SR500 - an XT for the Road?!

The XT500 was an instant success creating an enviable Yamaha off-road legacy that included prestigious Paris-Dakar wins. The mighty XT can also lay claim to providing the basis of the SR500, its lesser-known sibling.

Launched in 1978, the SR500 used the ultra-robust and iconic 499cc OHC two-valve XT engine with very little modification except a change to overall gearing to be more “road friendly”. Retained too (somewhat controversially) was the “kickstart only” starting procedure – albeit with the benefit of a manual valve lifter.

Allegedly a senior Yamaha engineer had sprained his ankle trying to start a prototype and insisted on a simple solution resulting in the engine being slowly turned over (using the valve lifter to decrease compression) until a mark appeared in a “window” on the cylinder head signifying top-dead-centre whereupon an assertive kick should bring the air-cooled single into life.

The frame was a simple affair with an oversize top tube acting as both oil reservoir and kind of “oil cooler” (like the XT) and a five speed ‘box. Easy on the eye styling and a manageable 31 horsepower flew in the face of predominant multi-cylinder high powered machines while bolstering Yamaha’s four stroke reputation after the disaster of the TX twin.

Sadly, despite a change during production from wire spoked to cast alloy wheels, the SR simply did not match the appeal of the XT. A strong following in Japan – thanks to a 400cc version – meant an impressive SR model life of 43 years from 1978 to 1999 for the 500 and 2021 for the 400. Sales may have been better with an “electric foot” but nowadays the simplicity of the SR has become popular once more.

At CMS we have a wealth of SR spares off the shelf and ready to deliver to make us your logical SR “sole retailer” of Yamaha spare parts.