New here , just snagged a 1980 xs1100

[bikerphil]

just so i know is there any reason i couldn't use another year carbs ? i know the earlier ones have capped pilot jets because they draw from the larger main jet , but it should pretty much still be plug and play right ?

The early and late banks of carbs can be interchanged with no problems.

[tarzan]

Did you try and raise the float levels?Are the floats straight and even,I mean do both pontoons of the foats measure the same?Or did you only measure one side?I think I would raise the floats 1mm and see what happens.

[DGXSER]

To add to what Bikerphil advised, you have to jet the carb to the year of the carb and not to the year of the bike. In other words, if you use 79 carbs on an 81 bike, the carbs are jetted as if it is a 79.

You probably already knew that, but I just do not want to add troubles for lack of someone saying it.

[TDodge7]

i figured as much , just wasn't sure if maybe yamaha put bigger valves in at some point or anything else that might have required different jetting . well thats good , i can look for any xs1100 carbs then . my morgan carbtune showed up today , man this thing is sweet , morgan should really look into having someone sell these synchronizers over here , they're top notch , and no mercury or finicky vacuum gauges , just stainless steel rods that can never spill or lose zero . with the exchange rate it works out to almost exactly $100 and it took only 8 days to get here from the uk . http://www.carbtune.com/ if anyone is interested .

[3Phase]

Congratulations on the Morgan Carbtune! I've been trying to get one of those and I'm officially jealous.

Before you get another set of carburetors you should check the fuel level in all four of the carburetors. Don't remove the carburetors and check the float height again, check the actual level of the fuel in the float bowl when the carburetors are installed on the bike.

All you have to do it remove the brass float bowl drain plug and drain the float bowl into a small cup, then temporarily replace the brass plug with a fitting/nipple with clear hose on it.

Hold the clear hose up next to the carburetor float bowl and turn the fuel petcock to the Prime position. From memory, the fuel level in the hose should rise to about 1mm below the edge of the float bowl where it meets the carburetor body.

Again, check all four carburetors before you shell out more money on another set of carburetors that will quite probably have an entirely new and different set of problems!


Regards,

Scott

[TDodge7]

well money is going to be very tight here for a week or two so don't expect many updates , but as soon as my wallet stops being empty i'll post some updates .

[TDodge7]

still no cash yet , but i thought i'd post so you guys don't forget about me ha ha . i rebuilt the rear brake system since the spooge hole was clogged , i kept locking the rear brakes on . that SHOULD be good now , time will tell . the front brakes are being a little finicky so i might pull those calipers apart , i already rebuilt the master cylinder (lots of gunk under and around the seal ) i'm just doing a final gravity bleed right now since my bleed yesterday didn't do the job . hopefully that will solve the brake problems . i also went thru all the lighting and fixed everything , all signals work , emergency blinkers , brake lights , headlight , the whole shebang . i've been thru the carbs 2 more times since i last posted , still no difference . all i can think of is maybe something is just partially blocking something in the pilot jet . it can't be completely blocked because i get air and carb cleaner from the correct places when i spray it . if i tap my finger on and off of the pilot air jet while it's running she purrs like a kitten , and once i get it going i can actually ride it up and down the street , and when i pull back in it revs like it should and idles for a little bit . i can't wait till some money comes in and i can try a different set of carbs on here . and once i have my new carbs i'm very tempted to nail these carbs to a tree and let my tommy gun have at em ( i won't but it sure would be theriputic)

[DGXSER]

Tried an ultrasonic cleaner yet? Forgive me if it is back in this post somewhere, but JAT. Lots of folks have said their thought to be clean carbs turned the cleaner all kinds of yucky in an Ultrasonic bath. The cleaner used in them by most is nto harmful t the seals either from what I have read. JAT

[TDodge7]

no , i haven't tried an ultrasonic cleaner , don't own one . i called around and i could only find one place that would do it and they want $150 to do it , for that i could buy another set of carbs and a small ultrasonic cleaner . i'm not a stranger to carbs , there's 15 motorcycles out back right now and there's been a hundred others ( been buying and selling them for as long as i can remember) but this is the first set of carbs to ever refuse to work right . quite frustrating .

[DGXSER]

There is always one that gets you. I have no doubt of your skill and abilities, probably much better than my own. Just one more thought is all.

[TDodge7]

i hear ya . too bad it can't fix it's self , i'm getting tired of opening up these carbs over and over with no change ....i've been working on them so much i have dreams of working on them , how messed up is that ?

[DGXSER]

I know you stated money is tight, but, if you do that much work on these things, HF seems to have a relatively decent Ultrasonic cleaner pretty cheap that would fit the bank of carbs from what I have read. Might be an idea, even if it does not cure the problem may save you alot of tiem and effort on future projects.

[TDodge7]

yeah , i was looking at that , but so far i haven't found a ultrasonic cleaner with a tank large enough to fit an entire rack of carbs that didn't cost $500 , i found ones where i might be able to dunk one or two and then flip it over and do the other 2 .

[TDodge7]

hmmm , i think i might need a front master cylinder rebuild kit , i've been bleeding it all day and i'm still getting bubbles . i wasn't getting any at the calipers , but i'm getting them every time i grab the lever at the master cylinder ....i don't see any fluid around the piston , but that doesn't mean it's not sucking in air . tho if you hold the lever down it doesn't lose any pressure ...i'll keep trying i guess but i find it hard to believe this much air is in the system .