New Member from NH

[DanR]

Hi there I just wanted to introduce myself, I am Dan and I just picked up my first xs11 it's a 1980 midnight special.

The bike definitely needs some work it smokes pretty bad (maybe a top end rebuild) and had been partially taken apart by previous owner. I am certainly not a mechanic but am certainly not afraid to turn a few wrenches, so I am hoping with some (OK lots) of insight from fellow board members I can get this bike on the road sooner or later.

I bought the bike because my son and I decided a project would be fun to do together and we liked the overall look of this bike. I am in no rush to finish the project as I do have a Harley that I ride. I am looking forward to learning from many members here.

Thanks for your time.

[mspivey1566]

Welcome DaN. if you need info this is definitely the forum to get it. (Not really from me yet... Lol) but the guys here are full of good very helpful info.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Dan,

You didn't tell me you had a Harley when you registered, oh well, you're IN now! We just like to rib the Harley guys a bit, no real offense intended. Several of our members actually do own Harleys or other modern machines as well as their Ancient/Antique XS11's!

When a previous Xsive(what we XS11 owners call ourselves) moves on/up/ down to a Harley, we often say they've gone to the "dark side", however, with you getting a MNS, you've also sorta gone to the dark side!

This is more of the general talk forum, not really supposed to be for tech discussions, but I'll start you off with a few tech questions and then you can Start a new Thread in the TECH disc. forum as the answers and such, and then we'll be off towards the process of getting your machine back into safe riding condition.

You say it smokes...so I'm assuming you mean from the exhaust pipes. What is the general color of the smoke....white/grey or bluish black?? Is it from 1 side/pair or from both sides of the pipes. Does it still have the OEM 4-2 pipes.. they would be in Black Chrome....or some sort of aftermarket set?

Now, it's good that you won't be afraid to turn some wrenches, owning a bike like this is NOT a turnkey event, but most of the folks like that aspect, as being able to see and feel the fruits of their labors. These machines are so old that most modern dealers will NOT work on them, and if they do, they will charge rediculous hourly rates!

The more info regarding what the P.O. had done to the bike prior to you getting it will help us help you. How many miles on the engine/speedo/odometer? Do you have access to a compression gauge...perhaps some fellow biker friends tools? Aside from a set of METRIC wrenches, both box/open end as well as sockets, some other tools will be helpful in testing and troubleshooting it...like a basic volt/ohmmeter.

Okay, I'll shut up now, will be looking for your TECH Thread. We suggest to keep posting/replying to/within that same thread as you progress thru the resurrection...that way we can keep track of what you've done, what's been suggested, etc.! IF you take some time before you come back, your thread may scroll off the main page, you can then just search for it, and once you find it, reply and it will then move back up to the front page.