WTF did you do to your bike?

[James England]

Personally, if a bike is in good original condition, I think it's pretty barbaric to chop bits off it and ruin it. A bit like taking a Chippendale cupboard and turning it into a rabbit hutch. Or, say, taking a vintage steam locomotive, chopping bits off it and turning the boiler into a glass-topped restaurant or something.

It always seems sad to me when a bike has survived three decades intact and then someone, just because they own it for now, feels they can chop it up, share all the story here and expect enthusiasm from everyone (then get sulky when they don't get any). As has been said, such projects often end up for sale when the perpetrator has run out of money or interest and they are often only parts bikes.

There are plenty of ruined ones out there, so I would ask anyone contemplating 'bobbers' or such to use one of those instead of taking a well-preserved original bike and hacking it to bits..

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there BNE,

I got my bike brand new in '83, rode it for 9 years, then the tranny crapped, I parked it for 9 years....OUTSIDE, and poorly prepped, uncovered, no garage at the time, and I had fallen on hard financial times, so the bike rusted, rotted, corroded, for 9 years. Then my Father passed away which hit me...
life's too short! So...I got on my financial feet, a garage, and was able to rebuild the bike. But by the year 2000 Yamaha wasn't supporting the XS11 very much, and OEM parts were $$, etc.. I had already done the 4" OVER forks years earlier due to a front end mishap...and I always liked the modest chopper type/look, so when I rebuilt, I kept them...but had to get new ones again from ForksbyFrank due to badly rusted ones. The seat pan was fully rusted out, had to get a JC WHitney /Travelcade dual bucket because of SWMBO riding with me at the time. I replaced the buckhorns for better comfort. I made my toolbox/saddlebags because of the rarity and $$ of the OEM or Vetter type...hence the diamond plate boxes. But I still tried to keep it an otherwise XS11.

I have since done other mods, forward controls, the HID headlight, the Automotive Mini-Race Alternator, the XJ tank for more capacity, and the custom snake/skin type paint job, the Digital gauge cluster.

I can and do appreciate an OEM restore like what James England does, but I don't have the deep pockets for that sort of process. And I know how hard and $$ OEM parts can be. So....getting a neglected XS11 back on the road is great, whether it be OEM RESTORE, or ratbike build, chopped, bobber, etc., whatever it takes is okay with me. Yes, I, too don't like seeing a pristine or decent and easily restorable machine go under the sawzall. But the yard/barn severely neglected machines are open game for any and all mods needed or desired to get the machine running and roadworthy.

SO...I would prefer to offer SAFETY type information to newbie project members to at least help them keep the features that keep the bike relatively safe....ie. both front brake calipers, rear suspension vs. hardtailing, large visible turnsignals/taillights, exhaust mods that preserve performance vs. excessive loudness, etc., and so I will continue to try to offer help when and where I can to anyone that comes here with earnest requests for assistance.

T.C.

[tcoop]

I would suggest that we have a Modified section so that those who do not want to see a chopped bike would not need to go into it. (But we will because of morbid curiosity)

I personally don't like seeing a good bike chopped but my bikes are nowhere near stock, they are more of the Frankenstein verity.

[James England]

I can and do appreciate an OEM restore like what James England does, but I don't have the deep pockets for that sort of process. And I know how hard and $$ OEM parts can be.

Yes, true. It's not reasonable to expect the same degree of reverence and, also, I think you have so many more available in the USA anyway. We're a small place and have fewer XS1100's available. That's why they cost so much more here, I think. And, yes, better to keep them running in any form, rather than none. It does cost a lot of money to do what I've done and, for a bike that's more commonplace in the USA, probably not at all worth it.

Yes, some bikes are so far gone anyway. I've broken two for spares. They could probably have been 'bobbered' and still running, so perhaps I'm the one being "barbaric"!

I suppose what I was thinking of was, you know, a great original example, running fine, looking good, which someone then says they are going to hack about. We have had one example of this here, I remember, right down to good condition OEM exhausts. To attack that with a grinder just seems a shame when there are probably better candidates out there.

[jetmechmarty]

The smart money says part it out. eBay will bring more money for parts than a running bike in many cases. Bringing one back is a labor of love. It costs money that you can't get back. Most modified bikes bring a lot less than a stock one and a stock one brings little. That being said, I'm beginning to have second thoughts about my parts donor.

As far as help for the needy, I'll always answer up if I think I have a good one. If you're working on a chopper and you changed all the wiring, and now it doesn't work, I'm generally not willing to devote my time to it. It's nothing personal. It's just that I spend way too much time here already. Fixing a stock bike is relatively simple.

[LoHo]

Don't you have Craigslist? Cutting a bike to bits, making it a rough rider, painting everything flat black, and pasting skulls on everything makes it "custom" and worth $3200.

[DiverRay]

LoHo,
You forgot the LOUD PIPES!! IF you can't wake up the dead, it's too quiet..
Never mind you can't seem to get it to run properly, probably just bad gas.

