what would you do?????

[Jerry]

XS / XJ Reliability

The questionn of taking your XS or XJ on an extended trip comes up every spring. Working from my own experience I would say "take the XS." In my case I went through all the routine maintenance recommended in the manual, changed out the fuse block (known trouble point) and cleaned the carburators. Also rebuilt the brake master cylinders, put in new brake pads, and installed ss brake lines. With some trepidation I took off for a 1,400 mile trip. Low and behold the bike ran better at the end of the trip than it did when I started!

Since then I've ridden my XJ from Wisconsin to the New York, from Colorado to the South Dakota and Montana, and plenty of weekend / overnight trips to various parks. If your bike is running well for local trips I don't see any problems taking it on a longer trip. My goal is to do a trans-Canadian trip (about 12K miles) next year on my XJ.

I've seen (and heard) of troubles for both new and older bikes on long trips. I think the choice is more one of comfort and capabilities; one thing I learned from that first trip is that a custom seat is worth every penny! I've since added floorboards, heel-and-toe shifter, throttle lock, sealed battery, and alternate foot rests to increase long-range riding comfort and convenience. My set up is with a full Vetter fairing and and bags, no trunk, and I often pull a small trailer which carries my camping gear. In other words, my bike works hard on long trips, these are not lightly loaded excursions!

If you don't have the time and/or money to go through your XS before your trip, go with a new bike, but a properly maintained XS should make the trip just fine.

[prometheus578]

I've been cruising to see my brother in Denver for the past three years. If it runs good around town and on the local highway, no reason why it can't do interstate.
Only modification was the inflatable seat cushion. Learned that lesson the hard(and numb) way.

[GNEPIG]

.. sheeps wool works well also.. just dont get the black stuff, when it rains youll know why

[RS Thornton]

My 78 had done much more sitting than riding when I got it. My philosophy was to repalce any key rubber parts and all grease. For the wheel I saw some corrosion and a fault called false brinelling so I replaced them all rather than just clean and repack. I completely trust this bike for any length of ride, and do not beleive that there is any risk of the bike pooping out mechanically on a long ride. BUT!!!
I carry a spare ignitor and regulator in my toolkit on longer rides as these parts can quit and leave you stranded at the side of the road. Other parts can too, but these ones can end the ride instantly, you can limp down the road for a bit on 1 coil if you had too.

So my vote is take the XS, it is a better ride than many of the other bikes out there. As a risk control plan I am sure you can ask the forum member to give you phone numbers and addresses of those of us along your route who would be willing to help out with tools, shop use, etc. Then if you needed help along the way you would be covered.


But, if my wife told me I could buy another bike I would be out getting an FJR in a heartbeat. I could always claim some technical glitch just before the ride and take the XS anyway.

Enjoy the ride,
Scott