Noob with some questions

[TexinMaine]

Greetings all. I just bought a 1980 Special today and have a couple questions. First off it seems to run great but an odd thing I noticed is some times when shifting into third mostlty the shifter vibrates and taps my toes. The first time it happened it kinda freaked me as I thought something in the roas had hit my foot. Also my 10 year old daughter was riding with me and it seemed a little bouncy. The manual is a little vague and states for two riders to set anywhere from A to E and dampener either 2 or 3, not real sure what the dampener does. Also how do I change the shock setting, is there a tool I need to attach to the little nub to twist it? Well I would appreciate any feedback ya'll can offer and Thanks in advance.

Tex

[draketrumpet]

For the front forks, I believe your model has the air dampened design. Use a bicycle pump, and not your big air compressor or you'll fill it up to fast and blow the seal.

As for the rear end, the damper should be at the top of the shocks, and also another adjuster at the bottom. A is the lowest setting and E is the highest. Since your shocks are probably 30 years old, they're likely also a little worn, so adjust them up a few notches and ride again.

There are lots of things to check out in the techtips section under suspension.

As to the third gear, I'll let someone smarter than me (as to bikes) chime in.

Welcome to the brood, post some pics of that sweet new bike (6k miles, almost brand new!!!)

[WMarshy]

Welcome Tex,

Im unsure about what would cause the shifter to pulse like that. Maybe someone who has take a few trips into the trans can answer that one.
As far as the riding condition goes, you might want to see how old your tires are and consider relacing them. I know when I first got my bike and rode it, it had a little bounce at 30mph, once I put new tires on it went away. Look on the sidewall of you tire and you whould find a little square with the month and year the tire was made (XX/XX).
No one knows the condition of your bike, therefore most of us will assume it sat unused for some length of time. Its uncommen for a new member to get one of these in 100% turn key working condition. Even a handfull of year sitting can cause havok to out breaking system and carbs. You can find a lot of great information in the Maintenance area of the form. Have fun with it and ride safe.

[TexinMaine]

O.k., got around to making some pics. Included some of wife's XS400 that she call's Piglet, since it is not quite a Hawg like mine.

XS1100SG

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc24/TexinMaine/100_1697.jpg

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc24/TexinMaine/100_1699.jpg

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc24/TexinMaine/100_1703.jpg

Milage

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc24/TexinMaine/100_1700.jpg

Tool kit. The shock adjuster tool is worthless. Not sure what the little clip and the straight bar are for.

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc24/TexinMaine/100_1708.jpg

XS400

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc24/TexinMaine/100_1705.jpg

Hawg and Piglet
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/c...e/100_1707.jpg
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/c...e/100_1706.jpg
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/c...e/100_1704.jpg

[TexinMaine]

WMarshy,
I looked on the tires but couldnt find the date box you mentioned. They are both Metzler and state that they are made in Germany. Both look in good shape with good sidewalls and even still have a lot of the little nubby things on them.

[3Phase]

Welcome to the forum, Tex! Nice bikes!

Tool kit. The shock adjuster tool is worthless. Not sure what the little clip and the straight bar are for.

When you remove the rear wheel, the little clip is used to support the rear brake caliper from the shock absorber spring or anyplace else you can find on the frame/swingarm instead of letting it hang by the rubber brake line.

The bar is the tee handle for the spark plug socket or a dull but relatively safe toy for practicing mumbletypeg.

I don't know about the weird 3rd gear issue... it may just be the shift lever is not adjusted correctly so you're not getting enough 'throw' to go all the way into 3rd gear.


Regards,

Scott

[TexinMaine]

Thanks for the info 3phase. My clutch lever is a little floppy so not sure if maybe that has something to do with it. But first I noticed today that I get a little backfire from my left pipe after letting off the throttle at low speeds. So I am off to search the posts for some clues about that.

Tex

[3Phase]

Definitely check the clutch adjustment if you haven't done it yet. If the clutch is out of adjustment you should notice a little weirdness going in/out of all the gears, not just 3rd, but you never know.

The backfiring could be a lot of relatively simple things like:
loose exhaust bolts
bad/missing exhaust gasket(s)
cracked exhaust
carburetors dirty and running lean or just not set correctly
tight valve clearance(s)
bad pickup coil wire

You get the idea, have fun!


Regards,

Scott