3 questions on 1980 XS1100 Special mods.

[Bulldog9]

Uhhhh Dog, which mod, the hyd. clutch, the tube/tubeless mod, or final drive mod....three were mentioned!
T.C.

All 3 ;-) but mostly # 1 & 2

[Bulldog9]

Well... if you have ever had the pleasure of messing around with a tube and bead locks then you would understand. I've only had the pleasure once and if given the option I would rather not have to mess with them. Since its easy to convert the tube rim to tubeless the real question becomes why not? Besides, all the new rear tires I've seen are tubeless!

Hmmmm.... Maybe I did it so long ago I don't remember, but my wheels are tubless front and rear

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there Bulldog,

Well, the 750 FD mod was because a lot of folks kept looking for that elusive 6th gear, and because of the lower/higher? gear ratio of the 750/850 FD's, this helps drop the rpm for each gear by about 500...IIRC...the tech tip I think describes it. The XS11 engine is very strong, and causes it no problems with first gear, and allows folks to cruise in 5th at a lower rpm. Some have reported some fuel savings, but mostly in just saving some wear and tear on the engine not having to run at as high an rpm when cruising at 80mph!

The Hyd. Clutch I think also describes its benefits in the tip, mostly a much smoother action, and I believe less resistance/pull affect, and no worry about busting a cable....trade off for a leaking MC/Slave cylinder and lines=rare! YMMV.

T.C.

[bikerphil]

Thanks Phil, I'm thinking a 3/8's set screw might be cheaper and easier to find than 2 valve stems... I can dig up a tap, for some reason I was under the impression you were using npt thread... must be I didn't read it correctly the first time. Do you think the red lock tight thread sealer will be enough to seal the plug air tight?

Wade, tell you what I did. The set screws are not NPT so they fit the holes I tapped a little bit loosey goosey. The red thread lock might not make an air tite seal (don't know this for sure), so I just used a liberal amount of RTV to hold the screw in place and I put some extra on each end. I'm pretty confident they are not going anywhere. If I used NPT then I would use thread lock.

[Bulldog9]

Thanks!

I guess part of the addiction is in the mod and making it yours.

I would consider this if my FD went out, but otherwise, am happy.

As for the clutch, the cable clutch on the XS11 is IMHO one of the best. Perfect take up, easy to modulate, great feedback and as for breaking, cant see it unless the result of severe neglect and in that case, I think a HYD system would fare worse ;-) I often wish my FJR had a cable clutch.

But the beauty of these older bikes is the abundance of huge parts (thanks to ebay) and ability to make it yours.

I'm really impressed with all the new owners and how these bikes have been adapted and modified and changed. Makes me happy I kept this gem. Cant see myself doing anything other than maintaining and slight upgrades, but

I've upgraded my brake system (used the replacement MC from Mikes XS) and swapped out the fuse box, and a few others, but mostly am stock.

Hey there Bulldog,

Well, the 750 FD mod was because a lot of folks kept looking for that elusive 6th gear, and because of the lower/higher? gear ratio of the 750/850 FD's, this helps drop the rpm for each gear by about 500...IIRC...the tech tip I think describes it. The XS11 engine is very strong, and causes it no problems with first gear, and allows folks to cruise in 5th at a lower rpm. Some have reported some fuel savings, but mostly in just saving some wear and tear on the engine not having to run at as high an rpm when cruising at 80mph!

The Hyd. Clutch I think also describes its benefits in the tip, mostly a much smoother action, and I believe less resistance/pull affect, and no worry about busting a cable....trade off for a leaking MC/Slave cylinder and lines=rare! YMMV.

T.C.

[crazy steve]

Wade, tell you what I did. The set screws are not NPT so they fit the holes I tapped a little bit loosey goosey. The red thread lock might not make an air tite seal (don't know this for sure), so I just used a liberal amount of RTV to hold the screw in place and I put some extra on each end. I'm pretty confident they are not going anywhere. If I used NPT then I would use thread lock.

That's why I used 1/4" pipe plugs, as those are a tapered thread. If using a 3/8" bolt thread, if you used a taper tap and are careful not to tap too deeply, that will give you a tapered thread.

Red locktite? Not so much a sealer... I used JBWeld as a sealer/threadlock, works great. These aren't coming out, but why would they need to?

[WMarshy]

Well... decided to tap the holes with regular 3/8-16 thread. I ended up using just JB weld on the set screw and didn't use any lock tight. Phil you are right, the threads are sloppy because the hole is a little large for 3/8's. If I had to do it over again I would go bigger, maybe 7/16's or even drill it out to 1/2". The thread engagement with 3/8's is minimal but then again its not really under any load and the JB weld is going to lock it anyways... thanks for the tip!
Big THANKS goes out to Mr. Sixtysix for his help changing the tire and doing a quick carb sync!

