Bike finally running and on the road!

[skids]

Nope. I am talking about the idle screw. Yours would aim towards the top of the airbox (or where it would be) and it is kind of bumpy around its circumference. I adjust mine when it is hot and force it to turn by pushing on its bumpy side...clockwise increases idle CCW decreases idle.

Originally posted by manshack_one
My idle screw is really more like an idle knob that I can reach with my fingers and twist. Carbs are off a 79 special. I know others point down, have a flat head tip on them, etc. The mixture screws use a flat tip if you're talking about those. Right now I need to replace the plugs because they're so fouled out from burning 'gasoil'. Maybe then my idle will smooth out a little and I can dial it in better.

[manshack_one]

Ok. I see what your saying. I've got a long handled flat tip that I bent working on something else so it worked real nice. Now, once my bike is warmed up real good it will idle at 1100rpms. It was a totally different drive tonight versus last night when the bike would idle up when I pulled in the clutch instead of the other way around. I could actually engine brake today! So much easier. My plugs were all fouled out so I ran by the parts store and picked some up on the way home. I'll throw some more miles on it tomorrow and see how they look.

I officially hit the 50 mile mark on my first bike tonight when I pulled back into the driveway. I'm having a ton of fun and again, I couldn't have done it without everyone's help here at xs11.com.

I also found out how far I could go with out turning the gas on at the petcock. I made it to the park but the fuel light came on so I told the wife I needed to head to the gas station. I'd say I was about 100 feet from the pumps when it finally starved and died. Luckily no one was in my way and I coasted right up to the pump. Now that I was at the pump I finally remembered the petcocks were there so of course I reached down and flipped them over (which now meant they were both on prime) and started pumping 4 gallons into it. Once the gas was in I put the pump up and turned back to close the tank when gas just started pouring out of the air box. I quickly realized what I had done and switched the petcocks back to off, rolled up out of the way and then thought about what I had done for a minute. Waited for the gas to dry from the exhaust, turned it back to prime, pulled the choke out, gave it about 5 seconds, then started turning it over. Took about 3 tries before the bowls filled back up and it fired back to life. I figured gas needs to be air dried when it's on a bike so I aired it out around the loop for about 5 miles before turning back into town. my town is built inside of loop 304 which runs a perfect circle around the town which means you could literally drive in circles all day long and still not be lost!

Well, I guess I need to have this thread renamed to "Bike finally running and on the road!" Admin's feel free to do your thing.

I tested the rear brake and it went all the way down before it caught and then it didn't come back up. I had to reach under it and pull it back up. I'll look into bleeding them out later.

I'm going to run it up to proper highway speed tomorrow for about 20 miles and then check the plugs again.

See ya on the road!

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Manshack,

IF you had fuel running out the carbs when on Prime, then your float needle valves are still not sealing properly! When on Prime, the fuel should flow just until the floats rise and seal when the bowls get filled! However, you did say you ran it DRY, and folks have also reported about when the floats are hanging so low that the float valves get tilted or stuck and until the engine is started and the resultant vibrations shake loose the valves so that they would seal!?

Since you had fuel flowing out of the bowls/carbs, then it was probably more a matter of unflooding the carbs before the engine would lite, not the bowls filling! And once the engine is running and warmed up, you shouldn't need to use the choke/enrichener to get it started again!

You might want to get some SEAFOAM or TECHROLINE carb cleaner and put some in the gas tank, will help in cleaning the pilot circuits and may help in your fouling of the plugs! But also, what rpms are you running it in when you are driving it?? Folks think because these are big engines that they shouldn't take them much over 5krpm! Hogwash! Try running it at least 3krpm or above, don't lug it down around the 2-2.5krpm area, downshift if you are in that rpm range, you'll have better throttle response, and your plugs will probably look a lot better afterwards as well! Keep at it! BTW, thread title editted per request!
T.C.

[manshack_one]

Thanks TC!

Seafoam will be purchased tomorrow now that I have a full tank of gas in it. And then I'm gonna run the heck out it!

[manshack_one]

New plugs and some Seafoam and this bike is running great!


Had a quick question, what speed are you guys getting out of each gear? Is 5th supposed to take over past 55 on up to top end? Just seemed like I was running out of gear at 65 although I still had plenty of power to tap into. Just wasn't sure how high I should let that engine rev.


Oh, and a personal milestone. A low five on the way home! Looked like a newer honda cruiser but I couldn't tell. Bikes tend to blend for me.

And I need a new helmet. This one with the faceshield is fine until about 55 then the wind starts grabbing it pretty bad and pulling my head around. I guess I'll be asking santa for a modular for christmas. Until then I don't think cruising at 70 is going to be possible. Unless I get a windshield....hmmmm.

[wingnut]

Man you were not running out of gear at 65 in 5th beleave me! That bike will pull like a train all the way to red line if its adjusted right. 120 plus easy. I have noticed that I have a resonance at between 62 and 67 mph. Feels like a extra vibration but it goes away at about 70 Maybe thats what you are feeling. Having fun arn't ya!

[manshack_one]

Thanks wingnut. Just needed some confirmation. Keep in mind this is my first bike ever so there are things like this that I don't have a comparison for and need to ask about. I eat up the first 4 gears pretty quick and when I hit a long stretch I pull it up to 5th but because of my aforementioned helmet problems and general fear of dying in big ball of fire (my mother ingrained that image into my head growing up) I let off at 65 to 70. I feel a vibration in my feet and can see it in my mirrors but it could be the cheap chrome plated $20 knock off's I got and not actually the bike. I don't feel it in my hands.


And yes, I'm havin' a blast!

[BrianB]

I just got my '80 XS the first of September. I have been riding since a kid except for the last 15 years.

