New Member introduction

[madmax-im]

Son...you maybe young but its obvious you're not stupid...we know we've seen 'em...

[Prisoner6]

Allan,

That's quite the jump in displacement, going from a CB400 to an XS Eleven! Is this your first liter-plus bike?

Please be aware that the engine in your Eleven can overpower the brakes (as they were delivered from the factory),

especially if the brakes haven't been attended to properly. A thorough going-over of your entire braking system is a good idea ...

As BA80 said, this bike is a "whole different animal" ... Please respect the power your bike has ... you will love your Eleven!

And +1 on the helmet ... very wise to always wear a helmet ...

[madmax-im]

You can handle the jump in displacement as long as you are aware that even at 36 yrs of age these bikes can still be more than a handfull. Back in the day when i learned to ride a street bike, I started on a mid '70s Yamaha XS650 Heritage Special or something like that...It was a borrowed bike but at that time 650cc was considered a big bike and not one generally suited for a beginner. Even worse this bike was made into a copy of Captain America from easy rider...raked out fork...king/queen seat with high sissy bar and a trigger clutch which essentially has no ease in friction point...you have to gas it and let the clutch all out at once...not an easy way to learn to ride...after many stalls i finally get the hang of it... but man it is a launch so hang on...

[madmax-im]

Thanks for the tips, I am going to keep the fairing. Just not keep it on the bike. I'm hoping to make a harness to the replacement signals and headlight that matches the Vetters so I can pop the fairing back on when I do a long trip.

Speaking of rain, how does a fairing help in the rain? I've been caught in some TERRIBLE downpours on my 400.

There should be connectors from the bikes harness already in place for "external" signals...they made be disconnected but they should be there inside the bundle of wires... A fairing in the rain while you are moving will route the rain around and over you depending upon how large a windsceen you have...wil also keep you from having to fight a headwind allday...beleieve me for LD touring you will get beat up fighting a headwind all day long...downside is they're ugly compared to a naked bike and there is additional wwind drag plus lower mpg's thats the trade off for having more comforts...As you get older you'll appreciate comforts more so...

[Winterhawk]

Nice looking bike Allen. The lower fairings are nice, Good site here.

[Brent]

a smokin' benefit of windshield

Thanks for the tips, I am going to keep the fairing. Just not keep it on the bike. I'm hoping to make a harness to the replacement signals and headlight that matches the Vetters so I can pop the fairing back on when I do a long trip.

Speaking of rain, how does a fairing help in the rain? I've been caught in some TERRIBLE downpours on my 400.

Welcome. Good looking bike there.
Rain & windshield. When moving, you can hide behind windshield blocking much of the rain & wind. This helps prevent extinguishing a lit cigar while riding.

PS be careful of sparks on seat. The vinyl melts easily.

[Prisoner6]

You can handle the jump in displacement as long as you are aware that even at 36 yrs of age these bikes can still be more than a handful.

You bring up a good point, Ben. My first street bike was a 1980 XS400 Special with, IIRC, a wet weight of around 400 lbs.

My very next bike was a 1983 Honda CB1000 Custom, with a wet weight of about 630 lbs., if memory serves ... and a lot more power!

It took me a while to get used to the difference in weight/power, and the handling differences.

Not long after I bought it, I had one very scary episode on a long, left-hand sweeper in the mountains (I misjudged the power)...

After that, I learned to be very careful with (and respectful of) my new heavy, powerful bike until I was totally familiar with it.

We don't want Allan having any scary moments ...

[alaskey2]

I think I'll keep this thread alive and ask my newbie questions here.

1. When I engage first gear, with the clutch in, the bike lurches a little and makes a loud... I dunno... tick. Is this the normal condition or should I adjust the clutch.

2. When the bike is on the centerstand, how freely should the rear wheel rotate?

[madmax-im]

Thats the first gear Russian tractor clunk...all bikes have it...so dont worry there...as to the 2nd question...wheel should spin fairly easily but not without some drag on it...

[Prisoner6]

Yeah, Allan, these bikes do shift like a Soviet-era Russian tractor ... but there are some things you can do to help alleviate the "clunkiness".

1) Use 20W-50 oil

2) When starting the bike cold, before shifting into first gear, hold the clutch lever in for at least 5 seconds without revving the engine.

3) Before upshifting, try "preloading" the shift lever by putting a little "up" pressure on it. This takes out the slack, and you then finish the shift when you pull in the clutch lever. This method seems to help with the "clunkiness".

4) When coming to a stop, downshift into first while you are still moving, and keep it in first with the clutch lever pulled in (instead of shifting into neutral).

5) After you've made a stop, and turned off the bike, you can start your already-warmed-up bike after shifting into first gear.

Hope that helps ...

[alaskey2]

Thanks for all the tips! I'm really enjoying the bike so far! Time to dig into the forum on this rainy sunday

[natemoen]

Another thing to help with the clunke into first gear is to set you idle rpms as low as possible.

[madmax-im]

my experience is that if you're downshifting to come to a stop then downshift into first at 5 mph and there wont be any clunk...

[alaskey2]

If it clunks when it shifts and that's normal, I have no problem with that.

[BA80]

If it clunks when it shifts and that's normal, I have no problem with that.

If it doesn't clunk there's something wrong.

I've gotten to the point where I don't hardly ever use the clutch when up shifting. The gears are very close and power shifting is quite easy and smooth once you get the hang of it. I do use it downshifting though.