engine toast?

[TajMan]

wow struck a nerve, relax guys

big thumbs up, thanks for all the help

Yeah you may need to read between the lines with me sometimes

I am however, very capable and a very creative builder.
I have dreamed up some amazing things with this old XS11.

Don't worry, I'll dive into the bad motor and certainly find the issue before anything else.

The point I'm at right now, I just have NO money and of course I want to ride as soon as I can this season if possible.

[trbig]

LOL..

OK.. Now go back and read my posts imagining me with a nice calm tone. No yelling was intended or meant. Just making some statements.. sorry if they were taken AS ME TRYING TO RAM MY OPINIONS DOWN YOUR THROAT!!!

I have dreamed up some amazing things with this old XS11.

Like.. putting it back stock, hopefully?? lol.


Tod

[Larrym]

No Halo for Me...

TajMan,

Isn’t being an XS owner wonderful? I mean within this forum you can get input from other owners who offer their insights from both the “mechanical” side and the whole “project management” side. Whatever your situation or location you can interact with these owners and get information or choices or direction which you otherwise wouldn’t have. I believe every single owner who posted here is rooting for you to be successful. Differences of opinion are to be expected and are specific to each owner’s actual experiences with their own bikes. It just seems that here you have touched upon one of those situations where though we all may share the same “Awwh…Crap!!” feeling, what to do next is something being “discussed” with a certain appropriate degree of passion. It’s a good thing and you need not worry you’ve disturbed a hornet’s nest.

I stand by my original assertion that you have “catastrophic engine failure.” Sure, that label conjures up images of a hole in your crankcase where the rod punched through but in this case “failure” isn’t quite that graphic. Consider it to be more like what happens at a NASCAR race when the leader’s car starts blowing smoke out the exhaust and has to withdraw from the race. His engine is toast and it really doesn’t matter if it was a dropped valve, blown piston, broken camshaft or chain. Something went horribly wrong while the engine was RUNNING and so what the guy who pulls it apart will find ain’t gonna be pretty.

Here’s where the NASCAR guy and us owners part ways. If he didn’t have a truck full of spare engine parts, a trained professional mechanic, and even a spare good-to-go motor he wouldn’t have sponsors. We have to deal with what we have, what we can get, and what we can do with what we have got.

Tod made some very good points and I believe (well, I’m confident he’ll correct me if I’m wrong here….) comes from the position that these motors themselves are not rocket science. He has successfully performed the “tear-down-rebuild” process more than a few times thus demonstrating that Yes, it is possible. Not just possible, but the RIGHT thing to do. I agree that it is asinine to bail out and throw away an engine which is rebuildable. I picture a conveyor belt dumping XS engines into the smelter fires and I, like any other XS owner, would say, “STOP!!! I’ll take as many as I can fit in my truck!” These motors just aren’t being made anymore so rebuilding them really IS the right thing to do.

Unfortunately this rebuilding of motors isn’t the standard operating procedure in our present world of consumerism/convenience. The market is geared towards disposable vehicles which do end up in the smelter. It is THEIR world and we XS owners are just living in it. For example, if you were to take an automobile and replace every replaceable part, the end cost would be 3 times what you paid for the vehicle in the first place. Not even counting labor…just the parts. In the case where an engine has to be “rebuilt” a machine shop has to become involved and so the costs go even higher.

Tod and others who do these rebuilds are not stupid “throwbacks/eccentrics” who take on these projects cause they’re one fry short of a happy meal. They really are demonstrating what should be done in a world where just about everyone else takes the path of least resistance. But these “rebuilders” have faced real challenges that are more than just choosing the right wrench and turning it the correct direction: setting up a dedicated workspace big enough to lay out all the parts, sourcing parts providers, sourcing machinist services, etc. The “to do” list and resources required are in the heads/hearts of those who really have done it and the fact they did it in an environment where things of this nature are “simply not done anymore” makes it even more noble. Having done all this once makes it easier to do the second time. But even being able to do it once is dependent on whether or not the individual owner has the resources to do this “RIGHT” thing.

Just as a test case here, you could keep track of the resources (Parts bought, machinist services, time spent “sourcing”, tools, chemicals, etc.) and give us a “thumbnail” of what you find. I, myself, rage against the idea of getting another motor. It is the wrong thing to do. But not enough people in today’s world support true “recycling/rebuilding” to make it cost effective for any of us who question if our motor is toast or not. That is just wrong. Shamefully wrong. (Tod and other owners like him won’t spend an eternity in a lake of fire/brimstone like I prob’ly will…)

[thewiz]

Your point is my point, Tod ..

and I had it first ... so there.

You act like checking out the motor is going to cost him a riding season.

No I didn't even imply that ... but a comprehensive rebuild likely will. Enough ...

Have fun Taj ... let us know.

Well said, LarryM

[TajMan]

Like.. putting it back stock, hopefully?? lol.


Tod

Lol, no, more like:
Sportbike rear-swingarm with frame modified for single-shock mount.
Sportbike engine I.E. - R1, Kawasaki 1100, Hayabusa, etc..
Then I can go with the sportbike forks and front end, sportbike wheels, etc..

but I'm an inventor, and a dreamer

Look at this crazy contraption I built for my 00 Yamaha R1, then drove it across the country 2,000 miles to NJ with hundreds of pounds of extra gear stowed on the back!
(I had a throttle-stick, bars allowed me to cruise on highway sitting with my back straight up relaxing)


(eek, in pic there you can see my XL350 frame with triple exhaust sitting there lmao)

Look at this Honda Nighthawk chopper I built and drove summer 06


I'll do the XS11 well

[thewiz]

Very damn cool,

Taj ... love the sit up bars and the custom tour pkg against an industrial backdrop ... sweet.

