which one is thew best?

[RHODIE]

Guys, ..Greetings, hope festive season went well.
As a EX bmw r 60 (1964) rider, who has not ridden for 10 years..(besides the occasional test ride, I had the pleasure of riding a 1980 xs1100( not the special)...GREAT RIDE...is there a model xs or xj that stands out more then another??,,,yeh, I KNOW..STRANGE QUESTION, but thought I would ask.

I am planning to get me one,

[fredintoon]

Guys, ..Greetings, hope festive season went well.
As a EX bmw r 60 (1964) rider, who has not ridden for 10 years..(besides the occasional test ride, I had the pleasure of riding a 1980 xs1100( not the special)...GREAT RIDE...is there a model xs or xj that stands out more then another??,,,yeh, I KNOW..STRANGE QUESTION, but thought I would ask.

Hi Rhodie and welcome,
well, if you could still buy new ones, The '78 Standard XS11 (they didn't make a '78 Special) had the best performance numbers, even if not by much.
The XSs also had slightly better numbers than the XJs.
But 30 years down the road the best XS or XJ is the one in the best shape, regardless.
So, for an XS, if you yearn for a Special but can only find a Standard, or vice-versa, the parts mostly swap to turn either into other.
And enough black paint will make you a near-enough Midnight Special.

[XSokieSPECIAL]

Guys, ..Greetings, hope festive season went well.
As a EX bmw r 60 (1964) rider, who has not ridden for 10 years..(besides the occasional test ride, I had the pleasure of riding a 1980 xs1100( not the special)...GREAT RIDE...is there a model xs or xj that stands out more then another??,,,yeh, I KNOW..STRANGE QUESTION, but thought I would ask.
I am planning to get me one,

Another retro convert. These old xs11s ar like heroin, try it once and you can't stop.

I have an 80 special I'm pretty proud of but from what I've learned the 78 special was the quickest off the showroom floor.

AFIAK

Welcome RHODIE

[XSokieSPECIAL]

Ok fred ya got me.

I knew it was the 78 but I missed it on the special.


RHODIE,

Your doubled up on this post.

[RHODIE]

std vs midnight

What is so special about the Midnight Special, besides gold plating and special paint work?...mechanically, is it different.
In South Africa, they were pretty rare

[RHODIE]

the fastest vs most reliable

I am not too concerned about plus or minus 8 mph, my old BMW WOULD ONLY DO 105, down a 45 degree hill, with me lying on the tank...
I honestly believe that the xs is one of the most reliable bikes out there and the best value for "true biking pleasure"

[DGXSER]

What is so special about the Midnight Special, besides gold plating and special paint work?...mechanically, is it different.
In South Africa, they were pretty rare

Depends on the year of the Midnight. In 81, they added the linked brakes that they put on the XJ models. Not sure, but I think other than that, it was all cosmetic as in gold plated chrome and gold trim on wheels and such.

[79XS11F]

What is so special about the Midnight Special, besides gold plating and special paint work?...mechanically, is it different.
In South Africa, they were pretty rare

Welcome to the board Rhodie. The midnight Special was a style statement and not much more then that. They are rare in all areas. There were minor changes, and in some cases like from 78 to 79 only very minor changes made to the XS11 standard model each year. The power plant for all years is however basicly the same unit. Many parts are shared by all bikes.
For myself the standards of 78 and 79 are the most comfortable to ride. The wider handlebar makes the bike somewhat easier to handle. The bike feels more nimble. The large comfortable seat and riding position is good for full days in the saddle. It's a very easy bike to maintain and work on. Parts are also pretty easy to find for the time being.
Rob

[trbig]

As stated, these bikes all share the same basic power plant. The XJ has a YICS (Yamaha Induction Control) system, which basically involves an extra little tube along the back of the cylinders that connects all the intakes to where one intake that isn't quite up to snuff can borrow from the others. It requires a $20 tool to synch the carbs as you have to block these individual intakes off to adjust each carb. Even with that, you can permanently block off these ports and use any of the XJ motor on the other bikes. The YICS was simply a way to try to keep the bike smog legal in California for longer periods between carb adjustment.

There are some differences between the 78/79 motors and the 80/81/82 motors, but it's in the pistons and valves, so any motor from any year will bolt right up.

The XS has a mechanical vacuum timing advance that can have some problems with flexing the wires over the years, but that's an easy repair. The XJ uses an electronic advance, so no wires to flex. It also has a linked braking system.. when you hit the back brake, a valve also applies pressure to the front left caliper. I removed this, but many like it. The XJ has a few little upgrades, but being that it was only released for one year in the U.S., parts are getting somewhat harder to find versus the XS.

The 78/79 standards came with tubed tires which I am no fan of. The specials have small fuel tanks. ALL of the bikes/motors are susceptible to having transmission gear problems in 1st and 2nd gear. You can do a fairly easy fix on these with a Dremmel tool if you are mechanically inclined at all. If you AREN'T mechanically inclined, I would try to sway you from buying a 30 year old bike since there's very few mechanics who can work on them correctly. You can still buy new gears to fix the problem also. It's pretty costly, but Yamaha fixed the problem that caused the gear problems and the gears are back cut like you would be doing with the Dremmel. Not every bike has this problem though... it's just a crap shoot.

If you live by any other members, you can usually get some help from people that have "been there and done that" with any problem that may arise for much cheaper than an hour of a shop's charges. Beverage of choice and a meal seems to be the going rate.

As for overall longevity, most of the bikes in this age class had motors that were worn out at 50k miles. Heck most of the CAR motors didn't last much longer than this then. Lots and lots of people have over 100k miles on theirs here in the forum, and many have over 200k on them. I say that speaks for itself...


Tod

[jmnjrpa]

Which one appeals the most to you? My advice is to go for the one you like because that is what makes it enjoyable. Welcome to the best MC club in existance. These people really have it together and are a "real" brotherhood.

[RHODIE]

Thanx for the info

Guys,
i appreciate all the information and when i do buy, believe will buy from this website.
I will stay to the std instead of the special.
I have seen some, in rather dicey condition, yet they always want a lot more then what you see on xs11.com.

[XSokieSPECIAL]

Guys,
i appreciate all the information and when i do buy, believe will buy from this website.
I will stay to the std instead of the special.
I have seen some, in rather dicey condition, yet they always want a lot more then what you see on xs11.com.

There are some bros around you there in neighboring states and such I don't think would mind helping you out.

I'm sure they'll jump in here soon.

[TomRodgers]

Check the specs out. the standard has longer legs (holds a bit more go go juice). its a matter of personal preference. i myself like the standard. it looks a bit "meaner" with that im going to rub your face in it later attitude.

ive got 3 of them in my garage now...two to use, one for parts. and i love these things. ive owned a few different bikes: two Vmax's, a Virago, my first bike was an '81 550 Maxim..., Honda 900 RR, GSXR1100, and i regularly tool around on a new Honda 600 F4i (not mine but close enuf to use!!)

Over the last few years, kids and house has taken priority, so now my hobby is getting/keeping the two useable horses running!!! Its fun.

[Montreux_Blue]

which one is thew best?

Standard for touring, Maxim (XJ) for shorter touring, Special for even shorter touring....