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47-439: The XS Eleven was the first four-cylinder four-stroke motorcycle from Yamaha. It built on technology first used by Yamaha in their earlier XS 750 four-stroke triple, but was an entirely new development and design. The XS 1100 engine was a new clean-sheet design with several innovative and relatively unconventional elements compared to other inline 4-cylinder motorcycle engines of the day. The XS 1100 four-cylinder engine employed

94-583: A "sport" model until 1982 (MY 1983) to bridge the gap until Yamaha could introduce the MY 1984 FJ 1100 (and subsequently FJ1200) sport-tourers for 1984. In Europe, the XS 1100 "Standard" was virtually the only model of the XS 1100 line-up. "Special" and "Midnight Special" models only accounted for a low single-digit percentage of all XS 1100 bike sales. There the XS 1100 remained in production until 1983. The European Yamaha XS 1100 Standard (2H9) model differed considerably from

141-484: A good deal of muscle to lay it down. While the Yamaha doesn't disgrace itself in corners (not as much as some Z1000s I have known, for example) it doesn't commend itself either." Testers of the day all echoed the same story: "The XS1100 was a solid bullet in a straight line, but cornering at high speeds was done at your own risk." " Cycle warned its readers that the bike could easily go, stop, and steer — just never two at

188-613: A kickstarter shaft was no longer installed in the transmission and a kickstarter lever was no longer provided. For the 1981 model year a dedicated touring model called the XS Eleven "Venturer" was launched. It was equipped with a full touring fairing made for Yamaha by Pacifico. XS Eleven Venturers also came with matching panniers and a top case. Additionally, the Venturer was equipped with the EU/RoW 6.3 gallon tank for increased range and

235-458: A stepped seat, a 16-inch rear wheel, a smaller capacity tear-drop gas tank, a round instrument cluster, round lighting fixtures and an adjustable suspension with new air-assisted leading-axle front forks creating the "factory custom" or "soft chopper" look, a forerunner of the modern cruiser . The XS Eleven Special sold well in the US despite complaints about the poor ergonomics "What that translates to

282-500: A top speed of 135 mph - Cycle World 2/78), only to be surpassed in the 1/4 mile performance later in 1978 by Honda's CBX. The XS 1100 however remained the strongest production motorcycle in terms of torque and in-gear roll-on performance until the arrival of the Yamaha FJ series in 1984. In 1978 and 1979 it won Cycle World's Ten Best Bikes as the best Touring bike. "Nobody gets far riding the XS Eleven before they become acquainted with

329-680: A top speed of 135 mph (217.3 km/h). Yamaha XS 750 The Yamaha XS750 and XS850 was a line of inline three cylinder motorcycles produced by the Yamaha Motor Corporation from 1976 to 1981 for the worldwide motorcycle market. It was publicly-voted by readers as the 1977 Motorcycle News Machine of the Year, ousting the sitting-winner of four-years, the Kawasaki Z1 . Released in Japan in 1976 as

376-495: Is a bike with an awkward riding position but generally excellent road manners. In fact, what irritated the staff mostly in how the bike rode and handled could be traced to the handlebar, which, although certainly as trendy as disco dancing, was not what the ergonomics doctor ordered for precise, comfortable control.", it became the by far best-selling XS Eleven variant in the US market. In 1980 the XS Eleven LH "Midnight Special"

423-464: Is longer and doesn't fit the early seats. The now popular “2D” was upgraded to keep up with the market. Yamaha added electronic ignition this year but retained the mechanical timing advancing unit. They also replaced the carburetors for Mikuni “Mark II” CV models. These offered easier maintenance and a “two position enricher” (Choke) as opposed to the single position on the “Mark I” model. The engine again had some improvements including cam shafts to boost

470-593: The 1978 Castrol Six Hour production endurance race by the Pittman's Team of Jim Budd and Roger Heyes was Yamaha's first four-stroke motorcycle road racing victory at a major international event. "A key component of the race from the very start was that the motorcycles had to be completely stock, exactly as available the day after the race in dealers’ showrooms around the world, and they were rigorously inspected in both pre-race and post-race scrutineering to ensure that they were" [1] Flack of Motor Sport Retro wrote : "While

517-437: The 1980-1981 XS Eleven never again broke into the 11-second quarter mile as the 78-79 models had. Tests also commented that cold start and warm-up behavior had worsened noticeably and required unusually long operation of the cold start enrichment system. The transistorized ignition system was also changed and made non-adjustable in compliance with emission regulations. 1980 and later "emission" XS Eleven bikes are easy to spot since

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564-539: The 24 liter tank as standard, plus a huge 8" diameter headlight. Also added were frame improvements including a new swing arm mounting and alloy footrest carriers.(Also to be seen in some "F" models. In the United States, the 850 “G” had a more custom look with a seat with no tail piece like the “SG” and different side panels. The exhausts on the European models have an offset in them to improve ground clearance at

