Curiosity

[GeezyRider]

I am curious about the popularity of the XS-11. I assume its a verticle four Cyl. If so, they were probably loaded with high torque. What is the rpm range when running in high gear at 70 MPH. It also looks like it might be quite comfortable on the longer riides. And what is the seat height and weight of the machine. I have owned an 86 Kawasaki 454 LTD for many years now. And in spite of its light weight it has been one of the best all arond bikes I have ever owned. Kick butt accelleration, (only 454 cc's but dual overhead cam and 4 valves per Cyl), really eats up the twisties, and is a pretty good cruiser for its size and weight.




The Geezy Rider

[Aches n Pains]

Last serious effort to make a bike that cruises and runs the twisties - cruiser/sport bike.

Read anything by Bob Jones. Here is one good article.
http://www.xs11.com/xs11-info/articl...bike-ever.html

[jetmechmarty]

I'm 6'5" tall and find my Special reasonably comfortable. My daughter is 5'10" and she can easily flat foot it.

I ride my bike in the twisties a lot, and it handles well enough. I have toured on it, two-up several times. I had a couple of trips that were three thousand miles long. The XS11 can carry quite a bit of weight. It doesn't stop as well as a modern motorcycle, but there are remedies to improve that.

The XS11 is still very quick. I think I'm turning just under 4K at 60 mph with stock gearing. I find it quite smooth even at much higher rpm. Power comes on very strong in the 5K neighborhood. XS750/850 final drive can be adapted to raise final drive ratio.

It's hard to say how popular it is. It's very popular with the folks you find here. I am also a XS650 fan and I can say the XS1100 does not enjoy nearly as large a following as the XS650. Even so, I'm not having much difficulty keeping my XS11 on the road.

There, you have my 2 cents.

[fredintoon]

I am curious about the popularity of the XS-11. I assume its a verticle four Cyl. If so, they were probably loaded with high torque. What is the rpm range when running in high gear at 70 MPH. It also looks like it might be quite comfortable on the longer riides. And what is the seat height and weight of the machine. I have owned an 86 Kawasaki 454 LTD for many years now. And in spite of its light weight it has been one of the best all arond bikes I have ever owned. Kick butt accelleration, (only 454 cc's but dual overhead cam and 4 valves per Cyl), really eats up the twisties, and is a pretty good cruiser for its size and weight.
The Geezy Rider

Hi Hal and welcome,
quoted from Clymer's:-
Seat height 31.9" on Standards; 31.7" on Specials.
Weight (net) 562lbs on Standards; 556lbs on Specials.
My thoughts:-
dunno about the rpms but the bike was made to give good 1/4-mile times so it revs a bit at high speeds.
It's easy to drop in a final drive from an XS750 to let the bike cruise at lower revs.
The XS11 will out accelerate your Kawi (and most anything else too) but the Kawi will easily catch it on corners.
Goes like a train, corners like a cow, shifts like a Russian tractor, drinks like a fish, you are gonna love it.

[XSive Okie]

[QUOTE=fredintoon;334064Goes like a train, corners like a cow, shifts like a Russian tractor, drinks like a fish, you are gonna love it.[/QUOTE]

'Nuff said!

[GeezyRider]

curious

Thanks Y'all, I appreciate the input. And don't bet the rent that it will take my little 454 in a drag. Even with my 210 pound frame on it.

[fredintoon]

Thanks Y'all, I appreciate the input. And don't bet the rent that it will take my little 454 in a drag. Even with my 210 pound frame on it.

Hi Hal,
no way this fat old coward is gonna drag you, I'd have to loose 40lbs and take the sidecar off besides.
But the XS11s were marketed that they'd do less than 11 seconds in a standing 1/4 straight out of the box.

[Lbrown311]

I am a new owner as of about 3 months ago. Ridden an R6, Roadliner, 1300 custom v-star and a 1700. Out of all the bikes so far, my favorite is the XS11 by a long shot. It handles very very very well at low speeds but gets, like said earlier, a bit sketchy at high speeds. Take off is pretty insane, ride is super smooth. I get around 4k as well at 60 and about 45-5k at 70mph. Only trouble I have had so far is the well reknowned 2nd gear slippage. That only occurs when you really punch it tho. Have no problems on an easy run and if I wanna give her, I can still get pretty good juice outa 2nd and then really hit it after shifting to 3rd with no slippage. Great overall bike no doubt and if you are looking to get one they can be had by ignorant owners for really good deals with minor issues. $700 should not be a problem to find one that needs minor TLC and be on the road in 2 weeks tops(and thats just cuz I am new to bikes in general ) Parts are somewhat interchangeable between models, and are abundant on Ebay as of right now. Also MikesXS has parts for 650's that will work on these as well. They are super easy to work and well worth it in my opinion.

[jetmechmarty]

Only trouble I have had so far is the well renowned 2nd gear slippage.

Best to plan on fixing when when you get a convenient time. I nursed mine until it failed completely. It took a while, but it was inevitable.

[Lbrown311]

Plan on taking it easy on it this season and fixing during the winter. How I'm not sure yet. There are several options. I won't know the best one till I dig in tho.

[Tom Andersen]

Thanks Y'all, I appreciate the input. And don't bet the rent that it will take my little 454 in a drag. Even with my 210 pound frame on it.

11.73 seconds, 115 mph for a quarter mile, not on a 454 Kaw.

[cywelchjr]

11.73 seconds, 115 mph for a quarter mile, not on a 454 Kaw.

Not on any 80's 500cc or less bike. It takes one of the liter bikes of the era to do that. Some of the 600cc bikes of this century may do it, but I'm not sure they can either, as they are not drag bikes either, as that is done with raw muscle.

[windjammergump]

raw muscle

had the kz1100 ltd before the xs(similar bikes ) ran the strip 4 times once was against a newe rcbrr600 ...he was shocked 3/4 track still running with him he was lighter and i topped out at 130ish and he topped at 180ish he bot me at the end...he was lighter and such we ran the 8th i turned 87 mph and fig the xs is about the same both being shaft drive

[GeezyRider]

DRag

Tom Anderson said,
11.73 seconds, 115 mph for a quarter mile, not on a 454 Kaw.
__________________
1978 XS1100E

Yeah, you will probably beat me in a quarter mile but I definitely got you off the line and it will take a few seconds for that heavier machine to pass me.

[WMarshy]

Tom Anderson said,
11.73 seconds, 115 mph for a quarter mile, not on a 454 Kaw.
__________________
1978 XS1100E

Yeah, you will probably beat me in a quarter mile but I definitely got you off the line and it will take a few seconds for that heavier machine to pass me.

Doubt it, they launch really well for being 600+ lbs. I'd be willing to prove it. lol Brings a smile to me face just thinking about it.

Trick is, keeping the RPMs above 4000 while launching.