Dirt in engine!

[pac00t]

Hi. I just bought a 79 XS1100 special with 39k miles on it. And I need some advice. The previous owner drove it for about 30 miles before it wouldn't start. He also said it seemed to loose power as it warmed up.

I intend to do a full tune up and compression check. But when taking it apart I noticed the air box was in complete. Not only is the snorkel missing but the internal part is gone... so it's all open inside. What piece exactly is missing. And is there anything I can do to clean it since it's been sucking unflitered air for a while?

Thanks for help.

[oseaghdha]

Sounds like the filter element is missing.
Not much to be done to repair whatever damage is done outside of tear it down. Running with no filter will eat up the cylinder bores.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Pac00t,

Like Dan said, if some fine grit/dirt has gotten into the cylinders, then the damage is already done. With those parts missing, you may want to just go to Individual filters instead, the air box is a real PITA to try to put back together, and you may also be missing the bottom which is what holds the filter up and in!?

As for the power loss, it's more likely that the pickup coil wires have cracked, broken....a very common problem with your and several other years of XS11.

PLEASE READ The tech tips, not just the link in the column on the left, but from the MAIN FORUM PAGE, scrolling down to the tip section, look for Pickup coil repair, but also check out the other topics, lots of info but very important, you can damage the bike if you do "some" procedures the wrong way!
Welcome, and enjoy!
T.C.

[pac00t]

Thanks for the welcome and advice. This is actually my first motorcycle. I guess a compression test will tell me about the damage. Will definately look at the pickup coil wires. Makes sense that those would come into play as it warmed up. Thanks

[mro]

Hi ya pac00t

originally posted by TopCatGr58
box is a real PITA to try to put back together

Personally like the stock air box, (use stock on two and and K&L filters on another)
it is more work to R&R but if you do your carbs right, not something that needs to be done often and seems to work well on an XS that is stock every where else.



mro
btw,
like to see pics of newbe's scooters (kinda visual type guy) Got any??????

[mn2346]

Best to check but most likely also clean the carburators since the airfilter is also protecting those from small particles.
Airjets for one are not happy if there are bugs or rubble stuck into their canals.

The snorkel part is most likely ment to draw air as high as possible, meaning less water from the road. It may also smooth the flow but beside that I see no big difference.

[pggg]

You can pull the airbox to peices and it's easy to put back together, just have it off the bike when doing it. There's plastic tubes in there that gunk up with thick soapy/watery engine oil

[excess11]

Dirt in the motor

As an engine rebuilder. I give people the advice of running one tank full of 50/1 two stroke mix after an engine rebuild. The added oil helps to flush out any foreign matterial and also gives extra lube while parts are still tight. When you get this bike back to running again try one tank of two stroke mix in it, to flush it out. It will smoke some and you might want to replace or clean the plugs afterwards.