new owner saying hi!

[jazzrat2000]

Hi, I said I am a new OWNER because I have to ride the bike back to where I live from where it is... haven't ridden since the 70's, having a midlife crisis and decided to go for it!

[scoobes]

hi and welcome,you will find a very helpfull bunch of guys on here with all the info you will need to keep you xs on the road.

[jazzrat2000]

thanks!

that is great to hear! the last (and biggest) bike I owned was a 1972 (I think) Kawasaki 350 triple... am I crazy to go to an 1100 after being off bikes since about 1975? I hope not... I have been told the 1100 is a pretty stable and easy to ride bike... I hope so, my first trip will be the 150 mile drive to get it home...

[don07tncav]

Welcome to the site! This is a great bunch here. The XS is very quick so go very easy on the throttle as you get used to the bike.

[jazzrat2000]

thanks!

Thanks for the advice! If I continue to post in the coming weeks it means I was able to get back to home in one piece!

[Czekus21]

If that bike is running like it's supposed to, Hold on and ride safe. She's gonna have enough gonads to scare you. I ride MIYAMI all the time and get scared every now and agian. " I think she's got me trained well"

[jazzrat2000]

I see you are from SD... I was born in Gettysberg and lived in SD for the first 10 years of my life... even went to the rally in the Black Hills once (much later, when I lived in Miles City, MT), although on my dinky 350 I wasn't allowed to park on the main street!

[fredintoon]

Slow down & live

Hi Doc,
be aware that while the XS1100 rides like an armchair compared to your Kawi triple, it, just like the Kawi, runs out of roadholding way before it runs out of power.
For your first ride choose a dry day and a route with little traffic then stay at or below the posted speed limit.
As an elderly rider who started young & never quit I can hopefully say this without offence; middle-aged retread is a dangerous time for the unwary.
Fred Hill, S'toon.

[jazzrat2000]

thanks for the heads up! I will be driving the bike home on Alligator Alley, which is about 100 miles of almost perfectly straight road with no towns, nothing... not even a hill... so, I hope it will be a good starting ride...

[scoobes]

just make sure you have enough go go juice???????????

[jazzrat2000]

hmmm, I see what you mean... with a fairly small tank and getting 35 or so mpg it could be dicey! I guess I will have whoever drives my car back for me bring a 5 gallon gas can! Wow, thanks a lot, I didn't even think of that... back when I was riding smaller bikes the gas went a lot farther!

[Czekus21]

You should be able to go at least 100 miles on that tank of fuel. You'll need to keep the speed down though. On MIYAMI, at around 60 mph, I can go aprox 130 miles or better. Just depends on wind, load, and terrain. You'll be on flat roads so you shouldn't have any " running out of fuel " problems unless the fuel lines are routed wrong. Then even a 5 gallon can of gas won't make the trip but your oil will be very thin and the engine crankcase will be very clean. Have you checked out the bike yet ? does it emit black smoke ? these are some indications that the fuel lines are not ran correctly. It's an easy fix and pretty common for people to do. The routing can be a little confusing. Other then that, welcome aboard. I've lived on both ends of S.D. and do the rally every year. I don't catch any flack for riding my XS and parking on the main drag. The only flack I do catch is usually from some young punk who just bought his first sportster and is a R.U.B. Trying to be cool and reads to many books about the old days of the rally when any other Jap bike would be hung and burned. I rule this type of guy out as someone who has alot to learn about bikes let alone life. He usually get his doors blown away somewhere in the hills as I go by. Hopefully I'll see you at a rally some year. We have several people that live within a days ride of Sturgis and I hope to hook up with a few agian this year. Good luck on your voyage home.

[jazzrat2000]

thanks for the tip about the fuel lines... I won't even lay eyes on the bike until I go to pick it up, but the owner says he rides it every day... I will keep your tip about the black smoke in mind! I have a cycle shop over here that will check the bike out top to bottom when I get here... I know it is putting the cart before the horse to buy it sight unseen, then ride it back and then get it checked out; I am normally a very cautious guy... but I just had to go for it...

[strom]

hmmm... posted a reply to the gun thread, but somehow it ended up here. Weird....

[chevy45412001]

alligator alley

i been down that road, Watch out for basking gators on the side of the road.