I cant believe the list price in 82!

[Hoop]

MSRP Source "Motorcycle Price Guide"

78 XS Eleven $3249
79 XS1100F $3449
79 XS1100SF $3699
80 XS1100SG $3879
80 XS1100G $3699
81 XS1100H Venturer $4699
81 XS1100LH Midnight Special $4599
81 XS110SH $3699
82 XJ1100J Maxim $4099

[gaffer77]

equivelent of $2,100.00 fresh spray job had been done new rear tyre was on it and 2 pattern silencers 79 sf special a year ago

needed seat ,headlight and ears were wrong,apart from that wasnt bad but spent $2,000.00 easy on bits so far getting it how i want it mainly standard bar braided hoses,oilcooler,sissy bar,and other small mods

well happy never been so happy with a bike

[beegshot]

Revived thread

I found this thread when searching for something else. Thought I'd chime in...

I was riding an '81 XJ650 in 1988 (bought for $900 in 1984, sold for $900 in 1988). Anyway, I got to know a Yamaha mechanic through a mutual friend back in '85. He always had a gleam in his eye (and still does) when he talked about XS1100's. He told me that the XS11 motor was the best (in terms of reliability) air cooled motor Yamaha ever made...second only to the XS650 twin. He also said, "Shoot, that thing'll smoke the tire clear across this parking lot (pointing out toward the street at the end of the 50 yd long parking lot)." I was sold...so I went out looking for my XS11.

I bought my '82 XJ 1100 in 1988. It had been sitting in the dealership for 5 years after the PO traded it in on a Venture (IIRC). It only had 4800 miles on it and I paid $1800. It needed new pistons and seals in all three calipers and both master cylinders needed to be rebuilt. Today it has 32,000 miles on it and it has NEVER left me beside the road.

Robert

[dorkpunch]

i cleaned the carbs on a guys special, and he gave me the standard, complete with fairing, trunk, sadle bags, and bang bars. Jump started it and rode it home. 21k KILOMETERS on the clock. Did have to do the brakes though. He bought it from the original owner 2 years before and rode it once. To bad it spent a coupla years outside, otherwise it WOULD be mint...... runs like its new (for the most part).

[2fast]

Boy do I feel like a chump. I paid $2500 for my 78 E.........but that was in 1982. One of these days I gotta get a new bike!

[noeleo]

Great stories, guys. Better put in my $.02, though. Bought a 1980 XS1100LG August, 2004 with 65 miles. It's sad, like someone said earlier, about one of these fine machines sitting and rotting. Anyway, spent $100 for tank, $6. for carb cleaner, $40 for used front master cylinder, then after that just 2 tires, rear brake pads (PO tightened up the slack in rear master cylinder where they would drag), and handlebars (PO put on drag bars). With the initial investment of $2000.00 that would total up $2146.00 plus maintenance. Just rode in the March of Dimes "Bikers for Babies" run and got 50 mpg running 40-45 mph. Love this machine, and probably wouldn't sell it for three times what I've got in it. Keep this thread going, and you guys that haven't posted, GET TO IT!!!

[jimboreeno]

OK...Since it's true confessions.

I JUST bought my XJ1100 for $700 2 weeks ago. Bald tires, rat's nest rewiring job, and a dragging front brake. I bought it to "save money" in gas for my communte. I took it to a local shop to do the work. It will cost me about $700 to get it out (2 tires, front and rear brake jobs, the rewiring is the main thing. I would have done that myself but I am a crummy mechanic and have no time to do it.) The engine was rebuilt about 8000 miles ago and purrs. I do need to redo or replace the carb boots but will wait till winter for that and do it myself. I will have the tank painted then too. I am planning on getting it back from the shop this Friday and spending the weekend on it!!

I bought it as a "transportation" bike, but after learning about my Maxim XJ1100 in this forum, i am leaning toward a complete restoration!

[pathfinder]

Hey jimboreeno, get your money out and stack it in $100.00 stacks on the table, by the way you will need about 10 stacks. It's gonna cost you for a restore especialy if someone else does it. And the worst part is it still won't be right and you still wont have learned anything.
If you breakdown on the side of the road you wont have any idea what to do unless you do it yourself, with the input from this site it will be a snap.
Best thing about this site is it's free, next best is good answers from folks who know.
If you could only figure out how to do it for free.

