how old is everyone?

[2WheelFun]

52, rode other people's bikes before I was 16. @16 found a black CX 650C that served me well for a few years then picked up a black 78' GS1000E that got stolen from me before the payments were finished the the guy I bought it off. Bought (sort of under paid as I am reminded occasionally) my brothers black 82' CB750SC then in 92' purchased a black 87' ZL1000 which I still love and ride.

Last year I bought my brothers silver/blue 76' XS750 project and was browsing CL for parts and found a neglected black 79' XS11 special with 7200 miles on the clock & 1/2 of an 80' standard parts lump. I underestimated what it would take to get up and running but I goterdone then found the second gear issue that will be addressed this winter. Nice having an air cooled liter bike again.

Soon I need to find some time to tinker with the 750 and make that a runner. I hope all of the younger generation isn't stuck with the "everything's disposable" mentality and keep some of these old machines on the road. I think it will be tougher for them, not having grown up in the carburetor era, thinking it's some sort of vodo like I thought of FI when it came out.

[LenB]

Hey 2WheelFun,

Bought a '76 XS750 new off the showroom floor and still one of my favorite rides. While the '11 has the straight line GO, it can't beat the 750's handling. Even loaded for the highway and sporting a 'Jammer and Craven bags, she was too much fun in the twisties. My fav ride, put it on your bucket list if you haven't, all the way down the Pacific coast from Long Beach on Vancouver Island to Tijuana - with Highway 1 in Cali providing the most corners - the '750 and I had so much fun it should be outlawed. Let us know how you're progressing with your 750 project when you get rolling - she's worth it.

P.S. - coming up on 64 years on this planet in May

[Radioguylogs]

I'm with you LenB.

I've owned my XS750 since it was only one year old.

I am more confident on that bike in the curves than any of the others I have owned. Earned me a ticket on the Dragon.

-Mike

[2WheelFun]

I was probably 12 or 13 when my brother took me for a ride on the 750 (D with the 3:1). There was a right hander with a telephone pole a foot and half from the white line at the apex of the bend. We hit the high stand going into the bend and the ass end bounced over what felt like 3'. It was a near miss for sure. There was a long silence when we got home 5 min later, he finally asked "did that scare you?" I said "yeah", he said "me too".

He won our burnout competition on the XS a few years later, my other brother was on the CB750SC and I was on the CX650C. Had to adopt the XS as a family heirloom.

[sightseeing]

Started out in Holland the Netherlands riding 50cc moped's we would modify at 13. Back in the states 90 cc Honda trail bike, 305 Superhawks modified. All at 16 to 18. Then new 71' R75/5 and the 53' Indian a great piece of engineering. Then a fantastic piece of engineering 1979 XS 1100 SF which I still have along with four more. 66 years have passed since Apr. 1954.

[Bax]

Well, I feel like the teenager first invited to sit at the adult table in this club, at least I was existing before the bike was made.......

---Bax

[Jdwags]

i rolled over 60 this past June, Haven't been around in so long i made a new profile then found my info on my original name. Probably wont get these 2 back on the road, life has been full for a long time, Retiring again soon, so just maybe.. Last ride was about 2005-2006 on a Western Canada run, it was a great time meeting everyone. both of the bikes just sitting over in the corner.protecting their space

[3Phase]

Lessee: 1959 and every year is plus-one so 2020 makes me 61 this year and why am I in the kitchen?
Where are my glasses?
My coffee is cold ... darned kids get off of my lawn!

[SteveO]

First time back on the site since the Spring. I'm glad to see its still here and looking sooo good.

64 years young here ... been riding my 79' XS-11 since the mid 80's. Not so shiny anymore, but still running so well. When my buddy (on his 73 CB-750) and I go to where there are so many new bikes, everyone usually crowds around to look at our's.

[Bonz]

Still 52...

[cnap504]

I’m 66 and have been riding 50+ years. Got my first XS1100 about 2 months ago as a long neglected non running bike. It’s a 1980 Special and I’m enjoying both working on the bike and being part of the forum. Really looking forward to my first ride on the Yamaha.

[vedgar]

August 27 I will be 68 !

[Stumpy(NH)]

50. First ride on the XS i now own 1982. That was pillion position, behind my Mother.

[TopCatGr58]

I'll be 63 in Feb, 2021. I can't remember how old I was when I got to ride my first mini-bike. Then had a friend with a MOPED I got to ride a little. Got my first motorcycle junior in High School '75, a '67 Yamaha 305 2-stroke street bike. Was in the shop more than out,and finally broke a piston skirt=died, didn't have $ to fix. My mom had ridden a motorbike/Moped as a child in the 1940's, and used to be a time when she wouldn't date a guy if he didn't have a motorcycle, usually a Harley. But she understood both how fun they are, how liberating it was to ride one. SO...she got me a '74 Yamaha TX500A 2 cylinder 4 stroke street machine for HS graduation. Rode it for 6 years, took it with me to Calif when stationed there in the USN, and then took it to Yokosuka, JAPAN. The bigger bikes, 750+CC's were not made/assembled in Japan, but in the States. The Navy Exchange had them there on base, but they were actually shipped there from USA. I drooled over the XS11's, but felt they were too $$ for me at the time, my meager salary. But what's funny is that I had checked out other vehicles including Harleys, and for a few hundred dollars more than what a Harley costs, I could have bought a Jeep CJ-7 back then!!

