Steering Problem with 79XS1100

[CarolynS]

I bought my 79 XS 1100 last fall. I haven't driven a bike in 20 years, but I've been riding HD's forever as a passenger. The old man said a smaller bike would be boring me in a week, so he suggested something with some oomf! I found the XS on craigslist for $400 w/ title, rode it around and the po even delivered it for free. It has been sitting for the winter and I'm about to get started on it. It has some normal problems-age-the intake seals and exhaust are shot.

The big problem that worries me is it is hard to turn to left, but not to right. The Yamaha dealer agreed to work on it-reset the front end. It looks as though it may have fallen off the kickstand, no major damage, just some small scratches, and that could have contributed to the steering issue. If necessary, I will rebuild the whole front-safety first.

I can't tell you how highly I think of this site. And thank you for all of your efforts from all of you.
Seeya around.

[prometheus578]

"Woo Hoo.. another female!"

Let's hit your problems one at a time.
1. Ditch the 'Old Man" and move to Wa. state.
2. You probably hit the wrong key. You meant a "79 XS1100?
3. Intake seals? Do you mean the intake manifolds/boots? They may look all cracked, but they are double-walled. Other than being ugly, they are still functional. (Many of us fit into that category, as well.) Some people put gobs of black spray paint on them, some people smear a light coat of black RTV on them, some people leave them alone. Now... where they mount to the head, sometimes they get a vacuum leak, but it's too early to speak of that. The rubber plugs covering the vacuum ports on #2 and #3 carb can get brittle and leak vacuum.
4. Need more info on the turning difficulty. Is this while riding or sitting in the driveway?
Put the bike on the centerstand and have "The Old Man" apply a little heft on the rear to pivot the front end offa the ground. Slowly, with a light pressure, move the handlebars from left to right. They should move easily. If you feel any "notchy-ness" or tight spots, you'll need to replace the steering bearings. If this checks out OK, and it's difficult to steer while riding, you have a fork alignment issue.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Carolyn,

Welcome to the group. Your fella is going to rue the day he let you get an XS1100!

Prom's advice is good. However, a recent member had similar symptoms, but the bearings were actually alright. It was just due to sitting outside, weather exposure and such, the grease had gotten all dried, hardened, and lumpy!

Once he pulled the parts apart, and inspected the races, they were actually in great shape, and it was just a matter of cleaning the bearings, regreasing and putting back together properly, and it turns smooth as glass! YMMV!

T.C.

[CarolynS]

I actually grew up in WA. First Kennewick, then Pullman, then Waterville(Wenatchee). Moved there in 75 with my fam. I miss the open spaces.
I keep trying to ditch the old man, but he keeps finding his way home-lol.
Crackers turns fine while sitting. The problem shows when riding. Turning to the right is smooth, but turning left is like pushing a wheelbarrow full of horsepucks. The bike sits straight, looks straight, but on closer inspection, it almost looks like the front wheel is a 1/2 inch to one side in the forks. I'm a decent mechanic, but bikes are new to me. I'm a quick study tho.
As far as the rally goes-I already printed the logo from the shirt and it's up on my desk. PA is not that far from here and I have plenty of time to prepare. I even checked out the vid and pix. It looks like fun and something I really want to do. I will try to go, but I don't know if I will bring the 79. It may not be ready. We'll see.
I'm only just now getting good with this computer thing, so hopefully I'll have some pictures to put up at some point. By the time I'm finished with the bike, I'll have to buy dinner at the rally to reward all of you for all the help(and patience)you show me.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Again,

BTW, I'm NOT one of the folks that Kat warned you about! :P

First we would ask that you EDIT your Profile, from the buttons at the top, go to your CP(Control Panel), and then you'll be able to edit it to add your general location ie. city, state, as well as the Year & Model of your machine so that for the FUTURE requests for info and help, you won't have to repeat yourself in every post!

Also, this forum is for just general chat and off topic stuff, like introducing yourself like you did. We would recommend that you post actual technical questions in the TECH disc. forum, will get seen better there, and receive more responses because of that.

Also, please try to respond to the same problem in the same thread to provide followup diagnostics, etc., so that we can follow what has been suggested, tried, failed, etc., saves repeating ourselves. IF it has been a few days, weeks since you had last posted, your thread will have scrolled OFF the main page, a simple search will reveal it, and then posting a new message to it will BUMP it backup to the front page for folks to see again!

What you described with your front tire is very possible depending on how the PO may have replaced a front tire, worked on brakes, etc.! Other folks will also report about uneven wear on a tire. There are BORN ON dates stamped into the sidewall, in a little OVAL, stands for week and 2 digit year of production, ie. 2405 would be 24th week, 2005. IF the tire is 4 years or older, it may be getting hardened, and may be as simple as putting a new one on to fix the problem. But hopefully others will chime in with other things to check out!

I'll copy this thread to the TECH SECTION, rename it for the steering problem, and see what others say!
T.C.

[CarolynS]

I did my profile and it shows I'm from Law, MA under my name. It has the bike year and model. I don't know where else to put it.
I was trying to save jumping around by responding to Prometheus on that same thread. I don't really even know what a "thread" is. I'm still new at this. Bear with me, I'll get the hang of it. I probably goofed again by responding to you here. I haven't crashed anything yet, so that's good.
If I put a signature, will that be like you guys have and show the bike under the post?
I'm so lame!

[Getty]

Yes on the SIGNATURE. Thats where mine is.

I am that recent guy with steering problems. Although I never noticed 1/2" to one side. Mine was hard to turn in any direction. Then it would weave at low speeds. Almost everything on my xs needed to be cleaned and/or regreased. Steering bearings were desperate for some fresh grease.

[CarolynS]

Steering

We're going to have the mechanic take it apart and look around. One of the guys we play pool with on the league had his son's bike worked on by this gentleman. He's retired and knows his stuff-and he charges $40 an hour-it's his hobby-whatever he recommends, I'll do, within reason, of course. I'm no expert, but 39 years of life around machines, not to mention mechanics, and I'm no dope either.

[trbig]

$40 an hour?!?

Most guys on here help for beer and barbeque! lol. I don't know if there's anyone in your area, but it's worth a shot. Not very many people on here have had much luck taking their bikes to others to be worked on. There have been some, but the majority of the time, they pay to have it done, then end up just having to do it right themselves.


I know it may seem a little daunting, but just about anyone with any mechanical aptitude can fix anything on these bikes. That's one of the reasons we love them so much. Plus, you can't beat the personal satisfaction of doing it yourself, then riding down the road on it.

Good luck, no matter what you decide and keep us informed.

Tod

P.S. The thread is each topic you click on, then all the postings are in those threads. This thread is "Steering Problem with 79XS1100". Just for your info..