Bike finally running and on the road!

[manshack_one]

Just an update that the mechanic says it's got spark. That's about as far as he got. Since i've got fire, and air I suppose it's time to readdress the carbs for fuel. More news when I get it. Can't rush free labor so this may take a while.

[manshack_one]

Bike finally running, but not on the road yet.

Heard today that my bike was running but he's having one more problem. The bike will crank and fire up right away and run real strong. But then he says as it warms up it looses power and he eventually will just kill it before it dies out. Any suggestions on where to start?

[skids]

Re: Bike finally running, but not on the road yet.

Read the spark plugs.

Originally posted by manshack_one
Any suggestions on where to start?

[John]

Possibly the fuel cap vent stopped up?

[manshack_one]

Thanks for merging these threads. I admit to being too lazy to find my own thread. There.


I'll pass on the suggestions. How long does it take an xs1100 to overheat if you just started it and walked away?

[TopCatGr58]

Well, I would hope that he's running a fan across it while he's testing it?? Mine started to smoke a bit after about 15 minutes of mostly "stop" and crawl traffic in 90 degree weather!

So...if he's not keeping it cool, then it could bog down just from overheating idling! Otherwise, since he says it'll run strong, then it could lack of fuel, running the bowls dry!? Have him put it on PRIME, run it and see if it will keep running!
T.C.

[manshack_one]

He did say it smoked a bit when he first got it to fire up but he found that it had been overfilled with oil. I'll give him the other suggestions tomorrow. I still can't believe he didn't try and ride it as soon as it fired up!. I'd have been running down the road still trying to put the seat on with one hand! I may drive out to his house just to hear it start up.

[manshack_one]

Got the bike back to my house last night. Here's what I can confirm:

1) It cranks and starts!
2) It runs like crap!
3) Pulled the choke out, pushed the button and it fired up
and launched to 4K rpms and sat there.
4) Smoke coming out of left tailpipe smelled like gas
5) Noticed exhaust appeared to be coming from front of engine unless it was the pipes blowing it in that direction.
6) True to the mechanics word after about 5 minutes it lost almost all power and started backfiring on one cylinder.
7) Ran out of gas while lining it up for the trailer so I touch tested the pipes and #2 seemed cooler than the rest.
8) Put in some more gas and let it sit 5 minutes then started it and barely had enough power to get it up on the trailer.
9) He was having to give it a lot of throttle after the power loss to get it to roll up the trailer.
10) Got it home, rolled it backwards off the trailer, wouldn't start and the battery drained while I was trying.

So there it sits in my carport again. Not running.
Being that it started and ran up so high on idle makes me think the pilot circuit is way out of whack and it's flooding it out within 5 minutes (didn't have time to check the plugs) before you even have a chance to get going. Total running time on the bike was all of about 7 minutes if that so it should not have been overheating. What's weird is that it wasn't draining gas out the airbox or something becuase he left it on prime the whole time it was at his house. Of course it probably slow leaked out regardless which is why it barely made it to the trailer before going empty.

I'm going to do some testing with the Clymers and double check idle screws etc but would anyone be interested in letting me mail you the carbs (incl. return shipping) and have you go over them to make sure they're adjusted right? I really don't think the PO put the right size carb kit in it. Of course I'd pay for carb kits etc. if it needs them. Or maybe there's a member within driving distance of me (1 hr or 2 from Crockett TX) and I could drive the carbs to you for a little sunday afternoon carb class?

[egsols]

If you lost some fuel and think it may be flooding, be sure to check your oil for any fuel. If he thought it was overfilled and you think it smelled like fuel coming out, the gas may have leaked into the crankcase. I don't think you would want to run it in that case.

When he had it running did he check to make sure the fuel lines weren't kinked under the tank.. would run out of fuel after a few minutes.

When you had the ballist resitor out earlier did you check it? Could be on its last legs and thus cutting out when it gets warm. Think that's what happened on mine because PO had removed it.

[manshack_one]

He ran new fuel lines because of the spaghetti mess the PO had done so it shouldn't be a kinked hose. I'll whip out the voltmeter and test that ballast resistor sometime this weekend. I have to charge the battery back up first. Or jump it from the car. I just don't like how close quarters those jumper cables will be against the frame.

I think I might try and get fancy and record a video this weekend. Haven't uploaded to youtube just yet but I should be able to handle it. Mechanic via video!

[manshack_one]

IT"S ALIVE!!!


While I was waiting for the AC guys to finish putting in my new system I broke out the Clymers and started thinking real hard about what was going on with the bike. Turned out the idle mixture screws were turned all the way out! Put them back down to 1 1/4 turns. Then I ran the fuel lines so it runs only on prime. Charged the battery a few hours then tried to start it. The lights wouldn't come on or anything so I thought I had really screwed up but I realized it might be a fuse and sure enough, first one I checked, the master fuse holder had cracked! Quick trip to the store and replaced it. With all that done I decided it was time to try and start this monster. Turned the key, neutral light came on, pulled the choke out, and hit the button. Few sputters later it roared to life! I couldn't believe it. I had actually fixed something! LOL. It runs great, at least to my ears.

Here's my list of things left to do:
1) Still wants to idle around 4K. I found the idle speed knob and the Clymers says turn it out to drop the rpms but it doesn't seem to have an end to turning it out. Should I turn it all the way back in and then back 1 and 1/4 or something?
2) Left turn signal is out. Might just be a bulb.
3) Road Test it!
4) Find someone to sync the carbs.
5) Register it.
6) Clean it up and road test it some more!

[JWSanders]

#4 will likely take care of #1, once you get it done.

If you watch the idle screw as you turn it you'll see when it comes into contact with the arm on the carbs. Once you get past a certain point, any lower doesn't matter.

Good to hear you're making progress!!

[manshack_one]

How do you adjust that idle speed knob while the bike is running and the tank is still on?

[John]

You can use a long screw driver to reach in and turn it by the flutes on the side of the screw.

[JWSanders]

Now, the screw in the middle on the top is NOT the idle adjustment...it is what syncs the 1-2/3-4 pairs. The Idle Speed adjustment is on the bottom of the carbs in between the two middle carbs. It is a larger fluted knob, that points downwards....