New XS Owner

[SthrnSqrl]

Hi all, my first post here, so wanted to say hi.

I just traded for two XS11's last week, and have a new favorite daily rider. I've owned Maxims before,('82 650 built to drag race, '82 650 stocker, and an '85 XJ700 Stocker) but this is my first Eleven. I traded for a '78 Standard and a '79 Special. The Special doesn't have a title, and the Standard smokes a bit, so the first thing I did was bare-bones both bikes and made one runner. So now, I guess I have a 1978 XS11 Special :-D.

Ok, ok, I know...the Special wasn't offered in '78, but it *LOOKS* almost right. I ended up using the smaller Special tank, seat, engine, and one side plate...betchya can't guess which one...lol I still have to make the repair to the latch for the left side '78 cover and repaint it to match.

It took the better part of a day to make the swap, new oil, clean the carbs, clean out both mc's, bleed the brakes, and get a battery for it, but have been riding it for a week now. Wow...this puppy has some life left in it for sure. I still need to pick up a few parts here and there (tank float, King+Queen seat, and maybe new tank badges), but all in all, it's ready to take on a test trip. Gonna change the front tire tomorrow and change the schraeder valves from the '79 forks over to this one.

Spent most of the day trying to figure out why I was having so much trouble with the carbs and fuel supply. . . After finding the kinked fuel supply line, and discovering that some bozo took it upon himself to re-route the lines from the Octy, it's purring like a kitten...well, ok...half crazed adult male wildcat. Have to re-adjust the idle tomorrow, as when I finished fixing the problems today, I just wanted to ride, and not pull the tank again.

I do have a bit of polishing to do, as every piece of chrome on the bike has some discoloration on it...some worse than others. I tried Brasso, but was unimpressed with the results. What do you guys use to get rid of the spotty surface rust like on the forks, fenders, etc? Also, Aluminum polish...I want to polish the engine case, forks, and foot peg brackets to a decent shine and get rid of the blotchy appearance.

I also keep my kick starter on the bike...just in case. I would like to get a folding one that I can just leave on the shaft...suggestions?

If anyone has ideas for things I should do to the bike, I'm all ears. I have already learned a ton this week from just reading the posts on this site. I am considering rebuilding the second one this winter and selling it to support my yamahabit.

I will try to get pictures tomorrow.

Drew

[fredintoon]

- - - I just traded for two XS11's last week, - - - I traded for a '78 Standard and a '79 Special. The Special doesn't have a title, and the Standard smokes a bit, so the first thing I did was bare-bones both bikes and made one runner. So now, I guess I have a 1978 XS11 Special :-D. - - -
Wow...this puppy has some life left in it for sure. I still need to pick up a few parts here and there (tank float, King+Queen seat, and maybe new tank badges), but all in all, it's ready to take on a test trip. Gonna change the front tire tomorrow and change the schraeder valves from the '79 forks over to this one.
I do have a bit of polishing to do, as every piece of chrome on the bike has some discoloration on it...some worse than others. I tried Brasso, but was unimpressed with the results. What do you guys use to get rid of the spotty surface rust like on the forks, fenders, etc? Also, Aluminum polish...I want to polish the engine case, forks, and foot peg brackets to a decent shine and get rid of the blotchy appearance.
I also keep my kick starter on the bike...just in case. I would like to get a folding one that I can just leave on the shaft...suggestions?
Drew

Hi Drew and welcome,
depending on how far apart gas stations are in your neighborhood you may regret swapping to the smaller gas tank.
About the fuel sender in the tank, the thermistor sender in the Special tank is not compatible with the fuel gauge in the Standard tach. and I don't think the Standard tank's arm & float sender will fit inside the Special tank.
Alas, polishing is 90% elbow grease and alas again, the blotchy look of the aluminum castings is the factory clearcoat falling off in patches and getting the rest off can be a real challenge.
XS650/750/850 kickstarts all have the same spline as the XS11 and they all fold.
MikesXS sells XS650 tank badges that are ~5mm shorter between bolt holes. They look OK when installed, (the tank's badge pocket hardly shows at all) but you need to drill & tap an extra M3 hole in the retaining strip.
And if you never owned an XS/XJ11 before you may not have noticed, the engine runs backwards.

[SthrnSqrl]

Hi Fred, and thanks for the info. I didn't know the one in the special tank wasn't compatible. I just figured the sender was bad. I know the one in the standard tank was bad (broken wire about the size of a human hair).

Yep, figured out the engine runs backwards...took me a couple minutes when I first started it up to figure that out.

