A project Begins....Picture intensive

[DGXSER]

Thanks for the nice comments!

joceiphus..plan is to put the badges back on, I think it would look a bit goofy to have hte tank blank with the name plates on the side covers. However, I currently only have one YAMAHA tank emblem for it. If you look in the before pics the one on the right side, in the Y and A, is cracked off, the PO took tape and painted or magic markered it to match. So for right now, none are on it, besides the tank needs to be repainted....again.

1stbike, thanks man, it has been a fair piece of work to get it "converted". It is not exactly "restored", but it is all factory original parts stem to stern (just not original to this bike).

XS11Lover....you mean the 4-1 in the prior progress photos? I still have that, it sits in the garage along with the stock exhaust that was on it when I got the bike. However, the stock system has the left side muffler in two pieces now. I may eventually have it welded back up if I don't break down and get a small mig setup myself.

[MaximPhil]

Hi DGXSER,
Looks nice. Least I could do to come by and see how yours was progressing. I agree the King Queen seat does not match the look of your bike. What is wrong with the other seat that a good clean would not fix?
Phil

[petejw]

Hey DG,
the bikes looking good,
i agree with you about the king/queen seat,
there're a comfortable seat but they look ugly.
ive got one that i trimmed the sides and had recovered,
looks much better.

[DGXSER]

That king queen is what I got on Thunderstruck, so I switched the seats to see how I would like the stock seat for comparison. Well....no plans to pull it off Thunderstruck now. So I have a few feelers out to see if I can get a stock seat within my budget.

[79XS11F]

Even though snow is still laying around a week after the last meaningfull snowfall....here is the latest on the project.

I got side covers for it, a different exhaust, Kerker 4-2 system. Cleaned up the engine a bit, needs some pressure washing though. Had the tank painted, then it needed more cleaning so I performed the electrolisys cleaning which exposed pinholes that leaked, so back to cleaning and this time sealing the tank which the cleaning stuff ruined the paint , so I am back to needing to paint the tank.

Anyway, here are some before after shots to compare.

From the front, I am investigating seat options, not fond of leaving the king/queen on it.


Pictures say it all. The removal of the back rest cargo frame is the biggest change form here I suppose.


This one looks almost night a dn day from a hodge podge POS to a decent looking machine IMO.


What do you know, no exposed twisted up wires!!



Yeah, I know it is NOT a MNS, but when those are the side covers you get, those are the ones you use! Now to get more warm weather and tune this beast.

Well that's come a long way hasn't it. It takes a lot of work to turn an all but abandoned bike around eh. Good job!!! The pipes look very much like the ones that came on my 79 XS1100 when I first got her.

[SFerinTEXAS]

Great Job

This thread should be referenced to when a New Guy joins and just got a years neglected bike for cheap and thinks a few bucks and a few days will get'er on the road. Nice Job.

[DGXSER]

Yes, it turned out to be more work than I had bargained for or expected. There were a few points in the process I considered making a parts bike out of it. But I love these old bikes to much to let one die on the vine like that.

It will go up for sale in a month or two, I only hope whoever takes her will enjoy it as much as I do, and hopefully be willing to keep investing the few dollars now and then it wil take to keep her running and riding.

[79XS11F]

Why R U selling her after doing all the work on her?
Rob

[DGXSER]

Rob,

The short answer is cause I am not ready to give up half or more of everything I own .

Actually, the plan from the start was to find an "inexpensive" XS I could tinker with for the winter and sell in the spring. I do enjoy the work, and look at as an opportunity to do something I enjoy and perhaps allow someone with less time, knowledge, or talent to enjoy an XS11. This one should need less of the more difficult things done to it as the carbs are freshly rebuilt, the gears are freshly ground, the brakes are all cleaned and new pads all the way around, valves are adjusted, and all the fluids are fresh. And this time when the "PO" says the carbs are just tuned and synched it will be true. (how rare that is huh).

