1981 XS1100 Good deal?

[thomasray]

A machinist friend has this for sale. It is in pristine condition. As a machinist he is meticulis
(SP?).

New oil every 1000 miles etc. This has 45000 miles on it and I ask if it has a lot of miles left in it or not? I am looking for local day trips of 500 miles or less and errands.

What is the life of wheel bearings and the shaft drive. All feels tight and the man is conservative in his use.

Any help apprec8ted from a 1 eyed old surveyor.

[Stralya]

Nah, give it a miss...

It's only got 100,000 miles left on it before you'll have to do a top end rebuild. You might even have to replace the bearings. Then, ten years after that the bottom end might need work. Play it safe and spend 20 grand on a hog, you'll have peace of mind for at least six months!

ps

BUY THE BLOODY THING RIGHT NOW!

Dan

[trbig]

We gotta see some pics and know the price before we can say if it's a good deal, but as Stralya said, these bikes are notorious for going at least 100,000 miles with a little care. Some people will find a problem with 1st or 2nd gear, but that's fixable if you can turn a wrench.... if it goes bad. Also, being a 26 year old bike... little things will inevitably go wrong, but it will never leave you stranded. You will have to work on them a bit more than a new bike because of this.

The other bad thing about these bikes is that they made them TOO well. Things don't break very often on them, so there's not a lot of aftermarket products being made. The things that do break can usually be found, but with others you'll need to be acquainted with Ebay.

You'll find a large group of people that believe that this is the best/ most durable bike ever made. Many of them are here in the forum, but you'll run into many in the public with the same opinion also saying "My buddy/ me/ friend/ relative.. etc had one of those way back when. Those were FAST!"

You won't fit in the general "Biker" mold of chrome, low performance, and noise.... but we like it that way.


Tod

[JACKHAMMER01]

In 1999, early summer, I bought a 1981 XS1100 Special, with 5804 miles on the clock, and completely stock, for only $400. I sold this same bike in January 2007, this year. I did some major modifications, but nothing to the motor, except routine and religious maintenance. When I sold her, she was clocking 174K miles. Yes, that is correct! 174,000 miles. Still running strong and pulling like the devil! And the sale price was $4100.

BUY THE BIKE, AND BUY IT NOW! OR SEND ME THE DETAILS, SO I CAN.

Enjoy!

[fredintoon]

Hi Tom,
the design is by Weird Harold, it's heavier'n a pig & has way too much power for it's handling capability. It will also last forever. You are going to love it. Then you will get obsessed.

[wingnut]

Fred I like your old answer to this better

"Damn motor runs backwards, it shifts like a tractor, stears like a cow, and goes like hell. You will love it"