New XS owner in San Diego

[cajun31]

I'm tackling the tank today. The petcocks are pretty nasty, full of gunk almost like thick putty. Anyway. the plastic internal filters are done for. Does anyone have a good source for replacements? Does Yamaha still stock them?

Thanks, looking forward to having the actual tank on the bike for a test ride rather than my 1978 Suzuki RM50 tank.

Those filters are still readily available. Here is a source for them that I use quite often. Yamaha 3Y1-24514-00-00 - NET, FILTER 1 | Partzilla.com

[Socer4m]

Howdy Tntmo,,,,do a search on the site for the plastic tower filters, I faintly remember someone rebuilding the mesh part cheap,,,,if you cant find new ones, a lot of guys have removed the screen part and its fine as long as you put inline filters from the petcock lines to the carbs,,,I am guessing if the petcocks have thick sludge the tank does also,,,a good cleaning is in order....have fun, Mike in S.Diego

[tntmo]

I'm tackling the tank today. The petcocks are pretty nasty, full of gunk almost like thick putty. Anyway. the plastic internal filters are done for. Does anyone have a good source for replacements? Does Yamaha still stock them?

Thanks, looking forward to having the actual tank on the bike for a test ride rather than my 1978 Suzuki RM50 tank.

[tntmo]

I always suggest that the entire brake system be at minimum cleaned... calipers and masters. Regardless of how well you think they are working it pays dividends to go through the entire system. If your budget allows I would suggest rebuild kits that include stainless steel pistons as well as stainless brake lines. Doing that makes the brakes so responsive you will think you are on a different bike. The dragging that you are experiencing is probably because the spooge hole in the master needs to be cleared / cleaned. Could just be a crudded up caliper piston too. Checking the valve clearances is a good idea. Do you have the tool to do that? Motion pro sells them on Ebay. As for the cam chain adjustment or rather adjuster look in the maintenance tips section and grab you ACCT. I recommend one from the older Vmax before 2009. The bolt holes match up perfectly with the xs11. Once you employ the ACCT you never have to worry about a leaking cam chain adjuster or stripped adjuster bolt etc.. Most on here have been running with an ACCT for years now and as far as I know no one has had any major problems with them. I have one on all of my bikes. One other thing I would like to add is before you run the bike too much take the time to change the oil in the middle and final drives. That is unless you know it has been done recently. You can use synthetic for those. I use the Super Tech 75/140 from Walmart. a word of cation.... make sure you get the fill plugs off before draining. The drain plug for the middle drive is close to the main oil drain plug so don't confuse the two.

Thanks for all the great information.

I plan to go through the brakes a lot more thoroughly after ensuring that everything works. So far I just have time + a gallon of gasoline, one can of carb cleaner, four quarts of oil and some brake fluid into this project. I want to take it up and down my street a bit more, get it into all the gears and make sure no problems initially pop up. Then I will do a full service to bring it all up to spec: All fluids, new spark plugs, pull the wheels and check/replace wheel bearings, go through the brake system, replace fork oil and seals if necessary, new tires, new battery.

I should have what I need for the valve check and adjust, not sure that I have the right size shims so I need to check my stock. I have an ACCT from a V-Star 650 that I think will work, already looked at that mod a little bit on here. Glad to hear from you that it's the way to go.

All said, I should have a solid bike in the end. Then I can start looking at cosmetics, which this bike is pretty solid on....really just needs cleaning up and a new seat cover.

[cajun31]

Yeah, I just removed all the old brake fluid and filled up the reservoirs and bled them. The front was not working at all but now seems to be pretty decent. The rear was working, but dragging a bit. I'm sure some attention will get them dialed in.

I want to do a valve clearance check/adjust along with adjusting the cam chain tensioner next. Then I can take a look at that clutch. It appears to work fine, so maybe just some adjusting or who knows....part of the fun of bringing a bike back from the dead.

I always suggest that the entire brake system be at minimum cleaned... calipers and masters. Regardless of how well you think they are working it pays dividends to go through the entire system. If your budget allows I would suggest rebuild kits that include stainless steel pistons as well as stainless brake lines. Doing that makes the brakes so responsive you will think you are on a different bike. The dragging that you are experiencing is probably because the spooge hole in the master needs to be cleared / cleaned. Could just be a crudded up caliper piston too. Checking the valve clearances is a good idea. Do you have the tool to do that? Motion pro sells them on Ebay. As for the cam chain adjustment or rather adjuster look in the maintenance tips section and grab you ACCT. I recommend one from the older Vmax before 2009. The bolt holes match up perfectly with the xs11. Once you employ the ACCT you never have to worry about a leaking cam chain adjuster or stripped adjuster bolt etc.. Most on here have been running with an ACCT for years now and as far as I know no one has had any major problems with them. I have one on all of my bikes. One other thing I would like to add is before you run the bike too much take the time to change the oil in the middle and final drives. That is unless you know it has been done recently. You can use synthetic for those. I use the Super Tech 75/140 from Walmart. a word of cation.... make sure you get the fill plugs off before draining. The drain plug for the middle drive is close to the main oil drain plug so don't confuse the two.

[tntmo]

Yeah, I just removed all the old brake fluid and filled up the reservoirs and bled them. The front was not working at all but now seems to be pretty decent. The rear was working, but dragging a bit. I'm sure some attention will get them dialed in.

I want to do a valve clearance check/adjust along with adjusting the cam chain tensioner next. Then I can take a look at that clutch. It appears to work fine, so maybe just some adjusting or who knows....part of the fun of bringing a bike back from the dead.

