Lots of new members!!!

[cywelchjr]

Ok, I wasn't going to join in, but since everyone else is sharing I felt I should share my start as well.

My love of riding started when I was about 14 and my uncle (who is about 3 or 4 years older than me) let me ride is honda 70. If had a clutch and everything looked like a real motorcycle done small. I rode it around their back 40, and at one point about calf deep into the lake and I was hooked.

My junior year in high school, honda came out with their 4 stroke 125 dirt bike (street ridable though) and my parents made a deal with me for grades. Well, I didn't get it, as I was too interested in girls to get the grades even though I went over to the honda dealer every weekend to drool over the bike, and even had a poster of it on my wall.

Forward to 1980, I was in the army and had just gotten back from Germany. With 2 kids and a third on the way and only one small car, I needed another set of wheels that left the car for the SWMBO, so I went down and found a dealer that had a nice used 1975 Honda CL360 for sale. Being in the military I was easily able to get financing for it, an pretty much rode it home that day (didn't even have a license, no riding since my uncles bike years before). I did buy a helmet even though they weren't required as I knew the army required them to ride on post. Went down a few days later and got my MC license and got signed up for the motorcycle safety course (required to register the bike on post). Found out the instructor was my platoon sgt, and was amazed what he could do with his (what I thought of as big) full dress honda 750. Rode that bike for about 2 years or so, and sold it to a friend to come up with the down payment on a larger car for the family. I then spent about 3 years without riding.

Then about 1985, I once again needed transportation so SWMBO had the car, and my uncle knowing that I liked to ride, and was moving up to a goldwind from his current bike offered me his old ride. So for $400 I got a 1980 Yamaha XS400. I got a fairing for it for my birthday and got that setup, rode it year round in Tacoma Wa for about 2 years. Then we moved back home to Ca, and I kept riding. Then one night SWMBO said "that sounds like your bike starting out there", this was about 11:30 pm and I just blew it off. The next morning I went out to go to work and my bike was gone!!! Did the police report thing, and went through all the paperwork, and since I only had basic liability on it I was bikeless, the deputy who took the report said "these things are usually recovered if at all, 3 hours, or 3 weeks or 3 years later". After 3 weeks I gave up, and we moved about 4 times in the next 3 years and each time I filled out a change of address on all our vehicles including the bike. Three years after it was stolen, I got a letter from the sheriff's dept that they had recovered my bike. Seems the teenage kid who stole it had stripped everything not required for it to be street legal and sold the parts and then 3 years later went in with a hand written bill of sale to try and register it. That probably would have worked if I hadn't done the change of address which kept it active, but it was still in the computer as a stolen vehicle. So I spend about $500 getting it back from the tow yard and running, and rode it again this time for about 4 years. Then I had to work late one night and it had to sit at the park and ride over night. Well when I got there in the morning it was gone! Once again, fast forward 3 years, and again I get a call this time that the CHP had recovered it.

This time it was in a bit worse shape. I asked the tow company if I could just sign it over to them rather than pay the tow and storage. They said no, I had to pay anyways (what a rippoff, I get my vehicle stolen and *I* have to pay for the towing and storage), so I paid, and took it home in the back of my pickup. I was too busy with life at that point and couldn't afford to fix it up right then, so I made sure the tank was drained, changed the oil, put protectant on the tires and let the air out, and put it in my parent storage shed. There it sat for the next 10 years, this make 13 years that it just sat.

Now come to spring 2007, and gas prices were rising and frankly at that time I had a LOT of time to kill. I pulled the bike out of the shed and looked it over, figuring out what I needed to get it back in shape, ebay became my best friend. 6 months later I had it up and running, I found several sites that had information that covered what I needed to know, including finding but not joining channel 11. After riding it for about 4 months and deciding it was a little small for me I started looking for a larger bike. Spending hours and hours on CL, and saw several goldwings go by, and I considered going after an older one, but I kept seeing XS1100's show up and sell on there. I saw 2 or three of them go by, and then I decided that was what I wanted to go for. One came up, the guy wanted $800 for it. I called and he said I could come look at it, but that he had several people coming over to look at it so I had to hurry. Well, I didn't hurry, and either he was lying about lots of other looking at it or they just saw an old bike and walked away. I went and looked at it, he started it up and it started and at least idled well. Took a short test ride, loved how it would try to lift the front wheel if I got into it too quick and of course ended up buying it. Rode it home on the following monday (had to go to the bank and get cash as he would only take cash) and started my experience with a old XS1100.

