XS11's forever?

[jetmechmarty]

Some nice new shocks and very stiff springs all but eliminate the drive shaft jacking.

[mharrington]

The XS1100 was the 1/4 mile king in 1978 yes? Faster than the GS1000 and the KZ1000 but what was the 1/4 mile king in 1979? A magazine in 1979 labeled the XS1100 the "Excess 1100". Is this because the bike is heavier than the KZ and GS? Guys on the GS forums are not fond of the XS1100. Ii love mine.

[motoman]

The XS1100 was the 1/4 mile king in 1978 yes? Faster than the GS1000 and the KZ1000 but what was the 1/4 mile king in 1979? A magazine in 1979 labeled the XS1100 the "Excess 1100". Is this because the bike is heavier than the KZ and GS? Guys on the GS forums are not fond of the XS1100. Ii love mine.

Suzuki GS1100E took those braggin' rights.


Not fond?......guess rightfully so as Kaway was always a day late and a dollar short, in the dirt and on pavement.......still are.

The KZ's were all-right bikes...........as long as the two-piece crankshaft didn't twist out of time.........

[mharrington]

"Suzuki GS1100E took those braggin' rights."

Motoman, the 1100E didnt come out till 1980?

I also thought the 1978 XS1100E was: 1-The first production cycle to break into the 11s in the 1/4 mile. 2-The fastest 1/4 mile production bike in 1978.

For 1979 the 1/4 mile king was the 6 cyl CBX Honda or the frankenstein KZ1300?

[steve scott]

The best Ever !!

There are a lot of good motorcycles. The XS1100 is head and shoulders above any of them. Period

[BA80]

The XS1100e was the FIRST xs11 in 78.....and yes, the78 was the first liter bike to break the 11 second barrier.

The CBX and the GS weren't near as dependable or bulletproof as the XS.

Look around, I've never seen a CBX, GS, or KZ at ANY rally. It ain't rocket science.

[Orange4]

The reason the XS is still seen poorly by some of the uninitiated here in North America are the few negative articles, the square styling and the fact that it was a shafite so it must be a tourer right?

In Australia, on the other hand it cleaned up in stock production racing in 78 and was highly successful in 79 as well, beating the now overhyped CBX which was plagued reliability problems and poor handling. All those bikes had relatively poor handling out of the box but the XS still won so the handling or the weight, for that matter, must not have been that bad. It's that amazing bulletproof, torquey motor we all love.

So it's still a sleeper after all these years in North America because of some bad press. Oddly there was also some glowing press too but somehow it faded and people thought: Heavy, square, shaft drive. Instead of fast, comfortable, and reliable and did I mention fast?

It may never change but then do we really want our bikes to become as $$$$ as the Z1? If you are in it for the investment, I guess, but if you are in it to ride then all hail the sleeper XS11!