Xs1100-vs-xs750

[XS1100_OEM4ME]

OK, I bought a XS750 Special in 1979 brand new I couldn't afford the XS1100 I wanted (and would be dead now if I had, seeing how I road back then) Now I see many changing the FD for the 750 (one of my real disapointments back then was not having that fat 1100 back tire) After being on here for a while, it seems like the XS1100's have problem after problem, from electronic, to valve's dropping. So this question is to all who who have had experance with both My XS750 Special was totaly trobble free, with twice the miles that are on my XS1100 I NEVER rebuilt the carbs, NEVER got gas in my oil, NEVER did anything but ride, and I road her hard, very hard So is the triple that much better of a bike when it comes to miles-vs- fixes Any owners of both chime in please

[DGXSER]

I think there are ALOT of variables involved in your comparison. My very first bike was a 78 XS750. I got the bike for $200, the cost to get it out of impound as a friend of mine owned it. This was in 1986.

It was the hardest bike to get started I have ever owned, I know I put more ether through the filter than gasoline. carbs needed work, but I knew nothing of working on them back then. The front breaks were full of air, and had broken off bleed valves. This caused the brakes to slowly lock up as you drove it, got ot be real fun when you were giving it hard gas to go 40 MPH, then let off the gas and about instantly stop!! Dropped it a few times over that one. The wiring was a mess, it develped a bad short that would burn up even a 12 ga wire tied across the main. (Yeah I was a dreaded PO back then, to young and stupid to bother fixing this poor old thing).

Now compare that to my first 81 XS1100, which ran fine except a little stumble when it switched to the main at 3000 RPM. It also needed the 2nd gear fix. Other than that, it ran great till we found a guard rail together.

The main differences, ownership and maintenance in my opinion. Now Ole Banshee, she had every problem I have seen noted on here except the pick-up wires. Gears, brakes, carbs plugged, bad starter solenoid, bad starter, wiring was a mess, etc., etc. She sat out in a farm field and a barn for three years or so. The previous owner told me his opinion was these jap bikes are so cheap you buy one and ride it till it breaks so bad it will not run anymore, then go buy another cause they are to cheap to bother fixing. And now that I have gone over it thoroughly and provided all the maintenance, runs flawlessly. Fires up every time, not had any carb issues. The biggest problem I have had with it has always been form an upgrade I was implementing.

So, from my experience, the XS750 was alot more trouble and torture than my first XS1100 experience. But about equal with my latest XS1100, mostly because they had both recieved equal treatment.

[motoman]

Buying my Venturer new, it had zero issues the ten yrs. riding it before selling. Never saw the door of the dealer once I bought it. All I ever did was change oil/tires/plugs and put gas in it. Toured all over two-up, and rode the piss out of it when by myself for ten yrs. before selling................now, having it back for some six years, it still has no issues unless initiated by me(damn PO's).....so I guess dependability difference..........none...

[James England]

The XS750's were notorious in the UK for being pretty useless and unreliable. They had loads of different problems but I recall that, even at the time, they'd missed the boat in some way.... the XS1100 blew them all away in size, styling and reliability and they became obsolete soon after they were first made.

Don't forget, the sample that you see on this forum is very non-indicative... yes, you read of all those problems but then you're on what is mainly a problem diagnosing and fixing forum for the most part. There are thousands of XS1100's out there which run like a dream and never feature here. Personally, I've found them to be reliable, rock-solid bikes (I've had 4 of them, including a new one). If you pick up one of those sad, abused, mistreated ones, then you will get problems, just like on any other abused machine.

[XS1100_OEM4ME]

Thanks

Thanks, I just get a little pissed with all the stuff that needs fixing Yes, my 750 was new off the showroom floor, my XS1100 is 31 years old, but adult owned and serviced with yama lube and all that kind of s#!t, never ridden in the rain, never left outside, (till the last year I have no garage covered always) I just read over and over about, dropped valves, poor ing coil, bad ground, piss poor fuse bix, gas in oil, knock at 3500rpm, cant use this gas or that gas rear spline gets no lube, front brake bolts bend Is this kinda normal on jap bikes(If so, no wonder HD's do so well) Or is this why so many love Kzs and suzies So many here love these bikes like I do, and so many know how they compair to other bikes, even other older bikes, just getting frustrated with ride a little, fix alot

