My new, old xs

[xs11lover]

Hello! It’s been a while since I’ve been here on channel 11. Maybe you remember, maybe you don’t, but my Xs11 came to an untimely demise last spring. One minute setting there looking pretty. The next I’m getting a not so free helicopter ride to the trauma unit.http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/l...pskorfrit4.jpg

[xs11lover]

It seems I forgot how to post my pics. Any help? There’s gonna be a bunch.

[xs11lover]

[xs11lover]

Ok, there we go

[jetmechmarty]

Garrett,

How goes the recovery? Did you, or will you get on a motorbike again? Was that bike reduced to scrap? How long has it been?

No photo hosting on this forum. You have to host them someplace else, but it appears you have that figured out.

[xs11lover]

So after getting myself together, and really getting sick of taking it easy
I started working on this $150 basket of need I picked up at the local bike shop a few years back. They stole a bunch of the electrical parts off of it, but I knew I had them in the parts pile.

It was an 80 standard that had been changed up a bit and in light of my years of having my way with them I desired to put this one back to factory....or a least sort of.
I had the tank setting on the shelf for years and scored a set of beautiful side covers on eBay.

It was about at that point I released that instead of unclipping the plastic clips from the electronic they hacked the wire harness!!!!! So I fixed it. Every damb wire. Slowly and meticulously crimping and shrink wrapping and taping one wire after another, until they were all done. To my amazement it worked and stumbled to life, but just barely. I pulled the carbs and sent them off to Ole’s classic cycles for a rebuild, like only he can, and started looking for a seat. I found a beautiful 78 bench seat like I had discarded half a dozen times and thought I’d make a go with that. I was going to go fenderless with a fender eliminator kit but ended up cutting a special fender down.

[xs11lover]

Garrett,

How goes the recovery? Did you, or will you get on a motorbike again? Was that bike reduced to scrap? How long has it been?

No photo hosting on this forum. You have to host them someplace else, but it appears you have that figured out.

Yes, I’m getting to it....lol i’m Fine and on the road again! It will take a while to get this post around. It’s a little harder on my phone, and I thought I’d go step by step with this one.

[xs11lover]

Ok, now I needed a brake light and signals. I found an old LED unit from a katana in the back room and since I was having trouble finding one to fit under the seat that I liked I thought I’d give it a try. The price was right! I made a shield from an old headlight visor and I was on my way....oh yeah and some signals from one of my son’s hondas.

[URL=http://s289.photobucket.com/user/xs11lover/media/3A821D79-0F58-43BB-80BA-A9EABDA3098B_zpsk6c7ywrj.jpeg.html]

I noticed photobucket doesn’t do video so here’s a still of my light... notice the signal flashes in the tail light too.

[xs11lover]

It was right before this that I got my carbs back from Ole and popped them in....threw on my lined tank complete with new in the box petcocks only to find I had no power of any sort!!! My liner was peeling off inside the tank! After what seemed like forever trying to find what wires I messed up, I finally went to good old andreashweiss for the save! He set me up with a good as new 78 standardwire harness and I made it work, without much trouble. Thanks Andreas!
Getting that liner out of the tank, on the other hand, was a bitch. After a lot of acetone and waiting it finally was gone. I gave it a shot of evaporust, it worked great. One very expensive headlight, some brake rebuilding, new fuse box, oils changed...ect ect and I’m back on the road. With my sort of stock 80/78 Xs11 standard and a whole new appreciation for everything.

[bikerphil]

. Maybe you remember, maybe you don’t, but my Xs11 came to an untimely demise

Of course we remember, you stood up on your footpegs and one of them broke causing you to go down, correct?

[xs11lover]

Of course we remember, you stood up on your footpegs and one of them broke causing you to go down, correct?

Yeah.....hard

[bikerphil]

Well I'm glad you recovered and are getting back into it.

[xs11lover]

Thanks, I’ve been totally shunning my car, riding in the rain and working on three different xs’s. The 78/80 standard, my old faithful XS850,Also building a Lazarus cafe racer with the usable parts from my wreck and a 79 special.

[motoman]

Remember you well xs11lover. As expected, nice work on the XS11!

[3Phase]

I do remember the incident and you've made a fantastic comeback. The chrome ducktail for the seat and logo is a really nice touch, too.