Getting it going again?

[djcofell]

Ok I have neglected my xs1100 for too long now and am planning a come back for it... Where the heck do I start? I haven't had it running in about five years now and last time it only ran for an hour or so before the carbs gunked up. I took the carbs to a shop to get redone, got them back almost six months later and lost motivation to put it all back together.. carbs have been in the house since them and not installed, intake has been plugged as well as I could in the bike since then. I need to do the fork seals, all cables/lines and tires, most likely brakes as well... I'm no mechanic but have a few capable friends around to help... can someone tell me where I should start with this project.. I'm soo sick of riding my rice rocket and need this bike back on the road.

Please help me....

[gareth]

I'm no expert, but there is some old mantra out there that says something like " a journey of a thousand miles starts with one step..." or as my father says.." just get on with it.."

. Put the bike in a high gear and roll it along to see if the engine turns. Change the oil. Put the carbs back on, charge the battery, put fresh fuel in the tank, prime the carbs... turn the kill switch to "run"
Then press the button.

Who knows?

It might start and run.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey DJ,

There's a thread in the MISC forum, scroll down from the MAIN FORUM PAGE, and you'll find it, look for the one that says:
What to look for in a neglected XS11"!!!

Essentially what you said, change ALL FLUIDS, engine, middle drive, final drive, at least bleed the brakes till clear. Most folks say that once bike tires get about 5 years old, they are getting hard and loose their grip/traction, so new ones would be a good thing as well.

Drain the gas tank, put in about a gallon of fresh and a pint of SeaFoam/Berrymans cleaner, slosh around, let it sit for a while, slosh again, repeat and then drain again, and then fill with fresh, again, put in about 4-8 oz of SeaFoam. You might also want to check and possibly replace the fuel lines, put on some inline filters while you're at it.

Your throttle and clutch cables may not need replacing as much as just cleaning/lubing.

Would also suggest taking the float bowls off your carbs, spritz some carb cleaner around the float pin, make sure they move easily. Depending on what year...didn't check your profile, and how you stored the carbs....if right side up and you have the 80-81 series,then the rubber tipped float needle valves may still be okay. Check your petcocks for proper function vs. leaking.

CLEAN the electrical connectors for the major connections, the battery, solenoid, starter, main ground cable behind the engine below the battery box, the battery ground where it attaches to frame, check all of your fuses, not just visually, pull them out and meter test, inspect clips that hold them.
Good Luck, and welcome back!!!
T.C.

[olebiker]

Where in Ontario are you?

[egsols]

Like TC said, use inline filters off the bat. Make sure that the tank is clean inside before you fire it up. If you carbs are clean, a dirty/rusty tank will change that in a hurry and then you will be spending a lot of time trying to get them clean again.

[djcofell]

I'm just outside Chatham, Ontario... will do the inlines and check the tank before trying to run it... I'm going to get it out where I can work on it on monday and soak the cylinders with some penetrating oil for a few days before doing much more....

[djcofell]

Ok started this project today, very little success so far, but I"m still trying...

To my surprise the bike actually rolled, without any problem. Unfortunately I could see some moisture sitting in the cylinders through the carb intakes (carbs are off the bike). I tried to put it in 5th gear and get er rolling a couple feet with no luck ( I thought I'd try before swapping all the fluids etc... which is tomorrows job...

Now here's my new question, if I cannot get the pistons moving manually, what do I do? I remember putting wd-40 in the cylinders and replacing spark plug then firing the bike up back in the day (another bike, smaller cc) and this seemed to give it the boost needed first thing in the year. Am I going to hurt a lot by doing this?

[TopCatGr58]

DJ,

Wd40 isn't strong enough!!! Get some Marvel Mystery Oil, or folks have also suggested Transmission fluid, put it in all 4 cylinders thru the spark plug holes, and let it sit a day or so, THEN you can put it in 2nd or 3rd gear and try rocking the engine over.....don't put the spark plugs back in, and put some rags on top of the plug holes to catch the fluid that might squirt out when it breaks loose. Do this BEFORE you decide to change the engine oil, because the MMO or TranFluid will leak down past the rings and contaminate the oil, and you don't want to run the engine with thinned oil!
T.C.

[bill4117]

DONT REPEAT MY MISTAKE!!!!!

I just had the same issue. first spray penetrating oil down the cylinders, and put some fresh oil in the crank case. also dont be lazy or in too much of a hurry (like i was), REMOVE THE VALVE COVER and pour some oil over the cams and lay the cover back on. next remove the crank cover on the left side (4 allen head bolts) and you can get a 19mm wrench on the end of the crank. gently turn clockwise (since thats the normal rotation of these engines) and work lightly counter clockwise. you will probably have to work the crank back and forth for a little bit before it frees up. (ALSO YOU MAY BE BETTER OFF TO LEAVE THE OIL AND PENETRANT IN THE ENGINE FOR A FEW DAYS BEFORE TRYING TO MOVE THE CRANK) once it's freed up plug in a fresh battery (NO GAS) and let the starter turn the engine for a few minutes (i prefer 1 minute intervals with a minute or 2 between so i dont heat the starter too much) you want the oil in the crank case to make it to the cams before putting fuel in. once your sure she's oiling well and freed up you can put the tank back on with some fuel and let her idle if she will. DONT CHUCK REVS !!!!!!! i made this mistake i didnt get her oiling properly and i reved her up and snapped the cam sending it through the side of the head. hopefully this will keep you from repeating my mistake . please let me know how you make out.

[olebiker]

You broke the camshaft? Man that is a solid cam not like the new ones that are hollow.

[Ken Talbot]

Re: DONT REPEAT MY MISTAKE!!!!!

Originally posted by bill4117
DONT CHUCK REVS !!!!!!! i made this mistake i didnt get her oiling properly and i reved her up and snapped the cam sending it through the side of the head. hopefully this will keep you from repeating my mistake .

And just as easy as that, Bill4117, you become a Guru here at the Forum. In all the years I've been hanging around, I've never head of anybody snapping a cam before. Only 9 posts under your belt, and you already have a unique experience and a bit of specialized advice to offer to anybody trying to resurrect a seized motor.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey DJ,

I meant to mention after seeing Bill's post was about NOT to try to use the square nut shaped end of the timing cover plate, it's not that strong and could be easily damaged by the amount of torque/force you may need to apply to get it broken loose.

Instead, take off the ALT cover off of the right crankshaft side, and use the large nut holding the pulley on, or even put a breaker bar in between the open slots on the rotor to use for leveridge. You'll want to turn the rotor CCW on this side of the engine, it actually does spin backwards from most other bikes!!
T.C.

[djcofell]

sounds good, I'll try that nut for turning it today hopefully.. I picked up a product calle Realeas-all that says it's meant to free up "any" seazed parts due to rust-heat etc... and that it the strongest stuff on the market (and I couldn't find the other mentioned products..) If I can't get this freed up, what are my options (rebuild, new motor etc.. ) and does anyone with experience know a cost on these options.... I'm selling my '99 CBR900RR in awsome condition to finance redueing this bike (seems weird but I've had this bike since I was 17 and can't get rid of it so I'm just going to ride it instead of watch it waste away) And the xs can't be beat for comfort since I'm getting on the older side now...

[olebiker]

It will turn over but I have seen it take as much as removing the heads and driving the pistons down. If you leave that stuff in for a couple of days it shouldn't be that hard to break free. It is usually just that first bit of movement that is really hard.

[djcofell]

maybe I'll give it another spray of that stuff today then and leave it till I'm off work for a couple days again, which will be next weekend... I don't want to rush this and mess it up now, I've left it sit soooo long as it is.