[DCII]

Former XS7502D Owner

Having owned both bikes I can't really say that my XS11s have been much more troublesome than the XS750s. The only real problem that is not age related that I have had with my XS11SGs has been bleeding the rear brake. My first XS7502D I purchased new in April 1977 and all I ever did to it in 12,000 miles was to change the oil and filter every 2,000 miles and if memory serves me right I changed the spark plugs one time. The only problem on that bike was that I had the dealer put a Kerker 3 into 1 exhaust on it and after numerous jet changes I could never get rid of a flat spot out of the acceleration off idle so I went back to the factory exhaust, the better performance more than made up for the sound of the Kerker. My second XS750 which I got in 1979 was the same only oil and filter changes. I will say that the gears in the 750 shifted much smoother than the XS11 and I don't remember my 750s having any vibration in the bars or mirrors at 4000rpm that I experience with the XS11s. I think the majority of the issues we now have with our XS11s whether they be electrical or mechanical can be directly attributed to the age of the bike. I am sure that if I had a 750 today I would also have to clean and sync the carbs and replace the fuse box.

[rpgoerlich]

Having had 3 XS750's(1-79SF, 2-77's) and 4 XS11's(79SF, 80SG, 80G and 81H), So far I'd say it's close to a tie here. All requiring petcock/carb rebuilds once ethanol was introduced and rubber/fuel lines degraded.

I bought a 77XS750 and had to rebuild the top end as it sat for 27years. It was by far the most fun to ride and very peppy. But once I picked up a 79XS11SF and an 80XS11G I ended up selling the 750's. Later I bought a 81H that had to be rebuilt, which I currently still ride. Only putting around 10kmi on each of them as they all had their place and had normal mechanical problems. Ignition on the 77XS750 was swapped for a 78 Electronic Ignition which fixed all the problems it was having. Pickup coil fix done on all of the XS11's. Other than tires, brakes and batteries that was about the extent of failures. I am convinced that a motorcycle that gets rode often has alot less problems than one that sits for lengths of time, which is why I ride one almost every day I can.

[XS1100_OEM4ME]

Thanks

You are right James, I do read about many who have a problem with their XS1100 If I got my #'s right, the best selling bike in 1979 was the yamaha XS bikes, beat Honda that year) So, there are many many many of these out there, and some have had the s#!t kicked out of them, and "fixed" by the PO's Mine is 99% OEM, 18,000 miles, babied and kissed at night before being put to bed I will shut up and stop bitching till she drops a valve or kicks me in the balls in a big way

The XS750's were notorious in the UK for being pretty useless and unreliable. They had loads of different problems but I recall that, even at the time, they'd missed the boat in some way.... the XS1100 blew them all away in size, styling and reliability and they became obsolete soon after they were first made.

Don't forget, the sample that you see on this forum is very non-indicative... yes, you read of all those problems but then you're on what is mainly a problem diagnosing and fixing forum for the most part. There are thousands of XS1100's out there which run like a dream and never feature here. Personally, I've found them to be reliable, rock-solid bikes (I've had 4 of them, including a new one). If you pick up one of those sad, abused, mistreated ones, then you will get problems, just like on any other abused machine.

[cywelchjr]

Thanks, I just get a little pissed with all the stuff that needs fixing Yes, my 750 was new off the showroom floor, my XS1100 is 31 years old, but adult owned and serviced with yama lube and all that kind of s#!t, never ridden in the rain, never left outside, (till the last year I have no garage covered always) I just read over and over about, dropped valves, poor ing coil, bad ground, piss poor fuse bix, gas in oil, knock at 3500rpm, cant use this gas or that gas rear spline gets no lube, front brake bolts bend Is this kinda normal on jap bikes(If so, no wonder HD's do so well) Or is this why so many love Kzs and suzies So many here love these bikes like I do, and so many know how they compair to other bikes, even other older bikes, just getting frustrated with ride a little, fix alot

