new member from tx

[terratek]

Just wanted to post a quick intro.

Name is Trinity, currently living in San Antonio, TX. Before that I was out in Terlingua, TX.

Have been riding for around 22 years, my last bike was a suzuki gs450tx and my current project is a 1979 xs1100 special. Picked it up for 450, am just starting to work on it now that it's off the truck.

Bought as non-running with a load of implied issues. This will be the first >1000cc bike I have owned, so looking forward to wrenching on it and bringing it back to life.

I have been reading through the forum, and am happy to be a member of it now. With any luck, I will be able to contribute something once I get into the project more.

Trin

[jwhughes3]

Welcome

Glad to see another San Antonio member join up.

I am NW near 1604 and Helotes.

John

[terratek]

Hey John, thanks!

My wife's parents are out in that general area. When I first met her I was riding an SV650, used to spend a lot of time in the less populated back roads out there. At a later date, I had a love affair with the asphalt on I-10, which effectively removed the sv650 from the picture.

I am starting on the electrical tonight. Hoping to have it to a testing point by tomorrow evening.

Trin

[crazy steve]

Welcome! Good luck with the bike!

[crazy steve]

... And if you haven't already seen this, look here: http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35337

[terratek]

Thanks Steve,

I did see that post, and will be referencing it along with the diagrams from the two manuals.

I was told electrical was more or less fried and the starter was fried. I removed the battery ground, cleaned it up and reinstalled it. Starter kicked over fine, headlight (high and low) tested fine, brake and running light are fine. I think the main issue is going to be with turn signal wiring. Right now the signals don't do anything, you can hear the relay going, and it flashes any idiot light that is currently lit (oil, neutral, etc).

Not a big issue in my book, as most of my older bikes had no signals, and the worst case scenario is I wire around the auto cancel circuit.

Headlight switch plastic is broken (tested high/low with a screwdriver to move position). Stop/run switch is broken (may just replace it with a toggle for testing purposes.

Tank bolt is missing, octopus is gone and all 4 lines run to the carbs at the moment. Aftermarket signals (i have a new set sitting in a box from a diff project, plus loads of led strips if need be). Headlight looks like it might be off of a windjammer as the bucket says "vetter" and is composite.

3rd plug is partially stripped (will be hitting it with a helicoil after i finish testing stuff). Tank has a bad bondo job to cover up the mount points for the branding, seat is dry rotted vinyl, horn tries to sound but fails. All the usual neglected bike issues and a few extras.

The plan, now that the starter is working and wiring harness is working at the bare minimum, is to change the oil filter, put 2 quarts in and let it sit to check for leaks. If no leaks, top it off and run the starter to distribute oil. Change plugs and start checking for fire. IF it fires up, I will let someone else look it over as most of my rebuilds are just rats... Get them running, then use them offroad. This will be my first rebuild towards an actual streetable bike.

[crazy steve]

While troubleshooting the turns, just unplug the auto-cancel unit; they'll work without it in the circuit, they just won't self-cancel. Sounds like you have a short somewhere as those lights share that circuit...

I'll also note it's best to use the individual diagrams in the unit repair sections rather than the 'main' diagram as they're a lot clearer.

[terratek]

Thanks for the tip, the po did the turn signal install. Considering I was told the harness and starter were fried, not sure how much testing was done before the install. I also just noticed the center stand is missing. Fun fun, on the plus side, I borrowed a diff compression gauge, looks like the only one with issues is 3 and it's probably because the gauge can't seal well due to the threads.

Had a few people trying to talk me out of this one and saying "resell it"... but, sitting on it... well... it feels right. I figure I may have to find some temporary transportation to finance fixing this one, but it should be worth it in the end.

[JeffH]

Had a few people trying to talk me out of this one and saying "resell it"... but, sitting on it... well... it feels right. I figure I may have to find some temporary transportation to finance fixing this one, but it should be worth it in the end.

1st: WELCOME Trin

2nd: Like so many other XSives have experienced, if you have the Time and Patience these XS11 projects are very rewarding. I arm wrestled with a 78' 11E rescue project for about seven months. With the HELP and guidance provided by the experts on this site I was able to work thru the big problems. Then three weeks ago was able to ride my project to the XS11 Southeast Rally. Got more work to do, but the bike ran like a champ for 700 miles during the Rally. Was smiling then and I'm still smiling now .

