$20NZ 1980 XS1100 STD 1 owner

[subike]

I had the pleasure today of picking up a totally complete origional condition 1980 XS STD. This bike is a oneowner from new bike, with all the paperwork fron the day Jerry bought it.
It as been literally around the world twice, with 350k miles recorded.
the overall condition of the bike is outstanding concidering its life.
The down side?
The motor is siezied.
PO stated that it locked up at 60mph, will not turn overat all in either direction of the crank.
The bike was makeing no noise whatso ever before this happened.
the crankcase was full of oil
the bike has had regular oil changes etc its entire life,

He suspects a broken crankshaft due to the mileage, after 28 years of ownership he parked it up, not even investigating the posible cause.
I would like to know from you guys you opinion,
Could it be the gearbox, middle drive, or any number of other things.
It will be an adventure to find out.
I have a second runnung motor which I will drop in from another 79std, but would like to get the origionl going .
I will see about posting a pic soon (camera needs battries)
BTW $20 NZ is about $15 US, i think I got a bargin
It had two new mitchilen pilots fitted the week before it stopped! sweet

[DiverRay]

My '78 was locked up, and it was a transmission gear that broke. I would pull the engine and split the cases. You may find the inside not as bad as the PO thought it might be, or it may be a pile of broken steel inside. Either way, it's a winter project to rebuild the engine!
Great Find!

[subike]

Further to my post of yesterday,
I placed the battery on trickel charge last night, turned the charger off this morning,
I wanted to see if it would hold a charge for the day.
Tonight after work, I tried the lights, yeap, high/low and park all ok
signal lamps , yeap, flashing at a normal speed
Brakes light, yeap, both foot brake and front brake
horn, strangeled squawk, but sort of a beep,
idiot lights on the dash all glowing bright and clear.
Hmmmmm. battery seams to be OK.
So I decided to hit the starter button.
The motor turned over at least four times with no clunks bangs or sreeching sounds. Sweet the battery could be servicable.
Now this got me thinking, the motor turned over four times!!!???
No binding of valves upon piston crowns at TDC ??
Surley if the crank was broken , that the interferance of the valves on the ""broken"" side of the crank would be very obvious.
So I've put the battery back on charge and try again tomorrow .
If there is enough charge I will try doing a compression test
So it is starting to look like there may be a broken gear in the gearbox, which would be simply drop the sump for an inspection of the gears.
This gearbox has never had the second gear fix, PO has never had any trouble with the box.
But before I do this, would you concider my above asumption, that the crankshaft is not broke, to be sound?

More on the adventure as I find out what is "broke" in "pocket change"
the name I have given the bike

[TomRodgers]

Im not the expert on this by any means, but with my experience with auto's, in my honest opinion, if it were a broken crank, there would be some OBVIOUS issues/sounds from cranking it over. Drain the oil. Look at it closely. See if there are any tell tale signs (like metal fragments, slivers). Do the same with the trans, middle drive, and final drive. The issues may be in one of those other areas. IF the damn thing indeed locked up at 60+ mph, there HAS to be some sign of mechanical failure. (other than a flatspot on the rear tire!!!) Change the filter, dump new lube juice in, and after the battery is charged completely ( or a new one installed) make sure the beast is in nuetral, and see if it will run. Worst case.....rebuild....best case..fix the tranny and run with it. But thats my two cents worth. Take the advise from some of the guys with more experience......

[CatatonicBug]

Just toss that battery and get a new one. They only last about 3 years anyway, and even if it does hold a charge, it probably won't hold it for long. Sounds like you got yourself a decent bike for a decent price! As Tom mentioned, change all the fluids, then be sure to clean the carbs, and see if it will actually start. Who knows, maybe it's not "broken" at all!

[cywelchjr]

You know, I just had a thought. I have read of the middle drive locking up, which if the bike was in gear, would keep it from turning over. Maybe the problem is the middle drive and not in the engine proper at all. That said, do check everything else out anyways, and of course the question is does the rear wheel turn freely with the bike in neutral?

[greatnw]

Always love a good mystery. Be sure and let us know what you find out.

[TomRodgers]

Frigging Senor Murphy. That is the issue. He is pissing everyone off 2nite!!

