New member from the Catskills!

[Surge 58]

Hey good folks!

I'm a new member and honored to be part of the great people that make up this website, XS11.com.

A little about me. I'm a salesman for a wholesale solar electric distribution company which keeps me very busy during the week. I'm in my second year of riding and my goal was to move up from my 82 XJ650 to a larger bike and put in as much riding time this year as possible so I can eventually plan some bigger trips in the near future. I have wanted a XS11 for awhile and finally bought a 1980 XS11 SG (thanks Cuda). She was running rich when I bought her, plugs where black and when I rolled on the throttle up to 5-6000 rpm's it would emit dark grayish smoke. I figured maybe if I give it a good run it might help clear some of these issues but no go.

After much procrastinating I decided to take it to a motorcycle mechanic rather than try to fix it myself, especially this time with my job. I just want her running the way she was designed to run so I can enjoy my ride.

A new bike shop opened up about a year ago about two towns from where I live. They specialize in Japanese bikes and this particular mechanic has about 20+ years of experience, even worked on 5 or 6 XS's.

Here is what he found after opening up the carbs. The pilot jets were 40's but were totally the wrong type. They had 8 holes but were for a slide type carb and not for the Mikuni CV type. The mains were 110's all across all four carbs. He also found all of the idle/mix screws (except #3) were all closed down. The #3 was out 1/4 turn. So, he replaced the pilots with the correct 42.5's and for the mains he put 120's across all four. Since he had the gas tank off while rebuilding the carbs, I had him install two fuel line filters and he also replaced some fuel line that was in bad shape.

I'm happy to report that she is running great, no more smoke or black plugs. It's been a blast riding her since I got her back and now I really enjoy my ride. I'm going to get some riding in for now and then decide what mods I want to make. I think suspension would definitely be on top of my list.

Thanks all for listening and I hope to connect with some of you soon.

Thanks,
Stephen

[DenyP]

Welcome Stephen!


Deny

[WMarshy]

Welcome to the forum! Always nice to hear abother NY'er. I are have some family inlaw out in your area, would love to hed that way and ride a day or two. Closest I've come was a big day trip up through the Adirondacks...

[Surge 58]

New member welcome.

Thanks Deny for the warm welcome and welcome back yourself.

[donebysunday]

Hi Surge !

Welcome !

Just remember the XS1100 go faster than they stop, don't corner and the combination can be dangerous. On the other hand things can be done to make them better but still you will need muscle to make it go where you want it to.

[Surge 58]

Hi WMarshy

Thanks for the welcome and let me know when you might want to venture down to your in-laws area so we can get together and ride. In September is the annual Blackthorne Resort Thunder Motorcycle event if that is something that might interest you. Let me know.

[Surge 58]

DonebySunday

Thanks for welcome and the tip. Yes, I will be making mods to improve handling later this year after I get some riding in.

[JerseyJon]

Welcome!

Hi Stephen,

Welcome to the finest bike board on the net. And congrats on your acquisition. Glad to see someone as close as you are to me.

Jon

[DGXSER]

First off, Welcoem to the madness of XS11 ownership. These are big bad strong bikes, that corner like they are on rails...well railroad tracks, meaning they corner like a huge heavy monster not meant to turn overly sharply.

The brakes are weak compared to more current "superbikes". They were made to go really frickin fast in a straight line, and they do that extremely well. They also carry heavy loads happily and are pretty comfy for long highway cruises.

As for the carbs, I am happy your guy got them properly jetted and tuned for you. Although it sounds really odd, as in all of the jetting was small or lean for the engine, and the mix screws were set lean. But it sounds like it was running rich. So either the floats were set at almost nothing, or the needles were raised way the heck up.

Anyway, welcome!!! And hope you get miles and miles of smiles out of the bike! I also hope you have taken the AMA safety course, it is a great course for beginning or even experienced riders.

[Cuda 69]

Glad you took my advice and signed up Steve,these guys no there stuff.I did give the guy who worked on the xS a piece of my mind.I really thought it was running rich by the way it was acting.drive safe and enjoy your new ride.

[fredintoon]

Hey good folks!
I'm a new member and honored to be part of the great people that make up this website, XS11.com.
Stephen

Hi Stephen and welcome.
Congratulations on choosing an XS11. Goes like a train, drinks like a fish, corners like a cow and shifts like a Russian tractor. You are going to love it.
And double congratulations on finding a competent mechanic.
Most XS11 riders experience is to pay big bucks for bad work and go buy a Clymer's.

[3Phase]

Hey good folks!

Hey, Surge, welcome to the forum!

It looks like your mechanic did some really good work but the 110 mains were correct for your XS. If you have a stock model XS1100SG, the 120 mains might be a little much unless it's got pod air filters or an aftermarket exhaust.

It'll still run like crazy so you might not notice it's jetted too rich but, if you can, find somewhere to make a good high speed run then do a throttle chop and check the color of the spark plugs after it's been run at speed under load.

[Surge 58]

Hey Scott,

I'm running Kerker exhausts with stock headers, no pods just the foam Uni filter. I know stock mains for the 80SG are 110, 120, 120, 110 but do you think all 120's across would still be to rich? I did check the plugs when I first got it back from the shop and they were light tan. I will be riding more this holiday weekend and will give it a good run and check plugs again to make sure.

Thanks again for the warm welcome!

[3Phase]

Stephen,

The OEM jetting for '80/'81 Specials was 110 mains on all four carbs.
The '80/'81 Standards had staggered 115 120 120 115 mains.

The '80/'81 Specials and Standards used different slide needles too ('jet needles' in Mikuni-speak) with the Specials using a faster, shorter needle with a sharper taper than the Standards.


The Kerker exhaust and foam air filter on your bike should be alright with 120 mains and might even like a larger size but try to tune for the best jetting for the sustained (not peak) speed that you will most often be using in 5th gear. It should be a gas (a lot of gas!) working it out but try to be discrete.

Now, trying to make discrete, sustained high speed runs and throttle chops under the radar with a Kerker on an XS11 may be a little challenging so you'll need to find someplace you can ride safely without ending up in the hospital or getting your own 'Live Breaking News!' segment on all the major networks along with free room and board and some candid action highlight photos of the deputies taking you down on wall-of-fame at the local sherriff's office.

Welcome to the wonderful world of XS -- have fun!

[Surge 58]

Scott,

Here I thought I had solid information since it came from Clymers and the carb facts from Phil Stewart posted on this site. I will definitely update my manual so I have for future reference.

Thank you for your input and your help!