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Hey there Xsives,
I wanted to share something that I found about Godzilla(81SH) whilst attending XS East 2006. It first started with Laxdad wanting "someone" Xperienced with XS's to ride his bike to tell him IF it sounded and felt alright, or if anything was amiss! So, after I rode his, I asked him to ride Godzilla. Then several of us got into sharing each others rides. MartyA even let "me" take ILENE out for a spin.
Thanks but nothanks, Godzilla has more than enough horses for me, and I didn't really fit very well on that SportBike Frame anyways! 
After we were done sharing our rides, GNEPIG/Gene from Fla, showed me where my frame had gotten bent, just under the steering head, where the downtubes connect. There is a prominent crease there instead of just a subtle curve! Note the photos below, first 2 are of a 79SF I have, and the second 2 are of Godzilla! 
I had wondered about why my front end felt so much easier to steer than the other bikes I had ridden!
Just a few years after I had gotten my bike back to the states from Japan, and gotten out of the NAVY,~1986 I was involved in a modest front ender with a woman who had turned in front of me, hit her front right fender at about 30mph, bent the front forks and wheel into the engine! Had it repaired at the local "DEALER", and apparently they didn't check, or realize, or covered it up so that the Insurance wouldn't have totalled it. I drove it for 7 more years after that, but that was when I had also added the 4" over forks, and so I attributed the steering change to the forks, not the possibility of a bent frame!! Then 1st/2nd gear went, sat for 9 years, then resurrected it in 2000-2001.
Fortunately it tracks straight, and I actually like being able to steer it easier than STOCK, but I think both the front tire design
(have a "soon to be changed" ChengShin
with raised center ridge which causes the tire to want to turn faster once it's leaned over beyond the ridge) and the increased RAKE angle due to the frame being bent makes my steering so flickable, so that's why I want to try the Standard Triple Trees to push the angle out just a little further, putting the rake a little closer back to stock, but probably still not that far, so that I will probably retain the ease in steering, but it won't be as Squirrelly!
Amazing what you can learn about your bike with a fresh set of eyes and hands on!!
I wanted to share something that I found about Godzilla(81SH) whilst attending XS East 2006. It first started with Laxdad wanting "someone" Xperienced with XS's to ride his bike to tell him IF it sounded and felt alright, or if anything was amiss! So, after I rode his, I asked him to ride Godzilla. Then several of us got into sharing each others rides. MartyA even let "me" take ILENE out for a spin.
Thanks but nothanks, Godzilla has more than enough horses for me, and I didn't really fit very well on that SportBike Frame anyways! After we were done sharing our rides, GNEPIG/Gene from Fla, showed me where my frame had gotten bent
, just under the steering head, where the downtubes connect. There is a prominent crease there instead of just a subtle curve! Note the photos below, first 2 are of a 79SF I have, and the second 2 are of Godzilla! I had wondered about why my front end felt so much easier to steer than the other bikes I had ridden!
Just a few years after I had gotten my bike back to the states from Japan, and gotten out of the NAVY,~1986 I was involved in a modest front ender with a woman who had turned in front of me, hit her front right fender at about 30mph, bent the front forks and wheel into the engine! Had it repaired at the local "DEALER", and apparently they didn't check, or realize, or covered it up so that the Insurance wouldn't have totalled it. I drove it for 7 more years after that, but that was when I had also added the 4" over forks, and so I attributed the steering change to the forks, not the possibility of a bent frame!! Then 1st/2nd gear went, sat for 9 years, then resurrected it in 2000-2001.Fortunately it tracks straight, and I actually like being able to steer it easier than STOCK, but I think both the front tire design
(have a "soon to be changed" ChengShin
with raised center ridge which causes the tire to want to turn faster once it's leaned over beyond the ridge) and the increased RAKE angle due to the frame being bent makes my steering so flickable, so that's why I want to try the Standard Triple Trees to push the angle out just a little further, putting the rake a little closer back to stock, but probably still not that far, so that I will probably retain the ease in steering, but it won't be as Squirrelly! Amazing what you can learn about your bike with a fresh set of eyes and hands on!!
The pipes are now HPC coated in black
The frame bracing up front stiffens the handling noticibly, believe it or not. The fork brace is heavy duty also, and brake lines are rigged from SS braid. If you're into wheelies on your XS, you'll likely get cracks up round the headstock.
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