Traded a Mossberg 590 for a 1979 yamaha Xs 1100 and new to forum

[jwhughes3]

Check craigslist. I have a couple, but try to find on local first. Shipping is a pain.

John

[sparkfly88]

I found some on ebay... Some decent, some crazy.

So... Are all the fairings basically the same minus the mounts?

[DiverRay]

For the Vetter, yes. If you can find an early Pacifico that someone is willing to part with, you will have a VERY NICE(IMHO) fairing. They ARE bigger than the Vetter, but they go farther too the front, have a MUCH BETTER mount system, and do NOT cut the top end as much as the Vetter. The '78 full dress came with the Pacifico, and the early '79 also had them. I have one bike with one, but it is for a friend who needs a bike.
If you can get the Yamaha mount, it will go on easier. If not, someone here may be able to give you specs for a mount, if you want to try and build it yourself.
Oh, and welcome to the XS11 way of life! I hope you buddy gets back in one piece, both physical and mental.

[sparkfly88]

Lookie what I won

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271177722164

Last couple seconds people tried bidding it up....but I won out

[DGXSER]

Congrats on the rack, that is a rare beast to find!

[sparkfly88]

Really?!

Awesome.

I knew I'd use the heck outta it...So I figured I'd get it

I do lots of backpacking and hiking, so this will carry the gear.

[MaximPhil]

Hi Sparkfly88,
Well done on your eBay win. Sadly the vendor did not mention the missing back rest that normally comes with that rack. Do be careful how much weight you put on it as the welds are fragile. Check for cracks before you install. ( mine is repaired at 3 of the 4 mounting points)
As a general rule you will get much better prices on this site. Post in the wanted to buy section and look in the for sale section.
Phil

[crazy steve]

The other thing that should be mentioned with that rack is be careful about how much weight you put on it. That style rack attaches at the 'accessory' points in the rear and to the two 'tabs' that hang down from the frame. Overload it and over time you can crack the frame....

20 lbs is the recommended max IIRC....

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there SparkFly,

Glad to see you diving right in both on your bike and here at the forum. Yes, this IS a very active place, we are the support group for our "BELOVED" machines, and we do everything we can to help folks get and keep these on the road.

You will find here that there are a lot of "opinions" about these bikes, many are just personal preference, some from real world experience. From your self description of off road bike/atv use, I would assume you like the wide open spaces and feeling of the wind blowing by, as well as the light nimble handling feeling of the dirt bike. The XS11 has a much heavier steering feeling due to it's high level of trail....designed for high speed stability. These are fairly heavy machines at over 600 lbs stock/dry.

I've never enjoyed the feeling of a FULL FAIRING, both because of the extra weight, as well as the loss of road/ground visibilty. Granted, the full fairing does provide a level of stability due to it's aerodynamics, but it kills so much of the air flow for the rider...and I know it gets swelteringly hot in Fla. having lived in Orlando myself. I prefer using a handlebar mounted windscreen that provides much more visibility, is much lighter, and still keeps the wind from beating me in the chest and head, but doesn't suffocate me in a hot air bubble. JMHO.

The OEM triangular shaped tool kit slot behind the battery is woefully small and really not enough for a proper road worthy toolkit....a few folks have relocated the TCI/ignition box there from the end of the fender.

Exhaust systems are very rare and $$ now, especially since the last aftermarket manufacturer (MAC) quit production this past year. The 4-1 pipes provide higher scavenging affect at higher flow/rpm rates, so it moves the power band up a bit. As mentioned the OEM airbox provides the quiet air chamber, and has long velocity type tubes inside of it. For years we've heard of folks describing a loss of low rpm grunt when folks put on 4-1 pipes and Pod filters, even after proper jetting adjustments.

We thought it was possibly due to the reduced backpressure and increased flow thru, but recently we've surmised that it's linked to the more turbulent aiflow with the short pod filters. Folks have made mounting mods for the Pods to provide a bit of velocity stack affect which helps to smooth and straighten the airflow into the carbs. Some also had to do that because they got inexpensive pods with prominent "obstructivce" mounting lips, so we used various forms of extensions to position the filter away from the carb inlet, and have found that we have decent low rpm response. YMMV. Pods make R&Ring the carbs quicker and easier than fighting the OEM airbox.

To keep your costs down, you may be able to rig up a baffle for the megaphone tip vs. having to mount a new slip on...which could be a little more difficult or expensive because the 4-1 pipe is a bit larger than the OEM collector end that most regular slip ons can fit onto.

Aside from the luggage rack, you'll probably want to look into getting some saddlebags of a variety of type ie. ABS, vinyl, leather, etc. which can help increase your storage capacity along with your rear rack.

Fuel system repairs/reconditioning is 1 of the 2 big systems to get done to get it running well, the electrics is the other. The carbs float valve system can leak, causing overflow up/forward into the engine, fuel in oil is not good.
Corrosion plagues the harness's connectors and fuseblock, if it doesn't already have a modern styled Solid ATCO fuseblock, you'll want to replace it, along with inspecting EVERY connector, cleaning, etc.! Even the connection between the spark plug cap and coil wire, if green corrosion found, can trim off 1/4' or so to get to clean copper, clean the screw inside the cap, do NOT use dielectric grease BETWEEN them, only apply it around it after it's joined.

T.C.

[sparkfly88]

WOO lots of info in your post!
I am used to the nimble handling, but I'm aware this one is made for highway and long trips. So I'm changing the way I look at 2 wheeled vehicles.

I have been looking at the batwing style clear shields.

My other vehicle is a 89 jeep wrangler, that I run almost naked, windshield folded down and all. So yeah, florida weather is what I'm all about

I have removed the tank and cleaned it all out, removed the petcocks, cleaned them up. Discovered one of them wasn't even hooked up to vacuum....so no wonder it was on the prime setting on both petcocks.

My service manual will be here any day now...I got one of the actual yamaha made manuals.

Still gotta go through the brakes, the left front is hanging up pretty bad.
Most likely end up rebuilding all the brakes anyways.

Ive noticed my rear master reservoir is pretty dried out, almost flaking plastic, so I'll wanna hunt that down.

I've been looking at flat out cutting off the cheesey megaphone, and just welding on a different muffler.
I think I sourced one locally here from a Suzuki 1500....

[crazy steve]

I've noticed my rear master reservoir is pretty dried out, almost flaking plastic, so I'll wanna hunt that down...

A very common problem, and not easily fixed; those are very hard to find. Yamaha didn't sell those as separate parts and there's several different types to boot. Best bet will be if you can find a complete master cylinder in good shape. But as an alternative.... http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...ight=restoring ... you can do this.

[sparkfly88]

Man. Yall seem to be on top of just about everything I mention.

[sparkfly88]

By the way. HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE

[sparkfly88]

Went to the MAC site, assuming that is the 4-1 exhaust I have...and noticed the baffle is removable...which is why mine is gone?

There is a little hole on the side of the megaphone which I guess holds everything in..

you can buy just the baffles
http://www.macperformance.com/MAC-Ba...s-Paks_c75.htm

So, will this quiet it down???

Or should I just find a stock setup?

[crazy steve]

A stock exhaust will give the best results for 'street' power, but finding a good-condition system is getting increasingly harder to do. The MAC system will work, and replacing the baffle will definitely be the cheapest fix. It will be noisier than stock, but not too bad with the baffle in place...