weird fuel leak

[face85]

I just picked up an 81 XS1100 it aparently hadnt been running in years, well we finaly traced down the blown main fuse and got it replaced, got it fired and going and after about 5 minutes it start pouring gas out, the source was traced to the magneto cover fuel can be seen running down from the plate that is in there, I immediatly drained the oil and put fresh in, got it started again and it wasent leaking tried to take it for a ride despite having to hold the choke on and I made it out of the drive way and then had to turn around and bring it back in because it started leaking out of the cover again, are we looking at a full rebulid here of just maybe a float stuck dumping fuel down into one of the cyledners, it does seem to backfire out of the left pipes quite often but never does it out of the right ones, just looking for a direction to go before I take it to a shop to have them take a look at it

[motoman]

No magneto on these bikes. Is bike a Special or Standard. The two are different how fuel gets from petcocks to carbs. Read up on some of the tech tips, then come back with what model, etc. Fuel can come out of several different sources. More specific info is needed, then those here can direct you to the proper fix. The best and correct help is on this forum, definitely not at a shop as majority of help there weren't even born when these bikes were......just ask some here that have been that route.

[face85]

ok under the cover on the left hand side of the bike if your sitting on it, I was just doing some digging and it looks as though I may have messed up the routing on the fuel hoses and put the T's in the wrong spots but the diagram is a little hard to read so I am not for sure yet, that wouldent cause it to dump fuel would it? I also do not know the model, its been debadged and has no distinguishing markings on it

[motoman]

well...sounds like the Special as I presume your talking about the octypus the fuel lines attach to prior to going to carbs......correct?

[face85]

correct that is what it has on it, I also did notice that I could start the bike with the fuel petcocks in the off posistion and it would run just fine, not sure how long it takes to run all the fuel out of the carbs but just seemed weird to me especial considereing everywhere fuel is going

[motoman]

It will run a couple miles with what fuel is in carbs. Being a special, least you can put petcocks in off position..........do that for now after filling bowls, as bad things can happen, such as starting and having a backfire on intakeand not knowing fuel has backed up and ran into airbox.............it'll ruin your day before you even get started. Take lines off of petcocks after shutting them off as to make sure they are not leaking fuel, if all good there, then check that fuel line and vacuum line routing is correct. Don't have the Special myself, so memory is not that good for the hose routing. Others here can tell you exactly how they should go, or put a pic here with arrows and specifics. Check what I previously said bout petcocks, then go from there. Also, if has set or been stored for a long time, your gonna have to pull carb assembly as a unit, remove bowls etc. and do a clening, and make sure carb needles are seating properly and not allowing fuel to leak by overfilling carbs, running into crankcase and airbox. Has this bike not been in use for a great lenth of time?

[AlanB]

Hi Face,

You are dead right; you have messed up with the routing of the lines.

There is a line which runs down into the left-hand cover; it is for the vac. advance unit, and should run up to a take-off on the top of No2 carb body (counting from left as you sit on it!) I would guess that you have connected it to the fuel system.....

The other vac line should go from the "Octy" to the carb boot on no2, and then there are a ton of fuel lines to sort out......

Vac lines and nipples should be 3/16. Fuel lines are 1/4.

There is a load of info on this subject in here; start with the "Tech Tips", then try a search, then ask........

AlanB

[red bandit]

When you have the carbs off for cleaning take the petcocks off and at least rinse the tank, check for rust, might need to cream the tank. Don't be afraid of the carbs.... they aren't that bad.

[rockjok]

Here's a link to a thread containing a fuel line routing diagram.

http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...outing+diagram

Like many XSives I got rid of the octopus setup years ago. There are several other good threads here on the good and bad of this.

Luck,

Rob

[mro]

Start Here

http://www.xs11.com/specifications/serialno.shtml
This will give you the make/year from your serial number.

While the XS11 is basicily the same across years there be many small but significant differences, like BS34II carbs on 78/79 and BS34III on 80 to 82.


mro
BTW, welcome to XS land...
Have any pics of your ride?

[face85]

I know the carbs are going to have to be gone though, the previous owner put an exaust on it and never rejetted, I also down know if he did that after putting individual filters on it either I have been a little busy to mess with it and not having a heated garage is killer when its only getting up to 5-10 degrees so the bike is going to have to wait for a bit, I just want to make sure that its not going to be a dud and have more problems than I want to mess with before I start dumping more money into it, I went out and looked at it this morning and my fuel lines are routed wrong, also the rear brake is damn near locked up, so that makes moving the damn thing around by my self a royal pain in the ass so thats going to need some looking into, it rolled fine when I brought it home and took it off the trailer so I dont know whats up with that and havent even looked at it yet
ohh and I did get the title and it is an 82

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there Face85,

Most likely the spooge hole for the rear MC is clogged, and after applying the rear brake, it isn't releasing. For right now, just break open the caliper bleeder and release the pressure to allow the rear wheel to roll. You may be able to just do a modest MC disassembly, cleaning and reassembly along with a full Caliper R&R, folks have reused the seals easily and safely when handled with care, so you won't necessarily need to put much $$ into MC and Caliper kits. See the tech tips for Spooge hole, along with searches, lots of threads on the subject!

BTW, don't go by the title date, many times they are titled on the date of sale, not the actual model #! Get the prefix of the serial number found on the steering neck as well as the right side of the engine case below carbs, and look up the # in the MISC FORUM to determine the true model/year you have!

In 82, Yamaha switched to the XJ model, 78-81 was the XS models, and big differences in several parts, TCI and such!
T.C>

[face85]

I was unaware about the title thing, I'll deffinatly have to check the numbers thanks for the heads up there