Just a few months after arriving there, I came across a local Japanese bike shop, and they had this sexy looking Yamaha 750 Triple, and was very cheap, bought it, registered it in Japan, and rode it for the 1.5 years I had left on my tour. I really liked the feel of that bike/engine, as stated the handling, but also just the vibration, felt like it had plenty of power which it did, quite a bit more than the 500 I had brought. Nearing the end of my tour a fellow sailor/med tech had purchased an 81SH, but just parked it on the base, fired it up and rode it around the little yard once a month or so. He had brought a Honda CV-500 with him, and he had wife/ 2 kids, and wasn't very tall/big and realized that he might kill himself on that beast, so he offered to sell it to me for the same price he paid for it 2 years earlier. After having ridden the 750, I felt I was ready for something bigger, and so I agreed and bought it for $3,500.00. Had it shipped back to the USA with me, and have had it ever since.

I had a a car I had left at home in Texas, picked it up and drove it to VA., but it had problems, and I couldn't afford to fix it, so my XS11 was my ride for the next 1.5 yrs. I was involved in a front end collision going to work one day, dumb B*TCH turned right in front of me, I had no room to swerve, hit brakes and then hit her bumper, flew over my bars and landed on her windshield. This is when the frame's steering neck got bent, but wasn't discovered by the Shop that performed the repairs. As was stated, I'm not as tall as BONZ, at only 6'6" . I had always like the CHOPPER look, and since my forks were FUBARED, I was able to have the shop put on 4" overlength with the repairs. Once I got the bike back, I noticed the steering seemed a bit easier/quicker, but contributed it to the longer forks. Rode it that way for total of 9 years and some 35K mile(odometer had stopped at 980, just kept using the tripometer for gas) until the 1st gear started to skip. We've(XSers) learned that it's the 1st gear that fails on the later models WITHOUT kick start, whereas the 2nd gear tends to fail earlier with the Kick Start models. I parked it, tarped it in '92(No garage) and was going to get back to it, but life happened, financial struggles, and so it sat/rotted/rusted for 8 years.

I had learned how to work on CARS, engines, carbs, in High School, partly planned because I knew I might not be able to afford a car if I couldn't work on it. But with the complexity of the XS11's double overhead cams, 4 carbs, electronic ignition, I didn't feel confident in doing much to it, aside from changing the oil/filter and cam chain tensioner adjustment. I also was very afraid of the Transmission, splitting the cases and such. Well, in 2000, got a new house with garage, some spare $$ and so SWMBO said I could get it fixed. I had found the XS11 Yahoo email group, and then the XS11 web site, Ken Talbot's great article on how to fix the 2nd gear skip WITHOUT splitting the cases, and so I said "I can do this". Due to the exposure, I felt the cylinders were probably rusted as well, so I went ahead and purchased an 1179 cc Wiseco little big bore kit-thinking I wanted to have room for ANOTHER boring to the 1196cc size IF it ever got worn that much with years of use! Got it rebuilt, and then rode it to my first Rally in 2001 to Alexandria Bay New York, with the help of Brent Hoovestol whom I joined with in Richmond, VA. Have attended many rallies since then, but all on the East Coast. I plan on getting out WEST eventually, and perhaps in a few years or so when I retire, I'll have the time to take such a trip.

Well, during one of these rallies I met up with BikerPhil(Bike Mech), had him ride my bike and then he took a close look at it, and that's when he informed me that my steering neck had gotten bent! Well, rode it that way for several more years until just a few years ago when I came across a spare 79SF frame, and decided to do another rebuild/frame swap, and had to do a refresher to my 1st/2nd gears as they had started to skip again after some 25k miles since the original rebuild. As has been said, I've done a "few" mods to it, ie. dual piston front calipers, XJ tank/FJ cap, Frame bob/single seat, the Automotive Race Alternator, swing arm bracing/welding, LED Upgrade, Dyna-coils, replaced gauges with electronic, just to name a few! Now a couple of pix, 1st me and bike at motel on way XS SouthEast circa 2018, 2nd is of my Step Grandson(USN Jet Mech) taking it out for a ride while he was in town before getting out of USN, and then going to Kuwait for a couple of years, this was to show the RIGHT side with the Alt Mod.
These are large thumbnails, can click to view larger if desired!

[Marty]

Hi from Ireland
bought my XS1100, 20 + years ago.
done about 40,000 miles (so far)
our climate is not kind to the old girl so she’s stripped for rebuild.
Having difficultly finding parts over here so would appreciate the guiding light of those who have done the journey.
Cruising at 53 trying to catch up to you guys 😬