Right after I got it the charging system quit. Cleaned the connections and replace the regulator and that was fixed. I started out with just the vetter fairing (actually two of them, still have a spare sitting in storage) and leather bags. Started hunting up the parts though since it had vetter bag mounts already on the bike. Now I've got the bags and a trunk, so it's an aftermarket Venture, with full vetter touring package, everything but lowers.

Here's what it looked like when I bought it and what it looks like now.

Before


After

[RidetoXS]

I'm new, but not much to tell. A good buddy of mine taught me to ride on his Yamaha 360, and I bought my first bike in 1979 - a two stroke dirt job. I lived in South Dakota at the time. Well, the dirt bike just diidn't trip my trigger, so sold it and bought a used Yamaha 400. That was better, used to ride that puppy everywhere. Saw my first crash too - my buddy was heading up to Rapid City when his forks started to occillate. He got down to 45 before he hit the gravel - front fork was swinging stop-to-stop. The sight of that 400 lb bike doing three complete barrel rolls 8 feet in the air will stay with me forever. Bob was lucky, did the Superman act into the ditch and broke his wrist, but that was all.

I dumped twice - first time hit soft gravel and nosedived into the ditch. Head impacted the big honking rock (that's what helmets are for!), bike stood on end for a few seconds before crashing down. Second time was on residential street in Rapid City - little dog darted out right in front of me. I can still see him curling around the front tire in slow motion. Was kicking upright, and would have made it, but my passenger bailed at that point, and I lost it. Slid for 50 feet, bike went farther. Short sleeves, no gloves - was picking grit outta my skin for a week. Still have scars from that one. Nothing from the gravel road. And the Lesson is: Gravel rolls.....Pavement is just a big beltsander. From then on, long sleeves, jacket, gloves. Oh, and never play polo with objects in the road. What looks like a stick may really be a tire iron. Broke a toe that time.

Sold it when I moved back to Wisconsin. Wasn't really looking for a bike when I walked into my friend's brother-in-laws' sport shop - and there she was, my 1978 XS1100E. I fell in love immediately. She was maroon, dressed, beautiful, and BIG! I remember gently running my hand over the fairing as I took her all in. I asked how much - $1800. Have to get some help with this one, but I'd figure out a way.

Well, a few days later, I had a bank loan and had my mother drive me down. As we walked in, my mom's eyes came unglued when she saw the size. The shop owner kidded me later about her reaction ("Did you see her face? She 'bout keeled over!")

Rode my baby for years. Came with 55w driving lights, discovered that using them at low rpm's would fry the rectifier. Only dumped her once - standing still, no less! My buddy had a sunken drive and I would park on the hill next to it. Got too close one day, kickstand down, leaned her over - and she kept right on going. Ended up about 120 degrees off vertical, gas pouring out. Took three of us to get her upright again!

I never had problems with Harley riders, I think the fat front fender and bags fooled 'em - or made it look close enough to give it a pass, even for being a "riceburner". At least, that's what my biker neighbor ("Fats") told me once.

Eventually, I used up the rubber on the road, and burned out the exhaust. Not having the money to repair, I parked her, intending to get to it. Then built a log home, moved, got married, kids, yadda, yadda, yadda. My Baby sat in the garage, doubling as a tool rack and shop towel holder.

Then I had to sell my late son-in-laws bike - 1984 Honda V65 Magna 1100. Wife's freind brought it over and left it in the drive. I should just push it in - but what the Hell? I fired it up to roll it into the garage. Rolling in at 2 mph wasn't the fasted ride, but it sure felt good! I never took it on the road - didn't want to tempt myself. But I kept looking over at my Baby - two bikes in the garage, one shiny and running, the other dusty and not....

Well, the Honda left last night with it's new owner - an ex Magna rider who almost cried when he saw what he had bought, he was so happy. And me? Well, the highway's calling. Time to feel 95 horses under me again, get my motor running, head out on the highway, looking for adventure.......you know: RIDE!

Dresser, Bagger, Grocery Getter, Geezer Glide, Old Man Wheels - don't matter to me. I'll still smoke the competition (at least some of it), and look D*mn good doing it, too!

Now, if I can just clean the garage.......

[Special Ed]

A tale of XS!

