Can you guys evaluate my situation?

[schooter]

This is going to be a bit of a read..

Alrite, well I'm pretty darn used to the little brothers of these bikes, I have a maxim 700 and seca 750. Just about done with my seca 750 which has 1900 miles.
My friend bought a 79 or 80 xs11 midnight, for 800, it sat for two years but it started up and i drove it around, at the time, I was 17 and just diving into bikes, I didnt feel confident into tearing into the carbs, but after working on my cb750 bobber and seca 750, i'm ready to go to town on this bike, I'm looking to trade my maxim 700 with the 2nd gear problem and wepy forks, but it runs like a sewing machine for the bike, the gearbox is solid on the xs 11, and I know my friend could never get this bike road worthy, he only knows how to work on olivers.

like most midnight's the paint isnt anything to brag about, since im in college, I cant really afford much, ill just rattle can it for now. the rear brakes work, but the front was seized, and I dont know if xs11's had dual rotors, but i know this only has one. good thing is there is spark on all four, i've ridden it and it pulls pretty good, sidecovers are all there, seat is good from what i remember. oh ya, it has a 4-2 which im pretty sure is aftermarket, because it doesnt have a collector box, but the thread is stripped in 2 or 3 holes i nthe head, i dont know how hard or expensive that would be to get fixed...

do you think this bike is worth around 800-900? i like 1100's, lots of power and love the rear disc brakes.. I paid 1500 for my maxim700, but that was waay too much, and i think it's worth around 900 or so as it is.

just some more things that probably need attention
-tires
-the starter button is rigged funny from what i remember
-gold airbox cover is bad on one side
-somewhere from 18-22K miles

i'm just glad the gearbox is solid and i know it will run.

also, if i do get it- any things that should be checked on these bikes that are different than the xj's? I know the valves have probably never been touched and the fuse box likes to break after touching the posts, check rear brakes for delamination...

ideally I want something rather large and fun my dad can drive, he doesnt dislike bikes, hes gone on rides with me and drove my uncles bike around the UP of michigan with my mom, but he's always been on a rocket, he's 6'6"... I would like to take my 750 to school with me, and not let him have the 1100, but let him and my mom go out on it.. they would enjoy it and if I can get him to appreciate bikes, he wont always be on my case... I snuck out of the house and drove 2 hours to get my seca 750- traded it for the wii I won at prom and my old laptop. kept it at my friends house until the day before i went to college and boy, were my parents surprised...

thanks for reading and I'm looking forward to what you have to say, I also hope to become a regular on this site, have a bit over 2K posts on xjbikes.com - mostly comic relief and frustrating the older guys =D

[b.walker5]

First thing to check is the VIN. Others will chime in here but as far as I'm aware the midnight was an '81 only. Definately should have two front disks though. These things are seriously heavy with serious power and need serious stoppers. If in fact it is an '11 then check wahts been done with the brake union under the lower triple clamp. The front and rear should be linked for proportional stopping, kinda like ABS, so i'd be nervous about riding with any thing bodgied.

Second thing to do is read the tech tips at the top of the page for model checks, common faults and mods etc.

Good luck and welcome aboard.

[tadtl1]

hi Elkton

Hi,
I am in Auburn, sixty miles to the west ofya. Regarding the lineage, my understanding is that the MNS is either 80 or 81.

Be careful out there, a guy in Decker is advertising an ordinary special as a MNS on CL. Nine hundred is a lot for a bike that you need to do that much to, stripped head bolts and screwed up front brakes, haha. To totally do the front brakes is gonna be at least two fifty plus bux if you do the labor and if youre shy about carbs, you may not want to mess with something that could put your life in danger.

Depends upon what it is about the head bolts, as to how much it would cost to fix right. If that guy was offering to me, it would take an offer of about six hundred to get me to check further into it. If you want a turnkey bike, there is a guy in Montrose with a nice special, says he will take 1300, its perfect from what he told me on the phone. That guy in decker, is only asking a thousand for his special, so that may be interesting. If youre gonna trade your buddy the seca for the eleven, go ahead if you want to get into those repairs. Dont think though that you can ride with just that rear brake, NO WAY,, too much power for that.

[schooter]

i checked my history because i posted before, and someone said they made midnights in 80 and 81, the way to differentiate is the 80's have straight spokes, 81's are curved...

I'm pretty sure the the front and rear arent linked- personally, I wouldnt really like them linked, always had front and rear separate ... so i'll put the other caliper on and (doing it right) separate the front and rear, I feel like i have more control...

I guess this should be mentioned- the guy my friend bought it from was an avid mc collector, He died in Iraq and his brother was cleaning out the barn, there were some water buffalo's sitting, 60's jap bikes, and a bunch of stuff, we scraped the bottom of the barrel, but this xs11 was his daily, still had his helmet hanging on it and jacket next to it (spookie), he also have some nortons and triumphs and harleys restored and wrapped up in his garage...

i'm pretty sure we got it titled as an 80, if not, I could go and change the date easy... its really easy to get titles in Michigan... I could probably title it as a 1945 yamaha and it would get by the state, though not insurance..

lol one more note- those living in FL and other states where it is really difficult to get a title, pm for some info, i've done this with success on the xjbikes site with some people across the country

[tadtl1]

hi elkton

Hi,

Fill me in please on this title thing you know about, might be handy to know sometime.
If youre buddy does really want to sell the eleven, and you dont want it, have him get in touch with me, 989 488 4487.