I'll do the XS11 well

I bet you will ... can't wait to see it

[trbig]

Sportbike rear-swingarm with frame modified for single-shock mount.
Sportbike engine I.E. - R1, Kawasaki 1100, Hayabusa, etc..
Then I can go with the sportbike forks and front end, sportbike wheels, etc..

I don't get it?? Why not just get a sport bike that has a much better frame?

I'll do the XS11 well

To each his own.. but in this quote, I'm replacing the word "Do" with "#uck up"... When you're done, it will be like saying, "Look, I have an XS11! See that little piece of metal in there by the back tire? Yup.. that came from an XS1100!"

It is a free world, and it is your bike to do as you wish... just as I can wish something happens so that another one doesn't get chopped up .


Tod

[TopCatGr58]

Lol, no, more like:
Sportbike rear-swingarm with frame modified for single-shock mount.
Sportbike engine I.E. - R1, Kawasaki 1100, Hayabusa, etc..
Then I can go with the sportbike forks and front end, sportbike wheels, etc..

but I'm an inventor, and a dreamer

Hey Taj,

I have to say that in this case, I'm with TOD, from what you have stated above, there won't be much XS11 left, especially if you put in an R1 or such engine!? I also say why bother. The heart of an XS11 is the engine, that nice torquey thing in the frame! Folks have done lots of mods to the front end, the suspension, the intake, exhaust, ignition, but at least they have kept the ENGINE, so it can still be called a MODDED XS11, but once you replace the engine, then you don't have an XS11 anymore.....IMHO!

Have fun whatever you do, but many of us would ask you to rethink what you are going to do...perhaps to another bike instead, since it looks like you're not really interested in keeping the heart of the Xs11 beating in it's frame!?
T.C>

[trbig]

I have to say that in this case, I'm with TOD

Make sure you clarify that, TC.. It doesn't happen often!


Tod

[TajMan]

Understand where I'm coming from, I'm trying to build my awesome custom bike built from the ground up. I am NOT trying to build an XS11, just building what makes me happy.

That said, my reasons for doing anything are for functionality and to be unique, that's #1 nothing else matters critically.
I don't care about lighter or heavier frames,
don't care about shaft drive or chain,
don't care about what engine it ends up with.
Its about the style, and whatever vehicle I started with then modified.



ANYWAY...

my dreams and lots of ideas that will probably never happen aside,
I think my original motor may still be good!

Maybe sitting an extra day with penetrating oil in cylinders helped more.
First i took off valve cover (cams etc looked BEAUTIFUL), then I started working the crank around again with the 19mm.
Motor seemed to turn 360 degrees and keep turning!
May be ok now, doesn't hang up, no weird sounds.

We'll wait till its back in the bike first trying to be started.
Or maybe I'll try starting it up on the ground..


Anyway, my work gets an old abandoned bike back on the road. I am NOT taking a good XS11 off the road and modifying it.

[thewiz]

Good deal, Taj ...

glad to hear the crank is crankin' now. Step in the right direction ... get ya' some MMO and pour it in the holes too. Marvelous stuff ... ... dissolves gunk and old carbon like nothin' else I've ever seen.

coming from, I'm trying to build my awesome custom bike built from the ground up. I am NOT trying to build an XS11, just building what makes me happy.

Go for it, dude ... I, for one, love it.

How do your carbs look on the inside? That is the next challenge that most of us face with old XSs.

If it were me, I'd stick the motor back in there just for the convienence of the wiring harness, ign coils etc and the stability offered by the frame in case it does fire up

[TajMan]

This bike was stuck SOLID from sitting for years!

The carbs were frozen up, looked ok inside I suppose. I used a flat screwdriver to pry the slides inside upwards, and break loose. After that, slides would move up and down. I need to clean them out well.
Acetone?

[thewiz]

OH, brother ..

I have never used acetone ..... meth cookers got it all ... lol ... . I have found the best solution for me (excuse the pun) is the take 'em apart down to the bare bones while leaving them still mounted together on the rack. Keep all the parts in piles for that individual carb, specially the diaphrams and needle jets(emulsion tubes). What year is this one again?

Having owned several carb shops in the distant past it's kinda' hard for me to turn work over .... BUT ... a shop with an ultrasonic, non caustic tank is THE BEST way to go. A couple of hours in that tank is the ticket !! If that is not an option for you, a few cans of Gumout or Berryman carb spritz with the straw will do a reasonable job. Tons of carb threads on here as that represents probably half of all issues guys encounter with their bikes ... search 'em out when you can. Lots of experience contained therein.

Whatever ya' do, DON"T soak the rack of carbs in a large CAUSTIC carb dip though. That will probably destroy the rubber throttle valve seals which generally are not in need of replacement .... and hence, cause more headache. The ultrasonic tank actually conditions those seals according to the gurus.

[TajMan]

nice,
its a 79 special

[skids]

acetone eats plastics. I wouldn't use it.