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**jgw1986** · 03-27-2008, 06:26 PM

fixed post

whooooaaa didnt have those images down yet huh? here is what that SHOULD"VE looked like....

I've been somewhat of a lurker here, decided I'd introduce myself. I bought a '79 xs1100sf about two weeks ago. It was a pretty good craigslist find, $500. here is a pic of it coming home. (not me in the pic, dumba$$ friend/fellow aspiring custom bike builder lol.)

another pic

since then I had to go through and finish plumbing, removed the octy, did a minor cleaning on the carbs (I dont know much about carbs and afraid to screw something up). I also discovered one of the fron brake calipers is locked up(haven't fixed yet) and am working on getting the carbs running right. Wont idle, wont start on its own(have to spray in starter fluid) then you have to stay on the gas preeeeettttyy hard to keep it from dying.

We did a little custom work to it, I'm going for a fairly inexpensive bobber. cut the rear frame and fender off, moved the ignition module inside the toolbox, lowered it to the lowest stock setting(could be a little lower, would rather spend what little $$ I have to getting it running at this point), working on fabbing up a fender mount and taillight/turn signal/tag holder setup. here is a pic of the current setup.

I'll be covering the red seat flames somehow....
what does everyone think? any ideas on fabbing that taillight? or possibly some carb or caliper help?

one more question, onlineparts sources? I've been lookingaround mikesxs but dont know what all will actually work on my bike.

**ross** · 03-27-2008, 06:49 PM

hey there jgw1986...welcome 2 the xs11 community.....i'm sure the welcoming comittee will welcome you offically...lots of good information and communication....you can find just about any problem discussed within the walls of this site....NOW, as far as your friend, yeppers, looks like one of those JAFO that has all ideas yet can barely draw it out on the bar napkin while eating hot wings.....and in the background "free bird" is playing...hahaha....as far as the mods you have done 2 it......not sure how 2 feel......just sort of speachless.....not sure that is good or bad.....good luck with your purchase.....i bought mine 3 years ago for $400 and just last year, i put 6400 miles on her...talk 2 ya later....ross

p.s. ya might wanna put some filters on those carbs before your friend sticks something in there (like his face!)....

**JWSanders** · 03-27-2008, 07:15 PM

Welcome to the site!

You've got the making's of a nice little scoot there. Looks like it's coming along well!

JCWhitney has a fairly diverse selection of taillights that could be modded to replace yours. Many of the carb parts on MikesXS are compatible, as well. Search here for Mikes's XS for listings of the compatible parts.

As far as carb advice, all I can say is clean, clean, clean. The good ol' triple clean. It seems to be the required number of cleanings before you can be reasonably assured that they are infact, clean.

The tech tips sections of the site are a good place to start for a lot of different aspects of this bike's maintenence.

Beyond that, the forums here are packed with info about specific problems. I can't imagine a problem that could happen that hasn't been talked about on here. Searching will provide good reading material for hours!

**DJinNH** · 03-27-2008, 07:45 PM

Looks like you're starting about the same way I did. I just bought two this past Dec on ebay. You should see the stack of parts I have from shopping all over the internet.

Seats have been redone and the tanks and battery covers on in the body shop. Kind of like the definition of a boat; a hole you pour your money into.

Good luck with your bike and welcome to the board.

Don

**nubee** · 03-27-2008, 07:57 PM

**TopCatGr58** · 03-27-2008, 08:07 PM

Hey there JG,

You've got several Xsives in your area, if you'll do a search for
Members: Georgia, you'll find a thread to see who's all around you, ie. Brent Hoovestol in Lilburn, Marty H, etc., and we usually have a rally, the VJMC in late Sept./early Oct. around the SUCHES area! Great roads and such!

Now.....you're just going to have to bite the bullet and pull those carbs back off and really clean them! Just pulling the bowls off won't work!

As has been mentioned, the tech tips have lots of info on what TO DO and what NOT to do, as in care in removing the float pins without breaking the float posts, so that you can get into the float needle valves,seats, as well as pulling the tops of the carbs off to remove and inspect the rubber vacuum diaphragms, and so you can remove and thoroughly clean the center emulsion tube, aka the Main Jet NEEDLE, as well as the Main jet, AND the PILOT JET which will probably be hidden under a slotted screw next to the main jet tower...Use a very snug fitting screwdriver to loosen the pilot jet. AND also remove the Pilot Jet SCREW from the top front of the carbs, and then SPRITZ carb cleaner into any orifice you can find....

wearing Eye protection of course!

Also, there is a small JET in the bottom of the float bowl, gets clogged easily....will prevent being able to start using the CHOKE/Fuel Enrichener circuit properly until properly cleaned!

DO NOT SOAK ENTIRE CARBS in cleaner, will damage butterfly shaft seals!!!

It will NOT run or give good throttle response UNTIL YOU CLEAN THE CARBS PROPERLY!!!! And then you'll also need to read about bench synching, and then vacuum synching, but once you do, you may want to put a seatbelt on that little butt pad, or you'll slide right off the back!

Welcome, now get in there and CLEAN!!!

**jgw1986** · 03-27-2008, 08:16 PM

HAHA thx tc. when i took the bowls off i removed the float pins, cleaned the needle valves and seats and made sure everything was moving effortlessly. cleaned out all the bowls really well. Didnt want to mess with the jets because I was unsure of what I might do to screw them up. I took the tops off of the carbs and made sure the vacuum diaphragms were in good shape and seated correctly.

I'm going to look over the how-to's and see if I think I can do this myself, if not I've got a mech that will clean/rebuild them around $120... I'm probably going to give it an attempt myself first just because this is a budget project.

**Ken Talbot** · 03-27-2008, 08:36 PM

jgw - sounds like you were about half way there already on your carb clean attempt, you should not have a problem going all the way. Go back in, and keep taking it apart till you've got all the guts spread out on your workbench, right doen to the last brass jet, small ball bearing, and spring.

**fredintoon** · 03-27-2008, 11:27 PM

Well, at least you kept the rear suspension

Hi jgw,
and the abbreviated rear fender won't be a problem so long as you don't go out in the rain. And don't let that flamed seat bother you because nobody will see it when you are sitting on it. But what do I know? I painted my bike orange and hung a sidecar on it.
But what I do know is a few simple tricks for cleaning carbs. First, work on them in a large completely empty metal tray so those small and irreplaceable parts have a lesser chance of sproinging off into an unfindable dark corner in your garage. Second, do them one at a time so you always have a completed one as a reference. Third, an air compressor with a blowing nozzle may not be essential for cleaning carbs but it really helps blast the carb cleaning solvent through those little passages.
And yeah, welcome to the list.

**lakecountrydave** · 03-27-2008, 11:59 PM

Welcome!!! Looks good.

You might not like the flames, but I suggest you start with the brakes

Dave

**jgw1986** · 03-28-2008, 12:07 AM

yeah thats my plan, I've got rear brakes... somewhat. I'm going to try the return line cleaning trick and put new fluid in and see what happens.

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