I bought my ’79 Special from a used bike dealer on Hwy 9 in the San Lorenzo Valley north of Santa Cruz in a little mountain town named Felton. He and my wife were both “friends of Bill” and knew each other through that network. I hadn’t had a bike in a few years and SWMBO could sense that something was missing from my life and was encouraging me to get a bike.
One day I was flush (for me,) after a particularly profitable job and I stopped by to see what was available. I was thinking maybe a 650 or 750. JD shows me this black bike with a high backed seat and rusty chrome sissy bar and pack rack and a chrome Harley style crash bar. It had these knarly rusted pipes that looked like a plate of spaghetti, and two large diameter mufflers with turned out ends. The seat was ripped and the rubber was very visible. It had been sitting outside in the rain all winter, and it was obvious that the previous two owners didn’t appreciate what they had. I had never heard of an XS11, but JD assured me that it was no ordinary bike, that it had a bit of a cult following and possessed some currency in the bike world. $900 and it was mine!
I rode it gingerly in the mountains for a couple of weeks, partly to get used to it, and partly because I didn’t want to wring it out until I had changed all the fluids. Then one day I decided to take it out on the freeway. What better place to legally wind out than on a freeway entrance ramp? I entered the lane at 20 mph in second gear and after the lane straightened out I cracked the throttle. When the tach hit 4500 rpm the front wheel caught air! A shift into third and I was doing seventy in less time than it takes to tell it. I had a silly grin that didn’t go way for a week
I bought it with 28000 miles on it in 2004. It now has over 104,000 miles. I don’t know the exact mileage. I have been riding it for the past several months with an in-op odometer. I have had to replace a leaky rear hub shortly after I bought it. About the second year I had to reseat the valves, due I suspect to the valve clearances never being checked after it was bought. After riding it for a couple of years with a sheepskin bungeed down to the seat to cover up the rip I finally got the seat reupholstered. I mounted a National Cycle Plexstar 2 wind shield soon after I bought it, and wouldn’t ride a freeway mile without it. I have had some minor electrical problems, but every problem I have had I think can be traced to poor maintenance and neglect by the 2 PO’s.
I will soon be celebrating 50 years of riding. I’ve had a dozen or so bikes since I was 14 and this is the best all around bike of the lot. I will go before it does!
Special Ed

Here’s a shot from before re-upholstery


Another shot a few years later

[DJinNH]

1980, my dad and I split the cost of a new XS400. Within a year, we wanted something bigger so we got the 1981 XS850 Special. That was back in my high school days.

Fastforward to 2004. I hadn't riddin in years as I didn't particularly care for riding a bike in the Florida Keys or South Florida with all the drunk drivers.

That year, 2004, while working for US Customs, pinhead here dangled his legs out of a UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter (Customs) and had my legs and feet torn up. I had to retire from a job I loved, deal with tremendous pain after 13 surgeries to save my left leg.....all while the wife took off with a boyfriend.

Gary F (a member here) stuck with me and kept sending me emails about XS1100 Specials on Ebay. I had become a major shut in and hardly went anywhere for four years. Finally, on a suggestion from Gary, I bought my 1980 XS1100SG and the guy included a 1981 XS1100SH for parts. I refused to tear the SH apart so I am rebuilding that as well.

Getting those bikes got me out of my cave and doing something again. All last summer and into the fall, instead of sitting home depressed, I was off riding my SG all over NH and Maine.

Don

US Customs UH60A


my sexy leg

[ScottsXS]

1998 my first real bike was a 87 honda magna 700. it belonged to a friends dad and just sat in their back yard.....he listened to swmbo. i jokingly asked him how much boy was i floored when he told me $200. i bought it, it was great being 18 and having a bike....envy of all the kids that didnt have one. well my car had a "small" fire in july (started in the eng compartment, and ended in the trunk). i rode her rain or shine till about mid december, and decided it was time to replace my car.....if you have everbeen to chicago in the winter you understand. and i traded the honda strait up for a 68 cadillac.

fast forward 2001, walked into local yami dealer. i was just looking for a cheap used bike to putt around on, and found my 11e in the storage racks....missing carbs, keys and side covers. i picked her up for $300, just so he could get rid of it. andreas helped with the missing parts, and international title helped with missing paperwork. and to this day i love her, and i have bought sf to keep her company....and soon another sf in a few days ......does anyone know the likely hood of breeding these things in captivity?