The fuse box is a common problem with ALL the Yamaha bikes of the era. I've had to do the same fuse box mod to my XS400 as my XS1100. As for the knock, according to Yamaha, it's a harmless sound, that is actually a form of ignition knock, and it most noticeable to those of us with a fairing, and primarily on the 80 and 81 bikes due to the more aggressive vacuum advance on them, and you can tell if it's that knock by the fact that when you really get on it, it goes away, being there only under light to moderate acceleration. As for problems, while mine had trouble shortly after I got it because of a rusty tank and crud getting into the needle valves and cause them to make the carbs overflow (the PO told me he had trouble with that and that he just tapped on the carbs with a rubber mallet to stop it) and got gas in the oil and damaged the bearings. Other than that, after replacing the engine with a $99 junkyard engine it's pretty much been trouble free and just run it (had a seal go out on my FD, but for almost 90,000 miles that's not really too bad, and gave me an excuse to do the 750 FD mod).

Everything else has been nothing more than catching up on stuff that's not been done over the years, along with keeping up with stuff as I go. I can't complain about a 30+ year old bike that starts on the first tap of the starter pretty much every time.

Oh, there IS the issue with the fact that the coil wires were not designed to be replaced, but again, it's a good excuse to upgrade to more modern tech that wasn't available at the time.

[old_skool]

I have both a xs750 and xs1100 and have owned a xj1100, I loved my xj(want another) can't wait to get my xs restored for this spring, but if I'm to be honest, my 750 was the least troublesome. also sent you a pm

[Barnfresh]

I've been thinking about a XS750 a friend has in his garage. I have not seen it yet but he had a minor scirmish with a Buick and parked it 5-6 years ago. He's talked about selling it and I was considering making an offer. He says it's an '81 model, but wern't 80 and 81 850 cc? I didn't think they made a 750 after '79. Also, If the 7-850 FD is geared higher then does the smaller cc engine turn @ lower RPM? I would think its pretty fuel effiecient up around 50 mpg or so?

[old_skool]

guys here have done both a 850 and 750 fd mod for higher fuel mpg and up to a 1000 rpms lower in final gear.

[XS1100_OEM4ME]

750 - 850

My XS750 Special was a 79, the only year for the XS750 Special as I understand it. The 80+ Specials were 850's and had a smaller Dia. and wider tread rear tire more like the XS1100 Specials. My 750 would get 50+ MPG if not getting on it, and was the smoothest bike I have ever ridden Good power also, they were faster then the de-tuned 850's when they changed to that All those years i was kicking myself for not comming up with the extra cash for the 1100, now, i am kinda glad I got to own both

I've been thinking about a XS750 a friend has in his garage. I have not seen it yet but he had a minor scirmish with a Buick and parked it 5-6 years ago. He's talked about selling it and I was considering making an offer. He says it's an '81 model, but wern't 80 and 81 850 cc? I didn't think they made a 750 after '79. Also, If the 7-850 FD is geared higher then does the smaller cc engine turn @ lower RPM? I would think its pretty fuel effiecient up around 50 mpg or so?

[Lonerider62]

I've been fortunate to have owned about 25 different motorcycles since I started in 1965 and some have been 100% reliable, nothing other than oil, gas, and a little tune up here and there. Most of them were owned less than four years and I think the only bike I owned longer than four years was my 1884 900 Ninja. I don't mind doing my own wrenching because it's the only way an owner will ever know what makes the thing tick. I was lucky with my 80 SG in that it was kept garaged all it's life, even though the PO's didn't do the scheduled maintenance like they should have and I had to play a lot of catch-up after I got my hands on it. I learned a whole lot about the XS1100 in a very short amount of time but I now know more than I'd say most techs know about the "Old Beasts". I look at is as just another feather in my hat and who knows, I may end up selling it down the road and get another antique that needs a home. I've had too many bikes not to know that they will end up being what was put into them and how well the owner treated them in the first place. Most of these older bikes were pretty cheap, even for the time, and they got ridden hard and put away wet and that's why they need a lot of TLC now.

[tom clisham]

750 maxim

I had an 82 750 Maxim through the 80s. clocked over 100,000 miles in the family. I passed it on to my oldest boy. He sold it about 98-99 for $500.00

That bike never had any issues, period. Routine maintenance & exhaust replaced about 92 due to rust. My buy left it outside all winter when he had it.
I have to admit it was the most reliable bike I ever had. It still ran great when he sold it.