Engine rebuild...

[jmyers40]

The saga started a few years ago now...

I dug my grandpa's 1980 XS1100 out of his garage, where it had been for at least 10 years. I remembered stories my dad had told me about this fully dressed bike standing up on him with little to no effort, but this thing was far from the icon I had created in my mind. After getting the bike torn apart, I started to realize there were going to be several obstacles ahead of me if I wanted to truely restore it to its original beauty. The only one of which I was SERIOUSLY concerned about was rebuilding the engine.

You see, I've tackled MANY a project - replaced the AWD trans. in my '93 Dodge Stealth by myself, rebuilt the action in a 102 year piano a couple of years ago, replaced the DC input jacks for two laptops in the past year, replaced the DVD-ROM drive and fixed my XBOX360 several times. MY POINT, other than fluffing my own ego, is that I'm not afraid to dig into most anything. My thinking has always been, "If it's already broke... What could it hurt for me to try to fix it???"

There's something about a motor that slows my courage. I don't know if it's not knowing the overall cost of it, not knowing if I have all the necessary tools, or not knowing what to expect that could go terribly wrong (which happens at least ONCE on every project I take on).

I had to un-seize the motor when I got it - my cousin was going to "get it running" a few years before I got my shot. Dumb-dumb got 3 out of 4 plugs out, broke the fourth, then left. He didn't put the other three back in, and it sat for about four years. I got the engine case seperated, determined that the bottom end was going to need attention, got scared (see above), and stopped.

Now, I have a partially torn apart motor, a stripped frame, and piles of labeled ziploc bags full of parts. I bought a second XS ('79 special) for $300 from a local guy, rebuilt the carbs and fixed some wiring - see I can finish things - and have been riding that for two years. The time has come though, to finish Poppee's (my grandpa) bike. I am more financially stable, and I have plenty of space to do the work.

After a long introduction... FINALLY, the question(s)...

Can someone give me a an idea of what to expect, cost-wise, to rebuild an '80 XS1100 motor?

Does anyone live in NW Indiana, have engine expertise, and want to share knowledge or even trade work?

Is it crazy to think I can rebuild this engine on my own? I figured out the carbs with just the manual and a few tips/tricks from this very forum.

The bottom line is, I just want to do this right and bring my grandpa's bike back to life.

[psycoreefer]

I'm sure you can do it yourself, but you'll probably have to have some things done by a machine shop unless you've got some special equipment. Someone else just posted this same question - almost - I'm sure if you do a search you'll get lots of results.

My guess is that a complete rebuild (plus make the outside look pretty) is going to run you 1500 or more depending on how anal you are about replace vs reuse.

Take pictures and do a thread so we can all follow along.

[crazy steve]

I'm sure you can do it yourself, but you'll probably have to have some things done by a machine shop unless you've got some special equipment. Someone else just posted this same question - almost - I'm sure if you do a search you'll get lots of results.

My guess is that a complete rebuild (plus make the outside look pretty) is going to run you 1500 or more depending on how anal you are about replace vs reuse.

Take pictures and do a thread so we can all follow along.

That's probably right in the ballpark; it will depend on how 'right' you want it. The big roadblock is many internal engine parts are NLA (no longer available) or horribly expensive so you'll be looking at big $$ on a lot of this stuff. If you're looking to have a numbers-matching bike, it won't leave you a lot of wiggle room. Truthfully, it will be far cheaper to find another good motor and swap it in if the one you have really does need rebuilding...

I've got a Jaguar monkey on my back and it's the same situation there; the 80's cars are worth maybe 4-7K on a good day, and a rebuilt V-12 long block is around $6500. It's gotta be a love thing, because nothing else makes sense...

'78E original owner

[fredintoon]

- - - The only one of which I was SERIOUSLY concerned about was rebuilding the engine. - - - The bottom line is, I just want to do this right and bring my grandpa's bike back to life.

