Anybody ever do any stoplight racing?

[XJfan1]

im interested in what kind of bike i can mop up with my xj? i smoked my buddys 440 kawasaki the other day in first gear. that was no contest and i knew it but the margin of victory was super funny. in my eyes anyway. my buddy didnt find it quite so funny. will these kill a crotch rocket or maybe a 1000 kaw. im just wondering if anybody has any good stories?

[DGXSER]

I know I was on the superslab and a CBR1000 came up from behind. We got in some traffic, when it cleared I was ahead a few cars and took off hard. In short order he went flying past. Part of it was my lack of interest in hitting triple digits, part of it was his bikes superiority over mine.

[trbig]

Sure, I've beat inexperienced riders off the line, and 95% of the Harleys out there you're going to beat, but a modern 600cc sport bike is half the weight of your bike and is getting probably somewhere @ 50% more hp to the ground. Modern 1000cc? Fugetaboudit.

[SFerinTEXAS]

Plus the XJ is arguably the most docile 1100. My 79SF makes the XJ look
slow. Nice smooth power but lacks the grunt.

[TADracer]

Why??

Take it to the drag strip. Safer and you even get a time slip.

[trbig]

Why?

Spontaneity and a fun little kick in the adrenal glands? Yes, you should be safe about it... make CERTAIN the cross intersection are all actually stopped and not running the light. Also, do a quick look behind you. I don't know how many times I've seen a cop behind me just as I was about to do something stupi... err.. I mean fun.

I'm not talking about ripping one up into the triple digits, but a quick little blast between lights can be XSillerating with danger at a minimum. I wouldn't do it all the time, (It's tough on those clutch shaft bearings..) but occasionally, you just gotta clean the carbon outta the thing a bit. My excuse anyway.

[TopCatGr58]

Fond memories.

I was stationed in Japan in '81-'83. I had found an XS750 Triple off base for $500.00, bought it, got it licensed for Japan, and rode it for 1.5 years around there. They(Japanese) permitted bikers to run the white line/lane splitting when coming up to a stop light, so that they can quickly take off and get ahead of the slower cars/traffic. The license plates for USA citizens on Japan registered bikes/cars had a capital "A" on it vs. all of the Kanji, so when they rode up behind you they could tell you were a Gaijin=foreigner.

Most of them could only get bikes about 500cc's because part of their licensing process involved stopping the bike, laying it down and picking it back up, and if it was too heavy and they couldn't pick it up, they couldn't get a license....most of them were still rather small in stature and strength!

I was out riding one day, came up to a stop light having split the lane so I was at the front. Next thing I heard was the "ring...zing...zing" of a little 2 cylinder 2 stroke bike in the next lane. I looked over and the fellow is looking at me and nodding his head egging me on for a race! SO I politely nodded a yes as my big unbadged sleeper 750 idled, grabbed a wristful of throttle, and hit it when the light turned green, took off like a rocket and left him there before even shifting out of first gear.

When I had gotten back to the states and gotten my XS11 broken in, was out shopping at the local mall, sitting at one of the many stop lights, and just occasionally revving the engine...I liked how it sounded! Next thing I hear is the big low VROOOOOOM of a V-8 in a rednecked Camaro next to me. I looked over and saw the guy looking at me , I nodded once, and then walked away when the light turned green, pulling a little wheelie while shifting into 2nd before finally slowing down and stopping at the next light a couple of blocks away....the Camaro didn't pull up quite so far next to me at that light!

T.C.

[tv5150]

