Sayin' Hi!

[Wolfpaws]

Well... now that you got the crash part out of the way... you can enjoy the riding part after the fixing part... Usually, we do the fixing part... then the riding part... then the crashing part... but it's always good to shake things up a bit...


ANYway... welcome to the board!

Well, I've never been one to follow things directly as written - figure I have to shake things up a bit! It's funny though - pretty much EXACTLY 24 hours after getting the bike licensed, that happened. At least I got it out of the way right off the bat. Now I don't have to worry about it (I hope!).

[Wolfpaws]

Paws,

There are quite a few guys in or around the KC area with XS11s. They should be willing to help. I am about three hours away and have several parts. I have spares of most everything you listed. I am very reasonably priced. Id rather see a scoot on the road than a part in the shed.

If you get truly stuck, let me know. One of these weekends, I can ride up to KC and help wrench your scoot. I am pretty good at electrical as well. I was certificated in all three domestic automakers electrical training, and well, I just "get" electrical stuff.

Besides, it will be a good excuse to see my sis and nieces, and bro inlaw.

Hey, thanks Ivan! If I'm still having issues after working through things with my friend/roommate - then definitely! I figured he likes working on stuff and wanted to try it - so I'm letting him take a shot at it. He rides a Honda Shadow Sabre (or something like that) but I won't hold it against him - especially when he REALLY wants to help me get back on the road so he has someone to ride with.

[DGXSER]

Hey Wolfpaws,

Just remember the old adage there are two kinds of rider, those that have fallen and those that will.

And being a member of the first group does NOT exclude you from the second! So be Paranoid when your riding, its ok, they really are out to get you!!

[Bigfoot]

Welcome to the forum. Always nice to find another one in KC. Hopefully we can get together and take a ride one of these days. I will gladly help if you need it. I am not a guru by any means but like to think that I do ok with a wrench.

One of these weekends, I can ride up to KC and help wrench your scoot.

Ivan, if you head up this way be sure and let us know. Would love to catch up with you and might be able to find a refreshing beverage or two.

[Wolfpaws]

Welcome to the forum. Always nice to find another one in KC. Hopefully we can get together and take a ride one of these days. I will gladly help if you need it. I am not a guru by any means but like to think that I do ok with a wrench.



Ivan, if you head up this way be sure and let us know. Would love to catch up with you and might be able to find a refreshing beverage or two.

Ivan, if you're willing to come and help with the electrical, hell, I'll get you a 12-pack of your choosing. Worked on it tonight, got the tank swapped (I like the new tank although oddly enough it seems just a touch looser than the old one) - and replaced the instrument cluster. I think I'm gonna look for a new cluster though - the one that was given to me by the guy I bought the bike from is really kind of junky. Traced through the starter button to see if everything is connected and it is - so I have NO idea why that's not working...it's REALLY odd. Everything's grounded, connected up, not pinched, wired right...but it's not working. And it worked fine prior to swapping the handlebars, so I'm stumped there.

Gonna dig around the links and people that have been suggested to see about getting a replacement headlight mount and left side turn signal mounting bracket - be easier than trying to bend them back into shape.

So...another night of work - and I'm learning a lot!

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Wolf,

Sorry about the previous erroneous info regarding the starter wire grounding to the bars, was thinking about the horn button, although John also states that it has a wire as well, I could have sworn I've seen the innards, and have found only 1 wire going to the contact, and then a metal bracket going to the bar clamp where it grounded to the bars thru the switch housing!

Anyways, just thought about something else, have you inspected the Emergency Off switch, they can corrode under there, or the wires get pinched, etc., and it will keep the starter from engaging, even as simple as being pushed to OFF and not noticing it! Just flipping it around and pushing the starter button at the same time to see if you get some action!?
T.C.

[Bigfoot]

I think that his problem may lie in the neutral switch. Either a loose/bad connection of the switch itself is bad.

[John]

The neutral switch has nothing to do with the start circuit on a 79 Special. The bike will still crank in gear, and without the clutch being pulled in. The kill switch is a good place to start. Just check that there is power on both sides of the switch in the housing. (red/white wires) If only one side of the switch is hot then jump around the switch. I would next check the blue/white wire that originates at the starter solenoid. That is the starter button wire. It should be hot when the key is turned on. Next, check the b/w wire at the connection under the tank. It should be hot there also. Next, check the b/w wire again at the starter button. Is it hot there? If it is, then use a jumper wire from the b/w wire in the switch, and jump to ground. The engine is a good ground, but the battery is better. The engine should crank. If that doesn't work, then use a screwdriver and arc across the two large terminals on the solenoid. If the starter is any good, it will turn over. Also, use a Volt/ohm meter to check the black wire in the handlebar switch to see if it is actually grounded to the frame. If I'm not mistaken, the small screw that holds the wire clamp to the housing is also the screw the ground wiree attaches with.