[James England]

Re 1. The FD.... I made my bush from a piece of tubular steel, cut to length and with a rubber O ring on the end of it. It's fine so far

Re 3. I seem to recall reading on here that the rear wheel designed for a tubed tyre, with the bead grippers (like I have on my bike) is NOT suitable for a tubeless tyre. There are photos somewhere on this forum showing the difference in the profile of the wheel at the point where the bead sits. I would feel uneasy at blocking the holes with extra valves or rubber washers and bolts etc. Why not just fit a tube?

[James England]

Thanks!
I would consider this if my FD went out, but otherwise, am happy.

Ah but, said with respect, unless you've experienced the bike with the OEM FD and the XS750FD modification, you don't know that you're as happy as you could be, do you? I mean, I was perfectly happy with my standard FD's on every XS1100 I've had but, having read the comments here about the mod, I didn't wait until my FD went out (ie, like, probably never) but tried it anyway......... and found...... I was even happier and wished I'd done it years ago. As has been mentioned in this thread, fuel economy isn't really such an issue but the lowering of the revs is, as far as I'm concerned. The bike is less stressed and is still really fast. It's more fun to ride too because the gears all feel more appropriate.

[WMarshy]

Re 3. I seem to recall reading on here that the rear wheel designed for a tubed tyre, with the bead grippers (like I have on my bike) is NOT suitable for a tubeless tyre. There are photos somewhere on this forum showing the difference in the profile of the wheel at the point where the bead sits. I would feel uneasy at blocking the holes with extra valves or rubber washers and bolts etc. Why not just fit a tube?

From everything I have read on here, there is no difference in the rim dimensions for tube verses tubless. CrazySteve posted measurements of the rims a didn't see much of a difference. In addition, there have been a few people who have made the change with no ill effects....
You ask why... Have you changed your own rear tire before?

[fredintoon]

- - - I seem to recall reading on here that the rear wheel designed for a tubed tyre, with the bead grippers (like I have on my bike) is NOT suitable for a tubeless tyre. There are photos somewhere on this forum showing the difference in the profile of the wheel at the point where the bead sits. I would feel uneasy at blocking the holes with extra valves or rubber washers and bolts etc. Why not just fit a tube?

Hi James,
bead gripper holes are best filled by tapping out to the nearest tapered pipe thread and inserting plumber's plugs sealed with teflon tape.
I've run tubeless from new to bald no problem on XS cast wheels that didn't have the "OK for tubeless" sign stamped into them.
Didja notice all the other writing was in raised cast lettering? Can you say "Lawyer-driven afterthought"?
Tubes are OK until you get a flat. Tubeless lose pressure slowly enough that you can get stopped, unlike the catastrophic failures available with tubes.
And you can do a "get you home" fix with a can of FixaFlat a lot easier and safer than squatting by the highway with a wheel out trying to patch a tube.

[cywelchjr]

Re 1. The FD.... I made my bush from a piece of tubular steel, cut to length and with a rubber O ring on the end of it. It's fine so far

Re 3. I seem to recall reading on here that the rear wheel designed for a tubed tyre, with the bead grippers (like I have on my bike) is NOT suitable for a tubeless tyre. There are photos somewhere on this forum showing the difference in the profile of the wheel at the point where the bead sits. I would feel uneasy at blocking the holes with extra valves or rubber washers and bolts etc. Why not just fit a tube?

Fitting a tube lowers the speed rating of the tire a minimum of one level, maybe more. Crazy steve checked, having both, and the rear tube type has the same profile at the bead as the tubeless, it's the front that's got a different profile IIRC, so the rear should not be a problem, but the front is another story, being a different casting entirely, where IIRC the rear appears to be the same casting.

[bikerphil]

I just mounted a couple front tires today, one on a rim that says tubeless and one that doesn't. For the life of me I can't see how that extra .200" of bead area on the tubeless rim would keep the tire on that rim any better in the event of pressure loss.

[cochie]

ive been riding my xs1100sport hardtail for over 10 years with tubeless rear tyre. just weld the 2 extra holes & polish smooth so cant even see where holes have been. hope this helps

[MPittma100]

Kick Start

I'm guessing that the actual use of the kick start would be so minimal that you might be wasting your time installing one. Yamaha stopped putting them on because they were unused. When you did try to start the bike with it, it was practically useless. My 2 cents.

MP