Cafe Time 1981 venture

[lee_dutcher]

damn lol

[T99Ford]

I say...cafe the hell out of that thing. They make really fun cafe bikes, and seem to turn a lot of heads when done up that way. I know from experience.
And if done up properly, they can be a lot nicer and more fun to ride than stockers, too. There is not a whole lot of value to the XS11's in the grand scheme, so if you can do it justice, DO IT!


But then I never really have been one for stock...

[natemoen]

And if done up properly

That is the key, but most can't do that. T99, you do great work and know what you are doing, moat people just see a style and think it cool and easy to do. When they try they do not get the results they thought they would and then give up and part the bike out to recoup theory costs. THAT is why people here hate it when people do this to bike.

[Stepka]

Any tips would be greatly appreciated

[crazy steve]

...When they try they do not get the results they thought they would and then give up and part the bike out to recoup their costs...

Or even if the bike gets 'finished', many times they have kludged bits on them and don't meet expectations; this is one reason modified bikes are nearly always worth less than stockers. When you start modifying, the devil really is in the details....

Tips? Well, one thing I've learned is every time you change one part, it seems to effect several others, leading to sometimes unexpected mods to make it all work together. The XS is a particularly hard bike to modify as there's almost no aftermarket support in terms of 'custom' parts, so pretty much everything will need to be modified, scratch-built, or 'adapted' to fit. So if you go through the list and look at other listers bikes, that's why you'll see such a wide varity of parts used in their mods.

So I'm not saying it can't be done (TFord's bikes are excellent examples of what can be done), but honestly think about your skill levels before tearing up a decent complete bike in a quest for something different. Of course, everyone has different expectations and what one guy would sneer at, another guy would think is entirely acceptable. But the really nice ones have a lot of 'concealed' work in them that's not usually obvious....

[Stepka]

I am not going to cut the frame or anything drastic like that so if someone wanted they could reinstall all of the original parts again. I plan on building my seat on a original seat pan so no fab required to bolt it up. I plan on keeping everything I replace like the bars, original seat and tank. I figure is would be more valuable to someone if they could have either style of bike bagger or cafe as they desire.

[tom clisham]

How about a trade?

I don't have any loose cash right now. ( It's all tied up in PAYPAL).
BUT! I've got a bone stock 78E, just needs carb work, I'll trade title for title
in order to save the Venturer. I was going to start restoring the 78E this winter. What part of the frozen North ( Minnesota) is Shakopee in, anyway?

[tom clisham]

Next

I didn't mean to imply that my 78E is a big project. It needs practically nothing. I just thought it might be cool to have a like new first year. You could sell this exhaust for big bucks, alone.
I'd just rather save a venturer, it's harder to find. Damn, than I will have to get rid of my 80 special dresser. Oh, well. Let me know I can send pix via email.

[Stepka]

I don't have any loose cash right now. ( It's all tied up in PAYPAL).
BUT! I've got a bone stock 78E, just needs carb work, I'll trade title for title
in order to save the Venturer. I was going to start restoring the 78E this winter. What part of the frozen North ( Minnesota) is Shakopee in, anyway?

Shakopee is just south west of the twin cities

[Stepka]

I didn't mean to imply that my 78E is a big project. It needs practically nothing. I just thought it might be cool to have a like new first year. You could sell this exhaust for big bucks, alone.
I'd just rather save a venturer, it's harder to find. Damn, than I will have to get rid of my 80 special dresser. Oh, well. Let me know I can send pix via email.

My bike was a project when I got it, it needed carb work, valve shimming, rear caliper was froze, headlight issues and other misc stuff. PM me or send me a email with pics nick.stepka@gmail.com. Your 78 would go right along with my other 78 that I am going to hard tail chop later, I got it for 150.00 on ebay.. WOOT!!

[xs11lover]

I am not going to cut the frame or anything drastic like that

Ahh, cut the frame. If you're going to cafe it, do it right. Spend countless nights picking parts, buying them and changing your mind, starting over, spending more $$, selling the parts you didn't use. Stand and just look at it for hours, spend some more $$.
It's just not nice to kill an xs11, but when you take a tired old unloved bike out of an xbikers garage, pay him $400 and sell off the parts you don't need to xs purists. Spend that $ and another $600 or $1000 to make a bike you really love. And run the piss out of it ....is that wrong? It didn't feel wrong when I did it, ran it for four years and sold it for $2700 TO A GUY THAT LOVED IT SO I COULD DO IT AGAIN.
Like t99 said if you do it right people will love it...and it's still an xs11.
I did one without cutting the frame but all I could see when I looked at it was those big ol round things on the end of the frame. Maybe you could cover them up with some harley type chrome trim......but a cafe bike is less not more. right?

[xs11lover]

I know it doesn't look like much now, it's just a mockup of the ideas I have for my field bomb. It will have to set like this while I look at it and think.( I'm going to restore the midnight and cafe the field bomb.)
I do think the plastic side covers may catch on.
How could you hide that frame?

[xs11lover]

That venture tank shape may really work nice.

[3Phase]

Those both look pretty good and if you stash a couple of hoagies in those plastic sidecovers they'll bake while you ride so you'll have something warm to munch on during those cold winter trips.

[skids]

That was funny as hell Scott! :-D