[schooter]

glad I found someone this close..
there's NO WAY I would trade my seca for the xs11- with 1900 miles the puppy is almost brand new (1K miles till first valve check ) - this bike is going to be my daily

I cant really "buy" a bike my parents would probably kick me out, so im trading..., idk if i worded my intro wrong, but i'm not longer afraid to do carbs.. I could clean xj carbs with a blindfold (really)

as far as 250 smacks to re do front brakes... I dont really think so unless I buy SS lines... chacel, who has every part to build an xj from the ground up, I'm pretty sure has the seals for these, and from what i remember they're like 40 bucks per caliper... there's also a guy on xjbikes, name is mlew, he should be a member here as well as rpgolerich (sorry i probably didnt spell it right)

they may be able to hook me up, but thanks for the quick responses at 2 am.. im studying for my history of canada class all night, though nothing really ever happened there...

I can tell this is a great site, unlike some I know (honda related)

[tadtl1]

low brakes

Hi,

Here is how I counted on the brakes, buy a rotor, buy hardware for rotor, prolly seventy bux by the time you get everything shipped if bought on ebay. Master cyl rebuild, thirty for parts, caliper purchase, maybe thirty bux if lucky. Kits for two calipers, sixty five bux. New pads, sixty to seventy dollars if lucky. All new fluid, five bux. Its over 250 and there are no ss lines yet, and since there is a brake missing, the line will need to be had too prolly, another ten bux minimum. If you want to add ss lines, figure eighty bux at least.
For what its worth, in 72 I lived on Moore road near Elkton. Come on down and show me your bike sometime. Where are you going to school anyways. Big D or Sag Valley like me?

[tadtl1]

seca trans

Hi, Just what is going on with the seca transmission anyways. Is that thing a gear skipper like the eleven?
How is a maxim 700 with a bad second gear worth 900? I bought a nice MNS for 950 , it was turnkey ready to ride.

[schooter]

sorry if i keep posting after myself, i tend to do it alot

but i've noticed alot of talk about middle drive oil... is this on the shaft, because on the xj's theres a plug towards the back of the engine, I cannot remember what it's called, I recall it having the word middle in it, but it is a big no no to attempt to remove this, though yamaha engineered the motors well, some parts are lack luster and this bolt is soft metal and likes to strip the head and or shear...

on this note- do xs11's have bolts holing on the intake boots? if so, are these like the xj's where they are very soft and will shear? it's also been noted that successful bolt removal shows a substance on the threads, maing us think they also put a thread locker on there.., if that's the case.. i knwo the boots are cracked, but my friend bought decent replacements.. i may just coat them with silicone to save myself a headache

[schooter]

tadtl- i wish my school was that close, im in the tundra of the UP- Michigan Tech, going for who guessed it, mechanical engineering.

I live 2 miles from moore road, we own farmland on moore road south out to huron line road.

i wen to lakers.

if you lived on moore road close to elkton, you would have had to heard of the schuette's..... and the bike is about a half mile west of moore rd on richadson

the seca doesnt have anything wrong with it- it's the maxim 700

the 700's retain a bit of value better than the other xj's their design is a bit more modern, they're a little bit rarer. i've seen 700 x's go for 3500..in all honesty you may be right, not quite worth 900, I would shy away from a bike with a tranny problem, but it's not that big of a problem- you essentially have a 4 speed gear box.. i've gotten so used to riding it like that, when i took my seca 750 out.. i skipped 2nd gear, lol. but my friend is nowhere near able to fix up this bike, i know he wants to go riding, and a straight up trade for a ridable bike costing him $0 and not having to deal with selling his non runner, is a pretty good situation for me and him.. but if i fixed the 2nd gear problem and forks, and with the physical shape of the 700, I dont think 2000 would be that far off of an asking price, a guy on xjbikes who owns a shop in detroit will fix the 2nd gear for 500 flat rate in the winter if you bring the engine to him out of the frame... so he should be able to do it to xs11's too

[tadtl1]

values

Hi,

I dont know, but when I can buy a mns in running condition, how a 700 can be worth that, but that is in the eye of the beholder, who knows, maybe thats a more desireable bike than I think.

There is a guy a mile away from me that sold a running yammie 650 four, for a hundred bux kuzz the clutch needed replacing.

I know whereof you speak regarding the four speed trans. I actually shift my eleven first to third to fifth, simply kuzz I am lazy. Its a very nice strong cruiser. That commute to mich tech, must be something, gads. But its a good school, keep up the good work.

I dont want to step on your deal, so if you want the eleven get it, but if you dont, have him call me. I can do cash.

[tadtl1]

forgot OFF TOPIC

Hi, I lived in the first house on the right on Moore rd north of 142 back then. Loved the beautiful lawn, but hated mowing that huge thing. haha. If you guys are dairy farmers, I drove weekend milk truck for Clayton Geiger back in the day.

[schooter]

I would call your deal a steal... have not seen an xs or xj 1100 below 1000 from what i can recall...

and no we're not dairy farmers, just crops.. and i'm pretty sure i know what house you're talking about...

[tadtl1]

prices

Hi,

There must be a shortage of useable saleable bikes up there for those prices to be for real. My bud here has seven elevens, no pun intended. He bought them all pretty much for around five hundred, some are baskets that he got for a hundred. He bought a full faired bagged eleven with low miles for five hundred just in January. The front brakes are bad on that one too. That bike does have a small crack in the frame near the sidestand too.

[schooter]

what are you using, craigslist?

I did a quick search of CL, this is all I found: http://flint.craigslist.org/mcy/1701126616.html

how did you find those other xs11's?