611-574: The 2400 to 2700 dollar price range. As above but European models came with an optional 24 liter fuel tank and also a new paint scheme. The cast wheels from this year on were of the "tubeless design". The kickstarter was dropped, blocked off with a grommit. The 826cc replacement for the XS750 was a very similar beast. The engine received bigger barrels and pistons, a beefier crankshaft, a wider primary chain and better oil ways. The addition of an oil cooler helped keep things cool. The European 850 “G” came with

658-475: The EU handlebar these rear sets allowed for a sportier riding position than the more relaxed riding position of the US model. The EU and RoW XS1100 Standard had satin black painted engines equipped from the factory with an oil cooler system, while the US engines were all natural, unpainted aluminum without an oil cooler system. Further, the rear fender of the EU version was longer and the rear turn signals were mounted to

705-521: The Eu/RoW XS 1100 oil cooler system. The mass volume production of the XS Eleven ended in 1981 in all markets and most XS Eleven models were superseded by the one-year-only 1982 XJ1100 Maxim, which used a slightly altered version of the XS1100 engine employing Yamaha's new YICS or Yamaha Induction Control System. In Europe because of the need for more sporting motorcycles the XS 1.1 S (5K7)was launched as

752-459: The GX750 fitted with wire wheels (as opposed to cast alloy in all other models) the XS750 became the name for the export model. The last model year of manufacturing was 1981. These motorcycles were fitted with shaft drive , and can be referred to as "triples" because they have three cylinders. During the first four model years, the engine displaced 750 cc. This was increased to 826 cc for

799-508: The North American XS 1100 Standard (2H7) model (2H7 versions: E - 1978, F - 1979, and G - 1980-81). The EU/RoW engines retained the more performance-oriented specs (Heads, valves, pistons, carburetor jetting, and ignition tune) of the "early US models throughout their entire production. The emission-related changes of the late model US XS Eleven were never introduced in EU/RoW bikes since such emission regulations did not exist outside

846-540: The Seventies : "The Yamaha's lack of reputation gives it one advantage these days, though, in that a clean XS such as this one costs less than its more successful contemporary rivals – whose performance advantage, so crucial then, is far less important now. Two decades and more after its launch, maybe the XS1100's time has finally come." In a 1978 test by Cycle World a stock XS1100 ran a quarter mile time of 11.78 s 1/4 mile @114.21 mph (183.8 km/h) with

893-508: The UK. The second limited-production model was the 1981 - 1983 XS 1.1 S (5K7)(sold in Australia as the XS 1.1 R); a sporty version based on the XS 1100 Special but laid out more as a sports bike with a small cockpit fairing. Only 320 XS 1.1 S were sold since it was a gap-filler model. Yamaha recognized the change in market demands for more sporty bikes and built the XS 1.1 S to bridge this gap until

940-531: The US model. The European market also featured two limited production models: The 1979 XS 1100 Martini with a two-piece fairing designed by John Mockett, sporting a Martini color scheme similar to the Martini promotion bike that Mike Hailwood used as his personal transport at the 1978 Isle of Man TT . Only 500 "Martinis" were ever built exclusively for the EU market of which 274 were sold in Germany and only 65 in

987-492: The US. The EU/RoW XS 1100 Standard had a larger gas tank (6.3 gallons vs. 5.3 gallons), dual horns, and an EU-specific narrower, lower handlebar. The rider footpegs of the EU XS 1100 were mounted on different rear sets that positioned them higher and further back on the frame for more clearance. This required a shorter rear brake lever and a special linkage for a reversely mounted shift lever to work with these rear sets. Combined with

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1034-506: The basis for custom motorcycle projects that result in a bike modified to suit the owner's ideals, and as such are a source of pride and accomplishment. Power cruiser is a name used to distinguish bikes in the cruiser class that have higher levels of power. They often come with upgraded brakes and suspensions , better ground clearance, and premium surface finishes, as well as more exotic or modern muscular (non-traditional cruiser) styling. Many power cruisers and Japanese cruisers of

1081-439: The biggest, baddest production bikes around, confounding everyone." In the 1979 Castrol 6 hour, XS Elevens finished second (Greg Pretty, Jim Budd) third (Len Atlee, Gary Coleman) and fourth (Roger Heyes and D. Robbins) The XS Eleven's successful racing career was a remarkable achievement considering its shaft drive and long distance touring capabilities. British motorcycle journalist Roland Brown, says in his book Superbikes of

1128-431: The combustion chambers. To make adequate power most modern motorcycle engines of the day including the XS 750 had simple hemispherical combustion chambers with domed pistons. This design has a major drawback in relatively long flame travel during combustion and therefore requires much spark advance, which can cause severe pre-ignition (knocking) in high-performance engines. To improve combustion efficiency while eliminating

