Whew carb rebuild questions

[Nate Dogg]

Alrighty here we go...first of all let me say thanks to whoever rebuilt these carbs before me...I had to use vicegrips to get the top of the carbs off. So, there are two towers that the float goes between...one of mine is broken...could I solder the piece back on or should I use some type of adhesive like gorilla glue or something?

I decided to go with the single pods set up so I guess I will need new jets?? I have no idea what jets are in there now...is there a way to decipher that? I have a fancy 4-2 exhaust, aftermarket, and with the addition of the pods should I go with the 145s? Will my local shop have these? I know when jetting other bikes they suggest a timing advance also?

Okay, I got rid of the octopus dilly, what the heck do I do with the crankcase vent tube and the open vacuum/vent lines between the carbs?? Also there is a brass tube on the # 2 carb hooked to the octopus...what to do with that one too?? Heres to being fireproof once I get everything back together!

Thanks a million & i have looked for the answers before posting...

[ross]

hail mary....

hey there Nate Dogg....just wanted 2 drop you a line and say "may the force be with you my son!"......good advice here.....i know you will have a million questions and you will probably find all the answers here....remember the only stupid question is one that is not asked......ross

[prometheus578]

Firstly, Nate, you need to either make one of those signature thingies, or update your profile with the year and model of the bike.
XS11special is nice.... but carbs differ from year to year... like with jetting and such.
I smear JBWeld to hold broken carb tower pieces back on, and after that dries, seal it up with finger nail polish.
Crankcase vent tube needs to remain open to atmosphere... there are small air filter things available to keep the bugs out.
All vacuum ports that aren't being used to work something, like petcocks need to be plugged.
That "Extra" port on #2 carb... there should be a vacuum line from it running down to the vacuum advance unit behind the left side engine cover. Needs to come from that metered port... not from a carb manifold vacuum port.
Again... give us the year and model of the bike and we can make suggestions concerning jetting.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there Nate,

It has been found that JB Weld will hold them in gasoline, but there is also some other stuff like Magna-Steel/Aluminum. There's not much room between the posts and the float bowl, so after you apply the stuff, you will probably need to do some filing to get the remainder down enough to allow the float bowl to fit properly!

You can get a "T" fitting for the bowl vents, and then put a small fuel filter on the open end of the "T", and secure it UP under the tank open to the air, do NOT cap it, it needs to be able to "breathe"!!

The main crankcase vent tube can either be tucked down between the frame/swingarm, or you can get a filter to stick onto the end of the hose, to keep bugs and moisture from getting in there!

That hose connected to the brass fitting on carb # 2 is going to the wrong place! That's where the vacuum advance is supposed to be connected to, NOT to one of the synch ports on the intake boots!!

ASIDE from searching the forums....you can use more than 1 word in the searches to help narrow down the number of threads you'll be presented with....like "broken float post repair"........ anyways,
there is lots of info in the TECH TIPS....scrolling down from the MAIN FORUM PAGE....not just the links in the left yellow column, you'll find several new tips that are NOT linked from the column, like Pod filter velocity stack mods using your old airbox intake tubes and such....because "some" pod filters have a prominent lip on the mounting that can obstruct the air flow causing an overly rich condition, bogging, etc.!!

Once you get the old jets out and cleaned, you'll see the size #'s stamped into the top of the jet. You'll find a jetting guide in the MISC forum or Mods Tech forum. Your bike dealership/shop might have these, but you can also order them from MikesXS.com, they've gone to handling all orders online. Folks used to "TRY" to ask Mike about parts for XS11's, he/they won't help you there, they are a 650 site and want to sell just to them.

T.C.

[newc4]

On the specia,l the #2 carb brass tube provided vacuum to the octopus controlling fuel flow with the petcocks “ON” or “RES” from the petcock #1, 4 fuel pipes (ones facing forward). If you’re using the special petcocks, fuel will flow out of either fuel pipe and will always be on. You can cap one of the petcock fuel pipes and the carb air pipe.

The carb vent lines went to the stock airbox. With pods, you’d still want to vent the float bowls so I’d put air filters on the vent tubes. Same for the larger crankcase breather tube.

Do a search on “pods” and you get all the related threads.

Darrell

[Nate Dogg]

Thanks I updated my signature...I have the 79 xs 1100 special. Thanks for the heads up with the bowl tower fix!!! So on to carb #2. The vacuum link is brass, sets on the back of the carb and is at an angle. Originally it was connected to the octopus but I need to route it under an engine timing cover?? Do you have a picture??
Ha!
Thanks!!
Nate

[Nate Dogg]

As far as a vacuum advance is concerned, I dont remember any lines vacuum lines going down to the engine with exception of the crankcase vent...so Im still confused where a vacuum advance line should be routed and exactly what to do with the brass vacuum link dilly...

Pictures?!

[bikerphil]

vac. advance

Look under the left side ignition cover (4 bolts) and you'll see a vacuum advance unit. Run a vacuum line from the unit thru the hole behind it up to the port on the # 2 carb.

[Nate Dogg]

Sweet! Thanks!
While I'm in there I should check all those wires, huh? I will do that too! BTW, everything from a previous rebuild was way way too tight! The red washers from the needle valve body (under the float) were all chewed up...I opted for rubber O rings hope this will work...anyhow, if the carbs leak again, will the gas be coming out of the vent tubes??
Thanks!!
Nate

[bikerphil]

o-rings

I don't reccomend using o-rings in place of those red washers. Those seat valves probably won't sit at the right height with an o-ring under there. Adjusting the floats to the correct height may be difficult that way. The 80-81 carbs use that set-up, but not the 78-79's.

[Nate Dogg]

Well I rebuilt the carbs got them back on the bike...carb #2 still leaks fuel so I guess I will be buying carb kits...oh joy...I was hoping for perfection right off the bat...the petcocks work good though, so thats good...when it idled for a bit before flooding out, it sure sounded nice. Could the primary circuit on the carbs cause the fuel to leak out or would it mostly be a float/needle issue?
The float towers are messed up in a couple of the carbs but I epoxied em back together
Thanks for all the feedback.

[bikerphil]

leak

Probably just a needle + seat issue. They're reletively inexpensive. No need for complete carb rebuild kits. $$$... Bench test them if you want to pinpoint the leak.

[DiverRay]

I would also check the floats!! Be sure they don't "hang up" when they drop, as that can cause flooding as well.