It shares its power plant with the street version SR500 and its off-road brother, the Yamaha TT500.

[5] Åberg rode the bike to a victory in the first moto of the 1977 500cc Luxembourg Grand Prix and ended the season ranked 9th in the final world championship standings.

[5] The 21-inch front wheel and the 18-inch rear with enduro-style tires make it fit for both on- and off-road use.

Seat height and ground clearance are adequate[citation needed] and the machine has the typical dual-purpose handling characteristics, which makes it suitable for a wide range of duties, from crossing rough city roads to country lanes or paths.

After 1982 the successive four-valve XT600s were sold in some markets in 500 cc form until 1989, but this was not the original, classic twin-valve XT500.