1979 xs11

[Forden]

Picked this up a couple days ago--one-owner bike, garage kept its entire life. Been sitting for a couple years so needs some love to run, but I'm psyched to bring it back.

IMG_2501 by Forden Photography, on Flickr

[alke46]

Good looking project. Back in '79 that was on my radar but I just never pulled the trigger. Quite fast also. I had the 750 triple but at the time, could not afford to just jump from one bike to the next.

[GS1150Pilot]

I had one almost identical to that one. LOVED that big ol' beast. Handled like a three legged buffalo in quicksand, but what a stonking motor. Always wanted an FJ1100 because of that same motor in a chassis that handled.

[Nessism]

Looks like original tires. Low miles?

Looks like a great pickup. Looking forward to your review.

[Forden]

42K miles, so it's been ridden a good bit. looks to have been very well cared for though--pulled the carbs last night and one float bowl, looked almost clean enough inside to eat out of... tank is free of rust and no leaks anywhere that I see. I'll check the valve clearances and change the fluids and see how/if it runs. has spark and compression, so good prospects.

[Redman]

Hey, a sought after vintage model.
Quite a thing in the day.

Looks good.

A fiend of mine had one, when all I ever knew at the time was my kz400. He let me ride that "Excessive Eleven" (as he called it) .. oh, man, I was not at all prepaired for what happened.

That looks like fairly stand styling.
Was there also a "Special" ? ?

.

[Who Dat?]

If you have never ridden an XS11, you are in for a surprise. They are the epitome of a phenomenon called "Shaft Jacking".
As you apply throttle, the shaft seems to climb the ring gear in the final drive, which raises the rear of the bike. If you time it right, you can apply, then chop the throttle a couple of times and actually get the whole bike off the ground.

That looks like fairly stand styling.
Was there also a "Special" ? ?
.

Yes. The Yamaha "Special" was similar to Suzuki's "L" models, Honda's "Custom" and Kawasaki's "LTD".
All were trying to cash in on the "Harleyesque" look. Some did it better than others, but none did it well.

[1980GS1000E]

Just make sure to tighten the engine to drive shaft bolts under the rubber boot. They work loose.

[steve murdoch]

They even took the big Yammie racing.
Some fun footage of an early Superbike race from '78.

[GS1150Pilot]

Heyes was still racing-and winning (in club level stuff in Australia) 20 years later.

[Redman]

If you have never ridden an XS11, you are in for a surprise. They are the epitome of a phenomenon called "Shaft Jacking"..
..
..

Yes, I rode one (although a XS11 Special) back when my only riding expereince was my kz400.
I was not at all prepaired for the the bike lifting up . . . . .and the acceleration, my body/shoulders slammed back, that about rolled me off the back of the bike, fingers barley holding on, and then of course that effect then rolling on more throttle . . . . . .

A year or two later when looking for a new bike, I was liking the idea of shaft (or belt), but I recalled that shaft jacking of that XS11,
....,. and a MotoCylist (Cycle?) magazine had artical comparing the various 650s (and 750?) and the artical praised the GS shaft design for not having the jacking effect . . . . . . . and a couple days later I went to the Suzuki dealer, and have had 650G-850G-1100GK ever since.

[rphillips]

I've ridden shaft dr. bikes & found Yama. to be the worst, by far, for shaft jacking. I'm no engineer, but it seems they all are a driving gear from the trans. climbing the front of a driven gear on the hub, but Yammy did something different...Ya'll remember the "Midnight Specials"? Everything, & I mean everything was black except for "Gold" trim & badges.

[Carter Turk]

Intro to Take it to the Limit. XS1100!

https://youtu.be/q0uL6dRWg7A

[GS1150Pilot]

What a weird video. I truly loved my XS11.

RIP Dave Emde. Gone too soon.

[wymple]

My son has one in the final stages of restoration. Not completely stock, but who cares. It was his only bucket list bike since he started riding 20 years ago. The engine has been rebuilt completely. Those nice stock pipes would almost trade even across for a decent bike. Hard to find.