XJ1100 First Real Ride

[motoman]

Bikes lookin' good Scott! Hang a set of hiway pegs on and you oughta be 'good to go' on the REAL LD rides!

[3Phase]

Bikes lookin' good Scott! Hang a set of hiway pegs on and you oughta be 'good to go' on the REAL LD rides!

Brant, I do have some highway pegs I can put on it and Mike showed me a black Yamaha X-1 fairing listed on eBay that's like the blue one on his XJ.

I hate fork-mount windshields and when I got home, it was still for sale along with the red, detachable, Yamaha saddlebags shown in the last few pictures in the fairing listing.

1980-1981-1982 YAMAHA X1 FAIRING

The fairing's ugly. It needs paint, wiring, windshield, headlight, and a headlight cover. It looks like both locking panels are still on it with keys.

I picked up a N.O.S. XJ11 fairing mount bracket for it from another seller too.

[XJOK2PLAY]

I hate fork-mount windshields

+1! Ask Miles Baker and Cody about those!
There's a funny story for your efforts if you do. Lol!

[3Phase]

+1! Ask Miles Baker and Cody about those!
There's a funny story for your efforts if you do. Lol!

I've had a few funny stories with them too, like, "That's funny, I was in that lane over there a second ago!"

[Jerry]

Scott:

That XJ is really looking good. Glad to have another one on the road! Will see you in Colorado.

A few years ago there was a guy selling a "black box" for the XJ that had a different timing curve with full advance coming in earlier, similar to the XS. Have not checked to see if he is still around.

By '82 emissions controls were getting more attention - hence the YICS system and different timing curve. However, with the addition of the adjustable handlebars, air-adjustable front and rear suspension, electronic ignition, and digital display the XJ was a bit updated which, IMHO, adds to its appeal.

[3Phase]

Scott:

That XJ is really looking good. Glad to have another one on the road! Will see you in Colorado.

A few years ago there was a guy selling a "black box" for the XJ that had a different timing curve with full advance coming in earlier, similar to the XS. Have not checked to see if he is still around.

By '82 emissions controls were getting more attention - hence the YICS system and different timing curve. However, with the addition of the adjustable handlebars, air-adjustable front and rear suspension, electronic ignition, and digital display the XJ was a bit updated which, IMHO, adds to its appeal.

Thanks, Jerry! Colorado or bust!

After cleaning and inspecting it, I do like the YICS. It's a dead simple feature with no moving parts that actually works if you leave it alone and don't fool with it. If you start having problems with it plugging up, look elsewhere in the engine for tuning problems like ignition and fuel, or mechanical problems like worn intake valve guides, seats, and seals.

The diagnostic computer is pretty neat and for the most part I like the XJ's suspension and handling better than my '80G. I haven't decided if I like the stock ignition and linked brakes. I generally don't like black box ignitions, O.E.M. or aftermarket, but I'm not going to fool with a perfectly good working one just to eek out a few extra ponies.

I would like to find a hydraulic switching valve for the brakes that would let me switch the front calipers between the two master cylinders to link/unlink the brakes. The linked mode would give me a sedate old dude riding mode, the unlinked mode would be for more spirited riding and wouldn't try to skid the front wheel out of line in the corners.

I really don't like that linked brake 'feature' and I about made an awkward highside dismount off the mountain on the Hwy 74 ridge running up out of Indio when I used the brakes hard enough to discover it. Fortunately, I wasn't really going very fast so I still had some room left to lean a little more, my reflexes are still semi-sort-of-working, the tires are new and there wasn't a bunch of sand or gravel or this would be a very different conversation.

Now that I'm caught up on the chores I didn't do during the weekend I spent goofing off, it's time to go recheck the valve clearances again along with a whole slough of nuts and bolts.

[HalfCentury]

Congrats on your rides on your XJ. Your restoration work is impressive.

I am with you on the linked vs un-linked rear/front brakes. I am wrestling with the XJ1100 rear master cylinder this week. My long-term musings are currently to plug the hole that sends fluid to the left front caliper and link together the front two calipers controlled by the front master cylinder. My FJR1300 has the front left and right calipers linked and controlled by the front master cylinder.

The downside of the rear brake being un-linked is fish-tailing. Recently, I made a quick stop in heavy traffic at 65 mph using too much rear brake and the FJR rear end fish tailed. It scared the you-know-what out of me and made me re-evaluate my braking habits.

[3Phase]

Congrats on your rides on your XJ. Your restoration work is impressive.

I am with you on the linked vs un-linked rear/front brakes. I am wrestling with the XJ1100 rear master cylinder this week. My long-term musings are currently to plug the hole that sends fluid to the left front caliper and link together the front two calipers controlled by the front master cylinder. My FJR1300 has the front left and right calipers linked and controlled by the front master cylinder.

The downside of the rear brake being un-linked is fish-tailing. Recently, I made a quick stop in heavy traffic at 65 mph using too much rear brake and the FJR rear end fish tailed. It scared the you-know-what out of me and made me re-evaluate my braking habits.

Thanks, Brian!

