Idaho to New York or Bust

[TopCatGr58]

You do bring up a good question though. The bike does have crash bars but no highway pegs. Any ideas where I could find bolt on pegs that would attach to the crash bars? Highway pegs would be nice!

Well, I just checked a few of the more common parts sites, partsnmore, MikesXS, DennisKirk, Ebay, none of them had the bolt/clamp on cruise pegs!

I've seen/found them years ago at the local bike/dealer parts shop hanging on the wall. They are a simple clampon design for 1" crash bars.

T.C.

Okay, net search:

http://www.bikebandit.com/footpegs-universal/n1124

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com...t=0&cref=champ

[MaximPhil]

Hi Billy,
I like the look of these.
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com...guard-footpegs

At $ 17.99 your wallet will like them too
Phil

[cajun31]

parts for brakes

Here is a listing for the front master rebuild kit:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/YAMAHA-XS750...item540c3590dd

This one is for the rear: http://www.ebay.com/itm/K-L-XS1100-R...item2ed3e86bdc

You can probably go out to his web page and find the parts to save a bit on ebay fees. He is very reasonable and if you email him he may cut you a deal on both kits. He also has the caliper rebuild kits for the new o rings etc... Just email him. Here is a listing for those, however you will need three this listing only has two... http://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-YAMAHA-XS...item2c86bcd2d6

Here is another he has listed stating for rear only... http://www.ebay.com/itm/XS650-XS750-...item2c870bc52f

For the caliper pistons I used these from this site. HVC http://www.hvccycle.com/brake-caliper-pistons.html

Here is a thread I started earlier this year on the piston subject and verification of piston size for the rear caliper which is 38 mm. http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41592

From the HVC site you need two of these $25.75ea (HVC200106F) for the front calipers and one of these $27.75ea (HVC200106-5) for the rear. I noticed they also sell the calper rebuild kits at a reasonable price so you might want to check those out as well. I didn't because georefix had made a listing for both master cylinder rebuild kits and all three caliper rebuild kits for 104.00 so I grabbed that and they all fit and worked perfectly. Just trying to throw choices out here for you. Like I said you could probably just shoot georgefix and email explaining what you need and what you are doing and he will probably cut you a good deal on everything you need.

The lube I ended up using for the slides etc... was a product by AGS silglyde. Here is a listing for it, however you can pick this up at most auto parts stores: http://www.streetsideauto.com/p/ags-...FXMR7AodMW4Ajw

Again good luck and enjoy the trip.

[Bartman]

I have one question, How tall are you?

I am 6'4" and while I was getting my long flat seat recovered, I put on the king and queen seat that is on the picture. I road to work (11 miles) and couldn't wait to get home and take it off.

Have you sat on this bike and seat before?

[cajun31]

Bartman

The seat you see in the pictures on the LG is not a king queen seat. The LG's and LH's seats were different from the normal special and standard seats giving the bikes there unique look. These seats are comfortable as they came from the factory, however for a trip as long as this one I would recommend an added pad such as a gel pad if one can be found. Either that or plan on enough stops to alleviate cramping and numbness.

[BillyRok]

Hey thanks guys for the links, highway pegs and brake parts both. I would think that most bike seats will get uncomfortable when your on them long enough (I'm 5'11", 165 lbs) so maybe the 4 gallon gas tank is a blessing in disguise. It will force me to stop every 90 minutes, but I will carry some extra fuel with me in all that storage I'll have.

[jetmechmarty]

I'm not clear. When are you doing this trip? How much time do you have to work on the bike in Idaho?

I have my own ideas.

If the bike has been in dry storage, I would not futz with wiring or fuse block. Check the fuses to make sure they are all snug. If they are, they'll likely stay that way for a while. The damage occurs taking the fuses in and out. Pack a test light and some contact cleaner would be good to have if the bike stops middle of nowhere.

I wouldn't care to be going 80 mph on old tires if it can be avoided.

Change the engine oil and filter. Replace final and middle drive oil. Open fill ports first, to be sure you can. Replace the brake fluid. Just pumping fresh fluid through there before running them to hot might save you grief.

Take other suggestions as you are able.

If the timing of this trip is flexible, consider September. Several riders will be coming to XS Southeast from points west. You could point south and hook up with them. You can join more than 50 other XSives for riding in motorcycle Disneyland. After the rally you will have XS1100 escort back to Western New York. You'd have more than half the trip under escort.