[Prisoner6]

Well, I guess I'll throw my $.02 into the pot ...

IMO, using an XS11 to build a rat/brat/bobber/chopper/café/hardtail (or something of that ilk) is, at best, a very difficult proposition.

The design/layout/dimensions of the Eleven simply do not lend themselves well to those kinds of mods.

For example, look at the engine. It's sheer physical size and bulk make it very hard to achieve a balanced look with these kinds of builds.

And, to my eyes, getting the right balance is key to making the bike look good, and is a huge hurdle to overcome for someone attempting one of these builds.

Look at all the "completed" bikes like this that we've seen ... the vast majority of them lack any kind of balance whatsoever.

Kudos to anyone who can achieve that balance on an XS11 bobber/café, etc. build. The few I've seen that were done well, and look good ... they are the exception, not the rule.

The rest just end up looking like bad hack jobs, or worse. (Hand me that Sawzall again, will 'ya?)

Maybe it's because the owners of "the rest" of these bikes lack the vision/skills/money to see their projects through to completion. So they try to dump their mess onto the next guy.

I'm mostly a purist at heart, and I think Yamaha got it right the first time when they built/styled these Elevens.

When it comes to the Eleven, nothing pleases me more than seeing a well-cared-for stocker or a basket case that's been painstakingly restored to it's former showroom glory.

However, I'm all for welcoming anyone and everyone who wants to join our ranks, "regardless of what you ride."

And when it comes to safety, I'll offer any advice/help I can to keep a rider safe on the road, no matter what they're riding.

[Rasputin]

I would like to point out only one thing. How many of the paint it all flat black or chop it up people are still members? How many have we seen come and go? The guys who try to maintain stock or close to it as their budget and skills allow are lifers here. Go ahead and try to make the electrical system non-existant , Our rides will still run, and hard too. So guess which way my opinion swings.

[BA80]

Exactly Doug. A way of life, not an art form.

[LoHo]

Doug, I hadn't really thought of it that way, but you are right on the mark. The stock or as-stock-as-possible guys are lifers, and the shop and chop guys are transients. That says a lot.

[TomB]

I painted one flat black and chopped one up and I'm still here, I guess I'm the exception to the rule coz that does ring true, they do come and go.

And I totally agree that chopping up a good bike is just wrong, I cringe when some of the new guys on here turn up with a nice MNS that only needs recomissioning, but have plans to hack it up.

However, there are lots of piles of junk out there, they are way past restoration to standard without spending more than the price of just buying a nice example. So what to do with them? Parts bike? isn't that the same as hacking one up? its one less XS11!

I had a pile of junk but wanted to see it back running, so I built a Cafe Racer out of it, I made my own wiring loom, a stripped out version of original which when well done is as reliable as original (not sure why it wouldn't be), made my own exhaust system. All of this was done to a tight budget and the result was a good bike back on the road, another XS1100 back on the road that wouldn't be otherwise.

I think there are well raised points in this thread, I also think we should encourage custom builders whilst discouraging butchering good bikes.


BTW my cafe XS11 has twice been to the German XS rallies so a reliable tourer, and twice won trophies at other rallies for best street bike, so no pile of junk any more.

[Prisoner6]

How many of the paint it all flat black or chop it up people are still members? How many have we seen come and go? The guys who try to maintain stock or close to it as their budget and skills allow are lifers here.

Excellent point, Ras ... that's why we all should listen to the voice of experience.


Sometimes the "hackers" come here and say, for instance, that they want to run straight pipes with no mufflers.

When told by the people here who know that kind of set-up won't work well (some of whom are the original owners of their XS11's) ...

I.E. "You will never get your bike to run properly with that set-up, and you will be chasing your tail in futility" ...

The hackers will say something like ... Oh, that's OK, we're going to do it anyway, because we like really loud pipes ...

RIGHT ...

Hmmm ... your bike runs like a total slug, but it does have the loud pipes, so it must be awesome!!

They refuse to listen to the more experienced members here who have seen/done/tried just about everything, and are well qualified to judge what will and won't work.

And to top it off, sometimes they'll come back and complain how poorly their bikes run ... Wow ...

I, for one, want my bike to run at optimum efficiency ... and by listening to the experienced members here, and applying their advice, I know it is attainable.

[jetmechmarty]

Doug, I hadn't really thought of it that way, but you are right on the mark. The stock or as-stock-as-possible guys are lifers, and the shop and chop guys are transients. That says a lot.

Partly true.


This photo of Godzilla is several modifications ago.

I have never seen a hardtail at an XS rally. I saw one at an XS650 rally several years ago, but it was manufactured that way by Big Dog. The owner chased XS650's on it all day. It beat the snot out of him. It was a nice bike, just not meant to be ridden like that.

[dpotter58]

"Motorcyclists welcome here
Regardless of what you ride"

Yep, buy your ticket and ride the ride you want...