steppenwolf Posted July 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2009 Got out sunday a bit 6/28,nice 70 mile ride ,easy,relaxing,stab it straight plus a few twisties,light traffic.So I got on my old slo and go cruiser muscle bike,hit 275 to I74 to RT 52 and took a nice ride up to Brookville IN,following the Whitewater river and a light duty train track..scenic,sit back with a smile and enjoy. At Brookville ya have a lot of restaurants but I was just passin thru and made a right on rt 252 back east on a bit of some twisties,look simple but can fool ya,and open road with a whoop dee doos thrown in and finally made it back to Ross and back to the home base of Dunlap...just a quick report...And I got home to try and put the mind meld cap on my cat's (Amtrak)head.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max power Posted July 1, 2009 Report Share Posted July 1, 2009 Beautiful country there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steppenwolf Posted July 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Well had a rider trailer his bike down from Indy to Cincinnati for a lot of work in a short time,coils,wires fuse box,sync carbs,and various other things but still had a problem with the no 1 cyl back firing..still have some work to be done to it...7/5Tag teaming....Syncing carbs..And yuppers there is a lot of beautiful country around here ,,,Think I exceeded my pic per post count...:popcorn:Lets keep it quiet.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max power Posted July 12, 2009 Report Share Posted July 12, 2009 haha, I wish I had some good, smart friends to help me diagnose my bike issue. I have an electrical problem of massive proportion. No spark on any cyl. (separate coils) after washing. All fuses good. Turns over all day, no spark, all day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steppenwolf Posted July 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2009 Max hope ya find your problem,on an XS 1100 I would say pick up coil wires...Well this is gonna be one of my last posts on here,got no other viewers or posters..so why bother..this site is more about sport riders( I didn't say crotch rockets)I put up the the geekiest avatar picure I had..So any way last sunday 7/12....I had a few minutes on my hand and did a few pictures...My bike with an attitudeAnd what happens when a band sees an XS1100 Yamaha in the audianceBack to my ride sunday..Corn is big around Ross OH..Every thing is green around here on my rides...Made it back to the shop where it was still green...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max power Posted July 20, 2009 Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 Thats a shame wolf. You should ride with some of us sometime and I think you would see all kinds of bikes in attendance. Sure, there are lots of sportbike riders on this board, but most are good people and are accepting of different bikes both old and new. The social groups are kinda dead due to not getting notices of new posts (we're working on that) but if you put these pics up in the daily ride section, everyone on the board could enjoy them. Then you would see that there are all kinds of riders that make up Ohioriders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steppenwolf Posted July 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2009 OK I will give it a try but if some one wants to pee higher on the tree..I just give a straight report,no put downs etc.decent pics...see what happens..Thanks Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steppenwolf Posted July 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2009 Max,got my first post over there,short,good response....I'll give another shot at it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steppenwolf Posted July 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 But I had a short ride last sunday,kinda messed up my back and didn't ride all week.Feeling better today but the ole kick stand is still down:mad:But as I said got out for a few short miles last sunday and found this little stop,turned around and went back as they were packing up for the day but I will return when they are flying high...this is just outside of Ross OH..Guy down the street is into rc planes,never met him but found his site..go to the r's and radio malfunction..wow..pretty cool..the Forest Park pics are great.http://www.jlbutler.net/RCStuff/But as people always dream about far away places they fail to see what is in their own back yard... