Newbie w/Questions

[sean smith]

I just bought my first XS1100 I have a few questions.
First what I have is an 81 Special I think because it has buckhorn bars and a step seat. I want to know if they made two different frames or are the standard and the specials the same? Because I would like to but on a flat seat and super bike bars.

Also the PO drilled holes into the end of the exahust to make it louder. Wouldn't that effect the performance by losing the back pressure. The bike pops and back fires at slow speed.

Also wonder if 56k is alot for this model or are they pretty sturdy
engines?

Thanks

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Sean,

Welcome to the wacky world of Xsives!! Great year of bike, but then again I'm biased! The frame #'s are different between standard and specials, but it may be more to do with the smaller cosmetic changes, side cover mounts, etc.. The special side covers are slanted a bit more towards the rear to allow for the dip in the side of the seat. You should be able to put a standard seat on, or just take yours and have it recover modifying the cushion to remove the "hump"!

Drilling the mufflers does reduce the back pressure some, but not that much, so rejetting to richer jets may not really be necessary. Popping exhaust can occur for many reasons, loose or ill fitting exhaust header gaskets, poor tuning, etc.!

These bikes are very solid, and folks have reported 100+K miles without rebuilds!! Doing a compression test will tell you a fair amount about it's condition. But if it has sat for a long time, it may need to be ridden to loosen the rings back up, burn out carbon, etc.. The carbs may be gummed with old gas/varnish?

Please take a few "DAYS" and go to the MAIN FORUM PAGE, and scroll down to the TECH TIPS, and READ, READ, READ. In the MISC section, you'll find a listing for serial/VIN #'s to verify your model/year. Also check out thread about what to look for in a neglected XS11, will help you to figure out what maintainance you'll want to do to get it truly road worthy and safe!

[trbig]

I can't answer the other things, but as far as sturdy and dependable, there should be a picture of these bikes in the dictionary under that title. With a little TLC and fluid levels kept up and changed, many, many people get well over 100,000 miles out of a motor and these bikes. Then you have 2 sizes you can bore it out to to get another 100,000! each time! Most bikes from that era were about wore out at 40-50,000... so relaxe... yours is just now getting broke in!

As for the popping on decel... you may need to give a little history on the bike. Alot of people like to see the bike too if you can post a picture! Most of these have sat for an extended period of time at some point over their 20+ year life span. If you look to the left in the tech tips they will tell you what to look for alot of the time. The search option at the top is helpful also. If you don't have a manual for this bike yet, I can't stress enough for you to get one. They even have the manual on a disk now so you can just print off the page you are working on.

Welcome to the XS family and keep us informed on your progress.

Tod

[trbig]

LOL.. sorry. I guess my hunt and peck took longer than TC's typing skills. I said alot of the same things twice, but I guess what it comes down to is that I just seconded the motion!

Tod

[Dennyz]

Besides the side cover differences, The Special's rear brake is mounted through a frame mount, the Standard's rear brake is mounted through the muffler/buddy peg mount. The muffler/buddy peg mounts are not interchangable. I think the only exception to these differences in with the H/SH.

[sean smith]

Thanks for your input. I rode last night and plan on ridding more soon to try and get some of the gunk out. It seems to run better and start easier everytime I ride. Anyone looking for a step seat in great condition?

I am going to try and fill the holes in the muffler this week to see if I can quiet this beast down. I would show pic but I don't know how to up load them.

[trbig]

The easiest way for me is to go to Photobucket.com. You will need to make an account... it's very quick and free. After you get signed in, you will be taken to a screen that says "Browse". Click on it, and you will go to the place on your computer where the picture is stored. After you do that, click on the "Upload it" button. Your picture will uplaod to that site, where it will appear at the bottom of that screen. What it is doing is basically making a single little website for that picture. You will find the web address under the photo. Hilight that address for the photo, right click and copy it. Then when you come in here and post a reply, when you get to where you want the photo to appear, click the IMG button, and a little box will appear. Right click inside that box where it has "http:/" hilighted.... then paste that address you copied from Photobucket and click OK. It's really simple to do.

Before you uplaod a photo to Photobucket, make sure and reduce the size/ quality. Otherwise the pictures will show up on here HUGE and you'll have to scroll across to see it... and the people who have dialup modems will hate you! lol Just try it out. It's free and easy.

Tod