Trade red for black, and a king and queen seat?

[adam79]

It's time to clean/fix/upgrade/replace all the things Ive been procrastinating on. 1st off, I want to trade my red tank and covers for black, and I want to trade my seat for another 2 person seat that has a back rest, just not as huge as the king/queen. If this is the wrong section to post this in, sorry.

I bought this bike (my 2nd XS) back late in summer 2012, excellent condition for the price. Something like 14k miles when I bought it. It sat in a garage for most its life supposedly, sold to the PO who rode it for the 2012 summer and then sold to me. The side covers are in like new condition. The gas tank is decent, no petcock leaks, minor blemishes, and paint is good but since it sat for so long it has powdery like surface rust on the inside. It hasn't given me any problems, and the clear in-line fuel filters have not clogged or picked up any debris since summer when they were installed. The seat is in pretty good condition, has tiny tiny scratches here and there.



Tank





inside of tank



no rust in gas, but it leaves a little residue on fingers when I brush them hard against it

[adam79]

immaculate side covers

left





right

[adam79]

King and Queen seat

[GLoweVA]

I just noticed that those side covers are different than mine. (80SG)
Those have slits in the top for the hanger mounts.
Then I looked at the bike photos again, Yours is a 79 special and thus your side covers and seat are unique to that year.

[DGXSER]

Yep, the 79 Special emblems are black letters with gold trim around the letters. The 80 Special emblems are solid gold colored letters on black background. The 81 Special is "Eleven Special" written in cursive with the "Nike swish" underneath it.

[adam79]

Yes mine is a 79 special, thought I'd mentioned that. But, it makes no difference to me if I get 79, 80, 81 or midnight night special covers and tank, as long as they are black

[DGXSER]

Adam, there are more differences than just the emblems. If you have a 79, then only 79 side covers will match your frame and seat. It also means your side covers will only match a 79 Special. Tanks are the same all three years.

You may want to consider painting what you have. Best product or method I have found for cleaning a rusty tank has to be Metal Rescue, I am sure Evaporust would work as well.

[adam79]

Adam, there are more differences than just the emblems. If you have a 79, then only 79 side covers will match your frame and seat. It also means your side covers will only match a 79 Special. Tanks are the same all three years.

You may want to consider painting what you have. Best product or method I have found for cleaning a rusty tank has to be Metal Rescue, I am sure Evaporust would work as well.

thanks for the heads up, I was under the impression that as long as it was a special, that all xs11 special side covers were interchangeable. Ill have to make a new wanted add for just Black 79 covers, and how does metal rescue work?

[DGXSER]

The 80-81 specials are all but identical. There are a few cosmetic differences, but the parts interchange for fit and function. Only major difference is the ignition system. The 79 special though was a different beast. The seat, side covers and some of the electrical components are unique to that year and model to the extent the parts do not fit on the 80-81 frames.

I bought a tank with about the same amount of crud/rust in it. I bought two gallons of the Metal Rescue product. It it a liquid and comes in gallon jugs much like antifreeze. Has almost no odor to it, and looks like water coming out. I went to the extent of removing the petcocks and blanking them over with a metal plate and rubber seal underneath, but the product will not hurt the petcocks, rubber, or the filter towers. Then simply pour the metal rescue in and let is sit for a couple hours to maybe 6 hours. Turn the tank on a side, then the other side, one end then other end, until your certain you have had all surfaces exposed to the product for the given time period. For me 6 hours worked well. Look at post #73 in THIS thread for my results.

Now just pour the product back into the container for future use. It will come out looking nasty and black, but the grit and sludge settle out of it and it will be mostly clear again.

The tank will look just about factory new. I am in the process of painting my tank. Which means waiting for warmer weather to paint in. So my tank may need another rinsing with MR before I put it in use. You can coat the surface with some oil or WD-40 or similar type of product to protect it. Or just put some gas in it!