New Acquisition...... A DEAD Duck!

[kboehringer]

XS Folks,

Following the recent SE rally my wife and I spoke of my need for more XS11's and more spare parts..... She agreed!



Today, I acquired "The DEAD Duck", an XS11SG parts bike. I paid waaaaayyyy too much @ $300 but it does have some good stuff on it. It's another one of those BOOBER GONE BAD attempts where the PO had: no plan or vision, no money, no brains, and no knowledge of the XS11. The rear of the frame is hacked and welded and the "Bike" is basically a POS with what seems to be a good XS11 motor in it.

The motor turns over well and it has spark which is amazing considering the wiring mess and the goofy coils from some oddball bike. There is no plan to EVER make this bike street-able. This is 100% a parts donor for "The Duck" and for the next XS11 soon to acquired. It's my plan to see if I can make the motor run (sputtering and a few seconds of running will be more than sufficient) and then pull the jugs and have them bored for new pistons and rings for use on "The Duck" so I can keep her in action while the machine work is done.

Amazingly, the dented crappy looking tank looks like NEW inside... There's tons of missing parts and a few mis-matched pieces from various years of the XS/XJ11. But I think I have some nice pieces for the spares inventory including a tested electronic ignition module.

KURT

[jetmechmarty]

You could turn it into this!

[Radioguylogs]

Yeah

Ah-ha...the plans you alluded to at the rally have materialized.

Congratulations- and after you get the next one, there will one for you and one for Nancy.

[kboehringer]

Ah-ha...the plans you alluded to at the rally have materialized.
Congratulations- and after you get the next one, there will one for you and one for Nancy.

Mike,
YEP! This time I want to have more than a couple months to prepare the next bike for XSSE '16. I really love the Specials and hope to find another SOON!
Have you managed to get all that XSSE road dirt off that beautiful bike yet?

While at XSSE I had a long conversation with a guy (sorry forgot his name) that had driven a lot of miles on an XS11. He commented that he would not take a long trip on an XS11 without; an ignition module, regulator, and pickup assy. in his bag. I now have all those tested spares (thanks to the DEAD DUCK) and they will all easily fit in my front fork bag.

Nancy is more than a little apprehensive about learning on the Maxim 550 so I may have to start her out on the Honda CT 70 and then purchase something "Droppable" like maybe an old Enduro bike or similar (DT175, DT250, etc.) then graduate her up to the XJ550 and EVENTUALLY to an XS11SG.

I do not believe Nancy will be ready for a ride to the North Carolina Mountains by next year but maybe she can trailer the XJ and we can stick with the "D" group.... My youngest son, KARL (age 20), may be driving the next XS11 with us to XSSE '16 as he's pretty good on the Maxim and could possibly graduate quickly to an 11!

Glad you made it home safely.

KURT

[kboehringer]

You could turn it into this!

I WISH! Unfortunately, I learned my lesson(s) the hard way with the Ugly Duckling. This most recent purchase, the DEAD DUCK is a PARTS DONOR. It's much too incomplete and beat up to ever see the road again. As an organ donor it will extend, and improve the life of other XS11's still living!

The next one could be one like your sample as that would have a much greater appeal for my son and would certainly be a lot of fun for me too!

KURT

[Prisoner6]

Kurt,

Nice pick-up!

I know you feel like you paid too much, but I wouldn't be too concerned ... you can never have too many spare parts, you know!

So, in the long run, it was probably worth it.

[Prisoner6]

You could turn it into this!

Marty,

You must really like this one ... it seems you post the photos at every opportunity.

But I don't blame you one bit!

I like this bike, too ... A LOT!

The people at Tarmac do some nice work.

[Abnorml]

I gotta ask, is it in worse shape than my $100 '80 special?
http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/...0build/009.jpg
http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/...0build/010.jpg

[kboehringer]

I gotta ask, is it in worse shape than my $100 '80 special?

Obviously yours was in a bunch of pieces BUT it you got the: gauges, headlamp, carbs, etc. in those buckets of parts you did a lot better than I did. Nice grab for only $100~!

[Radioguylogs]

Keeping up with the Kurt-es

Mike,

Have you managed to get all that XSSE road dirt off that beautiful bike yet?

KURT

Yes, I spent half of Saturday loving every nook and cranny!

