A rare Yamaha shaft-drive cafe racer…
ED. NOTE: One of our readers has corrected us, letting us know that this bike is in fact a Yamaha XS1100 Standard.
This is a tough one, but I think it may be a 1980-1983 Yamaha Cafe Racer Maxim. The shaft-drive is the clue we’re looking at here, but the ‘cafe styling’ throws a wrench in the works, for identification…
Knee-dents give this a better look than the stock tank…
At first glance, the knee-cutaways in the tank would suggest a Seca model, but the tank on a Seca was different shaped than this one. The shaft-drive is confusing, because as far as we know, a Seca never came with shaft-drive.. If it is indeed a early ’80′s Maxim, it would have the air-cooled, 4 cylinder engine with [mentioned] shaft-drive.
A little cafe style thrown in for good measure…
This bad-boy has a [sorta] cafe style tank, as opposed to the teardrop style, which came stock on a Maxim. Clubman bars, pod air filters, seat with rear-hump, as well as the stylish grips and single gauge, set this world’s apart from the stock cruiser stye that the Maxim helped usher in…
The KneeSlider site has a nice write up of a Maxim transformed. Check it out HERE:
That’s definitely a Yamaha XS1100 Standard.
Thanks for the clarification. It’s an era I’m not too familiar with, appreciate the help!