Nice SOUND!

[Bonz]

Went for a ride with a friend today, his bike is a Honda XR650L. We swapped bikes. I'm putt-putting through the lean stumble his bike has and he just had to lay into my 80 SG Special. As he went sailing by it was music to my ears.

I hadn't heard it at full-song running through through the gears except while riding it myself.

NICE!

[BrianB]

That sounds cool. I have oftened wondered what mine sounds like as it streaks by.

[bbaldwin84]

Pipes

What do you have for pipes?

[birch]

I have a kerker four into one on my 78. It is loud--almost to the point of mind numbing. I do not know if there are any baffles in the pipe at all. As far as I can tell, it is a straight pipe with a 1 inch hole to let it all out.

I have gotten in the habbit of being cautious when I pass people. More than once I have caused unexpecting victims to swerve in fright when I get level with their window. Luckily, noone has swerved towards me.

Did i mention that I might downshift from 5th to 3rd at 55 when I feel horns underneath my helmet Lets em know that they are alive!

[brew]

my bike is insanely loud as well. i have a kerker 4 to 1 as well but i took out the tip that has the one inch hole. its completely open with no baffles. i must say that its extremely loud, but i love it. (knock on wood) no noise tickets yet

[GrandPrix46]

My XS came with 4-2 straight pipes, love the look, but holy Jesus is it loud. Looks like 2 1/4" pipes on each side (could be 2", not sure), header wrapped.

No where near as loud as some HD's i've heard, though. I don't know how those guys do it, I doubt they ride daily to work and what not.

[Bonz]

I have original 4-2 factory exhaust.

When I bought it my goal was to keep it original, and it is in fantastic condition, 13,100 original miles. Definitely a keeper. I wasn't looking for an XS 1100 SG necessarily, but it caught my eye and worked out a nice deal with a friend who owned the bike.

I had a 1997 Bandit 1200s with a Kerker on it, and it gave a nice rumble but not excessive when on the gas. That motor absolutely kicks butt on torque. I had it dyno'd at 110 hp and 80 ft/lb after tuning it for the 7000 feet elevation here in Colorado that I ride at. The XS isn't in the same league, but it's a 28 year old bike! I like it because it was such a groung-breaking bike in its day. Plus, 85 hp or so and 60-ish ft/lb still gets me down the road just fine!

[birch]

BREW,

I thought about taking off that Baffle in the back just to see what it sound like, but was not sure if these engines needed some backpressure to keep the rings on the pistons. Have you had any problems with smoke or loss of compression.

Does anyone know how much backpressure these bikes need? Is it alright to remove any semblance of a baffle?

[Shuriken]

Originally posted by hbonser

I had a 1997 Bandit 1200s with a Kerker on it, and it gave a nice rumble but not excessive when on the gas. That motor absolutely kicks butt on torque. I had it dyno'd at 110 hp and 80 ft/lb after tuning it for the 7000 feet elevation here in Colorado that I ride at. The XS isn't in the same league, but it's a 28 year old bike! I like it because it was such a groung-breaking bike in its day. Plus, 85 hp or so and 60-ish ft/lb still gets me down the road just fine!

I rode a Bandit and totally agree.

And getting any power out of your bikes at 7000 feet can be tricky. My rides always take me between 5-9,000 feet.

[birch]

bonser,

I spent a couple of weeks in the Jefferson area last summer. My wife and had our honeymoon in the area. We rented a Harley while we were out there. I could not believe the difference in power once you get over 7 or 8 thousand feet. The smallest grade required downshifting.

Is palmer lake by Leadville? I think i remember seeing the sign, but cannot remember for sure.

[brew]

birch,

as far as i know, everything is running great on the bike. its a daily driver for me and it does not smoke at all and runs like a swiss clock.

i thought about the back pressure thing, but have not come across any problems and i have had it this way for almost 9 months.

[Bonz]

birch,

Palmer Lake is north of Colorado springs and right up against the foothills, on what is called the Palmer Divide. GPS says @7300 feet at the housel. The town of Monument is the exit on I-25 and then 3 miles straight west to Palmer Lake.

Haven't taken the XS over any high-mtn passes yet, but my trusty V Strom 1000 can pull them without downshifting, albeit at a slower rate of acceleration. So, I end up going down a gear. The XS should do real well with the short gearing if I venture out into the mountains on it.

My 80 SG has Just over 13,000 original miles and doesn't burn a drop of oil and with a quick cam-chain adjustment when I first got it, it purrs real nice.

Hey, only thing I wonder about now is I have to give a bit of throttle even when choked to get her to fire up in the morning. Once running, it's bomb proof and carburate's (sp?) real well. Haven't had it past about 90 mph but was pulling up well at that point. Plenty fast for an old bike... Doesn't have anything to prove anymore!

[skids]

Hey hbonser, I went though your town today! I was in Perry Park considering a Honda 1300st and on the way home to Arvada, I went around through Monument.

Originally posted by hbonser
birch,
Palmer Lake is north of Colorado springs

[Bonz]

Palmer Lake is a HUGE biker town on the weekends, O'Malley's Bar and the Rock House ice cream parlor are two stops and you'll see 50-75+ bikes on any given Saturday or Sunday.

The ride down from Perry Park on Hwy 105 is a nice one. Was that your first trip through Palmer Lake?

[skids]

Oh heck no. My sister used to date Jody (a guy), the owner of the Sedalia grill. Anyway, I like the trip from there through Monument, via hwy 105, onward to hwy 83, and either east on hwy 86, or just head north back to the house in arvada. It is a good ride when the Plaines are the scope of the ride.

Originally posted by hbonser
Palmer Lake ...

The ride down from Perry Park on Hwy 105 is a nice one. Was that your first trip through Palmer Lake?