ride video

[GNEPIG]

.. with the proper suspension set up ,tires and rider positioning you could get the xs11 to handle very well.. after setting up the red bikes suspension i kinda dont like riding the the black one as much any more.. even though the black one is faster on the straight-a-ways
.. a lite and torquey bike is pretty fun too

[Street_Rat78]

Re: PC Problems...

Running Win XP Professional.

Saving it didn't help. Looking for downloads/upgrades now.

[Bud Manley]

Re: Re: PC Problems...

Originally posted by Street_Rat78
Running Win XP Professional.

Saving it didn't help. Looking for downloads/upgrades now.

WHat program is it opening with? If you've installed Real Player it tends to screw media playing up. In my experiance Real Player is more like a virus than a useful program.

[Street_Rat78]

Re: PC Problems...

Don't have Real Player installed, but I do have a version of Quick Time. Don't know if that would make any difference.

I just tried it again and it said that there was a new version of Media Player available, which I am currently downloading.

I'll give that a shot and see if it works.

[Bud Manley]

Cool
Windows Media Player 10 works pretty good.
I like using quicktime as it is a pretty decent program just make sure when you install WinMedPlayer you select it as the default player for WMV files.
Should work fine then.

[Street_Rat78]

Video...

Now that was well worth the PC hassles I went through to view it. I'm ready to call it day and get home to the "Mistress" just to feel the wind in my face.

Today is going to drag by so slow.

[xs650mike]

Originally posted by GNEPIG
.. with the proper suspension set up ,tires and rider positioning you could get the xs11 to handle very well.. .. a lite and torquey bike is pretty fun too

No doubt that improvements could be made. I've got no problem with the way my rebuilt front end works but short of doing a chain drive conversion like pggg has done, the bike has it's limitations though. It's big and heavy and the unsprung weight of the rear swingarm, rear drive, wheel and brake is massive. That said, I can make it go pretty darned fast over a smooth twisty road but when the going gets tight it becomes work instead of fun. Add a steep grade and bumpy pavement and the bike becomes almost unmanageable at the pace I'm accustomed to keeping on my local roads. Biggest problem is the corner exits, under hard throttle the rear suspension jacks up and becomes nearly rigid which means the tire will hop and chirp and "step out" just like my old hardtail did. My friend runs away from me on his FXDX Harley on a road on which I can easily take him on my little 400...many of my favorite roads are just NO FUN on the 11.

The reason these roads are favorites is an almost total lack of traffic which means one can blitz without worrying about slow cagers and RVs crawling along spoiling the fun. An example is Big Canyon pictured in my earlier post. I like to be able to easily maintain the pace set by my friends and a mistake on this road can put you in the trees, into a giant boulder or over a cliff! I'm not trying to start a controversy, I love my 11 and think it's a great bike. What I am saying here is "different bikes for different pikes" if you get my drift.

[Street_Rat78]

Video...

Now that was well worth the PC hassles I went through to view it. I'm ready to call it day and get home to the "Mistress" just to feel the wind in my face.

Today is going to drag by so slow.

[AKMac]

With my 11 I get a wobble when leaning the bike at a fast speed in the twisties. It kind of feels like the rear end is starting to go out from under neath you, but it never does. If the road is a little bumpy it can get really bad, really quick. I'm hoping that new progressive front springs, progressive 412 rear shocks, and a fork brace will help it.

[Street_Rat78]

Double post?

Can one of you moderators tell me how I double posted the same post with a 3 hour time difference? I know I didn't type it twice or submit it twice ... so how come it's posted twice?

It's really no big deal, I was just curious.

[xs650mike]

Originally posted by AKMac
With my 11 I get a wobble when leaning the bike at a fast speed in the twisties. It kind of feels like the rear end is starting to go out from under neath you, but it never does. If the road is a little bumpy it can get really bad, really quick. I'm hoping that new progressive front springs, progressive 412 rear shocks, and a fork brace will help it.

By wobble do you mean that the bars wag back and forth or just a general unsteady feeling? Even though I've complained of handling problems my '79SF is rock steady heeled over on smooth pavement. The solution to your problem might be as simple as tire pressures, suspension adjustment or even tire brand and type. What year and model is your bike?

[AKMac]

By wobble I mean just an unsteady feeling in the rear, the front tracks smoothly. I'm thinking the tires may be a lot of it. From what I've read here, Dunlop Elite 2's seem like a good choice.

[xs650mike]

Well my SF has to be one of the strangest handling motorcycles I've owned, it's just kind of different in a way that's hard to describe. I've gotten used to it though. You didn't say whether your bike is a standard or Special, I imagine they handle slightly different. I'm running an Elite II and a Metzler Lazer front. Dunno if I really like the Dunlop but maybe that's because it's getting a little squared off. It's really easy to make it slide under power when gassing it in the turns but maybe that's just a function of the huge horsepower our XS11s make! The Metzler works fine but the tread depth on these things is very shallow so they wear out quickly. I had one on my 400 and wore it out in a month of mountain road commuting! My friend has one on his Harley and though he likes the tire he's gone through 2 of them just this summer and is thinking of switching to an Avon front.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Mike,

I had an old Dunlop Elite "I" on mine that had gotten squared off, and it was rather squirrelly in the corners. I ran it in the mountains of North Carolina in '02, and it would break loose under decels as well, and it was like I would pick one line in a turn, and when I leaned it over, it would take a different line once it got onto the shoulder of the tire.

Then I put a new Elite II on in '03 in Georgia, and ran the "Dragon", and it felt like it was on rails, grabbed very nicely, and kept it's line!!
T.C.

[xs650mike]

I was running Metzler Marathon front and a Marathon 880 rear on my XS650SJ and that rear would step out on turns under power something fierce. Tire wore out very quickly due to all the wheelspin but at least the edges wore just as much as the center. People riding with me would say, "Boy you sure like to get that thing sideways!" I don't like to get sideways, I was just trying to keep the pace which amongst the folks I ride with is pretty darned brisk. I finally figured out that the Marathon 880 is just too stiff a carcass for a lighter bike like the 650. I switched to the super cheap CS Barracuda sport touring tires and got way better grip and tire life, no more front end push on turn-in and no more step-out on exits. Point is that tires have to suit the bike and the type of riding. The XS11's wet weight is around 600 lbs. and with a quarter ton load carrying capacity the dang things need a darned heavy duty tire. I'm not particularly pleased with the way my Elite II is gripping or wearing but since other folks seem to like these tires (and the Marathon 880) I suppose maybe my throttle hand is just too heavy. Makes me wonder...guess this should be a new thread...What tires are folks running and what kind of tire mileage are they getting? Hey Moderators, how about a poll? Or has it been done already?