As for the Special tank... I wish it was larger, like the standard, cos I just like the looks of it better. Also, I have to boil the rust out of the standard tank and reline it. It already has small bumps of rust, from pinholes, on the lower portion of the sides. I may rework it and use it in my build of the '79 Standard.

I'm going to end up with two Frankenbikes. I have always wanted to build a nice bobber from the ground up. The '79 may provide that opportunity. My biggest problem is the engine from the '78 smoking. It only has 23K miles on it, so I am thinking it was dogged a bit. I would like to rebuild it, but not sure about the cost. Cheaper to just replace it?

I know I have to replace one carb, cos some lugnut broke one of the mounting ears for the float pin. The other 3 look ok after the initial cleaning.

[Wildkat]

Welcome Drew!

What do you guys use to get rid of the spotty surface rust like on the forks, fenders, etc? Also, Aluminum polish...I want to polish the engine case, forks, and foot peg brackets to a decent shine and get rid of the blotchy appearance.

Gords Aluminum Polish

Might seem a little pricey but a little goes a LONG way and it works for the other spots you mentioned as well... It can make aluminum almost look like chrome.
They also make a wax that works very well at bringing out the shine on the painted surfaces.

[WMarshy]

Welcome!
If your looking for a quick and easy to remove that varnish/coating on the aluminum forks and side covers you can use xxx-steel wool. It will remove that stuff fairly easy but it leaves behind a little mess from all the shavings. Use it on the right side engine cover and the shavings 'stick' to the bolts b/c of the magnet behind that cover. If you use a mechanics magnet you can collect all the shaving and not worry about it. It does leave a good finish on aluminum to sart polishing from. If you can find some stainless steel wool, use that as the shavings wont rust if you dont get them all off.

[fredintoon]

Hi Fred, and thanks for the info. - - - My biggest problem is the engine from the '78 smoking. It only has 23K miles on it, so I am thinking it was dogged a bit. I would like to rebuild it, but not sure about the cost. Cheaper to just replace it?

I know I have to replace one carb, cos some lugnut broke one of the mounting ears for the float pin. The other 3 look ok after the initial cleaning.

Hi Drew,
IMHO carrying more gas trumps having a prettier tank but OTOH, fixing Mr Leaky skews the equation.
If you are happy with the Frankenbike scene, swap in the Special's round gauges. The red low fuel warning light in the Special's tach. is meant to work with the thermistor sender.
Have you tried a compression or a leakdown test on the smoking motor yet?
If those numbers are anywhere near reasonable, don't sweat over the smoke until after an extensive road trip.
If a motor has been parked for some time (Say for 5 months through a Saskatchewan winter) it'll have lower than normal compression numbers and smoke for a while until it gets used to running again.
You don't necessarily have to find another carb. There's several fixes for broken float pin mounts that can be found in this list. There's even one member who offers a salvage kit.
BTW, a good low-impact way to remove float pins is to use an automatic centrepunch (~$20 for a good one from a proper tool store) on them. I bought one just for that purpose and it works great.

[SthrnSqrl]

Hi Drew,
IMHO carrying more gas trumps having a prettier tank but OTOH, fixing Mr Leaky skews the equation.
If you are happy with the Frankenbike scene, swap in the Special's round gauges. The red low fuel warning light in the Special's tach. is meant to work with the thermistor sender.
Have you tried a compression or a leakdown test on the smoking motor yet?
If those numbers are anywhere near reasonable, don't sweat over the smoke until after an extensive road trip.
If a motor has been parked for some time (Say for 5 months through a Saskatchewan winter) it'll have lower than normal compression numbers and smoke for a while until it gets used to running again.
You don't necessarily have to find another carb. There's several fixes for broken float pin mounts that can be found in this list. There's even one member who offers a salvage kit.
BTW, a good low-impact way to remove float pins is to use an automatic centrepunch (~$20 for a good one from a proper tool store) on them. I bought one just for that purpose and it works great.

I plan to use the 6+ gallon tank on this bike once I get the '79 rebuilt. Re-lining it isn't a big deal...just takes a bit of know how. By the time I'm ready to use it, I'll have a new fuel level float for it, I hope.

As for the Special's guages, the tach is trashed. The needle is broken, and the housing got a bad case of road rash. So I'm in need of a decent tach for it (round). I'll also be buying another headlight bucket and bezel, 2 turn signals, front mc, bottom half of breather box, and a few assorted small items.

