What did you do to your bike today?

[ekim]

We never progressed to an off-road riding discussion - we stayed on a street bike theme

Yeah the center groove tread pattern was an uninformed quick purchase.
I will need to live with them a bit since I only have 2K miles on them (IRC tires).
Will probably replace the front first cuz yeah the rain grooved concrete slab is "unsettling".
=> Especially when following a local through the unknown fish-hook connecter on Hiway 1.

[tcoop]

Took the wheels off of the XJ's to get new shoes put on. I have a friend who works at a bus shop and he tells me that the tire changer there works on bike tires. So now I two XJ's floating on the center stand and car jack stand one upside down like a turtle on its back. (fixing the second gear) sorry no pictures...

The LG had been shutting down in the middle of a ride lately, as if the kill switch had been hit, then coming back to life after about 10 seconds of panic. (first time it happened I was passing a car ) Took the right hand control apart and cleaned it three or four times was having the same problem. Replaced the control last night seem to fix the issue. Now need to get it registered and on the road again.

[Bergman16]

Took the wheels off of the XJ's to get new shoes put on. I have a friend who works at a bus shop and he tells me that the tire changer there works on bike tires. So now I two XJ's floating on the center stand and car jack stand one upside down like a turtle on its back. (fixing the second gear) sorry no pictures...

The LG had been shutting down in the middle of a ride lately, as if the kill switch had been hit, then coming back to life after about 10 seconds of panic. (first time it happened I was passing a car ) Took the right hand control apart and cleaned it three or four times was having the same problem. Replaced the control last night seem to fix the issue. Now need to get it registered and on the road again.

I also cleaned mine (SG) three times for the same issue, then replaced the whole unit with a NOS one, and it worked for a bit, then died again. Found out later it was my crappy crimp on the TC fuse box connector. I had wiggled them many times but it took a painstaking march through the whole circuit with a multimeter to find it. No problems for three months now.

[tcoop]

I also cleaned mine (SG) three times for the same issue, then replaced the whole unit with a NOS one, and it worked for a bit, then died again. Found out later it was my crappy crimp on the TC fuse box connector. I had wiggled them many times but it took a painstaking march through the whole circuit with a multimeter to find it. No problems for three months now.

I will have to check that. I do have the blade fuse box but it has worked for 2 years with no problems.

[motoman]

I will have to check that. I do have the blade fuse box but it has worked for 2 years with no problems.

lol....mine did too, since the introduction of doing that mod......till at the Colo. rally last yr. when a flag term had worked loose that CaptainZap found...otherwise, was 'dead in the water' at WoodlandPark in a Bugr'King parking lot.

[Brent]

connections

Mine motor quit on my 80 XS1100sg when I hit a small bump. It Did not go again until I cleaned spade connectors on red/white ignition wire from solenoid & under tank. These electrical connections do get dirty or corroded after 30 years. After I had cleaned or replaced all the connectors I saw, It would not start... no lights, horn, nothing at Barbers Vintage days across from the vendors area. (Nice place to be if you need a tool such as a circuit tester light)
This turned out to be a bad connection under the rubber air intake snorkel...nothing from the main fuse on the left side (that is where it is on my 80 special). I did not see it and missed cleaning it when I did the others.

Any way, Good news: Electrical problems can usually be fixed without much expense, sometimes quickly. Good luck & Happy gremlin hunting

[jetmechmarty]

Found out later it was my crappy crimp on the TC fuse box connector.

Crimping a flag terminal without the proper tool is a bit of a challenge. Mine were crappy too. I broke down and bought a flag terminal crimper. The wires pulled right out of another bike at XS East as I was troubleshooting as well. I don't believe this is an uncommon problem.

[motoman]

Crimping a flag terminal without the proper tool is a bit of a challenge. Mine were crappy too. I broke down and bought a flag terminal crimper. The wires pulled right out of another bike at XS East as I was troubleshooting as well. I don't believe this is an uncommon problem.

Well, my crimps were fine and done correctly, the female blade ends should of been pinched down a BITmore before I plugged things together....installer error.

[Bergman16]

Crimping a flag terminal without the proper tool is a bit of a challenge. Mine were crappy too. I broke down and bought a flag terminal crimper. The wires pulled right out of another bike at XS East as I was troubleshooting as well. I don't believe this is an uncommon problem.

Yeah I used it as an excuse to buy a PIDG crimper. Gonna redo them all when I finally run the main fuse over there.

[CaptonZap]

Now you guys see why I am a fan of soldered connections.
I have seen magnitudes of orders more bad crimp joints than broken wires at solder joints.
CZ

[Gmac]

Ha

I was a mil contractor in the 80's & 90's doing wiring harnesses for several services and Boeing. Crimped connections done with the right tool do not fail and need no solder, especially to remain flexible in a high vibration environment.

Having said that I was reading another article here and saw a link to a flag connector crimping tool that I promptly bought, still isn't here yet though. I had my iron and other tools all ready to do the fuse box replacement to, going to be the very first mod I make to the bike. Especially after it blew the 20 amp main fuse when I hit the starter and then never worked again forcing me to kick start it.

Work on my bikes is a lot like my old job.
Procurement, kitting, staging and then production.

One day, very soon, *production* is going to kick in and I hope I'll have one of my 2 XS's on the road this season. It seems like I've been buying tools and parts ever since I got them but just haven't had the room to work. My shop is almost ready for production, once I move all the stuff that magically found its way inside back under the side roof so I'll have the space to do one project at a time and get the new tools set up for use on the bench.

[Quintin]

Cool xs1100 bagger



Found this video of a xs1100 bagger on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwvvVQWlAoo.

I like.

[je2wheeler]

Periodic Carb Cleaning and Adjustment

I had the carbs off Monster for two days as I replaced filters, checked float levels, diaphragms, slides and such. Then back on Monster for sync and idle-air adjustments yesterday and a long, enjoyable test flight today.
After three days of no riding, I will suffer the effects of withdrawal.

[madmax-im]

Found this video of a xs1100 bagger on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwvvVQWlAoo.

I like.

its been hardtailed...stupid

[jwhughes3]

It been well done as a Harley impersonator. Not my exact style and the hardtail is a dealbreaker.

I like the taillights embedded in the bags.

John