FREE! XS1100 CafeRacer project need help.

[JasonG]

Hey hey, I ended up with this bike for free! It runs MINT! And a electrical works perfectly. I want to make a cafe racer out of it (lowbudget) and need some help. Anyone got any cool thoughts on what I should do if you were in my spot and got this for free! Lol please leave me a comment because I honestly know nothing about these bikes. (Going for that cafe racer naked bike look , low to the ground low bars ectect)

[natemoen]

Honestly, I would sell it and buy something more conducive for the cafe style. There is little to no aftermarket support for these bikes whereas the XS1100s little brother, xs650, has a huge aftermarket support network and is much more conducive to cafeing.

Plus, that bike is in way too good of shape to hack up!

[JasonG]

When you get a close look at it , its really not in good shape (paint wise) I have a streetfightered out buell x1 1200 tubeframe as my toy! But,I think i can put a cool little caferacer together. Even though theres not much bolt ons i can just modify aftermarket parts.

[natemoen]

I think i can put a cool little caferacer together..

There aint nothing little about the xs11. It's a fat heavy pig.

[JasonG]

Hahaha yes! For sure. So is modle i have not good for makin a caferacer?? I thought i was sitting on a hidden jem..

[natemoen]

A handful of people here have done nice ones but you have to be good at hand fabing parts and being able to make and design things. Like I said, there isn't an aftermarket for these bikes so unless you are good with a welder or are willing to pay a welder to make and design you parts it just isn't worth the effort.

Like I said, you would probably be better off selling it and getting a xs650 which has a huge cafe aftermarket already. Plus it is light and nimble already vs the xs wich is big and bulky. I mean, imagine taking a goldwing and trying to cafe it....

[skids]

Honestly, I would sell it and buy something more conducive for the cafe style. There is little to no aftermarket support for these bikes whereas the XS1100s little brother, xs650, has a huge aftermarket support network and is much more conducive to cafeing.

Plus, that bike is in way too good of shape to hack up!

That was exactly what I was thinking!

[motoman]

Honestly, I would sell it and buy something more conducive for the cafe style. There is little to no aftermarket support for these bikes whereas the XS1100s little brother, xs650, has a huge aftermarket support network and is much more conducive to cafeing.

Plus, that bike is in way too good of shape to hack up!

....and a huge +1!.

[jetmechmarty]

Hey! Stop telling people to hack up XS650's! Go hack up a Honda!

[MaximPhil]

I too must agree with all the above.Not a suitable candidate for a cafe racer style bike. Someone would love to take that off your hands for a reasonable price, giving you a fund to shop for something suitable.
Phil

[cajun31]

joing the bandwagon

All you have to do is go out on craigslist. There you will see hack jobs on the xs1100 begging someone to just take what is left of the bike off their hands. Then you have others that ask for more money then the bike is worth for cafes they think they have made better then the original. Don't get me wrong I have seen a few that look quite decent after being converted, however I always question the safety of many of those builds. These bikes were engineered to last. This site is a testament to that fact and that bike you have is in way too good of a condition to hack. You would get good money for that as others have stated. If the biggest problem you see is paint, forgive me but that is the easiest thing to correct on these machines.

[natemoen]

Hey! Stop telling people to hack up XS650's! Go hack up a Honda!

Sorry Marty!

[JasonG]

Its been on craigslist in vancouver for 2 months no takers. Whats a fair canadian price. (i listed at 1500 b/c someone will come and beat me down to like 850-1k) I would love to sell this thing. But, noone was interested. Anyone from Vancouver BC and would want it?!?! Let me know

[IN_XS]

XS1100 Cafes are cool and rare

My dad bought his 1978 XS1100 brand new and rode it everywhere. Needing work, he parked in in the garage in 1990 where it sat until I pulled it out four years ago. Since it was in such bad shape I decided to make the fastest cafe bike in Ohio. I think I may have succeeded.

Here are the specs:
- Carbs- stage three dynojet kit with ram air pod filters (high flow petcocks too)
- Coils- Accell super coils and wires
- Engine- mild port on head with 1mm oversized stainless steel valves and big bore pistons (now 1200), 4 into 1 Supertrapp exhaust
- Suspension- dropped 2" in front with progressive springs, raised 2" in back with nitro shocks, rear chop and delugging of whole frame, clubman handlebars with end mirrors, fork stabilizer and steering dampener.
- Electronics- wiring harness chop (used diagram from this site) and tuck with lithium ion under the seat, new switches, headlight and taillight with shaved LED turn signals, headlight can from XJ.
- Brakes- front rotors and dual piston Nissin calipers from 88 FZR & stainless lines front and back.
-Seat- custom fiberglass shell wrapped in Ostrich leather over modified stock seat pan.

The only other thing left to do is install rearsets and upgrade rear brake cylinder.

Couple things to think about if you want to make your XS1100 a cafe:
- XS1100 are not "natural" cafes. In fact, the only thing remotely cafe about them is the gas tank. Some people just slap on a cafe seat and call it a cafe but it's not a cafe then. To do it right expect lots of work.
-At a minimum you'll need to change the riding stance as well as upgrade front suspension and brakes, not to mention the standard handlebar and seat changes. But to get the true cafe look/feel you'll also need to tuck the battery and harness. Not something you should plan to do on a small budget.
- You don't need many aftermarket parts because many can be taken from other bikes or use aftermarket parts for other applications. My brake upgrade it a great example. The only exception is the seat. Traditional cafes are much smaller so you can't just buy one easily for an xs1100. You'll have to have one custom made or buy one specifically for large bikes. Again this costs $$.
- Be prepared to have gawkers. There are not many 1100 cafes. And for true vintage/cafe enthusiasts this idea scares the hell out of them. It's too big and too fast. There will be plenty of people that ask "what the hell is that"

My personal opinion is that you have a beautiful bike already and on a budget it's probably better suited for a big wheel bagger custom than it is cafe. If you go down the cafe route, awesome, but plan on spending lots of time and money to do it right. If you really want a cafe I recommend buying a "cheap" XS and chop that up.

Here's some pics of my project:
https://www.instagram.com/p/4lDJS2Su...by=jrj_russell
https://www.instagram.com/p/zWVzDwSu...by=jrj_russell
https://www.instagram.com/p/sTR6bIyu...by=jrj_russell
https://www.instagram.com/p/ttc_pFSu...by=jrj_russell
https://www.instagram.com/p/ls619GSu...by=jrj_russell
https://www.instagram.com/p/c6hp6eyu...by=jrj_russell

Good Luck!!

[donebysunday]

In xs

seems your build is a righteous concept for the cafe of a huge beast !
I've seen a few pics of successful cafe builds of these big bikes. Only thing the size and weight, well there are those that race so it's possible.

BY THE WAY WELCOME !!!!!

OH AND PLEASE, PICS OF YOUR BUILD AS YOU PROGRESS !
START A NEW THREAD FOR YOURSELF AND THIS BUILD.

P.S. That seat, Ostrich was it ? BEAUTIFUL !!!!!