Your Introduction to the XS/XJ1100

[ManitoulinLad]

Well mine started when I was 16 (46 now) I was working const in the summer driving rock trucks making tons of $$. Near the end of the summer my buddy buys a Honda CB450. I just loved the xs specials wanted a 400cc purple one - had the cash & parents okay, I grew up another 350 miles north of where I am now - cold winters (-40 - 60F back in them days) My buddy got teh bike I bought a car for the winters, never got the bike - A few years later - I still have this commercial today in my head. There is a guy on very vibrating Harley at a stop light, beside him pulls up a black & gold bike, the rider is totally in black leather (pants & jacket etc) and a black solid helmet with black viser. He looks over at the Harley guy real slowly - pulls a massive burn out - slowly looks back at the guy - then pulls away at the light leaving the harley dude speachless - I am sure that was midnight special - in my head it still is. Thats when the desire for the MNS happend. Life, kids, & no spare change fast forward to few yrs ago - got teh time & spare change - sentinmental purchase an xs650 heritage special - finally got the xs special - can't find any MNS. Took me 3 yrs of looking pretty much everyday on autotrader - found xs1100's but no MNS - finally last yr found one down southern ontario on KIJIJI - was a worn out rust bucket - but I had a chance at one - then finally now around a year later with a bore out kit her I am - rode it today to work - its in the back - I'll never sell it, too close to the heart - may get another bike - but this one's for keeps - Took many years but it happened & its all I would thought it would be & more. Hey WMARSHY - thanks for keeping Trainzz quote going - I printed that off quite a long time ago - I have it on the wall beside were I park the bike in its shed - Dan

[WMarshy]

Hey Dan, no problem. That one was a keeper for sure, it kept a smile on my face for a week. Nice story man, is it true what they say about waiting, makes it xsceptionaly special?

[DenyP]

In 1978 I took a test ride on a new XS1100. I had the money. $3250.00 which made it even harder to walk away from. We had gone through a house fire and had lost everything but the cloths on our backs. I decided to buy my wife a new wiz-bang computer controlled sewing machine and cabinet and settle for a new Honda shaft drive, water cooled 500. I hatted that bike and ended up trading it for a pickup. I always figured I would buy a used XS when the opportunity presented it's self. I owned a few other bikes over the years, but never ran across what I wanted. A few years ago my brother-in-law brought one home but much to his surprise his wife put her foot down and wouldn't let him ride it as she was sure he would kill himself on it. It took me two or three years before I could talk him into selling it to me. It just sat in the barn, calling to me. In 2008 he needed the cash - bingo, Deny had his E.

Deny

[crazy steve]

My introduction to the XS11? The 'Cycle World' article heralding it's arrival in '78 was the first time I saw one...

I had started on dirt bikes in the mid 60s, having an assortment of cheap/castoff bikes (anybody ever own a Jawa?) as that was all I could afford. My mother didn't approve, so no money from that source, but if I could manage to buy it, it was 'ok'. Finally, in '70 I'm out of the house, have a job, and could just afford to buy a BRAND NEW bike , so wanting a dual-use machine, bought a DT360 Yammy. Torque like a tractor, and enough poop to easily keep up with traffic on the highway. Kick-starting that big one-lunger was occasionally an experience (you definitely wanted shoes/boots with arch support!), but after moving to the city it's shortcomings as a street bike soon became more than I could take; ride any distance over 30 miles at speeds above 50 mph and you almost needed somebody to pry your hands off the bars when you got there. Time to 'move up'...

As luck would have it, my new (first X) wife had gotten a job at a dealer; I got a steal on a near-new '72 XS650 (first year w/disc & electric start, only two months old!) for $600. Seems a GI had bought it and sold it back when he got transferred out. Great bike, (I'm sometimes sorry I sold that one..) and I rode it for the next 6 years, 'personalizing' with chrome and custom paint. But two long-distance trips convinced me this was just too small for serious distance riding after being almost blown off the road in some wind gusts, as well as it also being a 'shaker'. Time to move up...

Well, after reading the glowing review of the XS (THE QUICKEST PRODUCTION BIKE IN THE WORLD!), I had to go see.... and fell in love. Smooth, comfortable, enough heavier that the wind wouldn't be as much of an issue, no messy chain, and did I mention that it's THE QUICKEST PRODUCTION BIKE IN THE WORLD!? Yep, I've always been a bit power mad. After a 20 minute test ride, where do I sign? After all, it's THE QUICKEST PRODUCTION BIKE IN THE WORLD!! And I loved the styling; I still do. The 'naked' XS standard with it's square theme will never be mistaken for any other bike and to me has achieved 'Icon' status. So for $3704.03, I was the proud owner of a brand-new XS11E (besides the bike, I also bought a WS, two new helmets, sissy bar, a factory manual, and a trailer to tow behind it! The bike was $3K, cash talks...).

32 years later, it's still in my garage, and a keeper.

'78E original owner

[Ivan]

Weren't Jawas those short guys with glowing eyes and the brown KKK outfits in the Star Wars movie?

Good story. If I had bought mine off the showroom floor, I would have been 6 at the time....

