Description
Additional photos are on this Yamaha XS1100 Special available here for your perusal.
Yamaha was late to join the liter bike party when it came to the Japanese makers. Honda, Kawasaki, and Suzuki, were already making a name for themselves. While all of the liter bikes these companies made were very capable and unique in their own ways, they all prioritized sport riding over long trips on the highway.
Yamaha entered the scene not with a 1,000cc but an extra 100cc into the mix. To get around the limitations of hemispherical combustion chambers, the engineers at Yamaha came up with “polyspheric” combustion chamber. The multitude of cuts and shapes etched into each combustion chamber allowed the same compression as a hemi but without the drawbacks, and it was lighter. 
In 1978, Cycle Magazine took a XS1100 to a drag strip and had nineteen runs with the bikes. Each run came in under 12 seconds, making it the fastest bike on the quarter mile at the time.
Along the standard version of the XS1100, Yamaha also offered a “Special” which featured a tear-drop fuel tank, 2-step saddle and taller, buckhorn bars.
This example is VIN: 3H3013999. “I have been told that I am the third owner of this bike and took possession of it from the second owner who bought the bike as an investment piece. He never ran the motorcycle while he owned it. Prior to the second owner’s purchase, the original owner stopped riding the bike over 30 years ago and it was stored in a climate controlled garage.”
During his ownership, the seller has covered 211 miles. The odometer shows 15,644 miles.
Maintenance:
The seller has owned the bike for one year, during which he flushed the brakes, changed the oil, and installed a new battery.
He also rebuilt the carbs.
Modifications:
Aftermarket foam grips.
Lockhart oil cooler.
Cosmetic Blemishes:
The seller notes “two small dents in lower section of right rear exhaust and one extremely small chip on left front of fuel tank which could easily be touched up.”
Inside of the tank:
The seller points out that the left turn signal needs a bulb.
The sale includes one key.
Currently located in West Palm Beach, Florida, this Yamaha is offered on a clean Indiana title. Have any Yamaha XS1100 Special stories or questions about this listing? Let us know in the “Comments” tab!