It's coincidental you found the new addition, because I found this bike on CL for $225 and went to look at it yesterday:



It only has 11k miles! However, it has sat for 11-12 years and the cosmetic parts are fairly rusty. I think I am going to pass on it, because I would have to chase down exhaust, headlight brackets, fenders, and a lot of cosmetic parts that will have limited supply.... but I am still thinking. If I decide to pass, I'll make a new posting in the "For Sale" forum so our other members can consider it. It would be ideal for a daily rider- low cost to get it going for a lot of miles.

I'd be OK to join your family in the XSSE D group next year whatever bikes we bring.

[Radioguylogs]

I gotta ask, is it in worse shape than my $100 '80 special?

Reminds me of an older post, razzing a fellow about winterizing his ride.

[aquamantx]

Well after staring my trip down the xs rebuild ally I think 300 worth of parts are easily on that bike and you now can find them. Not a bad deal.

[kboehringer]

Somebody stop me before I do something stupid. AGAIN!

There is no plan to EVER make this bike street-able. This is 100% a parts donor for "The Duck" and for the next XS11 soon to acquired. KURT

XS Folks,
I've been scouring the internet looking for my "OTHER" XS11. I found a couple 400+ Miles away. One 400 +/- miles east, one 400+/- northwest...
I'm like a darn kid crying for a toy or candy bar......

Meanwhile, I'm cleaning and repairing parts of the DEAD DUCK's motor:

• Rebuilt the starter and removed all the hammer marks from the aluminum cover it now sounds and looks better than the one on The Duck .
• Replaced the chrome peeling clutch cover with the one that I replaced from the Ugly Duckling. Spent hours removing the black paint and polishing it to a near mirror image. Also looks better than the one on The Duck
• Cleaned and polished both motor side covers and the thoroughly cleaned the generator and ignition set areas. The wiring on the generator is in OEM condition and hasn't been all repaired like the wiring that was burned up on The Duck
• Checked compression and valve clearances: 75#+ across the set which is actually better than The Duck when I started with it. MMO is in the cylinders now hopefully helping the rings. All the intakes and one exhaust are too tight. I have all the shims to fix that.....
• Oil drained and filter pulled. Oil looked nice as if recently changed but the filter was absolutely horrible. Gonna pull the pan later and see what garbage is in there.
• Tank and side covers are ready for the topcoat and they will probably look better those on The Duck as I've spent a good bit more time massaging them. I've got some more leftover paint from Hot Rod project and I'm thinking the Argent Silver I painted my T/A's snowflakes will be pretty cool. It's got a very little flake in it and is fairly attractive. Still kinda thinking these parts will be blue eventually...Maybe a little creative two-tone.
• I'm putting all of my spare parts on the DEAD DUCK so they can be found and they're easier to move around on two wheels than sitting in a corner or a box somewhere.

So the idea WAS clean and repair everything so it's ready for immediate use on The Duck or the next XS11.

NOW, I'm standing back looking at this POS thinking..... Hmmmm it's not THAT BAD..... I'll just shoot Andreas an e-mail and get the 325+ missing parts headed this way! If I can fix this thing the Folks at XSSE '16 will really have something to talk about (i.e. that Kurt is an idiot! ).

Somebody stop me before I get really really really stupid!
Kurt

[JeffH]

Like a lot of guys have said, they have built good runners out of much worse.
Guess if you 'feel the love' then go for it.

Seems the bike has a few negatives like hacking, but if you see an end game with this thing then it would sure make a good project.
Plus, after finally getting a chance to see what you got you seem to be thinking hey it isn't all that terrible
plus yep, i can do this. That's cool.

Maybe not the bike to ride to XS North in Canada, but sure a blast around north Georgia.

Jeff

[kboehringer]

....Seems the bike has a few negatives like hacking.......

Jeff,
Thanks for the response! I'm going to keep looking & looking more for that better one but keep doing the things to this that don't cost any money...

Seems the PO that envisioned the "BOOBER", hacked off the back of the frame, cut the fender into pieces, stuck a sissy bar into the frame holes, and welded the living daylights out of it! Looks like he was attempting to "Form" the fender into the frame.... IDIOT! Looks like a stick weld job and probably used 10+ rods on it. IDIOT!



I just could not stand looking at that stupid welded in fender chunk and had to get rid of it. It's in the Trash Can!



If I can find a Special with several of the components missing from this POS I will be able to make an attempt at resurrecting one of them...

Kurt