For the most part, it's all there and useable. In theory, I could go out tomorrow, throw the engine into the frame, and ride it by dark. However, since the worst of stripping the frame is done (that heavy ass powerplant is on the ground), I want to do a frame up resto on it. Since the engine is off, I can at least re-ring it...that's easy enough to do. That way, I don't have to pull it later if the rings are bad.

I searched through the repair section, but didn't find anything on fixing the broken float pin mount. Whoever broke it, attempted to mend it with a dab of JB Weld....needless to say, it failed. Once I post this, I'll do a broader search of posts for the info.

For the pin removal, I have a complete set of dental picks that I keep in my tool box for just this type of job.

Meant to get pics today, but got caught up in changing the oil, adjusting the carbs, checking the pickup coils, and polishing some metal. Oh...and changed out my ignition switch, which entails removing the buckhorns, guages, headlight bucket, etc...lol. There are still times, running down the highway, when it sounds and feels like it's only running on 3, but that could be the pilot jets that I didn't remove...yeah, I know....but it was 4 AM, I'd been up since 5 am the day before, and I was beat.

I promise to do a more thorough job...but it may be a few days before I can get to it. Gonna check with a couple upholstery shops tomorrow to see if I can get the seat recontoured and recovered.

[SthrnSqrl]

Photos

I finally managed to get a few pics this evening. Bike looks rough, but runs a ton better. Still have a loss of power/acceleration at about 90-95mph...maybe synching the carbs will help with that.

I want to find a nice King+Queen to go on it for SWMBO. Will be doing some polishing on the cases this week. Had a mild oil leak from the clutch case. Bought a new gasket off Ebay for $8~ shipped. Hope to get that on this week.

This weekend was a bust for working on the bike. Too busy to mess with it much, but I did go out for a nice ride tonight. A cup of coffee just seems to taste better when I go after it on the bike

[crazy steve]

...I searched through the repair section, but didn't find anything on fixing the broken float pin mount. Whoever broke it, attempted to mend it with a dab of JB Weld....needless to say, it failed. Once I post this, I'll do a broader search of posts for the info...

Here's one thread.... http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...ht=float+posts... that has the info. If the post is broken below the pin hole, it gets a bit complicated. If you have the part, there's a outfit that can tig-weld it back on, but at the cost for this ($60+) it's generally cheaper to get another carb or even a whole set. If you have access to a mill, then you have more options.

'78E original owner

[ManitoulinLad]

Hey SthrnSqrl: Love the two tone paint job on tank & side covers. The bike looks cool & I'm sure you'll have it lookin better once you get the new seat on it. Good luck, & I know what you mean about the coffee ride - Dan

[SthrnSqrl]

Hey SthrnSqrl: Love the two tone paint job on tank & side covers. The bike looks cool & I'm sure you'll have it lookin better once you get the new seat on it. Good luck, & I know what you mean about the coffee ride - Dan

Hey Lad, thanks. I like the paint also, but up close (laying on the tank at speed, I can see the drips...lol) I considered repainting it, but now, I believe I should just touch it up a bit...maybe just cover the little nick and couple of small scratches.

Doesn't the coffee just taste better under these circumstances?

Here's one thread.... http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...ht=float+posts... that has the info. If the post is broken below the pin hole, it gets a bit complicated. If you have the part, there's a outfit that can tig-weld it back on, but at the cost for this ($60+) it's generally cheaper to get another carb or even a whole set. If you have access to a mill, then you have more options.

'78E original owner

Thanks, Steve. I think I can repair it with those links. As you can see from the photos in my link, there is part of the ear left above the pin hole...that's a good thing, I think.

Thanks for all the help from everyone so far. I really appreciate it. I need to pull the tank again this week. There still seems to be something missing at higher speeds...like a 4th cylinder. Now, I am thinking - pinhole in a diaphragm. Something I can repair, or replace as needed, at least.

As you can see in the pics I put up on Flickr (the link in my sig), the lower half of the airbox was mia. I located it today and installed it and a new K&N...wow...what a change in sound. This thing sounds mild like a winger now. However, the wings I have ridden lacked the pep this thing has off the line.

I still don't think I could get my front end off the ground without molesting the clutch a bit...but as soon as I get this high speed mis fixed, I plan to have the carbs synched, valves adjusted, etc...maybe then, it'll be a walker. I'm 6'03", but only weigh 175#. Light enough that it shouldn't be a problem achieving lift-off.

Skwerl

[DenyP]

Welcome to the group! Sounds like you will fit right in.

Deny