German exhaust system

[James England]

The only 'flaw' I see is the mufflers appear to have a slight 'up angle' compared to the original pipes; the OEM pipes didn't quite hide the axle from a side view. Will your 'tire change cable' hold the wheel up enough to still allow axle removal?D

I was actually lying flat on the ground when I took the photo.... so I could get all the abbey in, so it accentuates the angle of the silencers. They do, in fact, slightly obsure the rear axle but not by as much as it looks in my attempt at an 'arty photo!

I've never used the cable thing, even on my new bike. I prefer to chock the rear wheel and remove both rear shocks. I know it's more long-winded but I've never liked the idea of the wire snapping or fraying!

[James England]

Hopefully, the outside head pipes wont scrape during hard turns. They do look great. I would get the heat shields (clamp-ons?) just to protect your skin and reduce "shoe goo" on the hot pipes.

I can only get the heat shields with 3 bolt holes... two at the top and one underneath. They come from Yamaha like that but the originals were clip-on, I think. Following suggestions from forum members re my lack of stainless welding experience, I think I will braze a nut onto a Jubilee clip and tighten it onto the exhaust pipe... then put bolts through the heat shield holes straight into them. Either that or get the stainless welding man to tack three nuts per side onto the pipes.....

[James England]

That is one mighty fine looking bike and set of pipes. The pic of the background combined with that bike should be in a calendar! Nice to see it and hear about the pipes. Thanks.

Thank you. I think forum member Wildkat does a calendar of XS1100's?? Yes, there's something about Thornton Abbey, isn't there? It's about 5 miles from my house and is actually only the gatehouse to an abbey built around 1300 which was completely destroyed by Henry VIII. Only the foundations of the abbey are left. They left the gatehouse because it was mainly brick (one of the first large structures in the UK made of brick) and not worth using for stone. So they just trashed the statues a bit and left the rest. The good old days, eh?

[figman]

Thanks for sharing. You have a very fine specimen and I am in a pure state of envy.

[James England]

Thanks for sharing. You have a very fine specimen and I am in a pure state of envy.

Thank you. It's taken a lot of time and all my spare cash to get looking like that though. I've no doubt spent more in total than it's 'worth'...... for once, I'm in a position to keep my motorbike and not have to sell it, so it's worth it to me. The alarming thing is that people who see it refer to it as a 'classic bike'...."nice to see old classics still on the road" etc.... but I remember when they first came out and were state of the art modern. They turned heads in those days because they were so new. Now they turn heads because they're so old. And that's happened in my own lifetime.....!

[crazy steve]

I can only get the heat shields with 3 bolt holes... two at the top and one underneath. They come from Yamaha like that but the originals were clip-on, I think....

The originals were welded to the stock pipes and not replaceable or available separately. The bolt-on shields are for the Specials, but I don't think they'll fit quite right as they're shaped differently; those 'turn up' at the back to match the angled-up Special mufflers. You might be able to correct that with some careful use of a rubber hammer, but that exhaust looks great without them... I don't see getting getting 'stuff' on the pipes as an issue, as your shoes are well above the pipes.

[Lamric]

Nice looking exhaust

I think it's actually made by Heinz Wyes (wyes.heinz@arcor.de) and sold on by Der-Muede. There's contact details and more pics in the "List of XS1100 aftermarket exhausts" on the UK forum.

[figman]

Thank you. It's taken a lot of time and all my spare cash to get looking like that though. I've no doubt spent more in total than it's 'worth'...... for once, I'm in a position to keep my motorbike and not have to sell it, so it's worth it to me. The alarming thing is that people who see it refer to it as a 'classic bike'...."nice to see old classics still on the road" etc.... but I remember when they first came out and were state of the art modern. They turned heads in those days because they were so new. Now they turn heads because they're so old. And that's happened in my own lifetime.....!

I too remember when they first came out in 78 and as a young man they impressed me and at 51 the XS 11 still impresses me.

[natemoen]

Very nice! I just don't know what else to say! I want one!

[James England]

The bolt-on shields are for the Specials, but I don't think they'll fit quite right as they're shaped differently; those 'turn up' at the back to match the angled-up Special mufflers. You might be able to correct that with some careful use of a rubber hammer, but that exhaust looks great without them... I don't see getting getting 'stuff' on the pipes as an issue, as your shoes are well above the pipes.

That's what I thought at first but I don't think it's correct. The OEM shields on the UK 2H7's and 9's were a kind of strap-on arrangement. http://www.cmsnl.com/yamaha-xs1100f-...list/B-12.html I know what you mean re the Special shield having that flared bit to cope with the shape of the muffler. On my quest to find them, I've seen several, especially in the USA. The part number prefix is 4H3 or 3H3 for those http://www.cmsnl.com/yamaha-xs1100lg...list/B-07.html and http://www.cmsnl.com/yamaha-xs1100sf...list/D-04.html

The ones I found on a Danish website are 2H9-14738-00 and 2H9-14748-00 and, whilst they have the two holes at the top and one underneath, they definitely do not have the flare at the end......they are, apart from the holes, the same as the OEM ones on the 2H7 and 2H9 bikes. I would attach a photo but, since I bought the last pair they had on the site, the photo has now been removed! So, I'm hoping that they'll fit. Like you say though, shoes are way above the pipes anyway......

[T99Ford]

But I don't remember when they came out...I was not born yet!

[James England]

Found the pix of the 2H9 heat shields. They're definitely not flared like the Special ones, eh?:

http://shop.bruun-larsen.dk/en/exhau...s1100-379.html

and

http://shop.bruun-larsen.dk/en/exhau...s1100-381.html

[crazy steve]

Found the pix of the 2H9 heat shields. They're definitely not flared like the Special ones, eh?:

http://shop.bruun-larsen.dk/en/exhau...s1100-379.html

and

http://shop.bruun-larsen.dk/en/exhau...s1100-381.html

That's a 'europe-only' part; the 2H9 version was never sold here. Here, that's a welded-on bit. I was looking at your beauty and noticing the myriad small 'detail differences' between yours and the US-spec bikes... the relocated rear turns, the decal lettering instead of the cheesy plastic emblems, relocated footpegs/shifter, finned clutch cover, two horns instead of one (these didn't show up here until '80), and missing reflectors at the headlight. So now we know the exhaust was slightly different too.

Makes you wonder why all the variations...

[Ken Talbot]

That's a very nice looking set of pipes. The rest of the bike is none too shabby either!!

[James England]

That's a 'europe-only' part; the 2H9 version was never sold here. Here, that's a welded-on bit. I was looking at your beauty and noticing the myriad small 'detail differences' between yours and the US-spec bikes... the relocated rear turns, the decal lettering instead of the cheesy plastic emblems, relocated footpegs/shifter, finned clutch cover, two horns instead of one (these didn't show up here until '80), and missing reflectors at the headlight. So now we know the exhaust was slightly different too.

Makes you wonder why all the variations...

The European version was drastically different in styling. Black engine. Oil cooler. Simpler wiring. The seating position is more upright too. I think it's just a question of different taste. Whilst some people here like the laid-back US styling on some bikes, many people aren't keen on it. The Special versions don't sell for as much here, in general. I think Australia and New Zealand had the same look as here. People went nuts for the oblong headlamp etc and the styling received mostly praise and awe!