[Socer4m]

for clutch noise, its easy to pop off the clutch cover and check to see if all is well,, a clutch free play adjustment would be good while its open, just need a couple wrenches and a screw driver, follow the manual or do a search, 115's all the way across sound good, unless you have an oil cooler on that model, its on the venturer models, sounds like you got a good runner, rear brake maybe just needs some riding or worst case is pop out the caliper piston, do a good cleaning and flush out the brake line fluid, the pistons can get junk on them and behind, then should be like new,,,,,,,,,Mike in S.Diego

[tntmo]

Yeah, I use pretty much the same process for tank cleaning. I have mostly deciphered the octopus but since I'm running an aux tank to get it running I will wait to try it out. All the main jets were 115, I thought that the inner two were supposed to be different? Anyway, I got it all hooked up and it started easily. I got the carbs balanced and idle adjusted. It runs good, no leaks from the carbs after my first attempt. The T's between the carb bodies were leaking a bit.

I noticed that the clutch seems to be making a rattling noise sometimes. Not always, but when I hear it, if I pull in the clutch it goes away. Not sure what that is about.

I was able to ride the bike up the street, so far I think it's safe from the second gear issue. The rear brake is dragging, but it works. The fronts seem to work. No left turn signal. No hazards. But everything else works.

[cajun31]

I'm going through the carbs today. It appears that the prior owner has already done all the work, they were 99% clean and have new jets, float valves, gaskets and even allen head screws top and bottom. I did a good final rinse on them and am about to install the carb bank along with the air box. There are 2.5 octopus setups in the box of parts that came with the bike so I can likely get it set up.

The fuel tank is a mess and I imagine the petcocks are as well, I usually use vinegar to clean rust from fuel tanks. I have an auxiliary tank that I use for getting projects going so we will see how that works for a test fire.

When I see new jets I have to ask the question. Are they genuine Mikuni with the Mikuni logo on them? Petcocks are easily cleaned and rebuilt. I always fill up my acquired tanks with rust in them with apple cider vinegar. Let that sit a few days then strain and drain (to be able to reuse the vinegar) rinse it out thoroughly with the hose followed by my heat gun and marvel mystery oil to coat the inside. Works great and the process keeps the tank from flashing before application of the MMO.

[tntmo]

Oh, and I'm mostly looking for a rear rack. I like having a trunk, it's something I put on almost every bike I own.

[tntmo]

I'm going through the carbs today. It appears that the prior owner has already done all the work, they were 99% clean and have new jets, float valves, gaskets and even allen head screws top and bottom. I did a good final rinse on them and am about to install the carb bank along with the air box. There are 2.5 octopus setups in the box of parts that came with the bike so I can likely get it set up.

The fuel tank is a mess and I imagine the petcocks are as well, I usually use vinegar to clean rust from fuel tanks. I have an auxiliary tank that I use for getting projects going so we will see how that works for a test fire.

[cajun31]

Hey Cajun,,,,just a heads up,,,on letgo.com a guy has fairing, rack, box, crashbars, etc for an xs1100,,,,search windjammer and it will come up, maybe the guy still has it, good luck,,,,,Mike

Thanks for the info Mike.... but I wasn't the one looking for these things.

[Socer4m]

Hey Cajun,,,,just a heads up,,,on letgo.com a guy has fairing, rack, box, crashbars, etc for an xs1100,,,,search windjammer and it will come up, maybe the guy still has it, good luck,,,,,Mike

[Socer4m]

Cajun is right,,,,IF you can get the octopus working correctly it is a go,,,,,however many get frustrated with all the hoses and diaphragms and it can be a nightmare. Many toss it and modify the petcocks to stop the flow manually, which is fool proof, but if the needles are not seating fully gas can contaminate the engine oil. Also some have put in inline shutoffs, but are a bit of hassle to turn off each time,,,,,so Cajun is right, if you can get the octopus working correctly its the way to go, if not, there are alternatives...also someone already grabbed all my free stuff, sorry, I would recommend a big handlebar clear fairing like slipstreamer or plexifairing for your bike as the full windjammer is a lot of weight and tends to bounce around a bit,,,a rear rack is great with a box on it, ebay is cheap, and the vetter hardbags are the best, lots of room and solid......then its ready for any mileage your butt can handle,,,,,these bikes humm at 75 mph all day long,,,,,,,,,,,,its good to see another xs1100 being restored to its glory, Mike in Sun Diego

[cajun31]

Hi Mike, I think I replied to your other post about some free items. I may be interested in some of that stuff if I can get this bike running well because I'd like to use it for a long trip. Yes, have seen a few of the posts on eliminating the octopus deal. I like making things simple, so it's likely the way I will go.

I would strongly advise you to just rebuild the Octi and petcocks. The combination works very well together. Doing away with it will just expose you to an unnecessary problem. Many recommend removing it because they get confused about the hoses etc. Bottom line doing away with it can end up with flooded carbs that drains down in to the oil resulting in more problems. You stated you are experienced with bikes. The Yamaha engineers created the Octi.. It is actually a vacuum controlled fuel pump. If you do eliminate it and ever forget to turn your petcocks off... voila... possibility of what I said before. With it in operation and working correctly ... forget to turn the petcocks off ... it stops fuel flow... no problem. They are easy to rebuild and very easy to test. Of course as with all other things it is your bike and you will make the appropriate decision for you and your bike. I just wanted to throw my view in because far too many people just keep saying do away with it because they don't understand or want to fool with all the hose routing off of it. There is a diagram here in the tech tips as well as one on the bottom of your seat that clearly shows how to route the hoses. The main thing I always think about and consider is the Yamaha engineers are the ones that came up with the idea and they sold thousands of these bikes with that configuration. Think about it.