Greetings From A New XS11 Owner

[Kit]

Greetings, everyone.

I've been poking around the site and lurking through the forums for about a week now. I've already learned a ton just from looking around.

A bit about me: I recently picked up an '80 XS1100 Special. I've owned 2 Yamahas in the past, an '81 650 Special and an '81 650 Maxim, but I haven't ridden in about 11 years. When buying the SG, my original plan was to get something cheap (paid $600 for it) to get back into the swing of things before buying something brand new next summer. But the more I learn about her, the more I want to hang onto her, and at this point I doubt I'll be getting anythiing else anytime soon.

She was a little rough. and after reading about how much most (if not everyone) here is working on their bikes themselves, I'm a little embarrassed to admit I took mine to a local shop to get her back in shape. While I can do basic tune-ups and maintenance on my own, she needed a valve adjustment and carb cleaning/sync quite badly. Since I've never done a valve adjustment, and I don't get along with carbs at all, I decided to let them do the entire tune-up as long as it was there. Turns out she needed the pulsor (sp?) coils replaced as well, so I found some on eBay and am awaiting their arrival while my bike waits in the shop.

Thanks for reading my long-winded post.

Now, let's see if I can figure out how to add a picture of her...

[DGXSER]

Welcome Kit!!! You have now aquired "the sickness"!!

As to the pick-up coils...ie. pulsar coils....It is most likely the wires that are bod and not the coils themselves. IT is fairly common to occur.

Prior to owning my first XS11, I had very marginal results with carbs myself. But these are fairly simple and straight forward, so I have now rebuilt 4 sets with great results to date. That is the cool thing about these bikes. The technology is advanced enough and yet simple enough to make them pretty easy to work on.

[bikerphil]

Hey welcome, nice looking SG. Those pulsar coils rarely go bad, just the wires break inside the insulation from constant flexing from the vacuum advance. They can be easily repaired, make sure you check your new/used ones for breaks. Good luck with your new bike.

[Poprock]

Welcome aboard the good ship XS 11. Lots of friendly folks ride these bikes in the PNW. Good help on any of these issues is not far away. I hope the shop does right by ya. If they don't, let us know.

[latexeses]

Greetings Kit,
Welcome.
Do a search for pick up coil wires and you will have enough reading to keep you busy for a rainy weekend.

[fredintoon]

Greetings, everyone. - - - When buying the SG, my original plan was to get something cheap (paid $600 for it) to get back into the swing of things - - - - I'm a little embarrassed to admit I took mine to a local shop to get her back in shape. - - -

Hi Kit and welcome,
did you get a fixed price quote when you dropped the bike off at the shop?
If not, the $600 you paid will most likely seem like pocket change.
Far better you buy a set of metric wrenches and a Clymer's manual.

[crazy steve]

I have to agree with Fred...

Even when mine was still fairly new, finding competent service techs was a real crapshoot (mine went to the dealer only twice, and they failed to fix it...). Nowadays, the XS has been out of production for nearly thirty years and the bike may be older than the tech, so finding someone who 'knows' these machines is nearly impossible. Two or three hours of shop labor cost will pay for most if not all of the tools you'll need to DIY, and there's certainly the knowledge base here to get you past the hard parts. For much more than very minor stuff, the repairs costs can exceed the value of the bike...

[lancelot455]

I have to agree with Fred...

Even when mine was still fairly new, finding competent service techs was a real crapshoot (mine went to the dealer only twice, and they failed to fix it...). Nowadays, the XS has been out of production for nearly thirty years and the bike may be older than the tech, so finding someone who 'knows' these machines is nearly impossible. Two or three hours of shop labor cost will pay for most if not all of the tools you'll need to DIY, and there's certainly the knowledge base here to get you past the hard parts. For much more than very minor stuff, the repairs costs can exceed the value of the bike...

Shop rates here are $90 an hour.Took my bike there when i first got it cause it wouldn't run. they cleaned the carbs replaced 3 of the needles and changed all the fluids and my bill was $800. won't be doing that again. They didn't even sync the carbs.

[Kit]

Thanks for the welcome everyone, and for the tips on the coils/wires. The set I picked up on eBay includes a couple of sets of wires, so whichever it is, I should be good to go there.

And yeah, I know what you mean about shop rates. Financially, taking any vehicle to a shop in the past has been a "luxury expense" for me, so I usually work on most issues myself. As it turned out this time around, I had the money, and since I haven't had a bike in so long, I wanted to make sure it got done right in the beginning. The idea being that once it was running smoothly, it would be easier for me to keep it that way myself. The pick-up coils/wires is a good example...I would have had a helluva time figuring out that was an issue on my own without help. And as luck would have it, the guy who is working on it owns an '81 Special (SH, if I understand the pattern correctly?). His dad bought it when it was new, and later passed it to him, so he's very familiar with them.

Having said that though, when I took it in I didn't realize what a wealth of information there was to be had online about these bikes, and I hadn't yet discovered this site. If I had, I would probably have given it a go myself first. One of the links on this site led to a page that has the Clymer manual in .pdf form, so I have that now. Although, I still plan to pick up a physical copy as well, for easier reference in the garage. In the future, I definitely plan to maintain it myself, though I'm fairly certain I'll need to avail myself of the the knowledge and experience of others.

[lvrsnr]

Welcome sweet liking bike your only obligation is to enjoy it,,, they're a ton of fun, have a blast and if you have any questions. this is the place with the folks with the same addiction.

[ManitoulinLad]

Awesome Color

Cool looking bike man! Love the purple & the seat - looks awesome!! What a classic! - Dan

[Kit]

Yup, I am absolutely in love with the color. That's what first caught my eye. I hope I'll be able to match it when it comes time to repaint (tank has a couple of scratches, and both side covers need to be replaced). I haven't decided yet, but I'm considering painting the fenders as well when the time comes.

As for the seat, I'm not a big fan of it. I have a replacement on the way, and once it arrives, I will be selling this one.

[DGXSER]

why replacing side covers? Those are a tough item to find for these bikes, so if yours are intact, I;d say keep them. Even minor repairs are cheap and easy compared with getting replacements typically.

[Kit]

The bottom tab on the left side cover is broken off, and a piece has broken off from the right side cover, next to one of the slots on top.

I saw a left cover on ebay last week, but let it be cuz I'm not in a big hurry on those. Maybe I should have grabbed it when I had the chance. Are they all the same between years and models, or did they change them up a bit? If they're different, what others (if any) will fit an SG?

[Ken Talbot]

Use the search button at the top of the page to look for 'side cover repair'. This thread will show you how to save some buck$$ by repairing the broken tab on your felt side sidecover rather than buying one.