XT500 suffers from poor carburation and chain snatch at low revs, reluctant starting, quick wear piston and magnesium crankcases that rot away. XT550 better at low revs with two choke carb, four valve head and engine balancer, but has a weak clutch. Ironically, the better XT550’s very rare (the four valve head goes eventually), whilst many XT 500’s survive.
