Not for the vertically challenged?

[Silk]

Just had my first ride down the road on the LG now its running sweet. To say its an experience is an understatement. I didnt realise how damned heavy these things are. And only being 5'6" made for some interesting moments. Goes fantastically well in a straight line but push it hard into corners and it lets you know the front end isnt very happy, its worse than my old gsxr 1100 and I thought you wouldnt get worse. Anyway, are there any mods to cure the marshmallow type handling. Can u tell I have always ridden "sports" bikes before this 1?

[John]

You could try a fork brace, and Progressive front springs. The LG is an 80 model, and should have air adjustable front forks. Do you have any air in the forks? Try 10-12 lbs of air in them . The only problem with that is you'll need to have good fork seals, or the air will leak right out. There is a link on the left side of the screen entitled "articles". Click on it, and then you'll see a link for suspension mods. Try that. It explains the fork brace and Progressive springs.

[skids]

Re: Not for the vertically challenged?

You can "raise" your forks in the triple clamps, thereby dropping the front end a little. Also, if your steering bearing is a little too tight, it will feel heavy. In fact, it might feel like it is difficult holding a straight line.

Originally posted by Silk
Just had my first ride down the road on the LG now its running sweet. To say its an experience is an understatement. I didnt realise how damned heavy these things are. And only being 5'6" made for some interesting moments. Goes fantastically well in a straight line but push it hard into corners and it lets you know the front end isnt very happy, its worse than my old gsxr 1100 and I thought you wouldnt get worse. Anyway, are there any mods to cure the marshmallow type handling. Can u tell I have always ridden "sports" bikes before this 1?

[pgg]

Fork brace, progressive springs, Koni rear shocks; either 7610-1427 models or 7610-1407 models. The 1427's are an inch or so taller. For even more improvement you can weld on some frame braces around the steering head area of the frame. You need to leave just enough space for camcover removal. P.S I heard somewhere that Koni may have changed their name.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there PGG,

Could you describe or provide a diagram about where and how those extra welded frame braces should be placed. I've wondered about doing that to try to take some of the flex out of the frame. I run the fork brace, but I have 4" over length front fork tubes for that slightly chopper style and ground clearance. I'm 6'6" tall and about the only person who has raised their XS11!!

I didn't change the angle in the triple tree, it's a special, and I have noticed a wobble that sometimes can progress into almost a tank slapper action if I don't back down below 80-90mph, and was accentuated if going over some modest bumps while in a slow curve. My tires are balanced! I also have a simple handlebar fairing and think that some of this may have been caused by improper air flow around/past this fairing, along with a little cross wind. I have already repacked my triple tree bearings, the front end steering is smooth, no binding, but not neccessarily sloppy either!

T.C.

[TonimusMaximus]

How did you "raise" your XS? I'm 6'5" and wouldn't mind a little extra height in the bike.

[TopCatGr58]

Raising the XS.

Well, like I said, putting 4" over length front upper fork tubes, Special ordered from Forks by Frank, required an extension on my sidestand, and I can't use my centerstand without a wide 2x8 beneath it, I just haven't gotten around to taking it off and having the legs lengthened. I run a Dunlop 491 EliteII MU/140/90x16 on rear, and just generic after market shocks which keep the rear up. And I have a travelcade twin bucket style seat which also sits a little higher than the stock one! You can see a picture of it in the files here, 81Special.....it's listed as Ty Graham's Godzilla....my hotmail psuedonym!!!!
T.C.

[pgg]

Right, Ive got a digital camera so photos are no sweat. The mission for a computer amateur like me is to get the damn things to appear on screen. Tried imagestation once but just got blind links and blanks. Anyway, they seemed too interested in registrations, passwords, emails, favourite colours, number of fillings in back teeth etc.. etc.. Topcat bear with me as I delve into the shady world of FTP programs and suchlike to educate myself further. Jeez when I was at school they didn't even have calculators - let alone computers.

[nashville_bill]

With the suspension mods an XS11 can handle better, but it's 25 years old, heavy, top heavy and will never be a modern sport bike. I love my XS11 and haven't found anything that is made today that I would rather have, but I'm old and not that interested in being the fastest around a corner. I also like the upright sitting position for the pilot and room for the passenger.

[TopCatGr58]

Custom Frame Welds

Folks,

Here's the pix Patrick sent to me showing the extra frame weld bracing, see his comments:

This steering head bracing is on my 2nd xs; it was actually done by the previous owner ( an engineer. ) On first look I didn't think it would do a lot but on my first ride in some twisties I was surprised at how 'taut' the bike felt compared to my other xs. Both bikes had added springs, shocks and forkbrace.

Thanks Patrick!
T.C.

[pgg]

Topcat I did see a gsx suzuki with cross-braces beneath the seat - tank area and the post classic racers are into bracing their frames in all sorts of places. With careful placement I reckon the whole frame could be beefed up substantially. A few more extra pounds of steel aint going to worry these old tanks.