Midnight Special

[ritecliq]

Hi,
Does anyone know exactly what the difference is beween a Midnight Special and a standard XS? I have been told that all XS's are Midnight Specials, is this true?

Thanks,
Dale.

[uk1.1s]

Midnight

Hi Dale,

Not the expert at this but I'll have a stab and others can correct my poor knowledge - and not take the piss too much I hope!

OK

Midnight Special was (I think) a North American only model which was sold from around 80-81. It was based (in look) on the 'Special' - cruiser but had black cycle parts, black 'chrome' mudgards and a black 'chromed' exhausted. Parts that would be silver chrome were a gold colour - don't know the process, but I'd be surprised if they gold plated 'em!

Oh and the engine was black too and wheels were anodized gold.

If you go to the home page of this site and look on the navigation bar at the side of the page you should be able to see one in the model photos section - I think the Midnight is the XS1100 LH model.

In Europe we got a less custom look which they called the XS1.1 Sport. Same black finish, with silver chrome parts though. In Oz they called this the XS1100 RH I think, certainly pictures I've seen attached to a few mails I've had with a couple of Australain owners show the bike to be pretty much spot on for a European XS1.1sport

Don't know about the Midnight Special - but the Sport had different cams and maybe one or two other engine changes which didn't up the horse power (remained 95) but allowed max torque to be developed around 1000rpm lower down the rev range (which is fun ).

There you go - maybe not perfectly right, but that's my first stab....hope it helps

[sixtysix]

A Midnight Special was a special (not a standard) and it was a trim package. Everthing was either Black or gold (no chrome). In 80 only one midnight was sent to each dealer, so they are fairly rare, but the 81's were flooded on the market...so they sold a bunch more. Here is a picture of a mint Midnight Special from from the Maine rally:





Original ads, pictures and stuff can be checked out right here at XS11.com, Original Advertisments , there is a lot of neat stuff here check it out.

[Jeff]

The STANDARD is how the XS started back in 1978. It looks like the older more blocky style bikes the Japanese produced in earlier years. It has a larger but more squared fuel tank and a relatively flat seat. In a stock configuration.... the Standards handled a little better and actually performed a bit better because they were produced before Yamaha started jetting them down and focussing on emissions. The Special was introduced to give the XS a sportier look with its leaner and longer looking profile and more rounded teardrop shaped tank...... similar to what was going on with other bikes such as the American made HD Sportster and the Kawasaki LTD series. Yamaha continued this styling with the Maxim and the Virago.

The Midnight Special.... as noted in the previous messages was a limited release version of the special with several cosmetic alterations such as the all gold trim and gold wheels. From what I gathered... the name came from the Creedence Clearwater Revival song of the same name.

[ritecliq]

Well thanks everybody for your feedback.

I have an Australian 1981 RH model and it has gold wheels and the motor is black. The reason for this question is that I am going to paint my bike black and I wasn't sure what badges I should put on the side covers. (Currently there aren't any badges on the side covers or tank. ) For this reason I didn't want to do the world of XS 11 owners any bad justice by putting on Midnight Special badges when this bike isn't a Midnight Special. Or is it? From the photos I've seen, there is only gold colouring on the carby's and a few reflectors which aren't the same.
Also, what about the XS Eleven Special? Is this the standard XS 11 or is another variation or model?

Thanks,
Dale.

[Jeff]

The Standard side cover badges simply say XS ELEVEN whereas the Special says XS ELEVEN SPECIAL. The tank badges were all the same on all models simply saying YAMAHA in gold with a black background. The only NEW tank badges currently available to fit any of the XS bikes are chrome and are actually made to fit Yamaha Golf Carts on the front.

The models with a single letter are standards such as the XS1100E and F. The Specials have two letters starting with S such as the XS1100SF, SG and SH. The Midnight Specials had 2 letters beginning in L such as the XS1100LG and LH.

[CA.XSer]

Check this site for tank badges. Might be worth a look. Don't know anything about this company.

http://www.badgereplicas.com.au/Yframe.htm

[sixtysix]

You need to talk to somebody with an RH, the Assie models (and Euro models) were different than the US ones.

In 1981:

5N5 - XS1100RH - Oceania and other countries, including South Africa, Australia and Europe. Known in SA as the "Europa" model (from engine no: 5N5-000101)(Fiche no: XS1100RH 12- 81-01) (New Yamaha Black) (Imported into SA: From Engine # 5N5-000101)

You have a 1.1 Sport Model (in europe) different than both a special or a standard.

Here is my 5 minute history of the XS:

Where do you start? The XS was only made from 78-81, then was reborn as the XJ1100 Maxim for 82 and then dropped in the US, but continued in Canada till 84. There are two kinds of XS's a Standard and a Special. In 78 only a Standard was made, then in 79 a Special was added (tear drop tank, lower seat, wider tire, etc...basically a crusier model) then in 80 an Midnight Special was added...all black with gold chrome on everything. In 1980 only two Midnights were allowed per dealer, making them much more rare than the 81 Midnight. In 81 the Standard was reworked as a touring bike and dubbed the Venturer 1100 (Trans-Canada 1100 in Canada).



And in europe they had the 1.1 Martini. The highest performance model is the 78, After that they added small changes for emissions every year. The performance difference between models is so small as to not even matter. The running gear was the same on all models and problems go across the whole line of bikes, not just certain years.

Pick one you like and get it, specials are more common than standards, making the standard more special in my opinion. Here is a quick peek at the basic models:

Standard


Special


Midnight Special


XJ1100J


1.1 Martini

[Ken Talbot]

Strangely, the sidecover emblems on the Midnight Special came with a chrome finish rather than gold.
[IMG]/forum/images/tips/20030625-dsc02187.jpg[/IMG]

Go figure....

[uk1.1s]

When is a Martini not a Martini!

Errr - Gary's Pics above show the European 1.1 Sport at the bottom not the Martini (shaken or Stirred )

The Martini was a big tourer with a Yam faring - mostly seen in 70's Martini racing colours (white with red and blue striping).

There's a guy called Jim Garvey who posts here sometimes from Oz and has at least 1100 RH (I think 2). You may be able to dig out his user Id and send him a Private Message for more advice

From chatting with Jim - if memory serves me right (not always the case these days ) they have the '1.1' side panel badge like you can see on Gary's last pic above

[glenn]

Hi Dale and Mike, The RH has a 1.1 side cover badge and the tank a gold Yamaha badge. i sent both of these to Brian Cutler at badge replicas for copying. having spoken to Jim 2xRH there is no difference between the 1.1s European and our RH

[sixtysix]

I stand corrected.....You are right, that is a sport, this is a martini,

[uk1.1s]

Anytime anyplace anywhere......

Gary - no dig intended .... just recognised the Sport as it's like mine!

Darn confusing us Europeans having these odd XS1100's eh?

Cheers - Graham

[sixtysix]

No dig implied...I just don't know my XS's. Now I know more, so everything is OK.