Is engine bullet proof?

[HOJO]

Need advice, please.

I have an XJ1100 with approx 16,400 miles. I ride with friends who have BIG Harleys. I plan to take a trip with them in a few weeks, mostly highway. I am curious about highway speed and what rpm is safe for extended periods of time. Bike has a vibration somewhere above 70 mph that seems to be engine related. Should I worry about the engine turning into a grenade @ 75 mph?

[CatatonicBug]

I would be more worried about the HD's. These bikes are musclebikes. They thrive at high speeds. 5k+ rpm's is no problem at all for hours at a time. There are plenty of folks on this forum who have taken many cross-country trips on their XS/XJ's with no issues. As long as everything is tuned up properly and oil leaks are fixed, you'll have no issues other than a sore butt (the seats are known for being less than comfy on long trips).

[psycoreefer]

I agree, make sure you've done your regular maintanace, good oil, balanced carbs, etc and you should have no problem. Hope the HD guys can keep up.

[RUSH]

Back in '92 when I bought my bike a magazine article I read described it as bullet proof and able to do 100k (65mph) all day. I have done 10,000 miles on my XS in a 2 week period and only had the speedo cable fall off and the rear wheel bearing fail ( I still managed 4,000 miles on the bad bearing mainly because I didnt know about it). I recently did a 6k mile trip to Alaska on the same bike and had no problems (the only spare I took with me was a voltage regulator) while some my Harley friends spent thousands of dollars keeping their bikes running. Change all the fluids you havent done and you'll be fine. Dont ride faster than you are comfortable to do. Odds are you wont be the last one in, I never was and I wouldnt go over 75 mph on a straight away. As far as vibrations go, check your wheels and bearings. I once had a shop put the bead locks in the wrong spots and did about 2,000 miles before I figured it out. Very bad vibration over 70mph.
Have fun and good luck

[XJOK2PLAY]

Need advice, please.

I have an XJ1100 with approx 16,400 miles. I ride with friends who have BIG Harleys. I plan to take a trip with them in a few weeks, mostly highway. I am curious about highway speed and what rpm is safe for extended periods of time. Bike has a vibration somewhere above 70 mph that seems to be engine related. Should I worry about the engine turning into a grenade @ 75 mph?

As a fellow XJ owner, my advice to you... don't sweat it.

When you hear these things are bullet-proof... believe it. I have accidentally put mine to the ultimate test... one that any new bike would have had a seizure from... and it came through... completely unscathed. Amazing!
A friend of mine who used to own an XJ used to go on trips from OK to Cali across the desert doing 100mph in 100 degree heat... ALL DAY LONG! No problems.
As far as the vibration's concerned... that's kinda common for these bikes to have that. Mine does a little around that speed... not bad. Once it got pretty bad... bad enough I worried & complained to my riding buddies about it... then discovered the aftermarket exhaust I had put on was rubbing against the frame, and that was causing it to vibrate through the pegs & bars. Nothing was wrong... but it felt like a bearing was going out in the engine. Replaced the exhaust with a good stock XJ system... no more vibration.
There's always the possibility you could have something going on... but with those low miles, unless that thing's been rode hard & put away wet a lot, I doubt the crank bearings are bad... these engines were designed to go 100,000 miles or more... and there are members here who have proven that.

Yamaha overbuilt these things... take my word for that. Mine is living proof!
The great thing about these bikes? YOU CAN WORK ON THEM IF YOU NEED TO! You can get to everything... most standard tools will usually get the job done. A new bike? Ha! Forget it! Call a wrecker... send it to a dealer.
Parts? Not a problem... there's an entire nation of 11 owners... in fact, don't forget this is an International forum! Take a small laptop... if something happens... or carry some phone numbers of fellow members you can call on if something does go wrong & ya need help... not a problem.
It was because of this site, it's people, the bike's design, and knowing I wasn't all alone if I broke down was why I bought one. I had good friends that knew all this that showed me, helped me, and encouraged me... and had proven this already. That's what gave me the confidence to ride a 30 year old bike.
I carry good insurance, w/ towing... just in case.

Just make sure you're prepared before embarking on a long trip.
Service the bike thoroughly, and ride it on a few short trips to make sure it's up to par. You know the drill...

The most important thing I've learned about trips? after being as well prepared for any breakdown or tragedy I can be? Riding in a group... especially with others I've never riden with before. It's one thing to ride w/ guys you've logged lots of miles with... it's another when it's a bunch of new guys. Just be forwarned, and be careful... Safety foremost!

Good luck, and if ya decide to make the trip... just remember what a wise friend & fellow Xser advised me once: "It's all about perspective. Trips where nothing goes wrong, and everything's uneventful are good... but when bad things sometime's happen... that's what makes it an adventure. And that's what makes it memorable." Bohn Frazer.

Don't worry... they're great bikes. Have fun... and put some miles on her.
I believe those guys on those 'Big Harleys' might just have a problem keeping up with you! You'll see...
Bob

[mack]

vibration

I'd start by figuring out if the vibration is caused by RPM or velocity, then work back from there. If it's RPM check the quick things first, cam chain tension, valve shim's, loose exhaust and loose cover bolts etc. If it's velocity related, start looking for loose frame mounted components. If your new to this particular bike, it's a good idea to go over it with a torque wrench and look for loose or missing bolts. Change all fluid whether the PO said he did it or not.

