Beginning search- need pointers

[ChaseyMay]

When my husbands father left his XS100 Midnight for junk in a shed, my husband quickly swooped in and began to work on it. It ran, but had a few scary fires caused by the carb, and also didnt quite run as well as it used to, but it did run. One fateful day, my husband runs in the house with a cooler yelling that the bike WAS ON FIRE! I ran outside to see a 8foot flame on the bike, and about 3 feet from my house! I grabbed the garden house, and saved the day, but the damage was done. It was and still is depressing to see such a beautiful bike in the condition it is in, although, it was kept very well, until the fire. My husband has been looking for parts to restore it again, but after a year of dead ends, he ended up buying a 85 Honda Shadow (700), which in another motive, if he fixes the Special, I wil get the Shadow ! Today is my first attempt on taking over the search. I was hoping, that by contacting other XS1100 owners I would be able to get a word on where to look for replacement parts, or be able to tell me if you can substitute with another make/model parts. A wiring harness is one main thing we need. I am not saying I know exactly what I am talking about, but my husband is at a loss, and it is really sad to walk in the garage and see this bike. The starter actually still turns over! Any help at all, because, my husband has given up hope.

[mro]

An XS actually on fire be XStream.
8 foot flames would be scary to just about anyone but Prom

Two years MNS made, 80 and 81.
Wiring harness be slightly different, TCI as well as a few other things be different.

So which year do you have?


mro
BTW, !@#$%^&*()
deleted by the turkey posting

[mro]

As a side note.
The carborators might need some attention from one who has a little XSperience or at least one who can read/follow the info in the tech tips...

Not be hard, but attention to detail helps.


mro

[mro]

Just one more...

Should you not be sure which year your MNS is...
Serial # starting with 4H3 1980,
4RO 1981


mro
welcome to XS land.
please be not put off by my posts...
most here be nice people
and can pretty much answer any XSive question,
sometimes with more than you ever wanted to know

[SiP]

send the carbs to 81xsproject in CA, he's excellent with them and if you don't know carbs (like me) chepaer and easier than doing it yourself.
If you go on e-bay right now and type in "xs1100" for the search, there's an '80 being parted out and the complete wiring harness is available - along with a whole bunch of other stuff.
Plus - as I've found otu - this forum is the place to be for help, tips and bits!!

Good luck

[prometheus578]

"Eight foot flames... bah!"

There's only two things I fear... Clowns, and people that can't laugh at their own farts. (both are equally terrifying to me.)
Ok, maybe spiders, so there's three.

Welcome, ChaseyMay.
On to business....
As MRO implied... find the exact year of the beast. Check the serial number against what is posted in the "Specifications" section listed on the left side o' the screen. Parts interchangeabilty may be an issue.
Secondly... get a digital camera and take lots of pictures and post them here. (Once you get the pics, we'll tell you how to post them)
Specifically...
General views of the bike.
Pics of melted bits, like the airbox.
Pics of the wiring harness. (remove the fuel tank and side covers)
Pics that show the extent of the burn.
Pics of the carbs.
That should give us a starting point.

(If you have an older sister that lives out my way... pics of her would be nice, too)

[Czekus21]

Welcome ChaseyMay,
You stated that the starter still turned the motor over..
You should be thinking of a name for the bike....
Mabee....Christine....would be fitting.
As Sixtysix said awhile ago in his monthly saying. There is enough knowledge here to put an XS on the moon.
I believe that with patience and detemination and Lot's of pics ( we like pics ) you'll have that bike up and runnin like a champ in no time.
We XSives have alot of opinions ( some good, some not so good )
that you might find helpfull.
We also do a little bit of ribbing,, but it's all good..
You can do a search for members in your area, and mabee,, just mabee,, someone would be willing to walk you though the XSive repair your looking at...Even mabee take some pics.
As I said a bit ago,, we like pics.. You'd be amazed at what can be figured out with a decent pic..
OK... I think I've rambled on enough..
Welcome again..

[TopCatGr58]

Verbose replies!

Originally posted by mro
mro
welcome to XS land.
please be not put off by my posts...
most here be nice people
and can pretty much answer any XSive question,
sometimes with more than you ever wanted to know

Hey MRO,

I resemble that remark!

