Happy New XS11 Owner

[Schwiggy]

Hey Guys,

New-ish owner of a 1980 XS11 Standard(I think?) here.

I just inherited the bike from my dad after it sat for about 3 years. Changed all of the fluids, cleaned the carbs and she started right up. That to me says that I have a pretty solid bike here.

It has just about 49k miles on it, I rode it around town and on small trips for about two weeks and it ran great. Just this past weekend I took a ~320 mile (round trip) ride up to the Catskills in NY, from NJ. Unfortunately it rained the whole way home, but the bike never let me down.

It's not the prettiest bike out there, but I plan on slowly making it shine again.

Anyway, just thought I'd share my first impressions of this great bike.

My immediate list of things to do:
Replace/Paint rusted over headers (Any Suggestions?)
Replace seat
Look into fix for wobbly gauges.
Overall touch up of rusted and faded spots.

[slow mo]

Welcome Schwiggy!

well you have got the right bike and a great attitude,,this combination will take you far here,, those who know lots more than i will help you along the way,, if you have a question just ask,,this is a super site,,all the best ,,ride safe ,,slow mo!

[CatatonicBug]

Welcome to the forum! You sure lucked out on that one! Please post some pictures and show us your new ride! We like to drool over them, no matter how un-shiney they are.

[xs11lover]

Welcome, yes we need pics. I have an ok xtra xs11 standard exhaust, it looks like you're not too far from Pa.

[madmax-im]

Hey Guys,

New-ish owner of a 1980 XS11 Standard(I think?) here.

I just inherited the bike from my dad after it sat for about 3 years. Changed all of the fluids, cleaned the carbs and she started right up. That to me says that I have a pretty solid bike here.

It has just about 49k miles on it, I rode it around town and on small trips for about two weeks and it ran great. Just this past weekend I took a ~320 mile (round trip) ride up to the Catskills in NY, from NJ. Unfortunately it rained the whole way home, but the bike never let me down.

It's not the prettiest bike out there, but I plan on slowly making it shine again.

Anyway, just thought I'd share my first impressions of this great bike.

My immediate list of things to do:
Replace/Paint rusted over headers (Any Suggestions?)
Replace seat
Look into fix for wobbly gauges.
Overall touch up of rusted and faded spots.

If you can keep those headers and shine them up/paint em or even ceramic coating them...that would be alot easier than trying to find a replacement system...as they are few and far between. If you decide to paint them use a high temp paint. Sand the old rust and finish off with a fine grit sanding and wash the pipes down in an acetone base. That will get rid of any oils and the paint will stick on better...I'm sure someone else will chime in on this...BTW congrats on having a running bike and Welcome to the forum.

[DGXSER]

Welcome and congrats on a nice inheritance. All I ever inherited is bills!!

Love to pics of the old girl!! You can use high heat paint on the headers, or ceramic coatings as stated, or you can clean the rust off and then wrap them with header fabric.

[Kronk]

I am a relativly new member here too, and these guys here are awesome for any help you need. There are 6,468 members with xs/xj11's here, and at least one of them have run into every problem you are about to, found a way to fix it, and will let you know.... Welcome to the club!

[motoman]

Congratulation on the inheritance!...............but worthless without pics.....and welcome to the madness!

[crazy steve]

Welcome!

As to 'what' you have, if it's not a 'frankenbike' (assembled from bits), the 'standard' will have square lights/gauges, a 17" rear wheel, the fuel tank will look like a breadbox (large and square-ish), and the front axle will attach to the end of the forks. Post some pics!

[Schwiggy]

Pic

Thanks for the warm welcome. Seems like a great bunch here.

Here's a shot of the day I brought her home.



I've since replaced the damaged rear fender and slapped on some new tank badges.

Also, in replacing the rear fender I took the rack off and have left if off for the time being. I kind of prefer the way it looks now.

The weather has been really crappy here for the past few days, otherwise I'd snap some new pics.

PS. Don't laugh at the overgrown driveway. I may have let my duties slide a bit while working on this.

[DGXSER]

Definitely an 80 standard form the looks of it! Pretty dang nice condition really. I'd bet those pipes will clean up nicer than you might think with some chrome polish.

[DenyP]

Welcome to the club! Nice looking ride.

Deny

[xs11lover]

Not a bad looking old dog at all. Pipes look better than most. I think I'd wet sand them with some kinda coarse emry, then fine, followed by some Mother's polish. Hit the motor cases with the mother's while you're at it and it will look like it's 5 years old not 30.

[CaptonZap]

Not a bad looking old dog at all. Pipes look better than most. I think I'd wet sand them with some kinda coarse emry, then fine, followed by some Mother's polish. Hit the motor cases with the mother's while you're at it and it will look like it's 5 years old not 30.

Whoa, dude!
Chrome plating is porous, and the underlaying copper plateing can get cracks in it, and then the water gets in, and the rust comes out the pores and spreads across the surface.
If you use emery paper, you will scratch the chrome, and it will never get shiney again.
Instead, get some Turtle Wax Chrome Polish and Cleaner, or equivalent.
If you have a FINE wire brush that mounts in a die grinder or drill, or on your bench grinder, you can save some elbow grease. LIGHTLY buff the rusted areas with the wire brush.
The steel bristles , if not applied with too much force, will not scratch the chrome, but will take off the encrusted rust. I have used the stainless steel brushes that you get at Habba Fleight, which look like a big tooth brush, and gotten down in the places where the wire wheel doesn't get into. It's slower, but does the job. Just use a lot of quick, light, strokes
Now take the chrome polish, and follow the directions.
You will end up with chrome that looks almost like new. If you look at it with a magnifying glass, you will be able to see the small pits that held the rust, but from a few feet away, it will look almost like new.
Unfortunately, the pits will start rusting again as soon as the wax in the polish degrades, so you will have to keep an eye on it and repolish when the rust starts coming back. It's easier the next time, because the polish will do the work.
If you don't want to work hard, the folks that advocate paint can be your role models.

Shine on, CZ

[xs11lover]

OK,If you say so. It sure worked nice on the Kerker I just cleaned up. I did only use the coarse emery wet sand in the heavy rust and polish only on the muffler.