Actually, they are all pretty darn good stories, keep 'em coming!

[ManitoulinLad]

Hey Ivan: Mine has JUBBA written on both sides of the tank - no relation to Jawas - long story, my son has a hot dog sausage cart he owns as a summer job "Jubba Sausage & Dogs" - Dan

[crazy steve]

Weren't Jawas those short guys with glowing eyes and the brown KKK outfits in the Star Wars movie?

I think that bike may have been designed by them....

The only bad thing was the lack of a stand-alone sissy bar for the XS; all you could get at the time (and maybe ever, I never did see one) was a luggage rack/bar combo. I've never liked racks, so bought a 'generic' bar and grafted it to the seat rail. My fab skills/tools at the time lacked a bit, so that's one part that isn't being 'restored'...

'78E original owner

[mro]

Long story short …

A few years back a guy I knew wanted a transport trailer to haul around materials for his flooring/remodeling business. I had an extra boat trailer which I cut up and re-engineered into a flat bed with sides. When done he gave me an 1980G which had 10,000 miles on it, didn’t run but seemed in overall good condition. I wheeled it over from his shop to mine (about 20 feet ) and had it fired up that day. At the time I was just going to get it running and sell it. Little did I know that after finding this forum (and meeting Prometheus here), getting some proper information that that old G would be such a fun ride. After posting on the forum I was able to get it running right and got it to handle pretty good too. Next thing I know I’ve got a section of my shop set aside with several XSes along with a parts shelf. Today I no longer have a shop and moved my XSes into my garage. Having limited space bites. Now I’m down to five plus enough parts to build at least one maybe two more.

Since becoming space and financially challenged I’ve been slowly “thining the herd”. Going to keep the MNS and the Merriam special, will think about what I’m going to do with the hot rod when I get it back together which might be awhile. The others have been finding new homes.

First XS




mro
BTW, I do miss bantering with Prom,
he almost has a sense of humor.

[cywelchjr]

Well, being bored and stuck sitting at home with a back injury I guess I'll tell my story (multiple episodes of deadliest catch are getting boring).

My first bike was a 75 Honda CL360 that I bought in 1980 as a young GI when we needed a second vehicle so SWMBO had something to ferry the kids around and get groceries with. Since this was in Az with such nice weather, and I had spent my HS years drooling over the Honda's at the Honda dealer by our house, I went looking and found the 360 at a little shop off the fort. Loved that bike and was really hooked. Money issues and more kids meant I sold it to a friend a couple of years later.

Then in 85 after I had gotten out and was going to college, I once again needed a second vehicle. Not being to bright at this point (living in Tacoma Wa (65 days of uninterrupted sunshine each year) and since my Uncle had just upgraded to a Goldwing, I bought his 1980 XS400 with 14400 on the clock (he used it for touring, go figure). Loved that bike too, had a Windjammer on it with CB radio and everything.

Got stolen in 86, recovered in 89 (at which time I lived in Santa Rosa Ca and had to ride it from Sacramento where it was recovered right after getting it back). Then it got stolen again in 93 (proving lightning does strike twice in the same place) and recovered yet again 3 years later in 96. In the course of the two thefts it ended up pretty stripped, so even though I was able to start it up and get it running the second time, I just stored it, just too much else going on in my life at the time (had just been flooded out of our home and lost almost everything).

Fast forward to 3 years ago, I had a lot of time on my hands and was bored. So I started restoring the 400. Spent about as much on parts from ebay etc as I bought it for in the first place, and got it running really good and actually looking pretty good too. Started the process of getting it registered again and then the runaround started. Seems the state of Ca doesn't want it registered again, they just keep putting more requirements on the process every time I do what they say. So I got frustrated and started looking for another bike because the time I spent riding it when the process started (they started out saying it would be no problem and even gave me new plates for it), I was of course hooked again.

Looking around and thinking that it didn't really have the power I would like, I figured maybe I would look for something bigger in the XS line (I was thinking like 650 or 750, maybe on a long shot an 850) and then I found an add for an 1980 1100. Guy wanted 800 for it and said it was registered non-op (but that was just for a month, he had ridden it till the previous month when the reg expired). Came with an extra fairing and leather bags. I took it for a short test ride and was hooked. Now I didn't really have the money to get it right then, but my folks new I was looking and had said to look at the bike and then we would see what we could do. So I called them and they said they would meet me at the local Golden Corral for dinner and they would give me the money for it and it would be my birthday and Christmas for the next two years. So, I road it home and that's the basic story. Been a bump or so on the road, but pretty much it was a runner with issues that showed up later. Added the rest of the Veter package over the last year and a half and here I am today. Oh, found this site within 24 hours of buying the bike, cause of course I had to start immediately dealing with PO issues.

[slow mo]

man o manitoulin

Hey Ivan: Mine has JUBBA written on both sides of the tank - no relation to Jawas - long story, my son has a hot dog sausage cart he owns as a summer job "Jubba Sausage & Dogs" - Dan

cant wait to have one of those jubba dogs! i hear Manitoulin is beautiful in June!! see ya soon ,,ride safe slow mo!