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max power Posted July 27, 2009 Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 Cool RC planes. See, I told you, there is nothing but love on the main board. Well, mostly. The populace does love to look at pictures of rides and travels, so keep em comin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steppenwolf Posted July 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 I could feel the love,all warm ,fuzzy and tinglie inside.We need a group sing-a-long followed by one big group hug...my cat Amtrak reads my posts and his opinion................He's not a rider so he doesn't understand:wtf: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max power Posted July 29, 2009 Report Share Posted July 29, 2009 Thats the funniest cat pic I've ever seen (and I am no fan of the species) There is all kinds of characters on this forum. Its just like life, some good people, some funny people, some stupid people and some assholes.We should hook up and ride sometime, you seem to be good people. Ever ride Hocking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steppenwolf Posted July 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 Well my cat Amtrak and I work out together...we wanna be our best...Hocking Hills...no self respecting Ohioan has not been there..the last two years went on the first weekend in OCT and stayed at a crappy motel but the long day ride route I would choose made up for it...http://www.hockinghills.com/shawneeinn/Always take the long way there......Some how KY comes into place..Not me but at Hocking..07We are trying to get an XS1100 ride to Hocking this fall and you would be welcome to join, we are just in the early stages of getting it together,we are very loose on our rides... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steppenwolf Posted August 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2009 Max,between vacations and people being sick we haven't got plans for a Hocking Hills trip yet but is still in the back of our minds... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steppenwolf Posted August 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2009 Just a couple of pics from were what we hoping for a quick valve set and carb sync but it turned nasty........The man cave... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max power Posted August 23, 2009 Report Share Posted August 23, 2009 That valve doesnt look very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steppenwolf Posted August 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 Well I think this weekend this engine is gonna be running,intake valve is coming in from oregon and the rest of the valves are lapped and ready to go..Think these were a few xtra parts:)Plus we had a tupper ware partyPlus measuring an allien mind... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max power Posted August 27, 2009 Report Share Posted August 27, 2009 ^ that looks alot like work. I hope you guys get it back together right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steppenwolf Posted August 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2009 The valve came in thursday,master link for the cam chain is in and the operation is set for tomorrow at 10..we just need to pick up a couple of rolls of duct tape to put it together:DThe XS1100 guys and gals think we have the best overall bike,tho old,on the road..THE PREREQUESITES WERE ALREADY ESTABLISHED FOR THE XS ELEVEN. 1. It had to have 4 cylinders 2. It had to be a shaft drive without torque reaction 3. It had to be faster than a Z1 in the ¼ mile4. It had to carry more than a GoldWing 5. It had to handle like a road racer 6. It had to last almost indefinitely 7. It had to perform well at any altitude 8. It had to be easy to ride in traffic 9. It had to be above all, easy to repair if it did break Could it? Will it? (Does it? Do all of those things?) You tell me, it’s 28 years later and even now there isn’t anything out there that has all of its capabilities in one bike. They made a big effort since to limit each new model to a specific job or purpose and they can’t do much of anything else. That leaves the XS Eleven right where it started, at the top of the heap. Yamaha, in the XS750 Triple, had already accomplished the removing of side torque reaction from a drive-shaft bike. In the XS Eleven they went a step further, by making the engine rotate backward. The torque made by the turning crankshafts centrifugal force that might twist the handlebar out of your hands on a BMW, Honda CX or Motoguzzi was turned into a positive thing. It puts the torque reaction onto the back tire while the crank is spinning that direction. That’s like putting a bunch of sand bags in the back of your pickup. You know, those vehicles that go sideways on wet pavement from wheel spin, like a Corvette can do on the dry.An XS Eleven will get better traction from this feature and is harder to wheelie than other bikes. However, if you lean over as you accelerate in low it will still squirt the rear end right out from under you. I have permanent injuries to prove that.There is plenty more that makes the XS Eleven the best. The seven spoke cast aluminum wheels for instance. This design is so strong that I built “Street Sleeper” from a crashed 1980 Standard that suffered and impact so strong that it bent the frame and forks. I used the original wheels, engine and