XS riders in the Pacific NW

[XS1100 Newbie]

I talked to Scott the other day when i picked up the hard bags that Chris for me. He said the TCI he changed did the job on his mileage. Maybe i ought to get an extra one of those. I started mine yesterday. The first time since i got back. It gave me trouble starting it, so mybe whatever the problem is will present itself clearer. Going to ride it today a little and see what happens. Thought i flooded it, but there was no sign of fuel on any plug. Did backfire on the rightside when it did fire though. Had to hit the thought the neighborhood was being attacked. LOL
Bob

[3Phase]

Home again

I made it home tonight, Friday, at about 10:30 PM with an intact bike and most of my sanity -- what a long, strange trip it's been!

Now, it's bed time for Scott. I'll catch up on the forum tomorrow, I hope.


Regards,

Scott

[XS1100 Newbie]

Glad to hear you made it home ok Scott. Hope the bike did well.

[tw1980]

Glad to hear you got home safe.I think the strangeness started with that bottle of tequila last Friday night.How was your mileage for the rest of the trip?

Terry

[motoman]

Scott, do I dare ask about the 81 fairing that's on your ride now?

[XS1100 Newbie]

81 Fairing???? Whats up with that Scott?

[XS1100 Newbie]

Hey Scott. Still waiting to hear what happened on the trip.

[3Phase]

I feel stupid

I found my passport sitting in the middle of the garage floor the next morning after I got home. Apparently I missed the inside jacket pocket and my passport dropped onto the floor as I took the bike out of the garage when I left for the trip. Not having the passport meant I could not go up to Canada as I had originally planned but at least I don't have to beg the State Department to give me one of those new-fangled electronic passports that spy on me and tell the government how many Cheerios I ate for breakfast.

I'm still doing post-ride PMCS but aside from a blown right rear shock from the Saturday group ride from the lake up through the lava fields and volcanos it looks like everything is okay!

I do have a noticeable knock/rap between 3,000 and 5,000 RPM at float and under light acceleration when the engine gets hot after a few miles on the freeway. It made the same noise before I reworked the engine and transmission so I'm not going to worry about it too much until it s'plodes at speed and then I won't have to worry about it for long.

Scott, do I dare ask about the 81 fairing that's on your ride now?

Brant, what '81 fairing?

The engine/frame serial# and manufacturing date are from 3/80 and the 'Diamond Silver' Yamaha/Vetter-match fairing and side bags came with the bike when the Loyd, the original owner, bought the bike. The 2nd owner's kids threw away the matched factory hard bags and mounts when they cleaned out the garage last year as a surprise for dad... yeah, he was surprised.

Glad to hear you got home safe.I think the strangeness started with that bottle of tequila last Friday night.How was your mileage for the rest of the trip?

Mmm... tequila... sorry (NOT!) about that, folks over in B-Loop!

I changed out the original 1980 TCI with a spare 1978 TCI during the pre-ride tuneup but after discovering the nail in the tire and the cam chain tensioner breaking right before the trip I almost forgot about it. I reinstalled the original 1980 TCI at Detroit Lake before I left for Vancouver and the mileage went back up to where it had been before the change. Apparently the 1978 TCI I bought as a backup is 'thirsty' and my original 1980 TCI is in better condition than I thought it was.

I pulled the cover off of the 'thirsty' TCI and I don't see anything obviously wrong with it or the solder joints. Both TCIs provide the same feel and performance but, obviously, the 1978 TCI is not working correctly because it pounded down gasoline faster than I can drink tequila on a Friday night so I wound up using three times the fuel I had budgeted before I had even reached Detroit Lake. The fuel consumption killed any idea of making the loop over to Colorado and on down into Texas so it had to be scrapped along with the trip up to Canada.

Surprisingly, gasoline was only $2.98/gallon at the Detroit Lake gift shop/marina out in the toolies but it was well over $3.00/gallon almost everywhere else. As it is I wound up with about 2,500 miles round trip and >$300 fuel cost. I've decided that the 750 final drive is coming off and the original 1100 final drive is going back on. Even with the slightly better gas mileage from the taller final drive ratio I'm going to have to find a different bike for long trips because 36 to 42 mpg is just not enough and I don't see any way to fix it short of redesigning the engine.


Regards,

Scott

[XS1100 Newbie]

Looks like it may be time to drop to a moped for long trips. Ha Ha. What bike with any kinda poop in it , is going to get better mileage?

[3Phase]

Looks like it may be time to drop to a moped for long trips. Ha Ha. What bike with any kinda poop in it , is going to get better mileage?

Plenty of bikes achieve 50 mpg or better with more than acceptable performance and I can keep the XS for local and fun riding. My 1981 KZ750E2 got >=55 mpg highway and >=40 mpg clowning around the mountains. It was quite comfortable on extended trips two-up with a full faring and luggage.

A more modern bike will do better. It costs a bit more for a good one, used, but the fuel savings will help and if I can actually ride the bike instead of buying parts for it and working on it all the time.... <fx> Cough! </fx>

My XS11 is a lot of fun and it's a great bike but it is not an open air touring machine unless you compare and contrast it with, for example, a Buick Electra 225 convertible with a 430 CID V8.


Regards,

Scott

[latexeses]

Buick Electra 225 convertible with a 430 CID V8

You can get 55mpg with that?

Easier on the seat though.

[3Phase]

Don't mind me -- I had a blast on this trip!

Buick Electra 225 convertible with a 430 CID V8
You can get 55mpg with that?

No, but when I was on the way up to Lodi I nursed the XS a bit and the fuel receipts tell me that I managed to get almost 23 MPG highway just like a full-size Buick.

Easier on the seat though.

It's much easier, especially for those invigorating rides from Washington to California! My Toyota gets 35/43 MPG with the AC chilling and CD player CD-ing. Next time I'll strap the XS somewhere on the Toyota like a mountain bike.

Time to go dig out the 1100 final drive and put it back on tomorrow. That should keep me out of trouble for a few minutes while I remove the washer from the 750 input coupler and the spacer from the u-joint/drive shaft, then try to remember how to lash up and torque the 1100's input coupler.


Regards,

Scott