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New to the Forum... getting back in the XS11 saddle
Hi, All.
I'm new here. Name's Brian, and I live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Here's my story:
I had an awesome bike. It was an XS-11. I'm pretty sure that it as an '81 Special, but I'm not positive about the year any more, and it may have just looked like a special from PO mods. Anyways, I had to stop riding it because I let my motorcycle license lapse (M2 Graduated licensing in Ontario), and insurance was going to be too pricey as a born-again "new" rider. After hanging on to it for a few years, I decided to give it away to a friend to make room in my garage to build an airplane. Now I'm back into riding... I bought a 1981 Honda CX500, and it's fun to ride, but I can't help but think "this thing is gutless". So, I got in touch with this friend to see what he's been doing with the old XS11. Turns out he's been doing nothing with it, as his new kids, old house, old cars, and two other old bikes are tying up his time. He said it's mine if I want it, so I said "HELL YES". I'm going to pick it up on Good Friday, and I CAN'T WAIT!
In case you're wondering why I gave it away rather than try to sell it, there were two reasons:
1) It wasn't running great before I stored it, and then after storage, it would start, but die as soon as I gave it any throttle. Selling a bike that won't ride is a pain.
2) I knew this was a good home for it, and I was hoping the guy might have a shot at getting it back on the road.
3) I hoped that I'd be able to get it back once I was in a better position to start riding again.
I'm pretty sure the problem was either dirty carbs, leaky intake boots, or both, and now it's probably been about seven or eight years since the thing's been on the road.
In an effort to get it back up and running over Easter weekend, I'm going to head over to Canadian Tire to pick up some fluids, filters, fuel lines, and get some parts to build a vacuum synchroniser out of my regular vacuum gauge. The only question I've got so far is: what size fuel lines do I need? I'm planning on going with clear lines, as it makes trouble shooting easier.
Thanks!
I'm new here. Name's Brian, and I live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Here's my story:
I had an awesome bike. It was an XS-11. I'm pretty sure that it as an '81 Special, but I'm not positive about the year any more, and it may have just looked like a special from PO mods. Anyways, I had to stop riding it because I let my motorcycle license lapse (M2 Graduated licensing in Ontario), and insurance was going to be too pricey as a born-again "new" rider. After hanging on to it for a few years, I decided to give it away to a friend to make room in my garage to build an airplane. Now I'm back into riding... I bought a 1981 Honda CX500, and it's fun to ride, but I can't help but think "this thing is gutless". So, I got in touch with this friend to see what he's been doing with the old XS11. Turns out he's been doing nothing with it, as his new kids, old house, old cars, and two other old bikes are tying up his time. He said it's mine if I want it, so I said "HELL YES". I'm going to pick it up on Good Friday, and I CAN'T WAIT!
In case you're wondering why I gave it away rather than try to sell it, there were two reasons:
1) It wasn't running great before I stored it, and then after storage, it would start, but die as soon as I gave it any throttle. Selling a bike that won't ride is a pain.
2) I knew this was a good home for it, and I was hoping the guy might have a shot at getting it back on the road.
3) I hoped that I'd be able to get it back once I was in a better position to start riding again.
I'm pretty sure the problem was either dirty carbs, leaky intake boots, or both, and now it's probably been about seven or eight years since the thing's been on the road.
In an effort to get it back up and running over Easter weekend, I'm going to head over to Canadian Tire to pick up some fluids, filters, fuel lines, and get some parts to build a vacuum synchroniser out of my regular vacuum gauge. The only question I've got so far is: what size fuel lines do I need? I'm planning on going with clear lines, as it makes trouble shooting easier.
Thanks!
1978 Yamaha XS 1100E "Monster" 2010-2012
2004 RCM-50GL 2008-2010, Don't ask, don't tell (don't really know)
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