My first time on a XS1100 Special

[xssiveone]

Originally posted by DJinNH
I half-jokingly refer to my bikes as my mid-life crisis.

Don

Hey, I can relate to this... see my sig. That's what my sister-in-law said to me when I bought my '78.


My buddy had a Midnite Special that he let me ride a few times... BIG step up from the Honda 450 I had in the '70s. I'd been away from m/c's for about 20 years at that point, and really hadn't thought much about getting another one... SWMBO had other ideas. We were talking one day, and my buddy mentioned he had a '78 standard he bought for parts, but decided not to use it, after he took it apart. My wife took $50Cdn out of her purse and bought it. I carried it into the garage, one box at a time.

That was 11 years ago, and it's still not finished. Mind you, it's been a very busy 11 years but I've got some free time once again so it's getting done this winter.

If it's not, see me in the spring and I'll make someone one helluva deal on all the parts I've collected.

Brian

[mstic2000]

It's all about the due respect for the xs11000;s. with respect comes the rewards....

[mstic2000]

Re: A long story!

Originally posted by TopCatGr58
I started riding bikes fairly early, Moped, Minibike, Indian 90, none of which were mine! Then found a 67 Yamaha 305 Twin 2 stroker, was in the shop more than out, but had plenty of power, throttle response. I had ridden my friends Honda 175 Enduro prior to that, and wasn't impressed....seemed very doggy, sluggish response, etc.!

When I graduated HighSchool in '76, got a BRAND NEW '74 YAMAHA TX500A twin 4 stroke, was very happy with it, plenty of pep and response for it and my size and experience. Took it with me to Japan when got stationed there in '81. A few months later I found this sleeper XS80SG-850 Triple...was made for Japan, bought it for $500.00, registered and rode it for 1.5 years there. I really liked that bike, it had a bit more vibration than the 500...but I liked it...felt like I was on a REAL MOTORCYCLE!

I've always liked the looks of the Harley Sportsters, and had looked into buying one thru the Navy Exchange system, but for $800 more that the asking price for an FLXR or some such, I could have got a Jeep CJ-7! Almost $8k! Too rich for my blood!

A fellow sailor had bought an 81SH when he first got there, just parked it in his little backyard on base, never registered it...a real PITA in JAPAN! Just fired it up every month, rode it around the yard a few laps. He had brought a Honda CV-500 with him also. He was getting ready to get transferred back in '83, not a very tall guy, wife, 2 kids, thought he'd kill himself back in the states, so sold it to me with 15 miles on the clock!!

Got it back to the states, registered, plated, tuned up at the dealers, and rode it around town easily to BREAK IT IN!
NO WOT runs, only up to 4K and no sustained rpms, etc.!! I could feel that it had power, but was actually disappointed in it's "feel", it DIDN'T vibrate anywhere like the 850 did, I felt like I was riding a high powered sewing machine!

Just had it broken in! Was on a run thru town, a section of multilane roads with several lights thru a shopping district. Was stopped at a light, just lightly revving it...I liked to rev it, and then I heard this VROOOM next to me, looked over and saw this Camaro with a kid at the wheel egging me on! I KNEW he was no match for a BIKE, CLUNKED it into 1st, light hit green, feathered the clutch at 5k rpm, then rapped it to 8k and shifted to 2nd, bringing the front wheel up in the process! Shut it down and waited at the next light for the Camaro to roll up, he didn't roll up too close!

After that, I THEN realized what I had, and have had it ever since!

T.C.

I pead the 5th! CRS! Can't remember sh*** LOL

[mstic2000]

No way around it. my MIDLIFE crisis is my XJ11. 49 and still holding. Most of my dear frends are passed away. Drugs & alcohol take their toll. Heck, I drank enuff boze to sink a battle ship! (Lynrd Skinrd) It's only by the grace of God, go I.............

[Rasputin]

I started riding moror bikes when I was about 10. I bought a 90cc twin yamaha when i was 12 and had 6600 miles on it before I was old enough to get my learners license.
Then I grauated to a 250cc twin yamaha and boy that thing took a thrashing from me, again before i was old enough to get my operators license.
Once I turned 16 I bought and rode hard a 750cc honda. I thought that was the fastest I could ever go as i was speeding everywhere I went.
One fine day at the local yammie shop the owner said to me"Why dont you take it for a spin"as I gazed dumbstruck at the 79 XS1100 Special . Well I had my buddy with me so I said lets see what this puppy can do, so away we went. As I was just test riding it I thought I could keep it cool. Not so. I rode a few miles feeling this wonder out.
Then I said to my buddy"Take that old 750/4 out and ride it like the devil is after you". I gave him a substantial lead and decided to play catchup. That old 750 was fast but I was taken aback by how the 1100 moved. I blew by him so fast neither of us could belive it. Although both the 250 and the 750 had been to triple digits before the 11 was like from another planet it moved so fast. Right there on that test ride I broke into the triple digits by about 20mph.
I went straight in to the dealers office and after some haggling (he wanted to go double or nothing on a flip of a coin) I walked out of his office with a new bike. Waited very impatiently while they predelivered a brand new from the bow 79 special for me.
I can well imagine that lots of the members here were sold on the very first ride they ever took on an XS11. I know I was.

