Looking at getting a 79XS11

[nick9871]

So a friend of my dad has a 79 XS 1100 and a XS1100 Special parts bike. He is selling them both for 1100. This would be my first street bike. I love to work on engines and have worked/taken apart completley a few dirtbikes. What should i look for when i look at the bike. I dont really want something that im gonna have to replace carbs, rings, and transmission.

Any help would be great!

[DiverRay]

If this is going to be your first street bike, you may want to keep looking. I don't know how big a dirt bike you've been riding, but if it wasn't a 400 or bigger, you could be in trouble QUICKLY with the XS1100.
The weak links on this bike is 2nd gear, and the carbs, just from age. The bike should be a little "cold blooded", and will probably need about 5 minutes of running to warm up. Check for blue smoke out of the exhaust, and a good idle at about 800 to 1000 RPM's. drive it CARFULLY, shifting up and down through the gears. You can be in 5th as slow as 35 mph, but to check 2nd, you will need a strait road, put it in second at about 10 mph, and then give it full throttle. BE CAREFULL !! the bike is FAST and the front end may come up. If it seems to jerk under hard acceleration, you will probably have to fix 2nd gear soon. You can get a lot of miles on it, if you don't try to race it. But I know that is hard to do.
Don't forget to take a riders safety course before you get on the street. You NEED to learn some of the tricks they teach to help you stay alive. And it's not you, it's the car drivers that are the biggest problems.

[nick9871]

Hey thanks for the reply. I have taken th MSF course already. I think i am going to pass on this. Mostly because I think i should just get a good running safe bike first time around. I was looking at a 94 Honda Magna, but again, 80hp is a bit much i think. Might look at a v-star 650 or shadow spirit. Thanks again!

[Ken Talbot]

If you think 80hp on a newer Magna might be a bit too much, the 85hp of these old XS11s might also be a bit more than you're thinking about. Just because they're old and reasonably priced doesn't mean they're dogs. In fact, having this kind of power and being that old and cheap is a major attraction! My wife rides her own XS11 and is quite comfortable with it, but she spent a couple of seasons on a 650 working up to the 1100. The XS11 can be a great bike to own, work on, and ride, but you will have to determine for yourself whether it's what you're interested in or ready for.

[DeanR]

I started riding last summer. Got my brother in laws XS1100, he was buying a Royal Star. I took the MSF course and I think have done well learning on the XS. Love it, no regrets, have learned much about its workings, wouldn't have done anything different. I just have the self control over my right wrist! Getting quicker though...

[prometheus578]

XS was my first bike. I don't think the power is anything to worry about provided you don't get stupid with it. Bike handles well when moving, but dancing around with it in the driveway or garage, it's quite hefty!
Beautiful piece of machinery, though. Easy to work on. Best of all.... all the tech questions you could ever have... the answers are all free!

[DeanR]

Agree with the HEFTINESS. By far the biggest thing to get used to.

[mixelpix]

I love them, but...

If you are under 5'10", you might want to start a little smaller - just to get familiar with the rules of the road, cornering on roads, riding w/a passenger, geting used to being invisible, that kind of stuff.

I learned on a '79 XS 400, working and riding. After a year I moved straight to the 1100's. The drive shaft minimizes a lot of the headache maintenance stuff. Use Rotella oil if you can find it - has the formula closest to what they made in the day. Don't use synthetics or blends. Changing the middle and final gear oil is a cinch. All the basic maintenance is a cinch, and the common points of failure are pretty well documented here and fairly straightforward to remedy or prevent. Personally, I would recommend doing the work yourself. Most Yamaha dealers don't work on the older bikes and a lot of mechanics who will don't know how to put the cam chain tensioner back together the right way, for example.

The 1100's are notoriously wobbly in the turns. They are big and heavy bikes. I didn't notice it as much with my full bagger '79 Special, but I also didn't push it that hard. Sometimes (and they do have diff wheel sizes) on my 1980 Midnight Special when I corner hard it feels like the bike wants to roll over a little quicker than it should in the front end - kind of right before the apex of the turn. I've developed what is probably a bad habit of cutting my corners a little tighter, kind of dropping into them, and then ever so slightly cutting back up in anticipation of the wobble - and then I can keep a smooth, even turn, but it takes some getting used to.

I wouldn't recommend starting street bike riding on one of these. You can get fork braces, but it might be worth learning on a 650. The 750's had a lot of top end problems, so it's hard to find a reliable one...

[mixelpix]

stuff you only get in the owners manual

well, maybe it is documented somewhere else, but this helped my riding and performance greatly

1st gear - 0mph to 14mph

2nd gear - 14mph to 22mph

3rd gear - 22mph to 31mph

4th gear - 31mph to 37mph

5th gear - 37mph to 135mph
(on a '78 or '79)

5th gear - 37mph to 85&up? mph
('80 and '81)

It really pays to baby these ladies in the mornings or whenever you are startig them up. I try not to rev over 3000rpm until I close the choke. start with it all the way open if it is cold, then in the middle position for the first 1/4 mile or so and then away you go. You're a lucky man if you still have the rubber tab on the choke lever - if the choke lever is still intact! Also, look to see if the left side battery cover (with the XS emblem) still has the locking tab. Check for the original tools or other suproses in the tool box. Is the kickstarter still in place under the airbox? Did the tire changing wire manage to follow the bike? how about the middle/final gear oil dipsticks?

Hmmm.... These are big bikes, so if it's just you riding, you may want to adjust the suspension - front and rear. It's also pretty durn easy to do - especially if you already work on bikes.

Oh - raising the bike on it's center stand. If you can't do it EASILY then lemme know and I'll tell ya how. for 600 some pounds, it is a cinch!

that's all for now!
-pdk