[Dragon Tamer]

Well, I guess I am not a lot different than most that have posted on this. Got my first "bike" in the '60s, a Wisconsin Scooter. So called because it had a Wisconin Robin engine in it. The rest of it had been manufactured in some sort of a shop by several idiots, all of whom had three thumbless left hands or something. It went like a bat out of h**l but with that heavy engine sitting up high it tipped over easily (VERY easily). So I sold it and bought a "real" bike, a Cushman Eagle (I think) looked like a shrunken Harley, even had a gear shift lever by the gas tank. From that I worked my way up through a couple of Hondas into a Triumph Bonneville, looking for that eternal buzz (as if riding a Triumph does not give you enough of a buzz) and from there into a Beezer and a Norton. Just out of high school I got a 1957 Harley KHK and rode that until it was stolen. Worked my way through an assortment of other Harleys until the early '80s. Then my oldest son came down with one of them rare and strange diseases that no one knew much about and wound up selling everything we owned to pay the hospital bills. Wound up living in a VERY tiny apartment above a guys garage and driving a rusted out Mazda with about a trillion miles on it. Got things back together some few years later but never did get back to bikes, still had some kids at home, too many bills and well you all know what I mean.
Then, quite a few years back a guy that I know sold a Harley to another guy that I also know. I knew that that guy had some sort of a bike as I had seen him ride it time to time, thought it was about a 750 or so (this due to the fact that the guy is about 6'5" and weighs in at around 280) anyway, one thing lead to another and Don shows up at my door one evening in November. Tells me that he now has two bikes and has to sell one of them and has heard that I might be thinking of getting back into it. Told him I was and that I would be happy to buy the Harley from him. He told me no he could not sell that but would sell me the Yamaha (found out later that he has diabetes so bad that he cannot feel his feet anymore and had to have a bike with forward controls so he can see what he is doing with his feet) Said he would sell it for $1000. Knowing him well enough to know that he takes superb care of everything he owns I bought it, although it seemed a bit much for a small bike that old. As he already had it winterized and stored I told him to leave it there and I would pick it up in the spring. Come Good Friday morning the next spring I hear a knock on the door and there he stands, says he has delivered the bike and need a ride home. I gave him the ride in my truck and as he is getting out of the truck he turns and looks at me and says "be carefull, she's quick". I went home and got on her, trying to remember what he had told me about running her. Took her for a ride, being carefull of course, lot of time off of bikes, not young anymore, strange bike, wife telling me to wear my old coat so I have something nice to wear after I get out the hospital etc. Things go well for a couple of hours until I am going through a small town about 20 miles away on my way home, then some space cadet of a young woman, with a cell phone glued to her ear runs a stop sign and tried to T-bone me. Welllll folks, I am an old (more ways than one) Harley rider. When you want to go somewhere fast on a Harley you get the biggest handfull of throttle you can get and twist it as hard as you can and you wait for something to happen (which it will after a while), as I was just puttering along in second or third on the XS I soon learned that I was NOT on a Harley. About two nano seconds after dialing in a bunch of throttle it occured to me that maybe I should get my eyes checked as the scenery was getting a little blurry and the horizon did not seem to be in the correct location anymore. Then it occured to me that perhaps some of that was due to the fact that my riding position was not all that it should be, riding with your nose stuck to the rear of the gas tank, your belly on the back of the seat and your feet flapping in the breeze behind you is not the postition taught at the MSF (or anywhere else that I know of). That coupled with the fact that in spite of being in one of the lower gears I was already going faster than any bike I had ever owned would go in ANY gear and I was only about 1/4 block away from the intended crash scene was making things difficult to see. The next thing I discovered was that once you attained this riding position it becomes extremely difficult to undial the amount of throttle you have asked for (warp 40) and getting back up on the seat is made a bit harder by the new load of lubricant in your pants. I was well out of town by the time that I got everything (except my adrenalin levels and my blood pressure) under control. After I got home and checked the owners manual I discovered just what it was that I was riding. For all I know that woman sat there for a day or two looking at that cloud of tire smoke and profanity wondering what it was that she had just seen.
Anyway, I was hooked, I could now go and get just about anything I wanted in a new bike and I do test drive a few every year just to check them out but have still not found anything I like better. To be perfectly honest, I got this bike in perfect running condition and outside of normal maintenance have not had anything like a serious problem and for several years thought that there was nothing else to them until I started to attain some more of them and found out what a few years of neglect will do.
I am also happy to repot that I still have that bike and also my oldest son, who surrvived his ordeal and now rides with me whenever he can. It don't get no better than this!

