78 XS11 special?

[Crazcnuk]

http://edmonton.kijiji.ca/c-ViewAdLa...4a/3c7e_18.JPG

Just wondering if this is actually a Special, as I don't see a special listed for 1978 in the serial number listings...

This one is for sale, near me, for $1200.

[Winterhawk]

I may be wrong but I believe that Yamaha didn't come out with the special until 1979.

[Crazcnuk]

That's what I thought.

I have an 80G right now that is pretty hurting. Am looking for one that I can fix up, using the parts off of mine. If most stuff from the 80 would fit this, it may be worth my looking into.

I thought maybe this one was a '79, and the guy doesn't know how to read the s/n tag, but other than the sidecover tag, it deosn't look like a special.

[oseaghdha]

Not Special

Forks, tank, pipes are wrong.

[Crazcnuk]

Tank was the one that caught my eye. That I've never heard of a '78 Special...

However, with the wierd (aftermarket?) seat, w/o the plastic fender parts, it was hard to tell.

I think the pipes look like slip on mufflers/stk headpipes or an aftermarket system?

I have the fairing, bags, trunk and carrier, as well as the rest of the bike, with a wore out engine. If this guy would come down a bit, I may pick it up and use mine for parts.

I've sent the advertiser an email asking for more details.

[TADracer]

Specials didnt come out till '79. This one looks like a standard with special side covers. Everything else looks wrong for a special.

[COOL TOM]

Standard

That is a 78E or79F standard with square gas tank with recessed gas cap, square turn signals and square headlight all the specials had round turn signals and headlights, gas cap on specials sit on top of tank.

[skids]

The bracket behind the drivers pegs are different with some models/years. I don't have my bikes in front of me, but I was thinking that the bottom of the bracket would be more horizontal with the 78. I wonder why you can't see the Brain box on the rear fender? If the seat is not flat across the bottom but is more angular and upswept, it is not a 78 (or 79?) satandard. I had an 81 seat on a 78 once and you could see the frame tube towards the rear. Get the vin number so you can know for sure, and find out if the engine vin and frame vin match at all (because the bike seems to be a morphadite).

[malber]

Ask for the VIN, that'll reveal the model year.

[Jerry]

Some people look at the build date on the ID tag and assume the bike is that model year. Actually, the model year is generally the year after the build date. A '79 will have a build date of '78, but most assuredly it is a '79 model year.

Yamaha, and I assume most other manufactures, have the bikes built - or nearly so - by the time of the model introduction. Units have been shipped to dealers. The only way to do this is, of course, build the bikes in advance of the intro date. Hence the build date and model year are different, with model year generally being 1 year later than the build year.

[Crazcnuk]

Actually what happens is that the start of the new model year for most vehicles is the end of August. This means that any bike or car made after Aug is the following model year, and up to august, the current mdel year.

This allows the manufacturers to have enough on hand when the new year rolls around.

[fredintoon]

It's a Standard

Hi crazcnuk,
square gauges, big tank, straight forks, normal calipers, Standard for sure.
Buy it! I need the gas tank. I know a guy might want the TCI box. I'll be on two rallies in Alberta 13th thru 21st July.

[malber]

Saw a 650 on those boards for $2900. WTF?!? Are those Canadian dollars?

[Crazcnuk]

The guy already sold it, for $1000 (CDN) .

Have to keep looking, I guess.