drive train on a 1978 frame and forks. The wheels were still in perfect condition after a crash like that. Try that on any 3 spoke mag type wheel of late, no chance.A Wiseco big bore 1196cc kit was installed in my original long miles XS Eleven at 80,000 on the odometer. It developed some piston slap after another 80,000 miles. I figured it would require another set of cylinders to be bored and another kit. I disassembled the engine top end and ordered new pistons. Upon their arrival I slipped one in a cylinder and measured the clearance. It was still .002, which was in spec. The cylinder metal had no appreciable wear on it. I only scratch honed the cylinder barrels, so the new rings would reseat and reassembled the top end with the new pistons. It’s still running today with 219,300 on it. It sounds like the same thing has happened again. It’s still got a couple more long trips in it, but I plan to freshen it up again soon. Still, when you can cruise at 90mph and carry 8 pieces of gear for 100,000 miles, who cares? I’ll take that kind of reliability any day of the week for all that power. I’d certainly rather take an XS Eleven apart as opposed to a water cooled over complicated anything else. If some of you disagree with that, no problem. You do yours when it’s due and I’ll do mine. We’ll see how you feel after that. You’ll more than likely just buy another new bike. That’s just one of many reasons that I say the XS Eleven is the best. I’m just as thrilled each time I ride mine, as I was the first day I got it. If other bikes can do that then why are the papers full of them for sale?I just installed the third new cam chain in this same bike at 216,000 miles. If you buy a copy of my book, “XS ELEVEN HEAVEN” By Bob Jones you’ll find a lot of useful information about the maintenance of cam chains and their adjusting device. Not to speak of many other things.Why is the XS Eleven in a class by itself? Up until its creation no one company had tried to make an all round superior and versatile motorcycle. By 1977 most everyone had made their best effort and Yamaha knew what had to be done in every category to create such a bike. Once it was built and sold. Well, the other three Japanese companies saw it was unique in every way and a good idea and they didn’t have one. They hurriedly added on the drive shaft feature to their already existing chain drive inline transverse fours. This gave them competitive models to the XS Eleven, but they inherited all of the same problems and weaknesses of there chain drive predecessors and weren’t even close in any other department.The buying, riding public had no way of knowing this though. They didn’t even have any way of finding it out. Dealers, even myself, were ignorant of the facts, so who would point it out?After a 4-year run with the XS Eleven and the use of the engine in the XJ1100 Maxim in 1982. Yamaha then realized it was actually too good and would virtually last too long. After the crash of 1982, that left models from that year in show rooms and in warehouses for 5 years, it was obvious riders had to be resold. How can you do that if the bikes they have would last a lifetime? Yamaha then jumped on the bandwagon with everyone else. Everyone was making a lot of noise with and about V-Twins and V-Fours. They first produced the Viragos and then the Venture Royal and the V-Max, which is basically the same engine with a few hop up goodies in it. It’s still in production today 20 years later. Both are cumbersome and virtually one-purpose bikes.The tourer can’t cross over the line to anything else because it’s too big and cumbersome. The V-Max may be a handful in a straight line, but it just doesn’t cut it in fast turns. Plus there’s not enough gas on board to actually go very far. We recently had one in our shop for repairs. It was a basket job and I doubt anyone else would even have taken it in. They have electronic V-Boost and a host of other such parts too numerous to mention that are very fradual and make them very costly to repair. All are a far cry from Yamaha’s best effort ever. (The XS Eleven)After the mid eighties planned obsolescence went into all motorcycles, except Harley’s they were already obsolete. Ha Ha, did I say that?I have a customer in Germany who has an electronics factory. He told me that a few years ago Japanese motorcycle company executives came in and wanted some relays made to put into their new bikes. He didn’t say which brand, but they asked how many functions these parts would make? He told them 100,000 and they said “ Well, we don’t want that, we only want 10,000.” Get the picture? They learned it from the car people.At 10,000 functions every component on your shiny new bike will start to fail. That alone will total the bike if you don’t crash it first. That will definitely total it. I haven’t fixed a wreck in years, except for XS Elevens. Insurance companies won’t pay for it. They just total anything that’s crashed. The bikes were never meant to hold