boomer
Junior Member

Vive les XS650, Vive la France...
Posts: 70
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Post by boomer on Apr 15, 2004 15:33:05 GMT -5
I found out today that going over +-180 km/h on my XS stop all the buzz... a magic carpet... but the discomfort of the wind on my head (I was almost able to read my licence plate!!!!!!!) the noise, and the fact that it took me almost two lanes wide to do it, make me think that it's not your every day trick!!! Fred, soon without licence?  
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Post by Bob Dammit on Apr 15, 2004 18:26:26 GMT -5
Ummmm... yeah........ errrrrrrr..... where did I put the metric conversion tool. Oh, yeah, here it is... Lets see... 180K/hr ...... ummmmm... equals $0.78? ? ?  Oops... wrong button... hang on... 112 MPH?!!?! DAMN!I have only hit 100+ a couple times on the open road... the wind kept on lifting me off the seat.
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spike
New Member
The life of a Repo Man is always intense...
Posts: 21
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Post by spike on Apr 16, 2004 20:08:13 GMT -5
Speed, well let's see: It was 1984, and I was on I-65 between Chicago and Indy on my 1976 Honda CB750F. The speed limits were then 55  I looked in my left mirror before I pulled over into the left lane to pass, and saw a gold dot. Before I completed my pass, all I saw in the same mirror was a Mercedes hood ornament! As the huge turbo diesel blew by me in a cloud of soot, I twisted the throttle... at 110mph, he stopped disappearing from my vision. At 120, I began to close - e v e r s o s l o w l y ! I was in a tight tuck behind the fairing, and the engine was an extremely high-pitched whine. These thoughts ran through my head: "Ok spike, when did you last change the oil? What is my tire pressure like? How's the ol' chain tension? Wouldn't a hydraulic steering damper be totally cool right about now?" The MB? I never saw it again. Crazy... my XS hasn't seen 65mph yet. It's my "cruise around town lookin' too cool for school "machine.
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Post by woody84 on Apr 24, 2004 6:44:35 GMT -5
Man you got some biguns  Only 4 times in my life have I seen 100+. 2 times on 650 BSA and twice in 1980 on brand new XS650SG. The Heritage has only seen 65 4 or 5 times and thats because the highway speed is 100 kilometeres. Which converts to 65 MPH. Now you got me thinking though Bob
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boomer
Junior Member

Vive les XS650, Vive la France...
Posts: 70
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Post by boomer on Apr 26, 2004 9:49:50 GMT -5
Done it again last saturday! But this time a strange smell had me wonder, am I turning into fries (for a French!)? In fact the seal on the crankcase tacho plug got loose... I now have a self standing pant! Funny how much oil you can put in those motors! I still had plenty to go back home... Talking about speed, I sold my Sprint900 to calm down, well going from 220 to 180 is calming down, but I am still far from the mandatory 130 km/h... Maybe a 125 cc?   ?? 50 cc? 
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Post by steve78650 on Apr 28, 2004 23:24:39 GMT -5
I thought I was cool getting mine up to 75! I just feel bad about winding up that old motor so high, but it sure sounds like it will take what you dish out!
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Post by Dirk Laguna on Apr 29, 2004 15:39:57 GMT -5
90mph on interstate 85 from Richmond to Raleigh made a believer outta me....tractor-trailers were a little to close so I pulled back on the throttle....I passed the rigs, looked down & saw 90.....I'm surprised there was any vinyl left on the seat after that....throttled down and swore I'd never do it again
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Post by EvergreenXS on Apr 30, 2004 11:47:48 GMT -5
Well, I was saving this tidbit for the thread about speed wobble but I have hit 95 mph a couple times on my '79 special and everything seemed cool. Yeah its windy. A little floaty and loose, too, but not real bad. My suspension isn't restored yet but overall it felt all of one piece. It seems to me that its geared to just hit a hundred or so. Who knows for sure? In the state of me engine right now, just short of spot on, its seems like I would need a favorable wind or a fairing to hit the ton. Maybe if I took the mirrors off . . . In short, my personal opinion is that the ol XS is good for what you throw at it. Just make sure you take care of it right and don't go into the red. And don't be stupid . . . that's what hurts ya. I have a good stupidity story too but I'll save it for another time.
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boomer
Junior Member

