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Hello,
I'm new to the forums here. I recently acquired a 1978 XS1100 with 33K ish miles that's in pretty good shape. Strong runner, moves well, and is pretty good to go, but I've got to take care of a couple things first.
I love old-style chops, "bobbers," what have you, and I'm going to cut her down to size. Hard-tail her, toss on some fat apes, forward controls, probably ditch the tank for something sleeker, rake and stretch her...
Okay, okay, really bad joke. I do love old style chops and bobbers, especially garage-builds, but this bike isn't destined for any of that so long as she's in my possession. I will be changing a few things, but nothing so severe that I can't have her back to stock straight-away.
I've got to throw some new shocks on there, since the PO had the springs cut down and re-welded. This not only left a horrendous looking mess on the bike's back-end, but also left about a half-of an inch of total clearance between the fender and the nice new tire he had installed. After spending a cool nickel or two having that done, the carbs and engine done, the brakes done, and et cetera et cetera ad-nauseam, he was furious that the rear brake was dragging after spending so much money. His wife had just bought a newer late model turn-key Yamaha, and he decided to go with one himself. He just wanted this one gone, so I got it for a song. Well, a song and a handful of cash, but pretty cheap none the less.
It turns out- near as I can figure- that the rear brake is NOT dragging "especially during acceleration." The rear shocks are just so cashed that any real down/rearward pressure bottoms them out- not that they are that high to start. The bike isn't the original color, but has been redone a nice deep blue. The stock kick-lever isn't stowed anyplace, but I have one from an 850 on the way. Battery-side side cover tabs are broken, but I know a guy who's a wizard with JB weld and paint, till I pick up a new one. The stock mufflers have been switched out for sportster mufflers, which I might switch out for something a touch bigger, since the sportster pipes seem a touch out of proportion. The PO also had extra turn signals mounted down on the engine guard, which is nice, but whoever did it neglected to wire stuff up top back together securely, so I've got to strip off the electrical tape and take care of that. Also going to pull off the LED running lights(that turn on with a bar-mounted toggle-switch.) Once I do that, I'll install a new fuze-box(Thanks T.C.) and likely grab a loud horn for up front. Maybe fix the right-side tank emblem that I accidentally broke.
I have a bunch of parts on the way, mostly little stuff to take care of here and there, and I've got some polishing to do. All in all, I think I did alright. Looking forward to slapping a plate on there in the next few weeks. I best knock on wood and toss some salt just to be sure though :P
Anyway, I look forward to taking part in discussions here. I should be able to get some pictures of the bike up in the next few days.
Spider
I'm new to the forums here. I recently acquired a 1978 XS1100 with 33K ish miles that's in pretty good shape. Strong runner, moves well, and is pretty good to go, but I've got to take care of a couple things first.
I love old-style chops, "bobbers," what have you, and I'm going to cut her down to size. Hard-tail her, toss on some fat apes, forward controls, probably ditch the tank for something sleeker, rake and stretch her...
Okay, okay, really bad joke. I do love old style chops and bobbers, especially garage-builds, but this bike isn't destined for any of that so long as she's in my possession. I will be changing a few things, but nothing so severe that I can't have her back to stock straight-away.
I've got to throw some new shocks on there, since the PO had the springs cut down and re-welded. This not only left a horrendous looking mess on the bike's back-end, but also left about a half-of an inch of total clearance between the fender and the nice new tire he had installed. After spending a cool nickel or two having that done, the carbs and engine done, the brakes done, and et cetera et cetera ad-nauseam, he was furious that the rear brake was dragging after spending so much money. His wife had just bought a newer late model turn-key Yamaha, and he decided to go with one himself. He just wanted this one gone, so I got it for a song. Well, a song and a handful of cash, but pretty cheap none the less.
It turns out- near as I can figure- that the rear brake is NOT dragging "especially during acceleration." The rear shocks are just so cashed that any real down/rearward pressure bottoms them out- not that they are that high to start. The bike isn't the original color, but has been redone a nice deep blue. The stock kick-lever isn't stowed anyplace, but I have one from an 850 on the way. Battery-side side cover tabs are broken, but I know a guy who's a wizard with JB weld and paint, till I pick up a new one. The stock mufflers have been switched out for sportster mufflers, which I might switch out for something a touch bigger, since the sportster pipes seem a touch out of proportion. The PO also had extra turn signals mounted down on the engine guard, which is nice, but whoever did it neglected to wire stuff up top back together securely, so I've got to strip off the electrical tape and take care of that. Also going to pull off the LED running lights(that turn on with a bar-mounted toggle-switch.) Once I do that, I'll install a new fuze-box(Thanks T.C.) and likely grab a loud horn for up front. Maybe fix the right-side tank emblem that I accidentally broke.
I have a bunch of parts on the way, mostly little stuff to take care of here and there, and I've got some polishing to do. All in all, I think I did alright. Looking forward to slapping a plate on there in the next few weeks. I best knock on wood and toss some salt just to be sure though :P
Anyway, I look forward to taking part in discussions here. I should be able to get some pictures of the bike up in the next few days.
Spider
Glad you were joking. Looks like you've got a bit of a project on your hands, but since most of it is cosmetic, you can take your time and not get your hands TOO dirty. 
Good idea with the fuse block. Be sure to post some pics so we can watch the progression as you bring it back to life!
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