Front Brakes

[farrbetter]

I've decided to blow the dust off and try to reactivate an old friend , my "79 11 special" .
It's been parked for 20 years and I'm finding that it's not quite as simple as new battery - new gas - let's ride.
I've got tons of problems and any advice would be greatly appreciated.
1) Fuel coming from air box
2) Need to rebuild front master brake cyl
( how do I get that plunger out ? )
3) Mice ate into my wiring harness

And I'm sure I'll have more as I proceed.
I forgot what a great bike my "11" was, thanks to this site for getting me interested again.

[Ken Talbot]

Re: Front Brakes

1) Fuel coming from air box

2 things wrong here, both need to be fixed. Petcocks are leaking and need to be taken apart, cleaned, rebuilt. Float valves are leaking, probably just spooge that will be fixed by a complete strip down and 'triple clean'.

2) Need to rebuild front master brake cyl
( how do I get that plunger out ? )

Remove the circlip from the handle end and the plunger should just pop out. If it doesn't, drive it out carefully with a 3/16" wood dowel through the banjo bolt hole.

3) Mice ate into my wiring harness

Might need to gat a cat... That, and some solder, heat-shrink tubing, maybe a few connectors, etc, etc.

And I'm sure I'll have more as I proceed.
I forgot what a great bike my "11" was, thanks to this site for getting me interested again.

Good luck - and don't be shy about coming back to the forum when you run up against the next little problem. A lot of stuff will be covered off by the tech tips, but not everything has been covered quite yet.

[PJSALERNO]

Check tech tips. There's a ton of info there complete with intructions and pics on fixing carb and brake problems. but here's a few tips that I've read and followed and now my 78E is runnning smooth as silk and looks and runs like its 2.5 years old not 25.

1) Gas coming out of air box:
My first guess is a stuck float in one or more carbs, but since the biike has been parked for 20 years, I would suggest tearing down all 4 carbs, cleaning them and replacing parts from a rebuild kit. Be careful on the K&L kits, alot of XSives have received wrong jets in them. I used motorcyclecarbs.com They were about $25 per carb, but they go the extra step to make sure you get the right jet sizes for your bike. If money is not an object you can send them your carbs and the'll be plug and play when you get em back for about $400-500. You get telephone support as well.

2) Front MC plunger:
Once you remove the rubber dust cover ( just tear it out, you'll need to replace it anyway. (partsNmore.com has a good cheap rebuild kit) you will see way down deep a cir-clip. I use very long and thin needle nose plyers to squeeze the cir-clib and lift it out. Then the plunger comes right out. Be careful it might fly around the garage and the clip is not part of the kit, so dont lose it.

3) Mice harness. Sorry no experience here, but I'm sure some1 here has an answer.

Good luck and be patient. In time you'll be back on the road. ...Phil

[RiskyBusiness]

Well I just got my '79 Special running this spring. Mine was stored outdoors for a few years so the breaks were a mess. When I picked it up I had to use quite a bit of WD-40 and a hammer just the get the brakes unfrozen enough to push the bike onto a trailer. I rebuilt all three wheel cylinders and both masters. I used rebuild kits from my local dealer (expensive) and if I did it again I would get them from Partsnmore in Canada or Cycle-Recycle in Indy. Also be sure and get at least one shop manual. I got two: Yamaha shop book and also a Clymer book. Also look in the tech tips section for info on the CD. rockjok@imt.net sells these for $10. Lots of good stuff on there.

In addition to what was mentioned above, your Special has a vacuum valve for fuel flow(aka octopus). Yours needs rebuilding or removal. Search around in the tech tips and search this forum for more info. WRT carb rebuild kits, I would highly recommend the K&L ones sold at cycle recycle and many dealers. Don't use the jets, but your old jets are probably fine if you clean them well. The K&L kits have all the squishy parts which the kits at partsnmore do not have. If you want to replace the jets, just order them from Dennis Kirk or your local dealer. Spend time on your carbs, nothing will pay off better than LOTS of time learning about carbs, cleaning your carbs, and tinkering. Just remember: no smoking cigars while cleaning carbs. My eyebrows are just now growing back *grin*

[RiskyBusiness]

BTW, Rick, where do you live?

[nashville_bill]

There is a wiring harness for a '79 on ebay now.

[farrbetter]

Thanks for the response's
Front brakes are now OK
Carbs have been cleaned and freed up
just need bowl gaskets now.
I'll check out that wiring harness.

And BTW Risky I live in Toronto Canada

[Garry W.]

In regard to your carb problem. Make sure your replace the O rings under your needle and set essembly. I have a 81 MD special. that had sat for a couple of years. When I first put the bike back together, as I recieved it in 4 boxes and the wheels and the frame. The carbs would constantly leak into the air box. I got 4 O ring at a local auto parts store that were gasoline compatable put them under each set assembly end of leak Problem!!! Good luck have fun.

[RiskyBusiness]

I had a lot of trouble finding those o-rings but luckily the k&l kits include those.