62 :OLD BIKE AUSTRALASIA
magazines, and the poster was supplied in very
limited quantities to Yamaha dealers. I still have one
hanging in my office.”
At the time, I was doing freelance work for Harris
Robinson & Associates, and there always seemed to
be an SR500 or two on loan from McCulloch, which I
grabbed at every opportunity. Perhaps my enthusi-
asm for the model was obvious, because I was
recruited as rider in a photo shoot for a series of
magazine advertisements. I recall the photographer
was obsessed with dawn scenes, which meant 4am
starts at various far-flung locations.
Yamaha could not have foreseen just how popular
and durable the SR500 was to become, remaining in
production from 1978 to 1999. The SR500 retained
most of the XT’s infrastructure, the same strong sohc
design with its rigid crankshaft supported by large
ball bearings, but with a larger inlet valve, modified
cam timing, heavier flywheel, and slightly larger
finning for the cylinder head. The 34mm carb (with
an accelerator pump) was 2mm up on the XT’s, and
CDI replaced the XT’s points ignition. Oddly, the inter-
nal gear ratios of the SR and XT were identical – odd
given that the XT was meant to be a dual purpose/
road/trail machine. The frame, with revised dimen-
sions in steering geometry (2 degrees less fork rake,
hence 20mm less wheelbase), was of thicker-walled
tubing, with extra gusseting around the swinging
arm pivot. Instead of spoked wheels, Yamaha opted
for cast-alloy jobs which were on the heavy side and
contributed to the 23kg weight gain over the XT500.
The overall package was still reasonably light, and
the new model gained instant and universal praise
for its sharp handling and ‘flickability’. Originally for
the Japanese market but subsequently sold else-
where, the 399cc SR400 was identical except for a
67.2mm stroke instead of the 500’s 84mm.
Perhaps the only major grumble was the lack of
an electric starter – which Yamaha claimed was for
weight-saving – but challenging for a generation of
riders who were by now used to thumbing a button
to get things under way. Not that the SR500 was a
reluctant starter. Yamaha had done much work in
this respect and developed what they termed an
“automatic decompression system,” which worked,
to a degree. The SR500 had a small window at
camshaft level on the right side, which provided the
would-be rider with a view of a small pointer that
came into view at top dead centre. Then it was a
case of pulling in the decompression lever on theleft handlebar, moving the kick start lever through
half its travel, releasing the de-compressor, and
letting the lever return to its normal position,
whereupon an audible ‘click’ was emitted and it
was ready for a full flowing kick, followed,
hopefully, by internal combustion. Just don’t open
the throttle until the engine is running! For starting
a hot engine, the SR has a ‘Warm Start’ button.
In Europe, Australasia and Japan, the SR500
gained cult status in short order. Later models
dropped the disc rear brake in favour of a drum, oil
capacity was increased, and carburettor size reduced
slightly. Around the model, a worldwide industry
sprang up supplying café-cool items like alloy tanks,
racing style seats, rear-set footrests and foot
controls, swept back exhaust systems with
megaphone and Gold Star replica silencers, clip-on
handlebars, fly screens, plus numerous engine bits.
In Europe, the SR500 was released in 1978 with
wire wheels and a drum rear brake, but a year later
had adopted the cast wheels with discs, continuing
in this form until 1984, when the wire wheels were
back, with the front becoming an 18 inch. In 1988 a
front drum brake was fitted and this version
remained as the standard offering for a decade.YAMAHA SR500
Les and Dianne Raynor on
their SR500 in the 2018
Bathurst Easter Rally.ABOVE LEFT Ed Chambers on the 2016
VJMC Rally in Canberra.
ABOVE CENTRE Nick Shaw’s SR500,
owned since 1983, has done
service as a bush-basher, but was
restored in 2017 as a café racer.
ABOVE Looking like it could have
stepped out of the AMC factory
in London, this Matchless G50-
inspired SR500 is a product of
Japanese specialist company CHS
(Custom House Stinky); see their
web site stinky.jp for many more
customised SRs (although it is in
Japanese only).
LEFT Despite appearances,
Shane Kinnaird’s SR500 dates
from 1978, but has been rebuilt
in the style of a 2000 model,
complete with Japanese market
drum brakes and spoked wheels.