Anyway a week or so ago I was riding home from work and on a long nice strech of road, I opened it up in 4th and shifted to 5th. I am not sure what RPM I was at (thinking 7,500) but I was way over the 85 MPH my spedo shows. I let off because it scared the crap out of me.

[Gyrogearloose]

Uh Oh Manshack, now you're hooked! "Up, Up, and Awa-a-a-y!"

[TopCatGr58]

Originally posted by manshack_one
Keep in mind this is my first bike ever so there are things like this that I don't have a comparison for and need to ask about. I eat up the first 4 gears pretty quick and when I hit a long stretch I pull it up to 5th ... I let off at 65 to 70.

And yes, I'm havin' a blast!

Hey Manshack,

IF you were truly eating up the gears you would be hitting 100+mph in 4th before you would be shifting to 5th!

So.....this tells me/us that you are not winding it out much in the lower gears before shifting into 5th! As I posted earlier, these engines like to run, and can handle 7krpm ALL DAY LONG!!!

If you want to experience the real power of the XS11, twist that throttle a bit more and let her run up to 7-7.5 krpm before shifting and you probably won't even wind out 3rd before you get to where you'll be backing it down!
hint: Lean over closer to the tank to help cut the wind resistance of your helmet while you're approaching "WARP" speed!
T.C.

BTW, perhaps you didn't see THIS THREAD/POLL about how folks rev and drive their bikes? The POLL is closed, but you can see the voting results, and read different techniques!

[Shuriken]

Yeah, 65mph is nothing for these bikes.

See this thread.

[manshack_one]

Ok. I made a really rookie mistake today. I've been driving my bike around town, being followed by the family in the minivan, any time we go somewhere. Dinner, birthday parties, festivals etc. Even drove it to work the other day. Well, I was driving it today to go rake some leaves at a friends house and had a problem. It wouldn't come back down from 5K rpms. So I pulled over on the shoulder and shut her down. It also wouldn't downshift. So I sat there a minute and decided maybe the little nipple plug had slipped loose on #2 intake so I hopped off the bike, pulled in the clutch and cranked her up. That's when it happened. I let go of the clutch while standing beside the bike. I immediately realized what I did before the bike even hit the ground. So now I've dumped it to the left. Luckily it only went about 6 feet before hitting the ground. Since it was in gear the rear wheel was still spinning. Made me think I should put that tip switch back in! Here's what broke: End of the clutch lever broke off and my left turn signal doesn't work. So, with a pissed off grunt and heave I lifted her back upright and set the kickstand down. Gas spilled all out the airbox while it was on it's side so I waited a few minutes, sat back on the bike, put it in neutral, and started her back up. Of course she fired up like nothing happened and drove the rest of the way there just fine but I didn't get over 30 mph on the way there. On the way home she was fine too until I got to the straightaway right before my street and I pushed her up to 55 again and sure enough, it stuck there when I pulled the clutch in to down shift. So I braked until I was rolling about 20 and then let out the clutch and forced the engine to bog down which broke loose whatever was creating the high idle. So as long as I keep it under 5K rpms she's fine. What's strange is I know I had her up to 60/65 on the way to and back from work the other day so I can't figure what made it stick. Also, I now have a slow leak dripping from the #2 carb bowl. It's not even enough to puddle up on the ground. I'm seriously considering putting some RTV on those bolts and just conceding they'll never be used again. If I need to get to the bowls for some reason the carbs will just have to come off. I also am still running really rich so I may need to drop the needle down a notch (or is it raise the needle to lean it out?) and double check the float height. I could also use a good carb sync (hint, hint for any members in reasonable driving distance of me). What I'd really like is for someone else that knows better to drive my bike a few miles for me and tell me what they feel about the bike. I don't know what a good running xs1100 is supposed to sound and feel like so I don't know what other problems I might have!

Also, what do you use to clean the gas drip stains from the tank? I've got drip stains all over the right side.

[TopCatGr58]

Glad you got that out of the way!

Hey Manshack,

Well, at least you've gotten your first spill out of the way!

Yeah, when the engine is running at 5Krpm, it's kinda hard to downshift!

With the throttle sticking, it sure sounds like more than vacuum leak/synch problem! I would look closely at your throttle linkage, the throttle plate at the carbs, make sure it's not hanging up on anything like intake boots/clamps!! Pull the cable and handlebar lever off and clean/lubricate, check it for kinks, test it for ease of sliding in sleeve. Folks also have commented on fuel lines getting in way of throttle actuator/linkages!

Are you sure that the bowl is leaking, vs. the actual carb! Perhaps the fuel "T" has developed a slight leak, and it's dripping down around to the bowl!? BTW, RTV and fuel doesn't mix well anyways. If the gasket it not broken, then it's very rare for fuel to leak from the float bowl bolt holes!

Wished I lived close, would be happy to lend a hand. Regrettably, Texas is a pretty big place, so even when someone is close, they can still be hours away!

Back to the downshifting problem, if it continues after you fix the revving problem, then it's most likely the return spring for the shift lever, Ken Talbot posted a great pictorial in the tech tips about this! Easy fix, about $10.00 for the spring.
T.C.

[skids]

It sounds to me as if the rpms might have been too high to shift it.

[manshack_one]

Thanks for the advice TC. The tank/seat are already off and I was about to pull the carbs off again when I got a call. I wanted to clarify that when I tried to downshift I didn't even feel it trying to click into place, the shifter was just bottoming out with out grabbing anything. I really think I'm going to put the pod filters on it and a windshield while it's pulled apart in the shop.

Funny this happened right after cleaning it up! I repainted the tank badges but left them glossy gold instead of putting the black on the edges. I also shined up all the chrome peices I could get my rag on.

We may relocate north of Austin next summer. Maybe then I'll be a little closer to some members when I need help (as I often do!).