New Member Hello All!

[Salomon108]

So i kinda stumbled into this xs1100 thing after not having a bike for a while. I was searching craigslist and came across a 1981 XS1100H touring bike for $850 all original and 10700 apparent original miles. Its a full dresser all the fairings and trunk are there and has minor scratches and dents. It runs halfway decent but the intake boots seem to be pretty bad. Anyways i picked it up for 700 dollars which feels like a steal. Not sure yet if i want to fix and sell for some profit or keep it but the bike is really growing on me. I just want to say Hello this seems like a great community.

[MaximPhil]

Welcome Salomon108,
Always good to hear of an H Venturer being saved.
See XSEast 2015 thread for rally in NY this week end.
Phil

[jetmechmarty]

XS East is at Lake George coming up next weekend. You should go!

[Salomon108]

I just picked it up on Friday and i'm not sure i'm going to have a chance to go over the bike to make sure its road ready. its been sitting for a while. i'll see what i can accomplish before Friday but some of the parts aren't going to be in til next week. I bought the bike thinking i was going to strip it down but I can't break down such an original good condition bike. I'm surprised i got it for the price i did. Anything i should pay particular attention to after siting for a few years? i have carb kits and new intake boots on the way and i plan on changing the fluids. I would have really liked to make it to the rally and hear more about this bike.

[MaximPhil]

Hi Salomon108,
We will be in Queensbury/Glen Falls just south of Lake George
http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...=42609&page=12

Less than 2 hours south of you. Come in the car or on another bike.Saturday night is the "dinner" Lots of tales and some are even true
Beer & BS in the parking lot before dinner...and after.
Phil

[jetmechmarty]

Drive down there and drink beer in the parking lot with the gang!

Download the manual.

Change oil & filter. Change mid & final drive oil.

Change fork oil.

Grease steering head and swingarm bearings.

Replace the tires if they are older than dirt.

Take all the electrical connectors apart and clean them with contact cleaner. Make sure the fuses are still snug. You may have to replace the box, but with so few miles perhaps not.

Clean the carburetors and replace the air filter while you're replacing the manifolds.

I would at least replace the brake fluid.

That's going to get you pretty close and make it safe to ride. I pulled that list out of my head, so I'm sure I missed something. Even at the great price you bought it for, there isn't much room for profit on these bikes. It's best to fix it to enjoy yourself. Welcome to the club!

[MarkD]

Welcome, Sol108. I'm sure others will chime in on bike do's and don'ts, but I'll start. Do- clean and reclean carbs and set floats. Don't -replace existing jets that come with any kit, just clean the existing ones. I believe there is a newer thread re: what to do with a recent 'barn find' type bike. Enjoy one of the coolest bikes created.

[Prisoner6]

WELCOME, Bryan!

I suppose it goes without saying to get rid of any/all old gas in the tank ... you can then check it for rust.

If it is rusted, there are a few options available to deal with it.

Yes, do be careful with carb kits. You want to keep Genuine Mikuni jets in those carbs, and the aftermarket all-in-one carb kits generally don't have Genuine Mikuni jets included.

And as long as you're completing Marty's list (post #6), you may as well grease the drive shaft splines and final drive splines ... and also all the wheel bearings.

Be particularly careful with the left side rear wheel bearing ... it's a caged needle roller bearing with an outer race and a removable inner race, and it is rare as hen's teeth.

If you do find yourself in need of this bearing, one of our members here, James England, maintains a small cache of these bearings and he can hook you up.

Hopefully, he still has a few left!


You can download the service manual here:

Marshall Ringler's Website

[Salomon108]

thank you all for the advise. The PO replaced the tires and battery last year so I am good on that front. It wasn't neglected when it was stored it just wasn't ridden. I like cold beer and parking lots so I am trying to figure out a way to make it down.

[Salomon108]

Update

The bike is on the road! the new carb boots came in from amazon i was amazed they were only 62 dollars. I did a quick carb clean and changed the float needles and adjusted float height. Bike runs great i had the front caliper sticking a little so i took the breaks apart master cylinder cleaned and looked fine. I couldn't bleed the breaks worth the life of me without using a vacuum bleeder. There was some wiring gremlins. One of the owners wired in a relay for some aux lights and they weren't working. I upgraded the lights to led lights and wired them to a switch, they look pretty good.

[haywardguy929]

Looks like a gem. Can't say enough about my 81 H. runs like a champ. and very dependable.
For the money it looks like you stoled it.

[MaximPhil]

Very Nice. Missing right side mirror?Technically round mirrors are correct but I like the rectangular ones.
Phil

[Salomon108]

I have the right side mirror minus the mirror. Only need one in NY state. It was lay'd down at low speed on that right side. No significant damage some scraps and the highway pegs are a little messed up. The fairing trim is messed up i am trying to find something to replace it.

[DiverRay]

Fairing trim isn't too bad to find. Try Craig Vetters site, as that is who made the late model fairings. IF you don't mind all black on the trim, you can find it on the boat sites. 3/8" trim molding is what I just put on the Pacifico fairing on the '79 redo.
Welcome, and yes, keep and enjoy the bike! You should be able to get about 100K of riding without a lot of problems.

[Salomon108]

Thank you I'm prob going to tackle the cosmetics this winter when there's no riding. This bike has really grown on me and I think I'm going to keep it.