IF You Think the XS1100 is FAST

Back in '85 after owning my 79 XS11SF since it was new, I traded it for the then just released 85 V Max and I got a quick lesson in what is FAST and what is perceived as being fast. All I can say is I used to enjoy watching my mirrors on the V Max and admire the stripes of rubber I would lay all the way into 3rd gear. I did have a young whippersnapper on a 84 V65 Magna start bugging me to see what the V Max would do against his fast (in his mind) V65 would do in a race, so we went out on an wide open divided hwy (West Texas) with no traffic. He asked do you want to honk three times and then take off? I told him just go ahead and take off and once you get going I'll take off. Well, in no short order he hauled azz and once he got about 50 feet I popped the clutch and within a second or two I had caught-up with him, them blew by him like he was sittin' still. I ran it up to a bit over a 100 and then backed-off as I had done did what I set out to do. I did see 150mph on that V MAX a couple of times and even took my 9 yr old son on it up to 130 so he could brag to his Mom he'd gone faster on a bike than she had ( when she was pregnant with him back in '76 she had a 750 Honda as her only means of trans. and rode it until she was 8 months preg. She thougt she was a bad azz on it claiming to have had it up to 125mph (although she rode it like she stole it--I taught her how to ride) So to sum it up, I thought my 79 XS11SF ran pretty strong until I swung a leg over my 85 V Max...then it was a whole new game

[DGXSER]

Hey TV, my best friend had that same 85 VMax, first year of production for the VMax. He put a Kerker on it, and had it rejetted. That was a complete ROCKET!!

I have been on the back going 130, and that bike was not even trying hard it seemed. At the time I did not have my license so I refused to take it out, thought he offered. I just knew I would kill myself on it!!

[tv5150]

Hey TV, my best friend had that same 85 VMax, first year of production for the VMax. He put a Kerker on it, and had it rejetted. That was a complete ROCKET!!

I have been on the back going 130, and that bike was not even trying hard it seemed. At the time I did not have my license so I refused to take it out, thought he offered. I just knew I would kill myself on it!!

Believe me, I saw God 2 times on that bike with an offer to leave this earth...
Once on my weekly run from San Angelo to Crane (130 mi on US67) I made the last 62 miles in 30 minutes flat at 4:30AM...that was one of the times I had an invite to leave this earth for eternal bliss...did a two wheel drift at 80mph in a 55mph curve (practically the only curve on that stretch of road) after running thru some roadkill leftovers...after sliding across the two-lane blacktop when it came to the solid white line on the opposite shoulder I managed to get the bike straigtened-up (counter-steering) and came down on the binders to scrub some speed off and right before I ran off the shoulder I let off the brakes and leaned back into the curve, musta been within a few inches of the edge of the shoulder. Believe me, my heart was pounding so hard I thought my head was going to explode...musta looked like a bullfrog with my neck pulsating from the blood rushing to my head. Next time I came-up to that curve, I slowed a little bit and here I am to tell about it... (that's averaging 124mph for that 62 mile stretch from Big Lake to Crane plus I had to slow down when I went thru Rankin and turn-up SH329 towards Crane)

[XJkid]

Plus the XJ is arguably the most docile 1100. My 79SF makes the XJ look
slow. Nice smooth power but lacks the grunt.

I thought the only difference in the XJ was the YICS and advanced ignition?

[madmax-im]

I thought the only difference in the XJ was the YICS and advanced ignition?

Nope...the earlier XS's had more HP from the factory...the '78s' had 95 RW HP and you could flog it the track with sub 12 second 1/4 milers all day long...by 1982 the XJ/XS engine was down to about 78 HP from the factory...thats what emissions and YICS did to it...LOL

[XJkid]

How can that be remedied?

[crazy steve]

How can that be remedied?....

Swap in a complete '78 motor.....

For your XJ, the very least you'd have to do is camshafts, head, pistons, complete ignition system, and probably the carbs.

[trbig]

How can that be remedied?

It's all a generalization. Hippie Dave, down in Houston has the fastest XS that I've personally been up against, and it is the 78E, though Jeremy's old chopped '79 may have given him a run for his money. My XJ has been bored and intakes ported a bit (By a professional, not me) and it does pretty good compared to many even with a full fairing and my big ol' butt on there. I've beaten other 78/79 bikes but been beaten by some also. BUT... my '81 Special, which should be about the same as the XJ, is the fastest bike I've been on and will keep up or beat anything I've put it up against and is faster than the Bob Jones '78 bike.

So... just like two cars made right after the other on an assembly line, one may be an underpowered dog and the other runs really well.. for whatever reason.. it's just the same with these bikes. Most of the time it's tuning, but honestly, just for whatever reason, some are faster than others??