up in a crash or even in long time constant use. The materials aren’t strong enough.There are no components in an XS Eleven built with these new rules. The best of everything known at the time was employed in its design and construction. Previous to it the technology was not there.No matter what the mythical they make now, the mindset used on the XS Eleven will not be employed. Not to speak of government intervention for pollution, power and other so called abuses. This leaves the XS Eleven as a loner, one of a kind. The best all round motorcycle ever made and that ever will be made. So the next time someone asks you why is the XS Eleven better than anything else? Well, now you know.I was in their face for three years until they built it and it will never die until I do and I doubt even then if it will. People who have them will end up having to leave them to someone else since they will most likely outlast their owners. Even now I deal with many people who have inherited the XS Elevens that they have."END OF EXPLANATION BOB JONES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steppenwolf Posted August 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 Well the bike is up and running,at 4500 rpm it dies..thinking fuel or electrical...it is back in Indianapolis now but the owner and another rider are going to do some checks on it tonite...sounds good tho..but from saturday..The bike..Getting the valves set...First we had four XS1100's...Then five...Then six with one with family matters who could not make it...everybody giving a helping hand...Getting carbs back on..Valve cover..it lives..syncing carbs and color tuning..it is whole again and on the street..packed up to go back home..And then the next one rolled in............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steppenwolf Posted September 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2009 Sold my XS 1100 after 29 years Well I sold my XS1100 SG after 29 years of great riding had fun meeting other XS riders,sharing stories,saw both coasts and a lot in between but the old bike had to go..time for a new WingThis thing has an on board air compressor,am/fm 6 cdchanger with built in cb and scanner to listen in on rr frequences and a ham band. With reverse and an 1800 cc engine,a rear camera,18 inch screen for the gps,a trailer with optional hook up for a second trailer..running lights and the wheels are spinners so I look like I am moving when stoped..heated grips and foot pegs,a cool air system to blow if it gets hot plus the optional heated air vents..this is a one of a kind machine but now I am ready to move on to the Wing World..better than Disney....WHAT THE F... Holy Cheep Chit..I've been sleepwalking again and having a nightmare....sorry..ignore this post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max power Posted September 4, 2009 Report Share Posted September 4, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steppenwolf Posted September 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2009 Well this is my dream bike... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steppenwolf Posted September 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 Be on the road tomorrow..tried to order valve cover gasket,cam chain and rivetable link from Partsnmore but out of stock..need cam shaft plugs also.Did find some hot coils at Mikes XS..Have carb rebuild kits coming in from George Fix it..Have iridium plugs coming,have new fuel line and fuse box..watch out ...I will be riding a hot bike..be like a new one:DMy problem is I stop at every photo op along the way..Sit back..grab a cold twelve packhttp://www.hulu.com/watch/15267/timerider-the-adventure-of-lyle-swannI should go on the main board once in awhile..might get a few hits:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steppenwolf Posted September 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 :DTales from a '81 XS 1100 Yamaha..I'll put picture at end of cockpitA strange thing happened on the way to the bridge. We had just crossed under the first suspension tower…When I heard this gawd awful noise creeping up from behind. I sounded like a big bore V-twin with a HUGE thumping stereo pumping out mega volumes of HIP-HOP I turned my head…lo and behold that is exactly what it was. A massive white Harley…maybe an ultra-glide or some such. Or possibly an FXHDSGPYSRWK!!!…whatever Harley’s extraneous numbers system means. Any way it WHITE WHITE WHITE with red trim. Obviously a very pricey custom job. This guy had more money in this bike than most people make in a year. I guess it was a 120+ inch motor as I found out a few minutes later.Bohn dubbed the driver “Rufus”…Miles dubbed his lady friend on the back “Little Miss B”. I’ll call his friends in hot pursuit “Big Timers” wink wink. So for purposes of this story we’ll use those aliases. I was bringing up the rear as all seven of us crossed the bridge in tight formation. Rufus pulled up along side me as the traffic was knee deep and rolling about 40 across the bridge. His head was bobbing to the music like “Hell Yeah!”