[Special Ed]

Is it vote time?

So, is this a contest? If so my vote goes to “andreashaveiss.” Something about the determination of a young man to own not just a bike, but specifically an XS11, and then holding on to it all this time!
As for DJinNH, dude, I’m glad you have recovered, and I thank you for your service. You would definitely be my second choice!
Special Ed

[DJinNH]

So, is this a contest? If so my vote goes to “andreashaveiss.” Something about the determination of a young man to own not just a bike, but specifically an XS11, and then holding on to it all this time!
As for DJinNH, dude, I’m glad you have recovered, and I thank you for your service. You would definitely be my second choice!
Special Ed

Thanks. "Runnerup" works just fine for me.

Don

[b1lock]

The joys of XS

My story is like a lot of others. I rode a bunch when I was younger. Kids came along and I gave it up for awhile. When I started shopping for a bike again I was on a budget. It was a long search especially because I was living on Oahu and it is such a small place. Anyway, I found a 79 XS11 and bought it for $900.00. I wore that one out and bought another, and broke it bad. I'm on my third one, a 1980 special. It's getting harder to find low mileage ones, and I'm thinking of buying a couple and squirrelling them away incase I need them someday.

[Trainzz]

My Turn

In or around 1960, Dad got a Yamaha 80. He and mom went to town, and they were not out to the highway before my little brother and I wheeled it out of the shed. Rode it down the drive and then back to the house. Returning to the house, missed the brake, rode it into the one-way plow. The whipping I got almost made up for the bent front wheel. Junior high, dad brings home a Harley 100/125? two stroke. Had to put oil in the gas filler cap and then pull the plug every time you turned it off to keep from fouling the plugs.

Over the next three year moving from the little Harley to a Kawasaki bushmaster, then to a Honda 350sl, and then a Harley Sprint. Graduated high school early and saw the world, mostly southeast Asia, as part of the Army travel bureau.
Wounded twice, medically discharged, mustered out in KC MO. Walked away from the army, took my back pay and bought a 1964/5/8/9 Sportster. Rode the original Thunder pig until 1985, when the first of my kids, determined to put me in bankrupcy with college costs forced me to sell it.

By the time I got 4 kids and a wife through college, I staarted looking around for a different ride last year. This spring I was wasting an early Sunday morning perusing craigslist, when I came across a local offering a running 80SG, an 80SG with burnt wiring, and a 79 STD with a seized motor. Bought all three for $2k. Changed the oil and replaced the battery , 5K miles later, could not be happier.

This winter will see the beginning of the street fight creation of the other 80SG (Crazy Trainzz). Still haven't figured what to do with the 79STD, mabe a trike conversion, or a sidecar.....hmmm.

Thant's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[Special Ed]

Well isn't that Special?!

Just love seeing all these post from guys who are on their second or even third Xs11's: or better yet, are original owners! Makes me feel like I am indeed a member of a truly Special brotherhood! (Sorry Kat, youknowwhatimean!)
Special Ed

[Mr. Schweer]

I hadn't owned a bike for about 10 years but was getting the itch to ride again. My wife was totally against it....but she usually is, so that's nothing new, although she's loved all the muscle cars, corvettes, boats etc. AFTER the fact. Anyhow, I was trying to convince her that I wouldn't ride or race (on a track) the bike like I drive my cars. She just wasn't going for it.
Then my 69 year old (at the time) dad, who by the way NEVER rode a bike and always hated me being on a bike.....bought a HARLEY!! That was in Nov '07. My mom didn't care if he got another toy....just not a bike. She finally had relented and told him "oh, go ahead and buy it.....but don't ever expect me to go on that thing!!" Well she came around and absolutely LOVED it. Together they started 'working' on my wife. Still no luck.
At that time, gas prices were really starting to go nutz, so I shifted my arguement to saving gas since we only had one vehicle that didn't require premium fuel.
In May of '08 I filled up my '79 K-5 Blazer and it cost $95!!!!!!
In June of '08 I filled up the Blazer again....$125!!!!
In July of '08 I had my first XS11!!!