[FSCGunslinger]

I had never ridden a motorcycle until April of this year while I was home on leave. I had ridden a friend's moped years ago (I think I was in 4th grade or some such), but that was it. "Outrider" was my first. I grinned ear to ear when I sat on her the first time. Even started her up just to hear her purr a few times. First time I got the nerve to take her out in my mom's boyfriend's development... tipped her over at the bottom of the driveway. She started leaking gas out of the gas cap and my pride had taken a hit (luckily that was all that was damaged). I set her up promptly (and much to my surprise), even with my bad knee. She wouldn't start back up, so I walked her back up the driveway just shaking my head.

Way I have it figured, I was afraid of the big XJ. I hadn't taken the MSF course yet, but boy did that ever help me. When I finally started taking her out, you couldn't wipe the grin off my face with a wire brush! I've maxed out the speedo (85 mph) a few times on a long new straight stretch of highway that leads up to my sister's house. Passing is a breeze! I love this bike so much that I bought another one when I got back here to Korea so she'll be waiting on me when I get home. One will be for touring and the other will be for cruising around town/stoplight fun!

[TopCatGr58]

Re: Re: A long story!

Originally posted by mstic2000


I pead the 5th! CRS! Can't remember sh*** LOL

Hey Mystic,

You Peed a 5th, must have been some good parties while you were in college!?
T.C.

[Bigge_al]

My Xj1100

I was on a 69 honda cl450 a real nice bike but no power for about one year. I decide it was time to let her go to someone that needed a starter bike. Then I found a XJ for $1400. Boy the power I was use to people blowing by me now I leave them and barking tires in 3rd.

[ClarkGriswald]

Hiyall, I started ridin on my buddies honda xr75 when we were kids, then an ATC 110 in the early 80s. In 89 I was racing a banshee, motocross. Had a few small hondas the nicer one was a 400 twin that was alright no good for the highway.. rode a bunch of 650 special yama's , I always liked those. Few years back I was lookin for one of the early CB750's. found a 71 for 200 bucks so that is torn down in my living room here next to me right now hehe.. Anyway. First XS1100 experience was monday afternoon when I came home with a Plate, did a few checks/doublechecks on some things Id had loose or hadnt. And took off.. (kinda reminded me of that movie Captian Ron where they have the shake the bugs out of the old boat "out on the sea" or whatever).

Ive put about 70 or so miles on her and Im pretty sure its tuned very well but Im not gettin full comp , I'll find out fri when I get paid and get a comp gauge and metric feelers.. check the comp then valve clearances. It seems I'm gettin pathetic 18 or so MPG so .. I know my carbs are pristine and shiny polished and sweet .. I wore my fingers to the bone for those 4 babys, and they are S'ing like a D in a G's A. Although I have the unaltered idle screws, plugged off with brass plugs with holes in em. So hopefully the full day of soaking for each carb body before I began my assault freed up what was in there. But as I can see Im having no real carb/tune issues.. I think I'm just wasting fuel for low comp mabye.. we'll seee later this week but hey.. It pulls really hard but I'm sure if its reputation is real then Im probaly not there quite yet.. cant hear anything but wind above 5 or 6k in 5th hahah. Loving it though.

[TopCatGr58]

Originally posted by ClarkGriswald
Ive put about 70 or so miles on her and Im pretty sure its tuned very well but Im not gettin full comp , I'll find out fri when I get paid and get a comp gauge and metric feelers.. check the comp then valve clearances. It seems I'm gettin pathetic 18 or so MPG so .. I know my carbs are pristine and shiny polished and sweet .. I wore my fingers to the bone for those 4 babys, and they are S'ing like a D in a G's A. Although I have the unaltered idle screws, plugged off with brass plugs with holes in em. So hopefully the full day of soaking for each carb body before I began my assault freed up what was in there. But as I can see Im having no real carb/tune issues.. I think I'm just wasting fuel for low comp mabye.. we'll seee later this week but hey.. It pulls really hard but I'm sure if its reputation is real then Im probaly not there quite yet.. cant hear anything but wind above 5 or 6k in 5th hahah. Loving it though.