Worth it in the end? YES! Absolutely. Great Machines!

Jeff

[wa407mpp]

The first thing you want to do when trouble shooting elect. problems on a strange bike is clean all the wire plugins, especially those under the seat and tank, that everyone forgets about. One of those is for the turn and running lights. The easy way is to unplug them and spray inside with battery term. cleaner wait a few, then spray with electronic cleaner, they will come up nice and clean without brushing.

[natemoen]

The first thing you want to do when trouble shooting elect. problems on a strange bike is clean all the wire plugins, especially those under the seat and tank, that everyone forgets about. One of those is for the turn and running lights. The easy way is to unplug them and spray inside with battery term. cleaner wait a few, then spray with electronic cleaner, they will come up nice and clean without brushing.

Then pack the connectors front and back with dielectric grease to prevent future issues.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there Terratek,

Steve and the others have pretty well covered things, but just a few more.

First thing that caught my attention is that you said you were able to test the headlight....which is odd because it doesn't/shouldn't turn on until the engine is running!!! So...if you are able to turn it on, then the PO may have bypassed some of the wiring! The headlight not turning on is a strong sign that the charging system isn't working properly because there is a relay that latches once the bike is running, 1 leg of the 3 of the stator sends a signal to that relay, so IF the headlight won't come on, it's usually/often because the ALT isn't making a good charge.

That can be due to several problems, corroded connectors BEHIND the main fuse block...the large white plugs from the ALT portion of the harness; A fried Reg/Rect that is not energizing the field coil so no power can be generated in the stator coils; but also a non-working headlight relay, but also can be a fried diode in the wire from the ALT to the headlight relay....it's AC coming from the ALT, the diode converts it to pulsed DC to be able to activate the relay. I'm trying to remember now because 3Phase/Scott showed that there are 2 types of headlight relays depending on the year, but I think your year still has/uses a diode in line.

After you get the #3 spark plug threads repaired, don't worry too much about the compression values right now if the bike has been sitting for a few years. Just check and adjust the valve clearance if needed, then run it for many hundreds of miles to help reseat the rings and such. Also, could be helpful to put Marvel Mystery Oil, not just regular oil in it, into the cylinders thru the plug holes, then use some inexpensive oil first, along with a few ounces of MMO, get it running up to normal temps, but don't put any LOAD on it, don't drive it or rev it too hard or high. Then drain the oil and be prepared for all of the SLUDGE and grime that the MMO will help flush out! Change the filter and THEN put in fresh multigrade oil....Dino 20/50 of your brand choice, just not SYNTH.

You mentioned having someone else "look" at it??? You don't want to bother with any Pro-Mechs or shops, they don't like to work on these old machines, no $$ in it, too much work and shop time, no on-board computer. Sounds like you have mechanic skills, just keep going, you can do it all on these machines, brakes, carbs, etc. with the help of the manuals and this site.

Okay, will shut up for now, good luck, feel free to start a Build Thread, add some photos, and keep using it so we can see what you HAVE done in the past as you proceed thru the build and systems.

T.C.

[BA80]

Welcome terratek.

If the flasher is clicking and you have no TS flashing it's a pretty good sign your power wires are grounded somewhere.

Do you have a manual? If not get one or use the down loadable ones in Catatonicbug's signature. You'll need the wiring diagrams.

The self cancelling unit is built into the stock flasher unit. The electrickery gurus can help out with that part.

When you change the oil be sure to use oil without all the extended use additives an high mileage additives or you'll end up having clutch slippage issues. Either use motorcycle specific oil designed for use with a wet clutch or an oil with an API designation like this...

Nothing in the bottom of the circle.

You need to get together with JWHughes3. He's made enough mistakes that he's starting to learn something. .

[wa407mpp]

Amen to that Nathan.

[webbcraft2150]

Welcome to the addiction. I have a coveted factory service manual and am in Austin if ya need some help. jwhughes is close to you also. Hafta get it running before the next M.O.M rally. It will piss you off and frustrate the hell out you more than once but when you get it dialed in and on the road, its all worth it. I doubt you will come up against a problem that someone here hasn't seen, had or fixed before and everyone will pitch in to help.