In the months leading up to my purchase I was actually looking for a '78-
79 KZ1000 as those were the bikes that everyone in my area had (or at least that's what most of my friends had) back in the '80's. Everything I found was rediculously priced. I wanted something I could ride right away and to find a 'decent' running KZ was at least $3500. Really clean ones were going for $7-8K....WAYYYY outta my budget. I was trying to save money after all!!!
Well, my wife and I had gone to Pismo Beach for the fourth of July week. I had my laptop with me and was looking around on craigslist when I found an ad for a '79 XS11 Special that was in running condition and currently tagged for $1000. I called the 'lady' that had it and asked her about it since I never had heard of these bikes before. She told me what she could and I asked here to take a couple of pics with her phone and send them to me.
Well the overall look was in line with what I was looking for and since it was currently tagged, it would have to have been running fairly recently...right??
Well, I started looking around on-line to learn about the bikes and found some really excellent articles and original bike mag reviews.
We ended up leaving Pismo a little early!! We came back to town on July 2 and once we got off the freeway, went straight to check out the bike before even going home!!
It was filthy, the rear tire was flat and the exhaust had some pretty nasty welding commited on it!! LOL BUT it ran. It fired right up. Once it fired, I thought that someone would be calling the local FD cause it was smoking like a stack. Most likely a worn or stuck ring from sitting I figured. Anyhow, we haggled for a bit and she said she'd let it go for $800. Hmmm.....I'd have to think about it I told her.
By the time I got home, I called her and told her I'd take it.
The next day my son and I hitched up the trailer and went to pick it up. While there, I noticed a couple of other things wrong with the bike and offered a final price of $750.....she took it because, as she explained, it was her birthday, she was going Kariokying (sp) and needed drinking money!!
I cleaned the bike, changed the oil and added Marvel Mystery Oil and the smoking went away within a few miles. PERFECT. I am soooooo happy I couldn't find an 'affordable' KZ!!!
So a year later I was looking for a good 4-1 and came across another XS on craigslist for sale or parts for $300. I went and checked it out and found it to be complete, but torn down. I asked the kid how much he'd take for everything and he said $175. I thought about that for a minute, I mean, even if I didn't NEED it....$175 is too cheap to pass up. I asked if it had an exhaust...it did. In the shed was a 4-1 Kerker.....SOLD!!!!!
That was on July 2, 2009. One day shy of my '79's anniversary.
My 12 year old son and I are going to build the '78E into a cafe racer. I told him that if HE does the work, I would help and let him start riding when he's 14.
I could never get him interested in working on/building cars with me, but the good ol' XS has changed that!!

BTW, the wife has come to grips with me having bikes now, although she doesn't like going on the XS since there's no back rest.
Based on my short history with XS's, I guess that July 1, 2010, my wife might just have to have her own XS!?!?

[Gearsnd]

well i guess mine is little different from most. i was raised around bikes. from street to off road. so the itch started young i knew i was going to own a bike someday. years went by, and my uncle gave me an old cajuna moped that didnt run. took a couple of hours of my cousin and i pushing the thing up a hill and riding it down to get it to fire at all let alone run. we were dumb early teenagers. nobody had taught us anything about fuel spark compression ect. i dont think anyone expected us to even get the thing running lol. well it was fun the summer it lasted. eventually what served for a tranni stripped its gears and we gave up on it after the frame was stolen twice by some neighborhood kids. again years go by lol.
found a '77 yamaha 750 triple. cheap. after a bit of tinkering i managed to get it running and was off like a bolt. learning in stirdes what not to do. again after alot of learning and 1 summer i was offered quite a bit more than i paid so i let it go knowing that i would get another sometime soon.
well it didnt happen as soon as i thought and surely not the way i had anticipated. an uncle of mine and i were talking and he asked if i would have a look at his xj550 that he had stored for about 5 years. he offered to pay me to get it running for him so he could sell it. it didnt need much but an oil change, carbs cleaned and new tires. over the winter i cleaned the carbs (3 times ugh lol) and got it running like a champ and took it for a short ride. i fell in love with that little thing. so when it cam to settle the bill not sure if he saw the look in my eye or just thought he would ask i am not sure but he offered it to me for a more than reasonable price. along with the orginal magazine article from a hot rod mag. about the entire xj line with weight specs and everything upon reading that i knew i just had to find the big bore model of what i had. the search has evetually brought me here and one step closer to owning my monster