Motorhate Posted June 13, 2014 Posted June 13, 2014 I bought an XVS1100 yesterday and rode it home (110 miles). Bike looked OK and I checked it over quite well. There's wear on the front and rear discs but this was factored into the price. However, I noticed that the steering is very heavy at slow speeds and braking is pretty sluggish too. I'm just wondering if this is normal for these bikes (the largest bike i'd ridden previously was an FZ750).
Ttaskmaster Posted June 13, 2014 Posted June 13, 2014 Braking will be noticably slower on a Cruiser compared to nore nippy bikes, yes. Cruisers are still big-ass heavy bastards and you have, at best, a pair of twin-pot calipers. It's always worth stripping them down and rebuilding them, though, just to be sure. Re-bleeding with fresh fluid, putting on sintered pads and changing to braided brake lines will all help. Steering should not feel overly heavy, although Cruisers are still big-ass heavy bastards. Check your tyre pressures, anyway. Go to the manufacturer's website, find your exact bike and the exact tyre to see what pressures they've designed it to be, rather than using the Yamaha manual, though. Congratulations on buying a damn fine machine!! Just remember to really look after it
Motorhate Posted June 13, 2014 Author Posted June 13, 2014 Thanks Ttaskmaster, that's really helpful. I'll probably take it for a service anyway as it looks like it hasn't been serviced in a while. Brake fluid and oil levels were really low. This is the beast in question I'm glad to report them wavy stickers have now been removed.
Toutsuite Posted June 13, 2014 Posted June 13, 2014 Well, it's been raked, which will affect both the steering and the braking.
clarke Posted June 13, 2014 Posted June 13, 2014 My XVS1300 steered like a bus compared to my Fazer... Nice looking bike
Noise Posted June 14, 2014 Posted June 14, 2014 Im with tout, your forks have been racked out so your steering will be heavy and sluggish plus your turning circle will be the same as a cruse ship. Brakes on these bikes are a bit like chucking a brick on a string off the back so good advanced progressive braking is best.
Motorhate Posted June 14, 2014 Author Posted June 14, 2014 I must admit it was a little scary bombing down the M1 and hitting the brakes only to find they were almost non-existant compared to the Honda. I've checked the discs too and there's a lot of wear, I can also feel them wobble when braking at low speed so looks like they'll need to be replaced. Not cheap either which is a pain. Oil light keeps coming on even though I've thrown in nearly 3.5 litres of engine oil too. I can't complain because I got it for a bargain price. Oh and Clarke, you're right about the steering, its great in a straight line but its heavy on corners and slow speed manoeuvres. Sounds absolutely amazing though with the straight through pipes.
Motorhate Posted June 16, 2014 Author Posted June 16, 2014 The oil light is permanently on, both at idling and high revs. I checked online and have confirmed that the oil light is a level indicator only, not a pressure gauge so on that reasoning, I rode into work (12 miles today) and there were no issues, so I'm assuming this is either a faulty sensor or loose connection somewhere. I'm getting it serviced today so will get them to check that out. I paid just over 2 grand for the bike, which I thought was a bargain price. The brakes definitely need doing and it could also do with a service but even on that basis I think its a bargain.
Noise Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 That is a bargin! But definatly get it serviced i learned that one the hard way
Motorhate Posted June 17, 2014 Author Posted June 17, 2014 Well, dropped it in yesterday morning and here's the breakdown of whats what: Braided brake cables are too short, they need to be replaced with longer cables Exhaust gasket was ill fitting due to the pipes not marrying up properly with the engine. Its better now, but there's still a small gap. Rear brake pedal doesn't return freely due to the exhaust, so that's gonna be sorted Both front discs need replacing, they're worn and one is warped (although the pads are OK) Throttle is a bit sticky so that needs looking at Oil light coming on (they think) is down to the relay but as its only an level indicator, they recommend by-passing it. Front tyre needs replacing as its got hardly and tread left and it had the incorrect pressure in it which was causing the heavy steering Needs a full service too. Not sure how much it'll cost but it'll probably end up balancing up the cost of a second-hand XVS1100.
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