Anyway, I get to have my fun and hopefully recover some if not all of the cost of parts, although I never expected to make a dime on my time.

Most of it was expected and or not to bad to deal with, some of that due to get lucky with friends having parts. The exahust was the one thing I had no idea was bad until I pulled it off the bike, so that really sucked. As we all know it is just about the most expensive part of the entire bike.

[Larrym]

The Right Reasons

DGXSER,

I'd have done exactly what you did if only my man cave was heated.

As these bikes are no longer being made, the default direction they are headed towards is being destroyed. (In one way or another...) Knowing that and having the ability to recover one makes each and every time I see a basket case/non-runner for sale a test of reasoning versus doing what I want to do.

As far as hobbies or winter activities go, you've got a good one. Far better than choosing a liquor and sticking with with it till spring. (Not me f'sure!) Or World of Warcraft. What you've done is get results in the real world and in real-time. Score: one more XS available/ridable than the the year before.

I can only hold out for so long before I do heat the man cave and follow in your footsteps.

[79XS11F]

Rob,

The short answer is cause I am not ready to give up half or more of everything I own .

Actually, the plan from the start was to find an "inexpensive" XS I could tinker with for the winter and sell in the spring. I do enjoy the work, and look at as an opportunity to do something I enjoy and perhaps allow someone with less time, knowledge, or talent to enjoy an XS11. This one should need less of the more difficult things done to it as the carbs are freshly rebuilt, the gears are freshly ground, the brakes are all cleaned and new pads all the way around, valves are adjusted, and all the fluids are fresh. And this time when the "PO" says the carbs are just tuned and synched it will be true. (how rare that is huh).

Anyway, I get to have my fun and hopefully recover some if not all of the cost of parts, although I never expected to make a dime on my time.

Most of it was expected and or not to bad to deal with, some of that due to get lucky with friends having parts. The exahust was the one thing I had no idea was bad until I pulled it off the bike, so that really sucked. As we all know it is just about the most expensive part of the entire bike.

Well you got a plan and your sticking to it. I'm sure your work will be appreciated by the new owner. You going to do another one when this one is gone?
I'm going to do my 750 Kat as my next project. It will be different then the
11s but there's no rush for that one.
Rob

[DGXSER]

Larry...Heated Mancave....whats that?? No longer a mancave then!!! Actually, a little luck and little bit of pushing myself got most all of the large scale work completed before winter set in hard. Then I did most of the work in mancave2 (the basement workshop). Although I have heared alot of grief about the smell of paint in the house.

Rob, I'll do another one if I am able to find one cheap enough. That may take until next fall or winter though. And I can assure you I will check the exhaust MUCH more carefully next time.

[Larrym]

Tesla and his Magic Show

Actually my cave doesn't even have wired AC power.

In the good weather I use an AC Generator for power tools and stuff. Most times I'm limited by the available daylight. At these latitudes that's a real problem in the winter months: seems less than 6-7 hours.

But today I arranged for power from the 60 Hertz Grid.

Soon to be making as much noise as I like with power tools in a lighted area.

Now to find a worthwhile project.........

[DGXSER]

The Grand Finale!!!

I finally broke down and got a paint spray gun and some decent paint, Sherwin Williams but better than Duplicolor. And a two stage paint system to get the tank painted for good, Gas or not. As you may recall, I painted the tank maticuously with Duplicolor, wet sanding between coats, recoating heavy, sanding some more, then clear coat and more sanding and more clear. And then, spilled a bit of acetone and gas on the tank and all my work peeled like a banana!!

Anyway, after these long and interesting months, project Banshee is now completed!!! Here are a few pictures of the final product.

Little Hazy but cool looking


A Front View (yep I see I need to adjust a turn signal)


A shadier view - final shot


Sooo.....Here is one bikes journey from barn sow to road warrior ready. Not quite the trailer queen type, but a huge improvement and ready to be someones nice ride for a while.

[79XS11F]

AWESOME JOB !!!! The bike look GREAT!!!
Rob