NEED HELP REBUILDING 1980 XS1100 Special!

[cywelchjr]

i'm in Charlotte, North Carolina.. these are what i need:

1.) crash guards. Don't care how fancy they are, just need something to sustain the impact should I fall again.

IIRC, someone on here had a getoff with the 3 point guards and found that in a moving drop, they are actually no better than the 2 point as both WILL almost for sure bend back and crush the engine cases. I believe I've actually read some stuff that implies that if you go down, except for the outer covers on the alternator and ignition, that your better off without them, that is outside of a parking lot drop, in which case the guards actually do their job.

Frankly, I'm not sure I've ever seen crash guards that are strong enough and solidly mounted enough to protect the engine very well. They are good at low speed, and a nice place to mount highway pegs, and they do look good, but frankly as for higher speed they are at best a waste and at worst can actually make the damage worse.

[CatatonicBug]

Here's an interesting set of 3-point guards for $69.64 shipped. They aren't show quality, but they look decent enough.

[natemoen]

I have been looking at those guards for a long time (been on ebay for 5+ months).

From what I understand the 2 points will lay over your case and let the case grind on the asphalt. The 3 points will break and smash your case. If you go down at highway speeds are you really going to care at that point though that you have some rash on a case or a broken case, I guess personally I would be more worried about myself over my bike.

The 2 points however are notorious for bending if you are using highway pegs and you ever attempt to adjust your weight with your feet on the pegs.

[Kit]

Here's an interesting set of 3-point guards for $69.64 shipped. They aren't show quality, but they look decent enough.

And just FYI, for anyone who cares: I've actually bought from this seller. His warehouse is less than an hour from my house, so I drove up to save myself some shipping. Nice guy, and very helpful.

[WMarshy]

I have the two point guards and they will protect your bike if you happen to tip it over not moving, they will bend a little just from that. They saved me from a dent to the tank more than once! Anything more than that and they don't do much but, they wont bend all to hell if your merely shifting your weight around the bike on your highway pegs. I happen to like mine the only thing better would be a custom made set maybe but, make them too sturdy and you risk damaging the frame. Depending on your "theme" you might consider a cantilever style round bar like the new sport bikes use for sliders...

[crazy steve]

I'll agree, the two piece 'case guards' or 'crash bars' are all but worthless. The two-point-mount ones will fold over like a cheap lawn chair at anything above a slow walking speed,and the three-point ones aren't much better. If your bike is going to fall over in your driveway, they have some value...

What you want is a real 'crash bar', something like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HARLE...Q5fAccessories
You could get these for the XS11 'back in the day', but these weren't all that popular among bike owners in general because you could get tangled up in the car bumpers of the day and get dragged down the road. Not an issue now with the plastic bumpers, but it was then. I've only ever seen maybe a dozen XS11s equipped with one, so they weren't common even then. While I doubt if you can find a XS-specific bar now, you might be able to find something that could be adapted...

[CatatonicBug]

It's funny... Until this thread, I have never heard of ANYONE having issues with the 3-point guards. I've seen pictures of the damage when 2-point guards folded back and smashd through the timing cover on one bike, and heard similar stories of others, but never anything negative about the 3-point ones.

Honestly, I can't see how that giant 1-piece thing would be of any use, since the mounting points and the point of impact would be so far apart, the tubing would fold instantly. Not to mention the fact that the mounting points are so close together in the middle that the slightest impact would snap them off the bike (think trying to back down the driveway, past SWMBO's cage that's parked a little too far to one side - I did that once and tore the Vetter bag off the side ).

[natemoen]

I have seen a few of those on ebay Steve, and I kind of thought the same as cbug.

I have considered taking my 3 points to a machine shop and seeing what it would cost to have them made out of solid SS rod. Would give more strength for spills but would still have the weakness in the mounts to break before the frame.

[DGXSER]

All I know for certain is that if Thunderstruck's two point engine guards had done any good at all instead of smashing the timing cover and the alternator cover to the point of breaking the engine case bolt holes open in several locations, I'd still own two bikes instead of one. But the cost of a replacement engine along with all the other damage made it ineffective to fix it.

[foreda]

Engine guards

If you're going to wreck, wreck slow!!

[crazy steve]

...Honestly, I can't see how that giant 1-piece thing would be of any use, since the mounting points and the point of impact would be so far apart, the tubing would fold instantly...

While I never ran one myself, I know guys who did and bending one was almost never an issue; those are a lot tougher than you think and generally made with pretty stout tubing. If you hit something a good smack, yeah, they would bend, but a bent crash bar was usually the least of your troubles. But if you just went down and slid, the bar would support the bike off the ground and take the damage; I saw that demonstrated a few times.

Remember, when our usual guards fold up, it's not the round tubing that bends; it's the flat mounting brackets that attach it....

[Wet Rock]

I doubt that someone makes them for our old bikes but I have heard of Frame Sliders that they use on modern cycles.

[jshepard935]

just with ur air cap,
when u remove or put back on,
loosen the upper tripple tree bolt underneath,
makes life so much easier.

LOL... no it doesn't, unless you mean loosen it, extend it all the way up, and retighten it to get give the spring as much room as possible.. THEN replace the air cap..

[petejw]

LOL... no it doesn't, unless you mean loosen it, extend it all the way up, and retighten it to get give the spring as much room as possible.. THEN replace the air cap..

not sure what u mean?

but the bolt that goes thru the upper tripple tree
and holds the fork tube in, the air cap sits in the tube
in effect squeezing on it when the bolt is tightened,
if you dont loosen that bolt it makes it near impossible
to put the cap back on.

[jetmechmarty]

Quote:
Originally Posted by jshepard935 View Post
2.) fork cap (just one).
Best option is to post on here in parts wanted. Someone probably has one they will sell reasonable. Another option to look into is Progressive springs. Almost every one who upgrades to the progressive springs, does not use air in the forks anymore. So you could simply put a regular bolt in the hole and call it done, and get better suspension while your at it.

There are other options depending upon the performance you're looking for and the money you are willing to spend.

You can go with GOLD VALVE CARTRIDGE EMULATORS® and straight rate springs. Race Tech

For a bunch of money you can have cartridge forks made. http://www.traxxion.com