Thanks everyone! Photo update

[Smash]

Thanks everyone for all your advice and assistance, Karla has worked very hard on her first street bike, a XJ11 with about 45k on the clock. She did 95% of the rebuild/maintenance, I just did the research, parts ordering, tool handing, etc.

Still some more tweaking to do, and possibly a valve adjustment, but she took it out this weekend under the tutelage of a good friend of mine as I was out of town. She has been riding dirt bikes since she was a kid and took the MSF basic last fall, so this isn't really "new" just new ish! She loves the bike, her only complaint is the clutch lever is hard to pull! (I'll look into it)

So, the day we brought it home in August:



And taking it to work for the first time this morning! Also the first time I've seen her ride it:




Not sure how to embed video here, so just a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7Rbufzqo7E


So, thanks to everyone. I'll have some more questions I'm sure and we'll stick around no question there. Couldn't have gotten it this far without the help of folks here!

[DGXSER]

Tell Karla congrats on alot of hard work and patience, the reward is miles and miles of smiles!

There is an upgrade to hydraulic clutch if the cable is fine and it is just that much harder to pull.

[Smash]

Thanks! I am going to look into the manual about the clutch cable. It operates just fine and she can manage it, it's just not going to be ANY fun on the commute!

[motoman]

Good job gettin' the scoot back on the road Karla! Glad to see you all got some time to put some road test mileage on that before any LD ride! Smash, I'm sure you both learned alot on top of the satisfaction of doing it yourself..........can be a big benefit should it decide to become "needy" on a LD ride! The more she rides it the less she will notice the stiffer clutch lever pull(conditioning).

[Smash]

Thank you, I completely agree! Had Karla build her own tool kit based on mine and the tools she's used. It's probably overkill, but that's good. Also the usual plug kit and compressor as well as a few flares, zipties, yada yada. I've done probably way too many roadside repairs on my last two bikes ('82 C10 concours and '94 ST1100, but high mileage bikes) and even had to stop twice to fix glitches on my first LD ride on the ninja.

We're heading to my folks place in Albuquerque this weekend, probably 900-1,000 miles round trip. Will be a good test.

Just in the little plunking around I've done on the bike, I'm impressed with how comfy it is!

[SFerinTEXAS]

Absolutely Amazed would be an understatement for my occasionally rational mind on how that young lady can control that bike . Not cruising but controlling the weight , excuse the term, manhandling that thing when stationary. At 6 ft and 220+, at times I have to concentrate considerably more on the XJ compared to my SF. Sometimes I wish it had retractable training wheels. Stay Safe and enjoy.

[Smash]

Lol, she has plenty of experience manhandling old heavy dirt bikes where she can barely touch the ground! That makes the XJ, where she flatfoots, a relative piece of cake. Plus the fact that she is rather fit helps!! Heck she worked construction for a few years and has her associates in carpentry.

[jwhughes3]

congrats

to you and Karla!

turned out great...

y'all be sure and join us for some of these rallys....


john

[Smash]

Hey thanks! But all our available $ is going into a July trip to NC, looking at 3500 miles or so round trip, 95% 2 laners.

[Yahman]

Very cool!!!

A job well done, congrats.

Clutch cables are cheep, do yourself a favor and put a new one on it.

Larry

[natemoen]

Congrats!

Sounds like she just need to work on those hand muscles!

[CaptonZap]

Very cool!!!

A job well done, congrats.

Clutch cables are cheep, do yourself a favor and put a new one on it.

Larry

Or at the very least, buy a new one, lube it, and string it along side of the old one with zip ties. A bit of heat shrink on the ends to keep the dirt out, and you don't have to worry about REALLY needing one halfway up Raton.

p.s. AND CHECK YOUR CAM CHAIN TENSIONER. CZ

[Smash]

HA! Thanks CZ. I would like to get that clutch atleast a little easier for her to pull with her small hands, it'll help her with her slow speed maneuvering. Will be calling around today to see if anyone has the right cable in stock as well as digging in the manual (pdf). I do not know how to change a clutch cable nor check my cam chain tensioner, but we're going to get to both before we leave (unless I can't find a cable locally).

[Jerry]

Top photo of Karla has been added to the XS 11 Owner's Gallery page. Link is:

http://gallery.me.com/jerryfields#100115

Photos are in more-or-less alpha order by name or handle.

As usuall, if you have a photo you would like me to add, or wish to have an existing photo removed, let me know.

[cywelchjr]

HA! Thanks CZ. I would like to get that clutch atleast a little easier for her to pull with her small hands, it'll help her with her slow speed maneuvering. Will be calling around today to see if anyone has the right cable in stock as well as digging in the manual (pdf). I do not know how to change a clutch cable nor check my cam chain tensioner, but we're going to get to both before we leave (unless I can't find a cable locally).

One thing is to make sure it's well lubed with a good high quality cable lube and them make sure it's routed in such a manner to have as few bends and as mild bends as possible. This will make for the lightest possible pull. Mine was pretty tough, and I lubed the cable, and did just a little rerouting and it made a world of difference in how hard it was to pull in.