[lsippell]

I gave $650 for my XJ last Sept and drove a 2000-mile round trip to get it.

It wasn’t a basket case, but was really in very poor condition with corrosion everywhere. The seat cover torn to pieces, tank dented and the exhaust actually missing sections between the headers and mufflers. But it had the X1 fairing with lowers on it and as far as I was concerned, it was worth it for that alone. In ’94 it took me over 6 mo. to find a X1 fairing for the XJ I had bought then (my first one, bought new in ’82 had the X1 fairing).

I haven’t added it up, but I problem have spent in excess of $1500 in restoring/rebuilding it. Every bearing and seal on the bike, except 3 of the mains, 2 rod and the middle gear bearings have been replaced. New rings, 2 intake and 3 exhaust valves were used from a head I got on eBay (thank God for eBay!!!!!!!). Done the 2nd. gear fix while I had the engine tore down over last winter.

All I lack is a custom seat and repainting it this winter since I used a catalyst in the paint that was outdated and didn’t know it at the time.

Louis

[COOL TOM]

BOUGHT MY 82 XJ1100 MAXIM IN APRIL FOR $100, NEW BATTERY $40, CLEAN CARBS $60, NEW TIRE $55, REBUILD MASTER CLY $35, FAIRING AND WINDSHIELD $25, GRIPS $10, HELMENTS $20, REPAIR CLUTCH CABLE $5, SISSY BAR $5, ALL TOTAL $355. AND I WOULD NOT TAKE $5000 FOR IT. I LOVE THIS BIKE, IT PUTTS WHEN I WANT TO PUTT, AND IT GOES WHEN I WANT TO GO. CRUISE AT 55 CRANK THROTTLE TO PASS BINGO YOU ARE DOING 70. WOW!!! WOULD LIKE TO FIND SOME MORE XJS TO RIDE OR USE FOR PARTS. I NEED FIRST GEAR REPAIRED OR REPLACED. BUT THIS BIKE HAS SO MUCH POWER THAT I JUST USE SECOND GEAR TO TAKE OFF. WILL PROBLEY FIX IT THIS WINTER

[BauersXS11SF]

Bought mine in June, $800 w/ 17000 miles on it. Only need to replace the cam chain tensioner and do an oil change

[chevy45412001]

8yrs old

i bought my XJ 8 years ago for 800. shortly affter 1-2 gears went away. 1,200 later i was riding. wish i found this site before that ,cause that piss me off. then and there i decided never to go to a shop for ANY maint. and never have since.She now has over 54,000 miles and still lifts the tire at will by throttle alone. will i ever get rid of her ? maybe. Do i want to get rid of her? NO. were can one get a liter bike for 8 bones nowadays? very hard to find and then it's some tore up crotch rocket with no fairings and hardley running.So for now i'll stick to my xj in all it's faded glory.

[jimboreeno]

Hey Pathfinder...

You are right about the money needed for the restore IF I was planning on having it done by a shop, but I am planning on doing it myself and (hopefully) learning a ton from it.

I wanted it up and running right away and had budgeted enough for a used bike to cover it.

I am looking forward to riding now and tinkering this winter.
You are sure right about this site. I think a person could build one from parts with all the expertise in here!

[edgo]

My '79 Special was given to me in July by my favorite uncle who bought it new. He passed away last month after battling prostate cancer for four years. It hadn't been cranked up in two years and was a rust bucket. It sat outside through the hurricanes that hit Florida last year. I changed the oil, cleaned the carbs and put new plugs in it and it fired up. So far I've put two hundred miles on it and it hasn't even sputtered. It still needs some polishing, a carb rebuild, and lots of other stuff but I'll get there. I put a Mac exhaust on it and it sounds awesome.

These bikes are beautiful machines.

Ed

[DiverRay]

I paid $800 for my '79 F. The PO said it just needed tires, but I've put almost $500 in parts just to get it "rideable".
My first XS1100 was ordered new in 1977, and cost $500 more than my girlfriends new car!( a 1977 Honda Civic 5sp.)
I am getting another XS, a '78 that I'll spend all winter on trying to get it ready to ride. Of course, I do plan on spending some money on it, as I will try and see if I get get 150hp on a streetable XS.