1175-688: The early cruisers in the mid-1980s, and by 1997 the market had grown to nearly 60 percent of the US market. A number of motorcycle manufacturers including BMW , Honda , Moto Guzzi , Yamaha , Suzuki , Triumph and Victory have currently or have had important models evocative of the American cruiser. Harley-Davidsons and other cruisers with extensive luggage for touring have been called, sometimes disparagingly or jocularly, baggers, or full baggers, as well as dressers, full dressers, or full dress tourers. These terms are no longer limited to cruisers, but may be any touring motorcycle . Cruisers are often

1222-490: The fact that it's strong; we had ridden ours over hundreds of open-road miles before going to the drag strip and knew it was a bullet." Cycle Magazine had this to say of the Eleven: "...the XS is a Rolls Royce with a blown Chrysler Hemi motor..." The handling of the XS Eleven was not as well reviewed in period tests. "When this behemoth of a motorcycle actually hits a corner at anything approaching interesting speeds then it takes

1269-520: The feet forward and the hands up, with the spine upright or leaning back slightly. Typical cruiser engines emphasize easy rideability and shifting , with plenty of low-end torque , but not necessarily large amounts of horsepower , and are traditionally V-twins . However, inline engines have become more common. Cruisers with greater performance than usual, including more horsepower, stronger brakes and better suspension, are often called power cruisers. Japanese companies began producing models evocative of

1316-406: The final two model years, but was referred to as an 850. There were various changes made to the model over the years. Very few of these bikes seem to have been made and even fewer survived. The cast wheels were in an unpainted finish and the decals were in a distinctive stripe design on the tank and side panels. This bike had a 3-1 exhaust system, and Mikuni “Mark I” carburetors. The air box assembly

1363-471: The ignition system was updated to electronic advanced timing and the mechanical advance assembly was removed. The “LH” was the midnight special, sporting black and gold designs on the engine and other parts. Cruiser (motorcycle) A cruiser motorcycle is a motorcycle in the style of American machines from the 1930s to the early 1960s, including those made by Harley-Davidson , Indian , Excelsior and Henderson . The riding position usually places

1410-409: The left side, while most transverse motorcycle engines of the day rotated counterclockwise. This jackshaft included a "cush-drive" shock damper for drive shaft drive trains. The electric starter also engaged the jackshaft to start the engine. The engine is mounted in rubber bushings making it an almost completely vibration-free running powerplant. A significant new technology of the XS 1100 engine are

1457-469: The license plate holder instead of to the rear frame as in the US version. Many EU versions also had a separate steering head lock welded to the left side of the steering head as required by law in various EU countries. While having been the most popular model in the US, the 1979 - 1981 XS 1100 SF "Special" was virtually non-existent in Europe. It was, except for small differences required by law, identical to

Yamaha XS Eleven - Misplaced Pages Continue

1504-723: The new CBX1000 and Suzuki were out and out sports bikes, the shaft-drive XS1100, affectionately called the 'Xcessive', was more of a muscle bike come tourer. Heavier than and not as fast as its rivals, the XS1100 did have one particular ability – winning races." "In the lead up to the Six-Hour , the XS1100 had swept the Adelaide Three-Hour, the Perth Four-Hour and the Surfers Three-Hour. The unlikely XS1100 and Pitman Yamaha rider Greg Pretty had upstaged

1551-480: The new FJ 1100 was ready for sale. Both of these limited production models were not available in the US market. Production of the XS 1100 LH "Midnight Special" built from 1980 to 1982 was also limited, but to far greater numbers. It was sold in all global markets. The XS 1100 dominated the 1978 Australian motorcycle production racing circuit in 1978 and continued to victories and high place finishes in production and superbike classes through 1981. The XS Eleven's win at

1598-431: The possibility of pre-ignition, Yamaha designed multi-angle "polyspheric" combustion chambers that required six different machining processes during manufacturing. This new design allowed for high compression without large piston domes and large ignition advance of over 40 degrees. The XS 1100 valves were the same as previously used in the XS 750 engine, but their angle differed from the previous 3-cylinder engine. Carburetion

1645-428: The power of the engine. The rev limit was raised to 9000 rpm this year from 7500 which the electronic ignition had allowed. Later “E” models also had a viewing window for the engine oil added in place of the dipstick. This year also saw the introduction of the XS750 “SE”, Special or US custom model. With longer front forks and a teardrop shaped tank with shorter exhausts and seat it had a “Chopper” appearance in contrast to

1692-439: The rear. The carburetors changed from Mikunis to Hitachis for environmental reasons. The “LG” was the midnight special, sporting black and gold designs on the engine and other parts. The European models had a wider seat and tail piece than the 750’s, but looked much more like them than the American 850 “G”. As previous year. Also the last production year although models continued to sell for a few years after this. One final change,

