in the Yamaha SR 500 street machine, which is derived from the Enduro .

Due to the success of the XT 500, there was soon an "arms race" among the Japanese manufacturers, for example through the use of other rear wheel suspensions (for more suspension travel than the relatively modest 195 mm XT 500) and four-valve engines with a larger displacement and / or higher performance, first in the form of the Honda XL 500 .

Despite or precisely because of this competition, the classic XT 500 retained many trailers due to its simple and reliable technology and was built until 1989, even outlasting its successor model with a four-valve engine, the Yamaha XT 550 and several generations of the Yamaha XT 600 .

Technical specifications

Type key:

  • Engine: single-cylinder four-stroke engine cooled by airstream, 2 valves, light metal cylinder with gray cast iron liner, overhead camshaft driven by a chain
  • Displacement: 499 cm³
  • Bore: 87 mm
  • Stroke: 84 mm
  • Compression ratio: 9: 1
  • Carburetor (International): Mikuni VM 34 SS, round slide
  • Carburetor (Germany): Mikuni VM 32 SS, round slide
  • Power (International): 24 kW / 33 hp at 6500 min -1
  • Power (Germany): 20 kW / 27 hp at 6000 rpm -1 (throttled by revised intake manifold)
  • Torque 34.4 Nm at 4500 min -1
  • Gearbox: five-speed gearbox, dog clutch, gears 2.357 / 1.556 / 1.19 / 0.961 / 0.778, with kick starter
  • Secondary gear ratio: 16:42 or 16:44
  • Tank capacity: 8.5 l of premium gasoline, 2 l of which in reserve
  • Steering head angle: 59.9 ° (1976–1977) / 60 ° (1977–1989)
  • Trail: 135 mm
  • Seat height: 830 mm
  • Travel: fork 195 mm, gas struts 159 mm
  • Ground clearance: 240 mm unloaded
  • Weight: 155 kg, full tank, with tool kit
  • Empty weight: 150 kg
  • Axle load f / r: 67.5 kg / 87.5 kg
  • permissible total weight: 319 kg
  • Top speed: 135 km / h
  • Front tires: 3.00-21 on 1.60 rim (1976-1977), 3.25-21 on 1.85 rim (from 1977)
  • Rear tires: 4.00-18 on 1.85 rim
  • Brakes: Simplex half-hub drums, front 160 mm, rear 150 mm
  • Electrical system: 6 volts until 1985, then 12 volts

Reviews

“Technically, the new Yamaha XT 500 is a declaration of war against the multi-cylinder establishment - at a time when BSA, Matchless and Ducati have already buried their singles due to a lack of demand. In Germany, the Enduro comes with a 27 hp engine. A farmer's engine, equipped with an overhead camshaft and two valves controlled by rocker arms. "

- Michael Schröder : Motor Classic

“It was in 1976 when the XT 500 established a new type of vehicle, the large-volume, absolutely everyday and above all affordable travel enduro. Lousy brakes, lousy electrics, rusty exhaust - for free, you could forgive the XT for almost any quirk, because it was actually maintenance-friendly, basically quite reliable and an all-round honest skin. "

- Klaus Herder : Kradblatt

“Basically, the four-stroke single-cylinder was nothing new from a technical point of view, but the thundering stew established a completely new two-wheel philosophy with the Enduro class and really stirred up the stench in the motorcycle establishment. Anyone who managed to get the XT to work with a Kickstarter was considered a tough dog and was ultra cool. Into the gravel pit, off to freedom! "

- Jochen Vorfelder : The time

literature

  • Heinz Stahl: Thunderbolt - Yamaha XT 500 - the steam hammer from Japan under the microscope . In: Oldtimer Praxis . No. 05 , 2000.
  • Lars Rosenbrock: Yamaha XT 500 - from the transformation of an everyday motorcycle to a collector's item . In: Oldtimer Praxis . No. 07 , 2000.
  • Repair manual Yamaha XT 500, from 1979. Bucheli Verlag Volume 5065, Zug 1985, ISBN 3-7168-1663-9 .
  • Andreas Schlüter: Yamaha - the XT single cylinder. 1st edition, Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-613-01498-X (motorcycles that made history).

Web links

Commons : Yamaha XT  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mopped . No. 08 , 1999, ISSN  1860-0662 .
  2. ↑ Yamaha HL 500. In: enduro-klassik.de. Enduro Classic, April 3, 2017, accessed January 15, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Michael Schröder: XT 500 - the mother of all enduros. In: Motor Klassik , edition 09/2011. March 14, 2012, accessed May 3, 2013 .
  4. ↑ Klaus Herder: Driving report. In: Kradblatt, edition 02/2005. March 14, 2012, archived from the original on July 1, 2013 ; Retrieved May 22, 2013 .
  5. ↑ Jochen Vorfelder: The rolling ladies handbag. In: The time . October 30, 2006, accessed May 24, 2013 .