[lvrsnr]

I was the service manager at a Yamaha dealership when the 11 came out, the day the first one came in I stayed after we closed to put it together and service it out,,,don't take this personally but I didn't care for the looks (creases or squares I think) anyway that doesn't matter, being Yamaha's new high mark I had to ride it,,,you all know what happened as soon as I twisted the grip to the stop. I knew that "I GOTTA GET ONE OF THESE" and been in love with it every since.

[Geezer]

Back around 1984 I was turning wrenches at a Yamaha dealer and I did a some work on a trade in 79 Standard model. They let me borrow the bike for an afternoon and I took it on a 30 mile ride. This bike had a full factory tour pack on it and it still had enough power to impress me but it road like a truck.

I still think stock XS11 rear shocks suck but I don't have the money to replace the ones on my bike...

Geezer

[newc4]

A college classmate first extolled the virtues of the 1100 “Rocket” in 1978 while I was still riding the ubiquitous Honda 360. After becoming commissioned ensign at Pensacola in 1979 I had my parents sell the 360. I was ready for something larger. A squadron mate, who was a Yamaha aficionado and avid rider, kept going on how well Yamaha engineered their bikes and what a fantastic design the 1100 was. So on one of our free weekends we went to the Pensacola Motorsport dealer to check out their stable of rice burners. He was ready to buy and put money down on a Brown 79F while I vacillated over the Suzuki, Kawasaki and Yamaha offerings. I liked the looks of the silver Z1 with that bullet fairing but it had a chain drive and for some reason I wanted shaft drive – figured less maintenance. So I decided on Yamaha. Next, I vacillated over 750s vs 1100s, there being about a $400 difference. I decided to do this right so I got a loan from the credit union for $3250, and got my first and last superbike, a 78E. I’ve been riding her to this day. (My Yamaha aficionado squadron mate was finally won over by the evolution in Harley engineering and traded his XS in for one about 15 years ago.)

Darrell
78E
79SF

[psycoreefer]

I started riding about 3 years ago, took the MSF with SWMBO and then we got an 83 shadow 500 for 600 bucks to "learn" on. We knew going it that it was a small bike and not up to touring duty. That was a fun bike and I worked on and rode it back and forth to work all summer, we even went on a 300 mile day trip with it. FYI 2 200+lb people on a 500 shadow is not a recipe for comfort. That winter I decided I was ready for something bigger...

I scoured craigslist and e-bay, I actually wanted an early 80's 1100 shadow, but this annoying guy on CL kept posting every day his add for a "79 yamaha $300" Finally after ignoring the darn add (I didn't want some 300 dollar junker) for weeks I noticed he put a picture on his newest add. I clicked and said man that doesn't look like a 300 dollar bike. An 1100 was big enough for 2 up touring, called and found out he'd been riding it for 2 years with no 1st or 2nd gear.

That's when I found this site, asked some questions and went to look at the bike. Decided to get it, fixed the transmission. First time I rode it I was disappointed after reading all the hype on here, then I found out I was only running on 2 cylinders. Did the pickup coil fix and been riding it until now. Just picked up my second one a few weeks ago.

Still trying to convince SWMBO to ride the "new" xs in the garage, she still wants a bigger shadow...

[XJ Rob]

I grew up around bikes my entire life. It seemed my dad would have a different bike every year. Selling the one he had to get something different. When I was about 17-18 y/o, he came home with an 81 MNS. That was probably the only bike he ever brought home that really caught my eye. He said it was the only bike that ever scared the S@#T out of him. Super fast!!

Fast forward to age 24. I bought a 72 Honda CB500 for 75.00. I kept it a couple years until a friend wanted to sell his XJ 550 seca. I bought it a week later and only road it for one season until my dad's G/F brought home a 650 Maxim. It was a bit big for her so we traded straight up, mine for her's. I never forgot about the 1100 my dad brought home that day. I would see one now and then and just wonder what it was like to ride one. Never really thought about buying one. Maybe cuz I've never really been a speed demon and I didn't know what to expect. After all when your dad says it scared him that much would you really want one?

I was content on the 650 until a couple years ago when the wife and I decided to journey out for the day and ride.After a few hours, I knew I had to find something bigger. The ride of the 650 just wasn't getting it any more 2-up.

My dad called me all excited one day last January.Said he found an 82 XJ1100 for 200.00 on CL. I had been out of work for a few months and told him I just couldn't swing it. I think he really wanted me to have this bike. He floated me the money and we went to look at it. OMG! What a basket case! I heard it run (poorly) for about a minute or two and then loaded it up in the back of his pick-up. Took 4 of us to get it up there. It sat in the garage for a few weeks and I started searching for information and found XS11.

After searching through and reading for days and weeks and corresponding with one particular member here, I was able to get it looking good and on the road in the spring. YOU GUY ROCK!!
This bike is it for me as far as buying anything else. I don't think I will ever buy anything else. Maybe another XJ to do a complete frame up restoration.
Dad was right. This bike WILL scare the S#!T out of you if your not careful.

There are before and after pics if anyone is interested in the link below.