Really bummed at the lack of power!

[XS1100 Newbie]

I went for a ride with my Son the other day to Longbeach, WA.. He rides a 2008 Suzuki 650 sport bike, and weighs in at around 400 pounds. (little guy) On the return trip he pulled up along side, and wanted to nail the throttle, so we did. He not only out pulled me, but he had another gear left. I have my bike running good now, and know that sport bikes are a lot quicker, but come on, a 650, with a 400 pound rider? Do they really have that much more poop than we do? I felt like the guy racing that infamous Nash Rambler. ( you need to be old enough to remember that song) I know i am a lot more comfortable on my XS than he is though, and can go for a longer time in the saddle. Just kinda makes me want a new big CC sport touring bike, or a Valkari.

[xs11lover]

Did you drop it down to third and let rip?

[79XS11F]

It's all about the gearing. Were you in the 55 to 65 K range when you gave it the twist? You need to be in the power band if you want the XS11 to "jump" and go. Roll on torque from the lower RPM ranges is great for these bikes but if speed and instant response is what you want, you need to be running in the higher RPM range.
Rob

[Ivan]

The little nash rambler was right behind me doing 95....

Without knowing your bike and how its set up, its hard to tell. My 79 will keep pace with a 600 sport bike, but they can wrap so high that from about 80 on up they can walk away. Then shift into second. A 750 or 1000 will eat most XS's for lunch.

However, what good is a street bike that will do 200 mph? Especially if you can't load it down witb an extra 150 pounds of gear and plant your butt in the seat for a 1500 mile weekend getaway. Then when you get there, unload it and go scrape pegs in the twisties and ride as hard as all but the gutsiest sporbikes. And when you get back home know that your scoot will still be running like a bat out of hell for the next 30 years, where as an R6 probably won't make the next ten.

The XS11 is unique in that it does everything quite well, from cruising to touring to burning up the twisties. Something that more modern single purpose bikes just aren't designed to do.

[WMarshy]

Very good points...

The little nash rambler was right behind me doing 95....

Without knowing your bike and how its set up, its hard to tell. My 79 will keep pace with a 600 sport bike, but they can wrap so high that from about 80 on up they can walk away. Then shift into second. A 750 or 1000 will eat most XS's for lunch.

However, what good is a street bike that will do 200 mph? Especially if you can't load it down witb an extra 150 pounds of gear and plant your butt in the seat for a 1500 mile weekend getaway. Then when you get there, unload it and go scrape pegs in the twisties and ride as hard as all but the gutsiest sporbikes. And when you get back home know that your scoot will still be running like a bat out of hell for the next 30 years, where as an R6 probably won't make the next ten.

The XS11 is unique in that it does everything quite well, from cruising to touring to burning up the twisties. Something that more modern single purpose bikes just aren't designed to do.

See, what you call "good" may not be what Ivan calls "good", and so on... Its likely your tuning isnt spot on like his may be. Aside from that, how many time have you taken your bike up to 7,500 rpm, does it seem to pull strong through the entire rpm range? If you got out and ran through the gears like your doing a quarter mile run and there's no bite marks in the seat from your @ss when you got off then I'd say you have some more tuning to do. Like others mentioned, If you dumped the throttle at anything less then 5000rpm you dont really stand a chance...

[XS1100 Newbie]

All good points. I now run it up to 8000 quite regularly. I did not shift down. I will take it out and run like i am at the drags, and see if things fall apart. I will cut it off at 100 MPH though, as my chicken feathers start rising. Just to old i guess.

[Poprock]

Dude, I don't know how friendly the HiPos are in WA., but south of the river you get busted over 100 mph it's a $1150 fine and a 2 week suspension of license, automatic. You may be workin on an expensive hobby. Lots of luck. BTW, I really enjoy riding in your state. Wonderful roads, minimal traffic west of the sound.