XS Southeast 2014

[madmax-im]

Thats cool Mike...I recall Chuck and i talking about our ST's which weigh in at 730 lbs...I too have ridden both over these roads...and have to say that it is easier to ride and corner harder with the XS/XJs than the ST...but my ST had an upgraded rear shock and handled quite well nonetheless...but i definitely was using my brakes more on the ST than on the XS...Now I'm wondering how a Venture Royale would handle it?

[XJOK2PLAY]

Ok Ben, don't take this the wrong way. You guys may remember my friend Chuck from the rally. He was riding my 1979SF because his Honda ST1100 was in the shop due to ethanol woes (aka corn problems).

It took him until Sunday to get a real feel for the Yamaha (his first ride on a real motorcycle - LOL). Some of us did the Hurricane loop with Marty on Sunday. [B]The loop made the Dragon look like the back straightaway!MP

Hey Mike,
Yes, I rode back from the Hurricane loop behind/beside Chuck.
He looked good on it. Wouldn't have guessed he wasn't used to riding an 11 all the time.

That's a great looking Special, too...btw. Very nice.
All your bikes look top notch!

+1 on the technical difficulty of the Hurricane loop, too!
That was a real challenge. Loved it.
It really showed my C14's strengths...and weaknesses.

The bike's HP & torque helps to offset it's 700 lb's of weight.
But it's got a pretty low center of gravity, which helps.
I also noticed some extra play in my throttle, which was making it jerky and abrupt in the corners. Simple adjustment, and all's better.

One of the biggest handling improvements I made to it was tires.
They come stock with Bridgestone Battleaxe BT-021's. The rear is a 50 series.
That combination makes it steer and corner like a slug, and was the primary reason it got poor handling reviews in the mag articles that tested it.

Going to Michelin PR2's, and switching to a 55 series rear solves all that.
Makes a huge difference in handling performance.

I was sure glad I had that combo on for this trip!
It would have been a lot more work for me keeping up with Marty in those curves! Lol!

[MPittma100]

Huricane Loop

Maybe it would be a good idea to propose that the Hurricane Loop to be on the Saturday ride schedule for XS Southeast 2015? The Loop was an invigorating challenge for sure. You could be completely lost behind the leaders by misjudging a turn in <5 seconds?

I was behind your Concours - If it may have seemed to lack in cornering ability at 700+ pounds, it certainly could blast right out of a turn to "catch up". I was impressed at it's acceleration ability. No way was I able to keep up with that blast of straight line performance. Close, but no cigar. As I recall, there was some gravel in the middle of the road in a couple of places that made one tend to "grip" the seat a little tighter. Other than that, no harm, no foul.

Chuck was really learning/trusting the Special as it kept performing positively for him. The further we went, the faster he got. I also was really impressed.

Looks good, runs good. That's a good thing. Thank you for your compliments on the bikes. It is much appreciated.

My brother, Chuck, and I may be headed to Biketoberfest next week - all on XS1100s!

Mike

Hey Mike,
Yes, I rode back from the Hurricane loop behind/beside Chuck.
He looked good on it. Wouldn't have guessed he wasn't used to riding an 11 all the time.

That's a great looking Special, too...btw. Very nice.
All your bikes look top notch!

+1 on the technical difficulty of the Hurricane loop, too!
That was a real challenge. Loved it.
It really showed my C14's strengths...and weaknesses.

The bike's HP & torque helps to offset it's 700 lb's of weight.
But it's got a pretty low center of gravity, which helps.
I also noticed some extra play in my throttle, which was making it jerky and abrupt in the corners. Simple adjustment, and all's better.

One of the biggest handling improvements I made to it was tires.
They come stock with Bridgestone Battleaxe BT-021's. The rear is a 50 series.
That combination makes it steer and corner like a slug, and was the primary reason it got poor handling reviews in the mag articles that tested it.

Going to Michelin PR2's, and switching to a 55 series rear solves all that.
Makes a huge difference in handling performance.

I was sure glad I had that combo on for this trip!
It would have been a lot more work for me keeping up with Marty in those curves! Lol!