Short test Yamaha XV 1100

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Short test Yamaha XV 1100

The bigger, the bigger

Twelve years under its belt, but still pretty active: Freshly made up and with unbroken resilience, the XV 1100 is far from thinking about retirement.

Strictly speaking, it only goes into the sixth year of life, because it was previously called XV 1000. Viewed generously, it is approaching sixteen, because the XV 1000 itself arose from the even older XV 750. In any case, undisputed: The XV 1100 is an elderly lady. But one who bears her age with dignity and remains true to herself, who does not try to argue with the young vegetables of the chopper scene for the title of “best Harley copy”. A fresh color scheme, redesigned mufflers – the 1996 model is ready. And how’s it going? Great. Despite stricter emission regulations, the XV’s life light shines with old radiance. 62 hp are concentrated on the crankshaft, which coordinates the cylinders, which are arranged in a 75-degree Vau. 62 HP, conjured up with the simplest means – two-valve technology, air cooling. But not only the abundance, also the quality of the range of services is fun. In contrast to some other large-volume chopper two-cylinder engines, the march through the engine speed range on the XV does not take a short distance from slopes to Wurgen: the engine already runs smoothly on 2000 tours to rev up cleanly at full throttle, with a constant increase in power and with a sonorous intake grumble – if it has to be up to 7000 rpm. The balancing shaft rotating in the crankcase has the desired effect: although it constantly lets you feel that the engine is alive, it suppresses annoying vibrations. The fact that the crew prefer to appear in singles is due to the limited space available on the rear of the bench. Its better half, because it is longer and wider, flatters itself with cuddly, soft upholstery and promises comfortable gliding. But the sofa lies: after two hours at the latest, the body demands a change, wants to get out of its predicament and dictate the footrests, handlebar ends and the seat hollow. Then he may, because the XV is very fond of fuel: 5.4 liters at a constant speed of 100 and ten and a half liters when driving on the highway – the petroleum industry is happy about regular petrol station visits. After all, the money is well invested because the drinkable V2 is in a chassis that stamps the XV 1100 more like a motorcycle than a chopper. Apart from a somewhat unsteady directional stability at walking pace, the Yamaha no pronounced bad habits. It does not tip over in tight bends, it steers into faster corners without resistance and pleasantly precisely and does not allow itself to be asked for long even with rapid changes in lean angle. When driving fast – after all, the machine runs over 170 things – there are no impurities in the gait, not even when ruts cross the course. The cardan shaft hidden in the left swing arm holds back with load change reactions – not least “thanks” to the short-stroke, taut suspension struts. Their comfort is naturally limited, especially short, hard impacts penetrate largely unmitigated to the sprung part of the machine. The telescopic fork also practices selective perception: it looks unimpressed over the little things, but reacts flexibly to stronger impressions. For example, on jagged braking maneuvers that the front double disc delivers when you firmly grip the hand lever. In any case, the bottom line is that the XV 1100 is a well-coordinated combination of a smooth engine and unproblematic chassis – and counter-evidence to the thesis that an old woman is not an express train.

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Short test Yamaha XV 1100

Short test Yamaha XV 1100
The bigger, the bigger

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