This bike seem worth it to you guys?

[GrandPrix46]

Wanted some expert opinons on this bike. I've been reading up on them A LOT, the past couple days, and wanted to make sure I knew what I was getting in to. I was planning to offer $600.

http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/mcy/594177724.html

I know about all the trans problems, and with the bike not driveable (or even able to idle) i'm leary about purchasing. Just looking for a bike to fix up, i've got an '07 Virago I ride to work. Thanks for any advice.

[mason79]

that would be a fair start or even less, if the bike checks out on closer inpection, you may need to do alot of work to get it started and it may need a second gear, and only if the guy accepts your offer.

[webbcraft2150]

Hmmmm. His ad said carbs had been vetted (vated I guess). If someone gutted em incorrectly and dumped them into carb cleaner than you got some big issues there. With all the work done to it (or so the ad claims), that bike should be a runner. There is little to go wrong with an XS that hasn't been addressed here and everyone is very helpful. If you have little mechanical experience and tools, you would be the only one who can decide if you want to jump into a 30 year old bike that most likely needs work. On the bright side, once you get em dialed in, the XS11 is like no other bike on the road.

[trbig]

Holy Bifocals Batman?!? Could he get any blurrier pics to post? And what's whith the Roto Rooter truck!?? And what's a driver shaft gasket?

Tank emblems gone... and why would he replace the head gasket, yet not state anything else of why he was in there?

I'd do a compression check at the very LEAST. To me, someone not starting it simply because of an air filter gone sounds a little fishy. Like was stated, just throwing these carbs into a vat will eat the ruber o-rings and seals in them.

That being said... anything is fixable with these bikes. There are still ample parts available and I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we would love to see another one of these up and running down the road again.

Good luck.

Tod

[prometheus578]

His $900 is too high, as is your offer of $600.
"Vetted" can only mean "Jetted", judging by the rest of his spelling and grammar.
You'd need to find yourself a complete airbox system, maybe other things... can't tell from the blurry pics.
Probably won't run due to sitting, so the carbs will need to be gone through.

Could be a good bike... could be an honest owner...
Could be... that that picture of the "Roto Rooter" truck should be some sort of subliminal warning to you.

[GrandPrix46]

Thanks for the tips everybody. Trbig, you mentioned there being ample parts available, where? I've been searching around just to see if i'd have the parts available to fix it up, but haven't had much luck. If I knew I could replace the trans, engine, carbs, etc. for a decent price, I wouldn't mind anything being messed up on the bike at all. I'm a mechanic, and i'm looking for a bike to fix up over time. But i'd like to know the parts are available, otherwise I can't do anything with it.

I've got some more pics the seller sent me, i'll post them when I get home (at work now). It has been laid down, decently hard (oil pump cover has a hole from sliding, and the forks are slightly bent).

I also found another XS for sale, a little further away, that's being restored, looks in better shape, and is $495. Thinking that might be a better way to go. I'm liking these bikes more as I learn about them.

[vanhump]

Yeah Grand Prix---I think you better go for the $495 bike. By what you can make out from the pics and what he has written , this bike may be worth $100 to make a partzer out of.

[prometheus578]

"Go for the $495 one..."

Barring having to search and wait for any parts needed... as a mechanic, you'd have it up and running in a day.

I agree with VanHump. Give the first guy your name, phone number and offer him $300... for when nobody buys his non-running, dropped bike.
Nobody on the street buys non-running bikes... except we here.
(We know what to look for... and how to fix it)
Use it fer parts...or scrounge up forks and such at your leisure. It won't be road-worthy for a while.

[xschop]

get a grip

I would clean/sanitize the grips before I took it for a test run.....never know what the owner was doing before his last ride....

[trbig]

Yamaha still has many of the parts available, though some aren't. But between a few different parts sites, Ebay, and the members on here, you shouldn't have any trouble getting what you need. We also have a member named andreashweiss that parts them out and offers things up pretty cheap to the members here.

Things that are hard to come by only inspire people on here to invent or make something that will work. The accumulated collective knowledge from all walks of life is pretty cool to see.

So... if you like the XS11, grab one and join the big dysfunctional family we have all become here. Of course, you'll have to make some time to show up to a meet or three to meet everyone in person and show off the bike. There's nothing like riding down a good road with a bunch of other xs/xj's.


Tod

[GrandPrix46]

I've got plans to pick up the $495 bike tomorrow, talked to the guy and he said it's 80% restored, and that it ran/shifted fine before he started working on it. Comes with an extra engine, frame, wheels, etc.

Do these XS's fit pretty good in the back of an F150?

[prometheus578]

"I don't know about Fords..."

...but if you remove the gas tank, loosen the handlebars and bend them down, it'll fit in the back of a Chevy Blazer.


And we all know that it fits nicely in the back of a Plymouth Champ.

[GrandPrix46]

but if you remove the gas tank, loosen the handlebars and bend them down, it'll fit in the back of a Chevy Blazer.

Sweet, I have a Blazer too, and the F150 has way more room to fit stuff than it.

[trbig]

The F-150 will work fine, but I suggest loading it in a low spot so there's as little break over at the top of the ramps to the tailgate as possible so you don't smack the headers. Kind of upsetting when you run like heck to get a non running bike up a ramp, only to hear a CLUNK and get stopped with just the front wheel in the back of the truck at the top of the ramp.

These aren't the heaviest bikes out there... but definately not the lightest either.


Tod

[prometheus578]

"Ramps?"

I always back my blazer down into that little drainage ditch next to the road. Drop the tailgate and it's a straight(level) shot backing the bike in. Throw it in FWD and pull out.
Look for a culvert or something.
And no... you're not talented enough to try to 'ride' the bike up and down the ramp.
Mr. "I can do it myself" brought his bike in for a tune-up... I ended up doing a "Crash Estimate" on the bike, too

Takes two people to ramp a bike.
Guy on the ground, on the left of the bike, runs it up the ramp onto the truck as far as he can then grabs the brake. Guy in the truck, standing on the left side, reaches over and grabs the brake lever, too.
Guy on the ground then repositions himself and pushes the bike forward, guy in the truck steadies and steers.