New member with a "new" '79 Special and a to-do list

[natemoen]

Sometimes the best way to finish the front brake bleed is to tie the brake handle half way depressed and let it sit overnight.

Also, when initially bleeding you CANNOT fully pull the handle. You need to do half strokes with the handle otherwise you risk flipping the seal in the master cylinder over and then you need to take it all apart again.

[DouglasVB]

Uhoh! I was doing full handle squeezes like I have done with brake rebuilds on other bikes. I will see if I can get it to bleed this morning and if not, I will pull the master cylinder apart to verify that the seal is oriented correctly.

Cross your fingers that I get the bike up and running today. My girlfriend flies back tomorrow night.

[CaptonZap]

Uhoh! I was doing full handle squeezes like I have done with brake rebuilds on other bikes. I will see if I can get it to bleed this morning and if not, I will pull the master cylinder apart to verify that the seal is oriented correctly.

Cross your fingers that I get the bike up and running today. My girlfriend flies back tomorrow night.

Before you tear the MC apart, take the handle off, and look inside to see if the plunger that the lever pushes against is stuck down in there.
If it is, get a pair of appropriately shaped pliers and twist and pull the plunger back out.
Replace the handle, and see if you get pumping action. When you squeeze the lever, do not go to full excursion, and make sure the plunger comes back out.
Might save you some time. BTDT CZ

[DouglasVB]

I ended up having to pull the front master cylinder off and reassemble it. Looks like one of the seals was unseated. It works fine now although I suspect I have a small leak somewhere in the system as I have to give it a few squeezes after it sits for a while to get a nice firm response. I also either am having a bit of DOT fluid or a bit of fork fluid accumulating at the triple tree-meets-fork area on the right side of the bike. I will investigate more tomorrow.

The bike runs now! I took it out on a little 10 mile spin. My does it every go fast in a hurry. It has a very smooth power band compared to what my XS850 is setup to do.

I ended up having to get into the turn signal switch where I found a solder joint that had failed. I also had to tighten one of the rear turn signal mounts. Now all of the electricals work well.

The engine doesn't want to idle unless I am one notch out on the choke. It runs fine if I have the throttle just a little bit open with the choke off but as soon as I let my hand go, the bike dies. I've been running a bunch of technron additive through and it seems to have helped a little but I wonder if my idle might be set low or if something else might be going on. Any ideas?

The rear shocks are blown on the bike. It is rideable but eventually I will need to get new ones. I'll do that next paycheck I also need to get the master cylinder diaphragm so it stops leaking from up there.

One thing that is a bit odd... After I came back from my spin around the neighborhood, the bike made a sort of rattling/buzzing/metalic vibrating sound when I revved the engine in neutral in front of my shop. It sounded like a cooling fin vibrating or a piece of sheet metal buzzing against something. I couldn't localize it. Any ideas other than a complete engine disassembly?

My girlfriend gets home tomorrow night. I should be able to surprise her with it Wednesday after work :-D

[Yard Dogg]

You could check your exhaust for the buzzing. Tighten down your flanges, then check your header seals, then just under the foot pegs there are some plates that cover the muffler joints. Could be a culprit.

[DouglasVB]

You could check your exhaust for the buzzing. Tighten down your flanges, then check your header seals, then just under the foot pegs there are some plates that cover the muffler joints. Could be a culprit.

Ah good call! I'll check all of the exhaust flanges, seals, and covers tomorrow.

I guess all this leaves is to figure out a name. Probably everyone calls there XS11s "Excess," eh?

[Yard Dogg]

I just call mine "Bike".

[Bellerophon]

Ah good call! I'll check all of the exhaust flanges, seals, and covers tomorrow.

I guess all this leaves is to figure out a name. Probably everyone calls there XS11s "Excess," eh?

+1 on the plate under the foot pegs.

[Yard Dogg]

You might squirt some anti-seize on your header nuts too. Something with copper chips is the best.

[natemoen]

Idle should be at roughly 1100. If you can get it lower it will shift smoother into 1st from neutral, but that's not really a big deal. I have my idle set at about 850-900, it does start to sound a bit loopy at that point, but shifts nice.

There Is a large knob on.the back side of your carbs, that is how you adjust the idle speed. Loosen to lower, tighten to raise.

[Shacknasty]

The engine doesn't want to idle unless I am one notch out on the choke. It runs fine if I have the throttle just a little bit open with the choke off but as soon as I let my hand go, the bike dies. I've been running a bunch of technron additive through and it seems to have helped a little but I wonder if my idle might be set low or if something else might be going on. Any ideas?

Prolly need to synchronize yer carbs. Glad she's running again.

My '79 Special has long been called, "The Beast".



Life is short. Ride hard mofo.

[CaptonZap]

Definately find a Carbtune or set of Mercury Sticks, and get the carbs set right.
It amazes me how smooth the engines start and run when the carbs are synced and the idle mixes tuned in. That is, assuming that the carbs are clean to start with. And the valve clearances are set. CZ

[DGXSER]

Easy solution is to ride the biek to get it good and warm, then set idle speed.

I recently rebuilt a set of carbs, put them on the bike started it up and it would quickly ramp up to 4-5k RPM. I synched the carbs, no change, same thing. Then it hit me, idle speed adjustment. Set it down and it idles nicely.

[jwhughes3]

One thing that is a bit odd... After I came back from my spin around the neighborhood, the bike made a sort of rattling/buzzing/metalic vibrating sound when I revved the engine in neutral in front of my shop. It sounded like a cooling fin vibrating or a piece of sheet metal buzzing against something. I couldn't localize it. Any ideas other than a complete engine disassembly?

Doug,

Fairly common on these bikes that still have original exhaust is the inner wall of the double wall header breaks a weld and "buzzes" inside the outer pipe. It has been said it can be repaired if you find the offending pipe to drill a hole in the back through both pipes, then weld them through the hole to lock them in place.


John

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Doug,

If you're not seeing brake fluid leaking at the caliper or the MC, then you probably don't have a leak. The pistons will retract back into the calipers a little when released, so that they don't drag, and the OEM vinyl lines also expand a bit, so it's not uncommon to have to "pump" the lever a little to get the best feel and brake pressure. After it has set a day or so, try bleeding it again, sometimes you can still have small bubbles that have not been fully expelled which also cause a little spongy feel! I know IF you have a hole in the MC piston cup then you can get fluid blowby and loss of pressure, but you just did a rebuild, so I doubt that is the problem.

Folks already answered your rattle, pipes problem. There's a few threads on bike names/nicknames, a quick search should reveal them. Depends on what hits/strikes your fancy, lots of reasons folks found to come up with their names, from life events, to how the bikes behaved while being repaired, where they were found, etc.!

T.C.