Best wishes for a successful journey, no matter how you decide to do it.

[BillyRok]

Doing this early August Marty, should arrive where the bike is around 11:30 am local time. PO has a fully furnished tool shop and I can certainly spend all day working on the bike, probably could spend some of the next day as well but I don't want to wear out my welcome!

The bike's been maintained, just not been ridden a lot the past 2 years. Fluids and filters are a must, fill bolts before drain bolts is a smart idea. Tires are low mileage but have been on for a few years, PO is going to check the date codes for me. Since they've been inside out of the sun and extreme temperature changes I was hoping they'd be OK for the trip back. Not on a strict time table either so I won't be running real high speeds. However, the local Yammy dealer is 15 minutes away so I can have them replaced if necessary. The list of items to check out before leaving ID was to solicit opinions from experienced members as to what they felt was priority. I knew what might be mandatory to one person wouldn't be as important to another but I wanted the input.

I'm thinking about coming to XS Southeast in Sept in addition to this trip. SWMBO and kids are out of town that weekend anyway, toughest decision would be whether to ride the XJ or LG.

[jetmechmarty]

I'm thinking about coming to XS Southeast in Sept in addition to this trip. SWMBO and kids are out of town that weekend anyway, toughest decision would be whether to ride the XJ or LG.

That decision will be easier to make after the trip from idaho.

I knew what might be mandatory to one person wouldn't be as important to another but I wanted the input.

Good idea!

[Jerry]

I would think that most bike seats will get uncomfortable when your on them long enough

Some more than others. A recovered seat on my XJ when I bought it was terrible. I ended up with a weight-lifter belt to get some lower back support for long trips until I replaced the seat with one from Diamond Industries. My Concours seat was not as bad but was replaced with a Russell Day-Long the first year I had the bike. Both are tremendous improvements over the stock seats. 700 mile days are no problem and produce no monkey butt.

A long trip is a blend of bike-readiness and rider preparation. If you have not ridden long distances before you will learn a few things about rider comfort. A throttle lock which is a device that holds the throttle in a constant position. This lets you give your right hand/wrist a rest and helps reduce fatigue. I would strongly urge you to install one before you start your trip back. They are not expensive and not hard to install, 15 minutes or less plus some "tuning" (adjusting the clamping pressure) and you are good to go.

By all means find some type of pegs that will mount up front. You will need to move your legs forward and back, and even use the rear pegs on occasion. I took one trip from Colorado to California without forward pegs…never again after that. I didn't check the links but J.P. Cycle should have something suitable.

I normally ride with either a smoke or amber (high-definition) face shield and hold the clear one in reserve for overcast or dark conditions. These help reduce fatigue and glare. Good investments, IMHO.

I now use ear plugs regularly. Heros brand, if I recall correctly. I will no longer ride any real distance (more than 10 miles or so) without them. Again, not expensive but will make long distance riding a lot more enjoyable by cutting wind noise generated by your helmet. My Shoei is a lot quieter than my G-Max, but the G-Max flows a lot of air through it and is my summer helmet. Ear plugs help cut a lot of noise from either helmet.

Don't overlook the small things, like wearing a 100 percent cotton shirt or t-shirt, that help make long-distance riding more comfortable.

My Vetter 4 fairing had a cigarett lighter plug in it; I carried a 12v to USB charger for my phone and moved it to the Concours later. (Cheap units are about $7.00.) If you do not have a power plug you can get the socket with some pigtail wiring and wire it in under the seat or any place convenient and, with the adapter, use it to charge your phone or use it to operate other 12v devices. If you have a power plug make sure it is working before you take off on your trip.

Most of this stuff is common sense; just make a list as things occur to you so when it comes time to pack you can check off items you want to take.

Good luck!

[CaptonZap]

Get a wiring diagram for your bike to keep the Harbor Freight cheap red meter company. Better yet would be a manual, so that if the unexpected happens, you have some guidance in repairing things. Tools you can borrow, most people don't have reference books on XS 11's.

CZ
CZ

[cajun31]

What Ray said

I second what he said about getting some kind of a cruise assist. For such a long ride it will pay dividends in giving you the ability to rest your right arm.

If you do plan to do your brakes a set of these will surely save you some time. The front master cylinder snap ring is a bear to get out and these will make the job a piece of cake. They are a good investment for your toolbox anyway. I am in no way promoting this ebay seller, just the first one I found while doing a search for these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Motion-Pro-M..._Tools&vxp=mtr