Hi JM,
it'd be far less hassle to buy a complete motor from Andreas than to try and de-cousin the one you have.
With grandpa's bike up and running on a donor engine you can then evaluate the original at your leisure.

[motoman]

+1 what fredintoon said!

[mro]

The only caveat would be if the cases have a problem, such as one or more journals being FUBARed or just scarred where they need to be machined. Reason being that the bearing selection is limited. You may be able to find someone who can customize a bearing from another engine type but that would be XSpensive.

If the cases are good then there are options other than replacing the engine.


mro

[jmyers40]

...Someone else just posted this same question - almost - I'm sure if you do a search you'll get lots of results.

Sorry to re-post on a covered topic. I searched a couple times before posting, but didn't find anything.

...if the one you have really does need rebuilding...

There is a little bit of side-to-side play in the conneting rods. The one book I was reading on engine restoration said that is a good sign it will need rebuilt. Is there any dead give away sign that things are only going downhill? I guess I need to read up more on this...

It's gotta be a love thing, because nothing else makes sense...

HAS to be. I spent hours on the winter-cold garage floor, elbow deep in the Stealth when I still had it. So illogical, financially, but SOOOO worth it around 3200 RPMs; twin turbo ecstasy...

Thanks for the thoughts everyone.

[psycoreefer]

Sorry to re-post on a covered topic. I searched a couple times before posting, but didn't find anything.

Thanks for the thoughts everyone.

just searched for "Engine AND Rebuild"
Second Result
This is the thread I was talking about someone else just started.

Here's one with some part numbers

those are just a couple that looked promising on the first two pages of results.

I'm not upset that you posted on a "covered" topic, sometimes re-posting helps to answer "holes" in the old posts, or maybe someone new with more knowledge on the subject joined since the last post, I'm just an instant gratification kind of guy, and If I search I can get my answer (usually) right now instead of having to wait for someone to post back. Plus sometimes new people don't realize there is a "search" button.

[randy]

Just so you know, when you do get into the re-build, the 'complete' gasket set is anything but. There are quite a few gaskets, seals and o-rings that are not included in the 'complete' set.

O-rings:

main oil galley
left oil galley plug
oil pump
special nozzle
starter nose
bearing housing (2)
tensioner lockbolt

Gaskets:

breather cover
middle drive
intake boots
neutral switch crush
oil pan crush and middle drive drain & fill crush
Oil pipe crush (2)

Seals:

Tensioner plug
Crankshaft ends
Kickstarter
Clutch adjust screw
Shifter
Trans to middle drive (SW Type)

Just a heads-up. DAMHIKIJK

[kevxs]

Hi JM,
it'd be far less hassle to buy a complete motor from Andreas

who is Andreas and how much for an engine?

[psycoreefer]

who is Andreas and how much for an engine?

A member of the forum andreashweiss, provides parts at reasonable prices. You'll have to PM - private Message - him and ask if he currently has a good engine and what it would cost. Include your zip code and he'll even include shipping cost in the price, although that may be different for large/heavy items like a complete engine.

[jmyers40]

Just so you know...

mighty disheartening...

[yamtom]

complete engine etc

Hi,

The last I knew, Andreas couldnt ship a complete engine, but ask again.

[randy]

mighty disheartening...

Somehow that's not quite the phrase I was thinking of...$@#*ing frustrating!

[trbig]

I've rebuilt several, and that list Randy posted, was to replace EVERYTHING... which there's really no need to do. Things like the crank seals can be had from most any bearing shop. The crush washers, if you feel the need to replace them, can be had at just about any auto parts store, along with most any O-ring you feel like replacing.

As for the middle drive gasket, if you order the gasket set off Partsnmore.com, and order the XJ gasket set instead of the XS, it has that gasket and is cheaper. I think it has that gasket for the breather cover also, but I don't use one there. You'll need to take 10 seconds with a pair of scissors and trim off the extra piece off the head gasket where the YICS tube is for the XJ... everything else is the same.


Tod