[subike]

You know, I just had a thought. I have read of the middle drive locking up, which if the bike was in gear, would keep it from turning over. Maybe the problem is the middle drive and not in the engine proper at all. That said, do check everything else out anyways, and of course the question is does the rear wheel turn freely with the bike in neutral?

The bike rolls freely in neutral. You can push it around no worries.
With the bike in 1st gear,clutch disengauged, it can also be moved.
the only resistance being the normal rub from the disc brakes.
So I am looking more at the fault being in the middle drive,
I am lucky enough to have 2 of these available free.
I changed the battery over to my other bike this morning,
Enough power to start "exsessive" ( my 79 std) from cold, ride to work and back with the lights on, and show 14.5 on the meter when a I checked it tonight. I would say thats it will be OK for a while yet.
So "pocket change" ( the 80 std) is looking at being a real bargin indeed

[DGXSER]

Hmmm....when you roll the bike around in neutral or 1st gear with clutch pulled, the only thing you take out of the equation is the engine. Every other shaft and or gear (save the ones in the tranny not in play due to 1st being selected) is working and rolling as if you are riding under power.

The drive shaft still turns and it turns the yoke which turns the middle drive gears, they in turn drive the countershaft which turns the main shaft of the tranny which turns the metals of the clutch. The clutch pulled in means your not turning the outer basket which is driven by the primary shaft or whatever they call the one the primary chain from the crankshaft drives.

So if it is rolling fine in gear with clutch pulled then is sounds like the middle drive is not locked up.

[DiverRay]

Plan on splitting the cases to replace a few gears in the transmission. The two engines I have for my '78 BOTH have teeth missing, and in the bottom of the pan. Andreas may have a complete trans available if you need one.

[Ivan]

If the engine siezed and then turns over again when it is cool, (or after a few years ) I would suspect an overheat condition. Check the cylinder walls for scoring, usually an over heated engine shows signs in teh bore first form rings expanding too much and breaking or the pistons galling on the walls and such.

While sudden crank failure isn't impossible, usually it has precursors. Lots of noise and the engine will complain long before it fails. Most of the time when a crank fails it's due to loss of lubrication, and a build up of heat, which changes the temper of the metal and it cracks. This takes a long time, and bearings will spin, wear out and cause all kinds of havoc before it crank actually fails. Also, the XS crank is one beefy sumbitch. I really doubt it would break if fired out a cannon.

[subike]

Plan on splitting the cases to replace a few gears in the transmission. The two engines I have for my '78 BOTH have teeth missing, and in the bottom of the pan. Andreas may have a complete trans available if you need one.

I can work on the trans and replace any gears without splitting the cases.
I have two full sets of gears available for spares.
DGXSER, thanks for that information, it narrows the fault again back to the gearbox.
Ivan. the PO was fastidious in his maintenance of this bike, after all he has managed to keep it alive and well for 350k+miles, so being low on oil would have been very unlikely, a heat seasure could be possibile, although on inspection of the plugs would reveal this, they all have the light brown tinge from good burning.
The PO stated that there was no noise of an unusual nature imediatly befor the lockup.
I will be posting some Pics of the bike this weekend, before I tip her over and remove the sump.
I am sure you will all be surprise at her condition for the milage done.

[Dragon Tamer]

When I found my 650 Maxim a couple of years ago the engine was locked up tight. I knew it was the engine as the bike could be moved in neutral or with the clutch pulled in. I bought it anyway as I knew where there was a wrecked parts bike with a good engine. I did not get around to working on her for about a month or so and when I did, the engine was free! Never did find out what was wrong with it, no parts or pieces in the oil pan, what I can see of the cylinders through the spark plug holes looks perfect and the clutch is in superb shape. Engine had the proper amount of good looking oil in it.

I have put close to 15,000 miles on it since and have never had a problem with the engine. The PO told me that when he got the bike it turned over but would not run, when he was working on it and tried to start it it had turned over several revolutions and then abruptly stopped so he figured it was toast and gave up on it. The only thing I can figure would be some sort of a problem with the starter or drive but it has never done it since.

[tarzan]

subike's quote

DGXSER, thanks for that information, it narrows the fault again back to the gearbox.

I think you have this wrong.I think with the clutch pulled in you are bypassing the engine.It could be locked up.I think that is what Don was saying.