Vive les XS650, Vive la France...
Posts: 70
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Post by boomer on Apr 30, 2004 13:23:43 GMT -5
Well, I am a bit less shy now, so maybe I can share a few with you ! I had my share of embarrassing moments… but I will stick with the motorcycle theme if you don’t mind!
A nice one was a long time ago, when I was a kid of about 14. You see in France there is just no way you can drive a car to go high school until you are 18’, you have to stick to those stinky moped! So I did, I had a 50cc Peugeot screamer with, would you believe it the luxury of 3 real gear speed!
I was some kind of terror in the block ‘cause I had gone wild on this poor thing, big carb, home made exhaust, high comp cyl… I took apart the bike at least twice a year and at that time no matter how concentrate I would be, I always ended with a lot more parts than when I started taking it in pieces! It didn’t bothered me until I learned the hard way that all theses bolts had a good reason to being there. I was practising my wheeling skills on the main alley of my local shopping mall, trying hard to look very cool (now I feel like I escaped from the circus school!) when, after my third run I saw my front wheel running away on it’s own… In those moments the time seem to slow down and you experiment everything in some kind of slow motion. I tried to stay in wheelie the longest I could, but I knew that I would have to get down at one time!
Now all was suddenly happening very quickly, I used the rear brake to maintain my wheelie so I use it a bit more to slow the bike, but too much, so the bike started to plunge toward the ground, with the fork asking for fresh pavement. As a reflex move, I started to “walk” the bike with me on top of the gas tank, on my toes to get more ground clearance!!! I didn’t run very far, and the fork did hit the tarmac, ouch I smashed b..ls on the tank, I rolled over the bar and felt with the bike on the ground! It took me a few moments to stand up again, but when I did, I heard all the peoples present on the parking lot laughing and acclaiming me with Bravo!!!
It took me a while to fix the bike, the front fork was useless as were my knees, hands and shoulders… All this because I forgot to put back one of those bolts that looked useless at that time… You can be sure that I double check all my nuts and bolts today when I take something apart. My English is as rusty as my battery tray but I think you get the idea, Fred
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Post by EvergreenXS on Apr 30, 2004 13:46:05 GMT -5
I think your English is excellent and I like your story. It reminds me of the way your thought processes go when you're a kid. What part of France are you from. I spent a year in Lyon and still have friends there. Do you see many XS's in France. It's great the enthusiasm for motos they have over there.
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boomer
Junior Member

Vive les XS650, Vive la France...
Posts: 70
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Post by boomer on May 1, 2004 12:36:43 GMT -5
I live by the ocean, in La Rochelle. You're welcome here any time. Fred
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650Cowboy
Junior Member

1973 TX650 still evolving
Posts: 55
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Post by 650Cowboy on May 2, 2004 18:51:30 GMT -5
My suspension is basically all stock (except for the 16" rear tire), shortly after I got the bike ('bout 10 years ago... it's a '73) I had it up to 95. The guy I bought it from, a buddy of mine, claims to have hit 105 so I guess the century mark is doable.
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Post by Millrat on May 13, 2004 7:15:08 GMT -5
Hmmm,not on ether of mine..... Got the RZ and a CBR for those kinds of days. 124 indicated, is a personal top.
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thechknhwk
New Member
Incompetant Mechanic
Posts: 27
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Post by thechknhwk on Jun 28, 2004 14:07:26 GMT -5
I clocked 115 on my uncle's 883 sportster. Dunno how fast the old XS would go but I would regularly rap her out to full throttle before I dumped and left her sit for 4 yrs. The speedo on my '80 only goest to 85mph, but I made a mathematical estimation one time that it was doing 108mph  , and this down a bumpy old country road that I lived on, lol. Man I was young dumb and full of cum!! The XS eventually met the pavement on that road when I got a lil squirly off the side of the road and did a tank slapper about 40mph. I'm finally bringing her back from that accident.
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Post by davealan12 on Jun 29, 2004 23:40:13 GMT -5
Never had any of my XS650's over 85 MPH, but have been out in the Nevada and California desert on BMW's and Harleys. Got a BMW 1150GS over 140MPH out there. It could have gone faster, but i was losing my nerve fast. Funny how 95MPH felt slow after that.
The roads out there are fantastic for that kind of speed. Straight, empty and you can see for a mile ahead of you.
Dave
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