I need help

[cywelchjr]

I want to avoid using LEDs in the turn signals because I want to retain the auto-cancel feature. Unless they have LED bulbs that draw the same current as the regular ones, I'll stick with the regular ones. I kinda feel weird ordering light bulbs online... Seems like something I should be able to find locally and hold in my hand. I will definitely go looking for the LED brake light bulbs today, and see what I can find.

I already gave up on that. However, I am trying to figure out just how it works, from what I have seen so far, I THINK I can cobble up an adapter design that would allow an aftermarket flasher and still keep the auto cancel.

[Kmccaslan]

Location

I live in Greenwood, SC...If there are any enthusiast close I would love to meet up. It seems that most of you guys do your own maintenance, but if I tried even the simplest I would probably tear up my bike.

Also my rear brakes are scrubbing and the rotor looks a little rough...will it definitely need replaced? Or can just brake pads work? Can they turn a rotor as they do on a car?

[CatatonicBug]

I live in Greenwood, SC...If there are any enthusiast close I would love to meet up. It seems that most of you guys do your own maintenance, but if I tried even the simplest I would probably tear up my bike.

Also my rear brakes are scrubbing and the rotor looks a little rough...will it definitely need replaced? Or can just brake pads work? Can they turn a rotor as they do on a car?

Believe in yourself, man! You can do it! You will not be able to find a reliable mechanic that will work on a 30+ year-old bike, and still be able to afford to put food on the table. These bikes really are NOT that difficult, once you know the tricks to doing it right. The folks on this site have done EVERYTHING that can be done, and are more than willing to describe it in detail for you. Get ready to get your hands greasy, and dig in. You'll learn a ton, and feel a lot more pride in doing it yourself. Just take your time and ask lots of questions.

As for the brakes, you'll most likely need to take the rear caliper apart and clean the seals (and the grooves they go into). You'll probably need to do the same to the rear Master Cylinder, and be sure to pay special attention to the "spooge hole". Rebuild kits are available, if the rubber parts are ripped or torn. Be sure to only use clean brake fluid to clean the rubber parts, and brake parts cleaner (no residue) to clean the metal parts. A sewing needle and a dental pick will help in the process. The only other special tool you'll need is a pair of snap-ring pliers (though some choose to use plain needle-nose pliers instead). The whole process for the rear brake system, including bleeding the system again, should take about an hour (maybe more if you run into trouble). Be sure to bench bleed the master cylinder before re-assembly, or it will take forever to get the fluid flowing again.

[cywelchjr]

I live in Greenwood, SC...If there are any enthusiast close I would love to meet up. It seems that most of you guys do your own maintenance, but if I tried even the simplest I would probably tear up my bike.

Also my rear brakes are scrubbing and the rotor looks a little rough...will it definitely need replaced? Or can just brake pads work? Can they turn a rotor as they do on a car?

If the rear brakes are scrubbing, your pads are probably worn out. Don't keep using them, you need to fix the problem soonest. Order a set of pads and read through the manuals that are available online for how to change them. Unfortunately the disks were not intended to be resurfaced, and being stainless steel cannot be turned. There was someone around at one point who would precision grind them flat and smooth, but unless they are really bad I would just change the pads.

Oh, and when you do that bleed the brakes. If everything works after that I wouldn't worry about it. One thing I found is that when I bled my back brake, pumping the brake didn't work, what worked was to press down, the release the pressure through the bleeder, and then release and press once again, and repeat until no air came out, and don't forget to keep the fluid in the MC topped off when doing this, or you WILL be starting over again.

[mro]

You will not be able to find a reliable mechanic that will work on a 30+ year-old bike

Umm.. there out there, just maybe not a Yamaha dealer.
Some small shops happen to have very good mechanics, even for 30+ year old bikes.

mro
Just gota look and ask the right questions to find em...

[DGXSER]

I agree MRO, There are a couple around me that know what an XS1100 is and what is on one. But there are plenty around who might recognize the name but have no idea about anything else.

Reading the tech tips on this site and looking through a manual first will help you ask the right questions to see if they know what is up with your machine.

[Varnae]

From personal experience, I highly recommend doing the work yourself. You may not be mechanically inclined, but there are numerous people here that are and they can pretty much break anything down to a kindergarteners level (which is what I need) so that the repairs can be done by ones self. I realize it's substantially easier to just take it to a mechanic and let them do the work, but IMHO there's noone better than yourself that you can trust to do the work on your bike and do it correctly. I thought I had a good mechanic to do the work on my bike when I first got it, but now that some of the guys on these boards and I have gone through my bike, I see just how shoddy this "mechanics" (and I use that word lightly) workmanship really was. I know that there are some good mechanics out there, but you'd be much better off doing the work yourself, and the feeling of accomplishment is great when you get a portion of the project done and it works the way it is supposed to.

If you're having issues with brakes, definitely do it yourself. If I can do brakes, anyone can. Trust me on this one.

[TomRodgers]

I concur. I have found that unless you are working on something newer, that requires a friggin computer to tell you what is wrong, or the tool to fix it costs mega-bucks, its better to do the work yourself. It will take longer. It will be frustrating at times. But...if you are worth your salt, doing it yourself, it will be done correctly. there is nothing worse than having to fix something AGAIN....(especially if some previous jagoff hump stick, more commonly known as PO [previous owner] screwed it up). You may not be up and dodging cagers as soon as you like, but the subsequent trouble free travels will be well worth the time and effort. Not to mention the $40-$60 per hour labor you will be saving that you can put towards purchasing some bad-a$$ parts for your ride!!!

[DeanR]

I learned on my XS. Riding and fixing. MSF course was great, having never ridden before. Just be smart. Regarding working on the bike. DO IT. It's half the fun and entirely doable with all the expertise of all the good people here to help out. My bikes are now my primary transportation! The XS wants to get out of the garage more often. I just checked. 11k mi. on the ST1100 this year, 350 mi. on the XS. Geez....

[fredintoon]

I live in Greenwood, SC...If there are any enthusiast close I would love to meet up. It seems that most of you guys do your own maintenance, but if I tried even the simplest I would probably tear up my bike.
Also my rear brakes are scrubbing and the rotor looks a little rough...will it definitely need replaced? Or can just brake pads work? Can they turn a rotor as they do on a car?

Dammit Mac,
pretty please upgrade your profile a tad and putting your bike's year & model under your signature line would really help too.
Fear not, you can fix the entire bike for the cost of a good set of metric wrenches. Anna BFH. Be careful using the BFH.
See any post by CatatonicBug to download an XS11 manual.
Brake scrubbing as in not releasing all the way?
Search/Spoogehole should tell you which guitar string pokes it clear and that's the most likely cause.
Search/brake pad wear should tell you how to check the pads and how worn they need to be to change them.
XS brake disks are made from a really tough grade of non-rusting alloy steel. The average tire shop's automotive brake disk lathe will just wreck the surface.
It's a specialist job.