starts but dies

[SFSPECBIKER79]

80 xs 1100 special. starts but dies when you release the start button. any one know what is going on? just changed plugs then this happens. thanks

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Rowdy,

Under the left side of the gastank is a little metal part attached to the frame above the valve cover, it's the ballast resistor. Either the connections have gotten corroded, or the BR has gotten broken and is not carrying current thru it. Either way, the TCI sends power directly to the coils when starting, but once it's started, it routes it thru the BR. Quick test, find the connector for the BR, and unplug it, and then plug the harness side wires together, and then try starting bike. IF it starts and keeps running, the BR is bad, and you need to replace it. You do NOT want to run the bike very long this way otherwise you can damage the ignition coils AND the TCI!!
T.C.

[SFSPECBIKER79]

starts and dies

thanks TC i'll try that tomorrow, i'm burn out on it now. now i feel like parting it out on flea-bay.

[oldyam80sg]

Why do you want to part it out?Simple thing as TC stated-try it first then post back.Thought about that one time with my SG-glad i didn't because with the help of this forum it was running again and I'm sure yours will be too.

[DGXSER]

Hey Rowdy, I know how you feel. When I was dorkin around with my carbs and more than half the times I loaded them back on the bike I got a sticking float valve dumping gas all over, I was ready to toss the bloody thing down the back yard hill and throw some more gas on it to have a good fire.

Stick with it and you will figure it out. TC is really good at this stuff and probably forgot more than I hope to know about these machines. His advice sounds REALLY spot on to me, so I'd give that a shot, and if it does not work, then repost here, take a breather to play frisbee, golf, or go fishing and when you come back you will have plenty more good ideas to try. It's gonna be one small thing, it just might take a week or two to find it.

[soccer4m]

Hey Rowdy

Howdy RowdyBoy,,,,,,,previous advice sounds possible but if the bike was running great before the plug change it should be something simple---like check gas level,,,,is gas getting to the carbs, through the gas filters. Maybe try a spray of instant start in the intakes to get the bike going. Also,Flip the petcock lever to prime and check the gas flow to the filters. DO you smell gas after it starts to catch? A little trick I sometimes do is remove a plug, squirt some gas in the hole and quickly reinstall the plug and it should help to fire up the bike for a few seconds. If that doesnt work,,,,try all previous advice, pray to the XS gods, good luck and keep us informed,,,,Mike in S.Diego

[SFSPECBIKER79]

starts and dies

thanks for all the input and positive thoughts so far. i think the engine may have something more serious wrong with it. this was a bike i bought to part out to start with. i got it home and it fired up, and had terrible gas leaks at the carbs so i took the carbs off to see what was going on inside them. everything looked clean, but all but one of the floats were collapsed, so i bought a good set of carbs from one of the members here. took them apart and cleaned them. cleared all the passages and put them back together and put them on bike. it cranked up and would idle but would backfire and pop back threw the carbs. when you rev it up the max rev i could get is 7500 checked all the wiring and even replaced the pickup coils, still did the same thing all the popping and backfiring. so i pulled the valve cover all the valves had clearance so i figured no valves were staying open. as i was turning the engine i noticed that the po before me had left one bolt out on each cam pulley. this wont make it do the things as i described but needs to be addressed. i turned the engine to top dead center on num. 1 and all the dots lined up on the camshafts the way they suppose to. as i thought. anyway i put the valve cover back on. and adjusted the chain tensioner. cranked it and tried to set the timing but i doesn't want to run at the normal setting @5 degrees. so i think i may have a warped valve or the cam chain has jumped a tooth. so i thought i'd try new plugs after installing new plugs the thing will start and run as long as you hold the start button let off it it dies. its so hot here i'm not going to do anything today. i got to go to work tonight it will have to wait till next wed. thanks everybody ill update next week

[SFSPECBIKER79]

update

just jumped the wires on ballast resister and they are fire at the plugs again. i didnt start the engine, but the fire was strong white/blueish color. so ill get me another resistor from ebay, tonight. i also pulled the valve cover again and the valve lashes are as follows cylinder #1 exhaust is 20mm intake is 15mm #2 exhaust is 20mm intake 9mm #3 exhaust 20mm intake is 20mm #4 exhaust is 4mm intake is 7mm. i dont know what the settings should be. does anybody know what the correct valve lash is for this 1100 1980 xs special, and what shims i need to set it at correct specs? thanks

[DGXSER]

Hey Rowdy,

Awesome you found the source fo your problem!!! TC is awful good at spotting the issues with these machines. I figured he nailed it for you.

Its early and I don't have time to look, but it is in the manuals that Catatonic Bug has on his website what the valve settings are. Be sure to look up the later model years as they changed in 80 I think, I know my 81 uses a different setting than the early models for intake.

As to what shims you need, well, that all depends on what shims are in there. So you need to either pull the cams or use a tool to pull the shims out and look at the under side for what number is on them, then there is a cchart in the book that will help you figure out what shim you need. Then you can go get the replacement shims either by contacting Wildkat for the shim library or find a local source.

Next time I need to check and reshim I will try to photo or video it for a tech tip. It's really pretty simple but intimidating to more than a few.