new bike questions

[firecrackerboom]

just got this bike last week. I have been on the forum for a couple of days. I did some investigating on it, and i think it is a 79. Also the muffler flange says Jardine on it so im guessing thats who made the exhaust. It is a 4 into 1. Are those good? How could i make it sound beefier? Also after riding for a while, it idles higher (2100 rpms) when its cold it idles around 1100 to 1300. Thanks for your help. Here are some pics.









thanks for looking and helping a newbie.

ps. sorry if this is a repost of someone elses question... :S
psps. i know in the first picture i have 2 different mirrors. now they are both the same.

--Darrek

[andreashweiss]

That is a nice bike, but that is not proper riding gear. Go to a hospital and see what road rash does to the body and face. The old saying is when you crash... not if. andreas

[firecrackerboom]

that was actually the only time ive ridden without a helmet on. My mom was taking the picture. Thanks for your concern though.

[Jerry]

Jardine is a good system. They make different mufflers for it, one of them may have the sound you want. There are also discussions about drilling holes in your muffler baffles; some are replaceable and some are not. Check to see if you can determine the type you have. If replaceable, there may be ways to set them up differently for a different sound. Use the Search tap at the top of your screen and look for 'mufflers' or 'sound'. You will have to wade through a lot of posts....

Note that changing muffler characteristics can also affect your carb jetting; after you make changes keep an eye on your plugs to see that your mix is within good operating range. The bluing on the top of your pipes indicates an over-rich condition, by the way. Very nice bike, wish mine looked that good!

The idle speed is sometimes an indication of a vacuum leak. Check the hose clamps and flange bolts on the intake side of the carbs, where the carb boots attach both to the carbs and the engine. Also check to see if the throttle cable operation is good; you may want to lube or replace the cable. Make sure there are no binds or kinks in the cable housing. Again, a vacuum leak is the most likely, but not only, source of your problem.

[prometheus578]

"That's not him... "

...That's probably his son riding the bike so he can take the picture.
I thought XS owners were all grumpy old guys like me; doin' that second childhood/ mid-life crisis thing.
(I still say it's runnin' lean and needs to be rejetted.)
After market exhausts (Jardine, MAC)are more free-flowin'... resulting in a lean mixture. Need to go up a jet size of two to richen the fuel mixture.
Unless of course, the previous owner rejetted after the pipes turned blue.
What do your spark plugs look like? Bone white?
You should pull your carbs and read what size the main jets are. If they're the stock 137.5, at least go to 140, or maybe 142.5 jets.
Plenty of info here on this site.

[prometheus578]

"HHmmm...."

Another instance of me being an old man and typing my response too slowly.
(Jerry beats me again.)

[firecrackerboom]

i wouldnt even know how to look for what most of you guys are talking about :P i am pretty new to bikes. Anyways, the throttle cable seems just fine, i watched it operate, it was very smooth with the throttle handle and returned to closed when i released the lever. About the boots, i dont know how to check that. The one on the very left side looks kindof cracked. But i remember my friends dad spraying something on them checking for leaks and said they were fine. i did find a small rubber hose thing sticking down from the back of the engine, going out of the transmission, just kindof hanging there. I will take a picture hold on...


its coming out of that kinda knob thing on top and hangs down.




well while taking the picture i noticed that the three rightmost carb boots were wrapped in electrical tape. Is that bad? :P

[DiverRay]

That hose is the breather for the middle drive gear. It NEEDS to be routed UP, to a clip near the fuel tank.
I would check your spark plugs, as mentioned, to be sure the bike was re-jetted after the headers were installed. If the plugs look good, I would try and sync the carbs. If you are off, you may have one carb pulling up the engine speed once warmed up. In sync, the idle should be between 950 and 1050 RPM.
Nice looking bike!!

[Jerry]

the three rightmost carb boots were wrapped in electrical tape

The boots that attached the carbs to the engine have a plastic inner liner with a rubber outer layer. A cracked outer layer is pretty common and does not affect the engine operation. However, if the inner liner is cracked you will have problems. Electrical tape on these boots is not a good thing. Generally a good test for finding leaks is to spray WD 40 around the boots while the engine is running, warmed up, at idle. If the RPM goes up you have a cracked inner lining. (Some people use propane instead of WD 40, like from an unlit propane torch.) This is not fool proof, but will find larger leaks. Fix is to install new carb boots, $80 - $100 for a set depending on source.

Make sure the clamps on the intake side of the carbs are snug.

[BlkMage]

Not all of us...

Originally posted by prometheus578
...That's probably his son riding the bike so he can take the picture.
I thought XS owners were all grumpy old guys like me; doin' that second childhood/ mid-life crisis thing.

Umm...I'm 21, working on an '81 XS 1100 Special, my first bike.

[GtrMn]

Yo Blk! You are one brave dude! haha

[BlkMage]

Originally posted by GtrMn
Yo Blk! You are one brave dude! haha

Former US Army, 5 tattoos, and a MONSTER for a first bike. "Fear" is not in my vocabulary, I find it inhibits true life.

[GtrMn]

Ok..you be bad...you haven't taken a ride yet though right? When I got my first one in 1980...I figured...hell it can't be THAT much more power than my 650....NOT almost ripped my arms off the handlebars. haha

[BlkMage]

Oh, I've been riding it, almost 300 miles with carbs that drink gas faster than I drink beer (not while riding though) and no 1st gear. But now I'm calming down and getting everything fixed before too much more riding.

[GtrMn]

Hmmm. Took me almost 2 years to " get mine right" you will...and then they're awesome!