[Bigfoot]

The neutral switch has nothing to do with the start circuit on a 79 Special.

My bad. I was just going by some troubleshooting that I saw on the boards here as well as in my clymers manual.

Not disagreeing with you John, you would know better than I would, but I thought that was the purpose of the neutral switch so you couldn't start it in gear without the clutch. The only other use would be to turn on the indicator light, which BTW is not working.

[DJinNH]

The laundry list of what I'm needing to fix:
replace handlebars (done)
replace clutch handle (done)
replace clutch cable (done)
replace front turn signals
replace rear turn signals (not completely necessary since they work, one's just a little bent and I'd feel better if I replaced them)

The headlight housing's a little bent too, but it looks like it's welded to the frame, so I don't know how I'd even go about fixing/replacing that. I'm thinking of trying to gently bend it back into place if that works. Although seeing as to how the turn signals connect in, that might be kind of hard to do.

So anyway, that's my (probably entirely way too long) introduction.

Wolfpaws,

Here's a link to the schematics page for your bike (79 XS1100 Special) on a parts website called Bike Bandit. You may have a lot of luck finding the parts you need there. Just an FYI, I don't work for them but have had a lot of success with finding parts for my own bikes.

www.bikebandit.com/houseofmotorcycles/yamaha-motorcycle-xs1100sf-1979/o/m8244

Don

[John]

Harry

You are correct concerning the Neutral switch...on your XJ, but the XS's didn't have the kick stand switch with the anti start circuitry. That circuit on an XJ is tied in with the neutral switch. All the neutral light does on an XS is indicate when the trans is in neutral. The 81's did have a clutch switch that prevents starting unless the clutch is squeezed. I hope that clears it up a little.

[DGXSER]

Did for me, as I know I can start mine (an 81 XS Special) in Neutral without the clutch pulled, but in any gear need to have the clutch pulled. Hmm, but that seems to contradict your synopsis John. Maybe not so clear. Sorry.

I also knew it was one of them new fangled implements back then though, so no surprise it was new to the 81 year.

[CatatonicBug]

Mine will turn over in any gear, without the clutch pulled. The neutral switch is only a light, based on contact with ground, that comes on when in Neutral. Not functional as a preventer of anything, and on my bike, it's not meant to be AFAIK.

[DGXSER]

OK, I actually went out and tried this. I sit corrected once again!

Starter works regardless of clutch lever, in or out of gear. Guess it works better than my memory....what was I saying??

[Ivan]

Well, I have a sister in KC and I am going to meet up with a few buds from back in the day later on in the year at KC. We are thinking about memorial day, but not sure yet. We may rely on some of you KC natives to find some twisties and a decent campground or motel, and of course the best Waffle House.

If I get that way sooner, I will definitely look into a refreshing beverage or two or three, depending on when I need to get home.

Looks like the soonest I could get there would be the evening of the 20th, and spend part of the day there on the 21st, but I nee to be back in Wichita by 5 or 6 that evening. I am promised to Big Dick to help him wrench his bike on the 28th and there is a Poker run on the 29th. The 5th of April is the Cassoday run, and it would be nice to meet up with some of you there as well. So the next possible time would be the 11-12 of April that I have nothing going on. I have an ex wife that is as stable as a politician on meth, and I have six kids, so all of the above is subject to change at any second.

This weekend is going to be cold and is my fifth anniversary of marriage to my wife, "The Hotness". She keeps saying the five year plan is almost up, and I don't know what that means. Should I be scared?

Now the tech stuff.

On an electrical problem, the easiest way to check it out is to find where all teh circuits are tied together. On a starting system this is the solenoid. Both the primary and secondary circuits are there.

First, as John said, jump the big terminals and see if it cranks. If it does, your secondary circuitry (the high amp side) is ok. If not, then use jumper cables directly to the starter terminal and a ground as close as possible to the starter. If it cranks, you have starter cable troubles, if not, you have a bad starter.

Second, check the primary system. As John said you should have power to the coil side, and the ground comes from the starter button. (I think I told you wrong in a PM about this) if you ground the wire going to the starter button at the solenoid, you should hear it click and crank over. If it clicks, and no cranking, you have a faulty solenoid. If no click, you either have no power to the coil of the solenoid or the coil is fried. A test light should tell if you have power.

It is much simpler than it sounds or to write about. Relays and solenoids are always a great place to check, since all circuits in the system are connected. Within a few minutes, you should have the problem isolated to one branch of the circuit. Then logic will say what to do next. Look for the typical failures like bad contacts and pinched wires and loose connectors. To be honest, electrical stuff is pretty easy, and it is usually a simple small thing that just gets overlooked in the frustration.