Hey Clark,
Not wanting to hijack this thread or run too far off topic, but what you said above in the bolded text is a bit disconcerting!

You may have trashed your butterfly shaft seals, and have massive vacuum leaks, and that's why it may not be running with proper MPG!?!? You'll want to test around the shaft seals with an unlit barbecue bic lighter, propane torch, etc. while it's running, a change in idle would indicate a leak!!!! Also, If your brass plugs are still intact, then you were not able to really clean the PILOT/idle circuit effectively, as well as get it tuned!?

Please post a reply to your other TECH STUFF thread to continue this discussion!
T.C.

[eroellig]

First Ride on XS11 - First Bike (outside of MC class)

In a preemptive fit of "just-in-case", I took the Motorcycle Safety class. A few months later at a family gathering, a nephew asked me if I had gotten a bike yet. Following my negative reply, he mentioned seeing a bike for sale out in the county. So, I went to look at it.

It definitely looked older and like it had sat for a while. The owner saw me out looking at it and walked over. Told me it was an '80 and that "it ran". So, he started it up. Acted sluggish when I tried to run it up his driveway, engine didn't sound right, but I figured that after sitting for 3 years it would be gunked up carbs. So, I got it for $200. Didn't know diddly squat about what an XS11 was.

Spent the next 18 months working on it off & on. Finally got it ready to roll last spring & my first ride was just puttering around the neighborhood since my MC class was 2 years previous.

But, my first ride on a local highway introduced me to the potential monster that lurkes within its heart. What a blast. Now if I can only stop traveling for work long enough to ride it...

[Da-Bubble]

I got a call from my Bro-in-law in Texas about his friends bike for sale. He said it was a "10-year old yamaha 1100" Ok...I'm thinking Intruder or something. Then he said he wanted $650 for it. I immediately asked what's wrong with it! Once I got in touch with the friend I found out it's 28 years old!!! I had no idea what an XS11 was at the time but decided to go check it out. When I got there the bike had a cracked windshield, missing side cover, faded/dented tank and a hideous king/queen seat. It got better when he started it and it started smoking from all the oil leaked onto the exhaust header.....

But then I went for a test ride and like many of you have already said, you couldn't wipe the smile off my face!!! This thing had some balls....it's ugly but I figured I could fix that. Anyway I love my XS11.

[barberad]

My father had an '81 XS eleven special in black. My first time on the back of it I melted my converse to the pipes and got an ass whoopin for it.
Jump ahead a couple years and i decide to tackle the beast while my father is on mid-shift (I have to add I had been on dirt bikes and three wheelers from around twelve.).
The trick was to walk the bike down the street about 5 houses and then start it up.
So as you can probably imagine I looked pretty out of place as a 15 year old 5'1" 130 lbs kid side saddleing this monster at intersections. Got a lot of funny looks, and actually had the Police pull around me at a traffic light because I stalled it out at a light when I got nervous when I saw them in the mirror and could not get it started again.
There was a long rolling road close to my home in Hamburg, NY that was like 5 miles straight and you could see from one end to the other. I started out in first and red-lined all the way up to fifth, I did not look down at the speedo until my helmet started lifting up around my ears, after I read the speedo, (over 150) and realized that my butt and me feet where raised up off the seat about three inches, I slowed way down and started behaving a little more. I count this two week affair (OK, thievery) as my first
time. After the first night I disconnected the odometer so my 6'3"old man didn't find out. I actually told him 20 years later and he was quite Pissed. There is obviosly no statute of limitations when it comes to motorcycle thievery and family members.

[Paintman]

First time

My first time was when i bougth a Brand new MNS in 79 i was still working for the dealer so i got a good price man did i love that bike. i had her for 9 yrs till i got broadsided by a drunk at 55 mph. i woke up 6 days later in the ICU!! broken leg 4 broke ribs broken ankle, i was more colors of purple than i care to recall. Lucky for me i had on full leathers cause it was fall and gloves good boots and helmet. took me a long time to be able to ride but 30 yrslater im still at it.

John

[dschmitta]

first ride on xs

hope someone gets chance to read this. my first experience on xs was wild. just sold 77 cb754, which had some good kick, so i thought i was expert. sold and found fully dressed xs for sale at dealership. rode thru lot few times, had bike figured out and bought it. Mind u, had never ridden shaft drive prior. well, plate on, hand shakes over, time to take bike 40 miles to home. go to pull out of lot onto 4 lane highway. some traffic coming, better twist the throttle and get going. wow wow, jerked that throttle, power straight to rear, damn near popped wheelie, handle bars about jerked out of my hands and 4 lanes were gone in 2 seconds flat. over small curb and into grasssy area across the road. needless to say, i was puckered and very respectful of xs power from that day till now, still have and love bike