Hey there CaseyMay,

First of all, congrats on your willingness and courage to help out your hubby, and eventually yourself since you WILL get a bike out of this project!

So, once you've done a little research/homework to truly verify the year/model of your bike...since sometimes the registration gets it wrong due to listing the year manufactured, not necessarily the true model year, and then post that info by editting your PROFILE to include the year/model, even perhaps add it to your signature since you'll probably be on here many times and will save you time not having to repeat that info in each new thread!

Also, edit the profile to include the city where you're at, there are Xsives in W. Va as well as surrounding states and we love nothing more than a reason to take a ride/road trip on our bikes, and also help another Xsive at the same time!

There are lots of tech tips and info to be found in the tech tips, and it would be in your hubby's best interest to take the time to read thru them ALL before any more attempts at resurrecting the bike. The fire was most likely a result of leaking fuel...DUH..but there are several sources that cause this problem, the petcocks, the octopus vacuum fuel control valve, as well as the carbs float valves and valve needle seat seals!!!!

In the HOW TO FORUM are instructions on how to post photos on the site, relatively simple if you know how to use a computer!

And now for the fun part, figuring a name for the machine....a MUST in this process to help insure success!!!!

I suggest "Burnin' Love"!

Others will chime in with similar ideas, and there are a few threads on bike nicknames that you can search for and read to get ideas and info on how we came to name our beasts!!

[ChaseyMay]

I dont know why I didnt include the year. Its supposed to be a 1980, but I can check the serial number to check for sure. When my husband gets into the garage today, I'll climb in there too and gets some pics of theSpecial. We live in Shinnston, WV, by the way. And I will e-mail a link of the site to my husband. And I will make my hubby point at the things I am supposed to take a picture of. ZI will get back to you guys a littl later.

[TopCatGr58]

Members Search

Hey again,

BTW, if you'll go to the Member's Forum, there is a recent thread called Members: Virginia/West Virginia, you can read and add to that list if you like, and can see if you see anyone near you. The fellow RYAN isn't actually in W. Va....he's stationed in Seoul, Korea, but that is his stateside home!

You can also do search for "Members: state" for other states near you for other members possibly within HELP range!?
T.C.

[ChaseyMay]

Thank you guys for all the help! I really appreciate it. I wasnt sure if we would be able to fix the special, but you guys are giving me new confidence in her. I think I did pretty good for my first day of searching!

[Dragon Tamer]

Welcome ChaseyMay,
It was all well said above but I feel compelled to add a couple of cents worth.
You are right, a fire on a cherished bike is a horrifiying experience but may not have done as much damage as you might think. I have been through one such incident, that is how the Fire Dragon got her name! Fortunately (perhaps) she caught on fire going down the road and I was able to reach down and shut off the gas valves and then wound her up to near 90mph to burn out the rest of the gas in the system (that part of it that wasn't already burning!) This happened at night and at least from the viewpoint of my riding partners it was apparently quite the spectacle. I made it home and put out the last bits of the fire, just some burning rubber. It took only about three hours the next morning to put her back together and clean up the cosmetic damage not to speak of removing the offending leaking device that caused the fire! So please do not lose hope here. We are here to help. The fact that that the starter still works leads me to think that the damage may not be all that bad. Will hold all else in reserve until we see the pictures (as was said, we LOVE pictures) they save a LOT of guess work.

[Dragon Tamer]

OH,
BTW, if all else fails, a good friend on mine (actually the PO of the Fire Dragon) is planning a bike trip out to your area this spring and with any luck at all I will be going along with him so keep us posted on your progress!!!

[wa407mpp]

Welcome

To the victor goes the spoils, give him the 700, you keep the 1100.

[ChaseyMay]

I havent even tried to ride a motorcycle yet! I dont think I would be able to handle the special! I cant touch the ground, but the 700 I can! I thought of a name for the XS, by the way..."Cinderella"! I have the picks, let me figure out how to put them on the thread, and the serial# starts with 4H3, so it is a 1980! I told my husband about your site, and he read the thread, and I think it gave him a second wind!