New to the forum

[Jeff]

Hey guys!

I am new to this site and forum after recently purchasing a 1978 XS1100E. I placed an add just a bit ago looking for a side cover and a left side case cover.

I am beginning to work the bugs of of the bike to get in in shape to actually ride. The bike is pretty much stock except for the PO has removed the baffles from the mufflers and as you might guess... it is excessively loud.

After a good going thru on the carbs..... the bike idled well.... had a bit of a bog under 3000 rpm but took off like a scalded dog at 3000. After a short ride.... I began to lose power at low rpm. Since then... the bike will start and idle only with the starter lever at full and dies if I move it to center or crack the throttle. After cleaning the carbs... I set everything including the idle screws to their initial settings. I also noticed.... that the bike will turn over nicely but refuse to start if the battery gets a little low.

I hope to have time this weekend to work on it again and was hoping you might be able to offer a few suggestions on what course of action might be best.

Also..... if their are any IDAHO XSives.... lemme know!

[beechfront]

don't know about your model - but on mine the vacuum (timing) advance was unhooked and it was acting the very same way. don't know if this makes any sense, but check to see if maybe the timing advance is not moving freely.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there Jeff,

Welcome to the realm of the Xsives!!!! First, you will want to charge that battery to it's fullest, the ignition system is real finicky and will not fire properly or very strongly if it's weak. Secondly, like Beech said, check all your vacuum lines, the vacuum advance unit under the left side cover, the wires to the pickup coils can go bad(do a search in the Forum, or visit the tech tips and READ, READ, READ!!!). Also, check your fuel lines, your petcocks. Did you pour out the old gas, clean out the tank etc before trying to put more gas in?? THere was probably lots of sludge in it, and you could have stirred it up and it could have gotten back down into the carbs, clogging the supply line, the inlet ports, the needle valve and seats....there's a screen filter in there, and such!! Sounds like it's not getting fuel......you're having to run it on CHOKE which bypasses much of the idle circuit to pump gas more directly into the carbs, so you may be in for your second carb cleaning.....it usually takes THREE to get them right, you'll find this amongst the written literature here on the FORUM. You may need to recoat the gas tank to prevent continued rust from forming!? And you may need to put inline filters as well!! Okay, hope this helps, good luck. Read the tech tips first, then if you can't find an answer, come back and drop another question on us, we'll be sure to try to help!!!

[Jeff]

Thanks for the info.

I think I will start by checking the advance unit. There is a high probability that it is damaged. The PO had wrecked the bike and bent the left crash bar back far enough to knock a quarter sized hole in the left side cover. I took the cover off and initially checked the advance and everything was moving freely. But.... that was before the bike started requiring full choke to idle. There is a possibility of a chunk of the cover still floating around in there somewhere that I missed earlier. The tank looked ok.... with just a little surface rust in places.... no flakes. I was planning on recoating it soon.

I have the day off tomorrow and plan on digging further to see what I can find.

[beechfront]

I should have been more specific - the vacuum advance timing could be the cause for your bog under 3000 rpm. good chance your recent idle problems are due to gummed up carbs like TopCat suggested.

[Jeff]

After having a little free time to investigate.... I found that my problem needing the choke on was indeed fuel starvation..... in that the vacuum line to the right petcock was cracked.

It also appears that a cracked line was at fault for the low end bogging. The vacuum line to the advance unit was deteriorated inside the cover.

Later today I plan to change the plugs and fiddle with the mixture.

[skids]

Jeff, you are probably right on the money by thinking that the lack of baffles are causing you grief. Been there, done that! The symptoms were the same for me. You will crap-out the carbs that way also because of the backfiring through the carbs. You can even burn a hole through one of the piston crowns. If your end plates are missing, you probably need to just replace them with a new set of macs or jardines. I really like the 4into1 jardines.

[Jeff]

Since the original headers are still in great shape..... I was thinking of trying to retrofit a different muffler on them. I was looking at the writeup on using H-D Fat Boy units.

I think I can get a set of them for under $20. I have heard good things about the Jardine 4-1 setup..... but for the time being.... the cost is beyond what I can afford. Then again... I tend to prefer the balanced look of a 4-2 setup.

[skids]

Try to salvage the crossover section and try to extend the muffs to the rear axle. Be prepared to try bigger main jets also. Harley does sell some good quality clamps.

Originally posted by Jeff
Since the original headers are still in great shape..... I was thinking of trying to retrofit a different muffler on them. I was looking at the writeup on using H-D Fat Boy units.

I think I can get a set of them for under $20. I have heard good things about the Jardine 4-1 setup..... but for the time being.... the cost is beyond what I can afford. Then again... I tend to prefer the balanced look of a 4-2 setup.

[Jeff]

After talking to the local Harley Davidson shop..... I think I am going to at least TRY the Fat Boy muffler retrofit. They are currently building an expansion and all of their take off sets are in storage until completion. I talked to the service manager and he said he normally keeps them around for a while and if no one wants them.... he just tosses them out. He said that the next set that he gets is mine for free.

If I get enough cash put back before he gets a set.... I will most likely just spring for a set of Jardine 4-1s. I was taking a look at the current exhaust and I think I like the idea of having only one set of pipes going down the right side of the bike. From the residue on the left pipe by the side stand.... it appears that the PO had a problem with melting his shoe sole on the muffler when trying to put down the side stand while the exhaust was still hot. There are little patches of black rubber or plastic melted and smeared on the surface of the muffler right around the side stand.

I finally managed to get the oil filter bolt out tonight and get fresh oil and filter into the bike. I had to resort to welding an 11mm socket onto what was left of the oil filter bolt to get the fool thing out. There wasn't much of a bolt head left to work with. It was torqued on so tight that I had to have my son hold the bike to keep me from taking it off the center stand while twisting the breaker bar I was using on the socket.

[Snow]

I am quickly becoming a fan of partsnmore, look at the bottom of this page - they have oil filter bolts and drain plug bolts.

]https://www.partsnmoreonline.com/PNM...e%20parts.html