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...why, if the Japanese are generally a short people, they created a bike with a 32 in. seat height.
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1981 XS1100SH -
For US
They know they're short and built the bike for the "Giants of the West". I remember their tiny little cars when they first started marketing in the US. By the time the XS's were built they had learned we weren't little like they were.You can't stay young forever, but you can be immature for the rest of your life...
'78E "Pathfinder" Show bike...
Lovingly restored by Dave Delzell
Drilled airbox
Tkat fork brace
Hardly mufflers
late model carbs
Newer style fuses
Oil pressure guage
Custom security system
Stainless braid brake lines -
I think you may be confusing the Japanese with the Chinese. Japanese in general are not short. I beleive they average near the same as westerners. Maybe a inch shorter at most. Same for South Koreans. I beleive they have now surpased the average height of Americans or at least matched it. I think it's all about diet. There's much more meat in the Japanese and South Koreans diets than say the North Korean or Chinese diet.79 XS11 specialComment
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Your close. Some of the numbers are questionable though. HEIGHT79 XS1100F "JINGUS"
07 V-star 1100
Do you want it done right or do you want me to do it?Comment
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Like most Wikipedia articles, it's tl;dr and completely unreliable.
My question was facetious, and based on a ridiculous stereotype.1981 XS1100SHComment
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malber,
Your stereotype IS based on fact. After WWII, if you look at pictures taken in Japan, you will see that a LOT of the Japanese people ARE short compared to the US servicemen. The height difference is not as pronounced now, and there are a LOT of theories on that.
As for the seat height, just trying to fit everything into a frame dictates the overall height. With the shaft drive, tall engine, and wheel travel, the seat height has it's lower limits. Just look at some of the new dirt bikes with 12" of travel, and the short ladder most of us need to get on them!!Ray Matteis
KE6NHG
XS1100 E '78 (winter project)
XS1100 SF Bob Jones worked on it!Comment
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Isn't the clearance of our bikes part of the design to allow better than cruiser lean angles, kind of the hybrid sport/crusier nature of our bikes?1981 XS1100SHComment
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I have to admit I kind of like being able to see over the top of cars while riding. Kind of helps in traffic to know what's up ahead. But for looks I'd like to put some shorter rear shocks on it and a shorter/lighter seat.79 XS11 specialComment
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My XS I like the height. Comfy and both feet on the ground almost flat.
But then when I get on my Dirt bike, I feel like I am Straddling a 5 foot ladder.1980 XS Eleven SpecialComment
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ops double post1980 XS Eleven SpecialComment
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Just out of interest I've heard other people complaining about Wiki and why its bad. Why do you feel thats the case?Originally posted by malber
Like most Wikipedia articles, it's tl;dr and completely unreliable.
My question was facetious, and based on a ridiculous stereotype.
I just don't understand the animosity.79 XS1100F "JINGUS"
07 V-star 1100
Do you want it done right or do you want me to do it?Comment
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I like being able to see in the cars and see what they're doing, like the idiot cagers who talk on the phone with one hand and guesture the conversation with the other while turning left with their knees. One girl from my work was in front of me on my morning commute and she was doing this. After the light turned green I blew right by her. When I got in she complained about me cutting her off and I pointed out how I could see everything she was doing inside the car.Last edited by malber; 10-31-2007, 11:11 AM.1981 XS1100SHComment
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Imagine using the toilet in a restroom in Grand Central Station. It may look clean, but you have no idea who shat there last. This is a good analogy for wikipedia.Originally posted by Bud Manley
Just out of interest I've heard other people complaining about Wiki and why its bad. Why do you feel thats the case?
I just don't understand the animosity.
A majority of the administrators are also teenagers.1981 XS1100SHComment
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Wikipedia....
Inaccurate replies and info.
Very biased concerning history, which I find inexcuseable.
Not too well monitored... is this intentional or just sloppy?
A while back, I was doing my usual nightly random research...(I pick a topic and then shoot off on all the tangents and see where it leads me)
I ended up on Wikipedia reading about the "Pour le Merit" (The Blue Max)
In the middle of the article was printed...
"This is not a test.. I really do eat poop".
Now then.. how that related to German military medals, I'll never know.
Last night, I started off on researching "Medieval Economics" and ended up on Wikipedia reading about "Hair Care". (don't ask me how I ended up there)
Halfway through the paragraph on shampoo... it got bizarre and then, I believe, it started talking about sheep...
""One can scrub the scalp skin with steel wool to help cleanse the scalp... ...Go in between the hair strands and scrub in big rectangular motions, repositioning the wool about the head. Rinse the lice out very viciously... ...Follow with conditioning of the wool.""
Wikipedia does have it's uses....
Use it as a shoddy stepping stone to other more reliable sources and links.
Just don't assume what it says is gospel."Damn it Jim, I'm a doctor, not a mechanic!' ('Bones' McCoy)Comment
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"Back to the Japanese flavor of this thread..."
The reason they didn't want the new Disney World in Japan... was that they were afraid not enough people would be tall enough to go on the good rides."Damn it Jim, I'm a doctor, not a mechanic!' ('Bones' McCoy)Comment
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