[bikerphil]

An excessively lean fuel condition can also cause vibration. Looking at the color of your spark plugs will tell you if your mixture is lean. JAT

[fredintoon]

Need advice, please.

I have an XJ1100 with approx 16,400 miles. I ride with friends who have BIG Harleys. I plan to take a trip with them in a few weeks, mostly highway. I am curious about highway speed and what rpm is safe for extended periods of time. Bike has a vibration somewhere above 70 mph that seems to be engine related. Should I worry about the engine turning into a grenade @ 75 mph?

Hi HOJO and welcome,
reliable compared to a Harley? This is a joke, right?
The JOTD string is in the Member's Lounge section.

[DenyP]

These are 30 year old machines. If you have done your part with proper restoration and maintenance they are rock solid. You do need to consider the limited support from dealers for parts and service when taking an extended trip away from your home area and decide your own comfort level.

Deny

[Jerry]

Is the XJ capable of reliable long-distance travel? Absolutely, provided you take some care to do the following:

If your bike still has the original fuse block, replace it. This single item accounts for more problems than any other piece of electrical gear on the bike.

Replace rubber fuel and vacuum lines with new stuff.

Replace the OEM brake lines with new hoses, preferably Stainless Steel units. Crud that has settled in the bottom of lines or pistons will be stired up by frequent brake use over a long trip and cause sticking brakes. Carry an 8mm box-end wrench in your kit to use to loosen the bleed nipples if this happens. Along those same lines, if you don't replace the lines, at least replace the old brake fluid with new.

Replace the air filter. This item is XJ-only, no aftermarket unit is available. For best results, look up the tech tip about using the old filter frame with a new K & N filter pad to give your bike a modern and reuseable filter element.

I run my XJ at 75 - 80 MPH indicated for long periods of time with no issues at all. I've taken trips of 2,500 - 3,000 miles with no problems. However, I have done most of the things I mentioned above, still running an OEM filter that I recently bought. (Around $45.00, IIRC.) Your XJ can be a reliable tourer, but for more peace of mind, do the upgrades and maintenance.

One last thing. Before you take off on a long trip, pull and grease the drive shaft with the Honda stuff made for the Goldwings, or with synthetic grease. At least grease the splines that fit into the final drive. The grease fitting that is on the drive shaft housing doesn't do jack. You need to pull the shaft and grease it by hand.

[HOJO]

Guys,

Thanks for the information and advice. I feel a lot better about the trip and more confident in my bike. I know its 28 years old and things can always go wrong, but just hearing that others like mine have done my little trip & more makes me worry less about "nuking" the engine.

I have just had new tires put on and wheel bearings and brakes checked. I need to find and read threads about the drive shaft and rear end, when I accelerate hard it sometime feels like a chain drive "slipping a tooth."

I will be riding with friends I have logged quite a few miles with.

Thanks again, and keep the advice coming..

[trbig]

I accelerate hard it sometime feels like a chain drive "slipping a tooth."

Ahhh... you have just described the infamous gear problem these bikes have. Does it happen in 1st, or 2nd? Whichever one, be easy in that gear. Once it starts jumping like that, it will progressively get worse until it won't even stay in the gear. Each slip rounds the gear dogs a bit more. It doesn't hurt the bike even if that gear is gone to continue riding.. just avoiding that gear... but it will get annoying enough after a while to where you'll want to fix it. And.. the sooner you do it, the better off and easier the repair will be to the gears involved.

It is fixable with a Dremmel tool and a bit of mechanical aptitude. It's not rocket science though.


Tod

[HOJO]

First gear.. So that is the infamous 2nd gear problem I have read about. I have only had this happen a few times, after the first time I have been easy with it. Does this also happen with 3rd or 4th?

Guess it is time to search the threads for this repair also. I remember reading a little about this but did not pay close attention because I didn't think I had this problem yet.

Thanks, not happy about the problem, but glad to know what it is.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Hojo,

Yep, it's the Tranny 1st/2nd gear malady. It seems to occur on the later model XS's...81 and XJ's on their 1st gears first, whereas the earlier models seemed to be the 2nd gear occuring first, but both are susceptible to wear because they are used more often under strong throttle and such, as well as other mechanical reasons for their wear! The tech tips cover the Dremmel fix for both gear sets! Just take it easy taking off in 1st, and shift into 2nd, before giving it much throttle, but be aware that it could occur/start in 2nd as well. It's much more rare to occur in 3rd, and haven't heard anyone with it in 4th or 5th.
T.C.

[Yard Dogg]

On that trip with your Harley buddies. At first they will say things like, "Jap bikes to the back of the pack" or "My Harley has 75 Horse Power! (That's them bragging)" or "You get what you pay for" they might even refer to your engine not making enough noise. After they see your tail light a few times, spend more time resting from all the vibration of their poorly balanced engines, and have many more roadside repairs than you, they will come around and start saying things like "It's not about speed, it's about nostalgia" or "Damn I didn't even hear you until you were past me and a mile up the road in about 3 seconds" You will see their envy TKO their pride and then they will understand, they'll try to hide it, but it'll be there.

The BS stops when the green flag drops!