. He was looking over at me as if to taunt. Then the idiot tried to stuff me pointing his massive $80,000 machine toward the hole between Miles and I. I twisted the grip on Zilla and closed the gap so the ******* couldn’t squeeze in. Then Rufus rolled forward splitting the lanes between us and the cars to the right and tried to stuff Miles and Bohn. He almost hit Bohn Frazier and that rose my ire. Bohn…unlike me…has very little aggression and is a perfect gentleman. If he had taken Bohn down I would have likely died fighting the fat maggot because he had two or three buddies following him on similar custom machines.Finally he gave up…slowed, fell behind us and went around us to the right. As he did he revved his mega twin and flipped me off with some gesture I had never seen before. When people do crap like that it doesn’t set well with me. Zilla was feeling sparky at sea level…REAL SPARKY…so I stepped up to the plate to try and knock one out of the park so to speak.The lanes had opened up for about a ¼ mile in front. I fell out of formation like a fighter jet headed for enemy aircraft. I pulled along side Rufus and Miss B. He was not smiling...neither was I. I stuck my hand up and waved bye-bye as I rolled the throttle. Rufus followed suite. I was in fourth and I jumped ahead for an instant...but then some very strange happened. The massive Harley pulled me about 5 to 6 feet in the roll on.It occurred to me this was NOT your average 88 inch motor. Rufus was motioning for more so I accommodated him. So I pulled a long side dropped Zilla into 3rd (we were rolling about 50 mph)…and jumped out front. This time it was a different story…at the end of the roll-on Zilla was out front by a good bike length.Rufus WAS NOT happy. His uber expensive Harley just got shaved by some old “glory days bike” from the late 70’s. Zilla was likely built before Rufus was even a twinkle in is daddy’s eye.After this ostentatious display of old school Japanese muscle Rufus was very angry. He was motioning for more. I wasn’t real happy at the time either. Remember this a-wipe damn near hit a good friend on the bridge for no reason at all. So I obliged Rufus one more time. It occurred to me Zilla should be able to utterly destroy this thing and I thought the 750 gearing might be hurting his ability to really do the V-Twin in for good. So this time I rolled up next to Rufus in 3rd. The idiot actually motioned for me to get the jump. So I dropped the big lizard into SECOND. This put the tach squarely into Mr. Zilla’s power band. At 50 in second with Chop’s drive mod Zilla’s trick engine is spinning about 6000 to 6500. I knew he’d wind to 10,000 and never float a valve because we did numerous times on a dyno. I also knew he would pulled like a freight train all the way out to 9000 rpm.We had just entered a tunnel north of the bridge and the lanes had opened up more. Rufus motioned for me to roll. I twisted the throttle grip darn near off the handle bar and the big Maxim lept out front by a full bike length. Winding the 1200 cc powerplant to 9500 I simply fanned the clutch with the throttle wide open …much like I did as a teenager drag racing. Believe it or not Rufus was pushing his twin just as hard and speed shifting too. When Zilla hit 3rd at 9500 rpm the rear end squatted and the front wheel left the pavement by a good 10 inches. It felt like being shot out of a cannon. I let him wind to 100+ mph. As I shut down for fast approaching traffic I looked in my rearview and Rufus was easily 2-3 car lengths behind…maybe more. His overpriced cruiser just got thumped…decidely… by a 47 year old grandpa on a 25 year old bike.Needless to say Rufus was not happy. He was cursing aloud and wanted more. I simply laughed and waved him off falling back into formation. I figured if I pushed the issue I’d either wind up in jail or the morgue and neither prospect was appealing.Rufus rolled the throttle and disappeared into the Marin County traffic. His buddies rode by. Ray said they were laughing and waving at us when they went by. I didn’t notice as I was pretty “adrenalized” at that point. All I remember is the frightening sound of the big lizard and the massive V-Twin scuffing it out in the tunnel. The Harley sounded like dynamite going off reverberating through the tunnel. But Zilla’s high winding motor sounded like a P51 Mustang flying straight down the throat of the tunnel. It was an experience I shall not soon forget…nor repeat. My quick temper got the best of me that day and I could have easily gotten myself into more trouble than I and all of Zilla’s horses could have put back together again. In retrospect a common phrase comes to mind …”Don’t try this at home”.http://www.flickr.com/photos/13581817@N04/1387095050/Never under estimate an old cruiser:)Should I go on the big board with this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.