1739-431: The same 68.6 mm stroke of the XS 750 triple, but had a larger 71.5 mm bore (the XS 750 had a bore of 68 mm) and therefore was an "oversquare" or "short-stroke" design. The XS1100 engine does not transmit power directly from the crankshaft to the clutch basket/input shaft, but rather via a wide hy-vo chain onto an intermediate jack-shaft with a cush-drive damper. The engine rotation was therefore clockwise when viewed from

1786-401: The same tail piece as the "C" and early GX750. Released to return confidence to the model the 2D with some modifications to the “D” model. The bike now had 3 into 2 exhaust system with silencers on both sides of the bike, and improvements made to the engine to improve reliability. Fitted with electronic regulator/rectifier unit. This bike has a different seat from the "C" and "D". The tail piece

1833-459: The same time." 'Which Bike' magazine simply described the XS1100 as having 'a bulletproof motor, and tea trolley handling'. The XS Eleven debuted in September 1977 (MY 1978) as the largest-displacement motorcycle in production at the time. It featured an 1101 cc four-cylinder dual overhead cam engine, dual front disc brakes , a rear disc brake, shaft drive and cast aluminum wheels. The XS Eleven

1880-450: The tourer or now referred to as “Standard” XS750 “E”. The change of carburetors also meant a change of air box design and the air filter was now changed without lifting the seat. The XS750 also came with a stock fairing with full storage and aerodynamic enclosure of the rider. The fairing also introduced additional stability to the motorcycle by creating additional rake to the frame. This was a first for bikes of this time, especially those in

1927-794: The volume of the combustion chamber and the piston domes. The intake valve size was increased from 36 mm to 38 mm and the exhaust valve size from 31 mm to 32 mm in an attempt to compensate for the reduction in compression ratio. The ports and valve bowls of the late heads are larger and flow better than early heads. Cam profiles and timing changed as well, reducing valve lift and duration. Late cam intake and exhaust duration decreased by 12 degrees, while exhaust lift increased. Late cam LSA increased from 102 degrees to 105 degrees. 1978/1979 "early" cams deliver approx. 2% more power than late cams. The 34mm Mikuni BS34 CV carbs remained in use but received very different jetting and settings. From 1980 on there were no longer pilot jet adjustment screws installed. The jet needle

Yamaha XS Eleven - Misplaced Pages Continue

1974-410: Was delivered by four Mikuni BS34 II constant velocity (CV) carburetors and ignition via a contactless inductive trigger, transistorized electronic ignition unit (TCI) with vacuum advance. Upon introduction, the XS Eleven immediately earned a reputation as a heavy, very powerful, and reliable bike. It was the first production bike in 1978 posting a sub-12 second 1/4 mile time (11.78 sec. @ 114.21 mph with

2021-585: Was different from later years. The air filter could be changed by opening the seat. This model had triple contact breaker points making timing adjustment complex. Also featured was a separate regulator and rectifier. The seat has a short tail piece this year. This bike received good reviews in Cycle World, who called it a "Bargain BMW" and rated it one of their top 10 bikes in the world in 1976. A number of these made it out to export markets in late 1976. This bike

2068-482: Was launched in all global markets including the US. It was an all-black and gold version of the XS Eleven SF Special. Beginning with the 1980 model year from September 1979 numerous changes were made to all US-market XS Eleven engines to comply with more stringent US emission regulations. The compression ratio was dropped from 9.2:1 to 9.0:1 via changes to the pistons and cylinder head design, increasing

2115-463: Was pretty much the “C” with a paint job. The tank now sports the familiar piping around the contours picking out the detail. Problems with reliability led to a further release in 1977. A particular problem was with 2nd gear. This had a habit of dropping into neutral under load. Canny riders would short-shift from 1st to 3rd gear; the engine had enough torque to support this technique. The Yamaha fix tended to be temporary, so not worth doing. The "D" had

2162-436: Was set in its leanest position. The main jets which were # 137.5 in all four carbs on 1978 and 1979 models, were reduced to #115 main jets in carbs two and three (center carbs) and # 120 main jets in carbs one and four (outside carbs). While Yamaha maintained identical performance specs on paper, period tests confirmed a reduction in performance of the late-model XS Eleven compared to the 1978/1979 early models. In all period tests

2209-444: Was the most powerful mass-production motorcycle of the late 70s and posted superior performance numbers compared to its competition. The US market XS Eleven was launched as the so-called "Standard" model (Versions: E - 1978, F - 1979 and G - 1980-81). In 1979 Yamaha followed the growing market trend for "factory custom" motorcycles by offering the XS Eleven "Special" (SF Model). The XS Eleven Special sported pullback buckhorn handlebars,

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