Fishtailing is fun as all get out in the dirt, on pavement it'll try to highside when it stops sliding and catches traction again and is not fun.

I do NOT! like the XJ's linked-crash cornering feature but I've decided to leave the brakes alone and ride like I'm a 58-year-old man on a 35-year-old motorcycle.

If you unlink the brakes, you can remove the proportioning valve from the rear master cylinder and plug the hole for the front hard line or you can leave the valve alone and deal with low brake pressure to the rear caliper. Either way works.

No pictures but heres's forum thread from 2010:-

XS11.com Forums > Idle Talk Forum > XS11/XJ11 Discussion
changing my xj1100 brakes to a more standard setup

[madmax-im]

Great job Scott...bike looks awesome..I miss my Maxim....

[3Phase]

Great job Scott...bike looks awesome..I miss my Maxim....

Thank you, Ben, it's good to see you're thinking about riding again too!

[Jerry]

The linked vs unlinked debate has been going on a long time. My $.02: I like the system.

When I was riding the XJ regularly I often pulled a small trailer and found the linked system worked very well in this application. I just got used to hitting the rear brakes first and using the front for 'touch' when needed. To me this resulted in a very controllable braking system. however, all my other bikes up to that point were small (350 - 400cc) and the XJ was my first big bike so I did not have a "standard" braking system to compare it to.

Even now, on my Concours, I am still in the habit of hitting the rear brake first even though this bike does not have a linked system.

Note, though, the linked system involves the rear and front-left calipers; the front master controls only the front-right caliper. For this reason the XJ front master cylinder is a different size, smaller, than the XS. One concern was that unlinking the system and adding the left caliper to the stock front MC would result in too little capacity of the stock MC to operate both calipers or that the lever travel needed to move the additional fluid would be awkward and result in a loss of 'feel'. People who have done the conversion have not raised this as an issue so it may be more theoretical than practical.

The XJ front MC has a fluid level sensor in it so conversion to another MC results in having to defeat this sensor, not hard to do. I've thought about boring out the MC to a standard size (stock parts are getting harder to find) making rebuild parts easier to get and making it move more fluid in a twin-caliper conversion.

For me, though, the linked system worked just fine so I never pursued an unlinking project. I did, however, replace all the lines with SS lines shortly after I bought the bike in '99 and this upgrade seemed to help the overall feel and responsiveness of the brakes.

[3Phase]

Jerry, I like the linked system but not in corners, it's dangerous.

Linked brakes break the cardinal rule about not using the motorcycle's front brake in a corner. I follow the other cardinal braking rule for keeping the shiny side up too, "Rear brake, then front brake."


There's yet another rule that basically says not to ride faster than you and the machine can handle so my sense of propriety will just have to adapt as I learn to slow down and deal with it because I'm not unlinking the brakes.


One point in favor of unlinking the brake system is the Teflon/SS brake lines. I put new brake lines all around and the stock front master cylinder would actually work better if I unlinked the brakes and gave it another front caliper to play with. Right now with the linked system, the SS line and single caliper have made the front brake lever like a rock with no travel and very little feedback.

[madmax-im]

I always did like the link brakes...they saved me a couple times...

[3Phase]

I always did like the link brakes...they saved me a couple times...

I like the linked system for the street and straight line riding because that's where I spend 98% of my time. I do NOT! like it for the 2% of my riding time spent in cornering and tearing up the twisties.

The only option to upgrade the linked system instead of bypassing it would be to install an ABS with an ON/OFF switch. Unfortunately, they all require a lot of electrical current and none of them will always work correctly even on bikes that are designed for it, there's always some little idiosyncrasy or limitation.

Grafting an ABS onto the XJ without the ability to upgrade the charging system is a no-go from the get-go. Even if it could be done a la T.C.'s external alternator mod, I'm not even remotely qualified to do the necessary ABS programming and plumbing to keep it from becoming an instant death machine.

I'll just leave the XJ's linked brake system alone, slow down in the corners and cut my twisties along the dotted lines instead of tearing them up.

[madmax-im]

I like the linked system for the street and straight line riding because that's where I spend 98% of my time. I do NOT! like it for the 2% of my riding time spent in cornering and tearing up the twisties.

The only option to upgrade the linked system instead of bypassing it would be to install an ABS with an ON/OFF switch. Unfortunately, they all require a lot of electrical current and none of them will always work correctly even on bikes that are designed for it, there's always some little idiosyncrasy or limitation.

Grafting an ABS onto the XJ without the ability to upgrade the charging system is a no-go from the get-go. Even if it could be done a la T.C.'s external alternator mod, I'm not even remotely qualified to do the necessary ABS programming and plumbing to keep it from becoming an instant death machine.

I'll just leave the XJ's linked brake system alone, slow down in the corners and cut my twisties along the dotted lines instead of tearing them up.

Interesting..as I spent nearly all my yrs riding the XJ in NJ and the northeast..mostly on straight roads..the last couple of yrs down in NC I never noticed the link brakes as being an issue in the twisties...but then I dont use brakes per se..I use the engine and the gearing to brake ...only if i am too hot into a corner do I use the brakes but i digress..