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[Olsen_XS]

Hi. New to this forum. Have had an 1979 XS1100E for 1 1/2 month and have been visiting this site alot since i got the bike (almost got addicted...).
THe bike is a 1979, standard, silver metallic, black engine, marshall 4-1 otherwise stock.
Thanks to this site it is possible to keep this thing running as best as it could. This forum is far superior to any workshop manual....my opinion. Thank you all!

Just a few things/thoughts I want to share.

1. Cracked intake rubbers. The intake boots were badly cracked so I ordered a new set on yambits.co.uk for 55 GBP , (=85 USD...?). Waste of money, the rubbers were just fine inside after I got them off (will try to post pictures when I get into that so others hopfully do not go the route...They really looked bad on the outside)
2.Removed the carbs and cleaned. The float heights were all off (all 4 plugs were severly sooted), adjusted them to 26.2 mm. One of the float pin towers on #3 was broken, just in the middel of where the pin goes. Fixed that by drilling a small hole a little further down the post and a copper wire stranded on top over the pin did the trick....I hope...
3. Replaced engine oil and final drive and.....middle gear....what came out of that hole below center stand was about 1 dl of water and a few drops of oil full of light brown rust color.... I had been test driving the thing up to about 100 mph with locking the rear wheel, luckily....guess that would have been game over if that had happen....
4. Has the 2nd gear problem, very annoying, plan to fix it over the winter, but doubt I can wait.......want to drive.....not wrench at the moment. The PO had the bike in at a so called MC workshop. They changed the 5th gear on the main axle, not the 2/5 on the counteraxle....which did nothing to cure the error....and charged about 1800 USD, that was 5 years ago
5. Extremely noisy valvetrain. Has not looked into the valve cover, not done the cam chain adjustment, next to come...
6. Oil pressure sending unit. Does not work. Have pos. 12 V on the wire thath connects, the warning light illuminates when connect to gound. Removed the unit and tried to free it up as per oneo f the posts in this forum. To no avail, guess it need replacment. Anyone know what will fit in there; thread size, closing pressure etc,? Maybe a japanees car sensor would fit?
7. Odometer does not work, the speedo does however.

+ a lot of issues that obviously will rise as the bike is ridden. What really scares we is what the *"#... so called MC workshop has done inside there as the PO told they had split the crankcase etc. to get to the gear axles....their middle gear lubrication gives me an indication of their competence.....

Otherwise love the bike. Has the proper classic look. the riding position fits me super even I'm quite tall (190 cm). Was actually looking for a XS 750/850 because I liked the sound of the triple, but do not regret, the marshall 4-1 sound really rumbles....

..Ough, this tread became too long...hope it doesn't bore you guys out..


Thanks

[DGXSER]

Welcome to the site Olsen!! And the addictive madness as you have seen! Sounds like you have the typical PO blues that comes with owning a preowned 30 yo MC.

1. Cracked intake rubbers. The intake boots were badly cracked so I ordered a new set on yambits.co.uk for 55 GBP , (=85 USD...?). Waste of money, the rubbers were just fine inside after I got them off (will try to post pictures when I get into that so others hopfully do not go the route...They really looked bad on the outside)

This is very very common and typically folks just coat over the exterior with "plasti-dip" or a similar product. They can develop vac leaks where they mount to the head or form intightened clamps at the carbs, but it is not common for the internal to crack.

4. Has the 2nd gear problem, very annoying, plan to fix it over the winter, but doubt I can wait.......want to drive.....not wrench at the moment. The PO had the bike in at a so called MC workshop. They changed the 5th gear on the main axle, not the 2/5 on the counteraxle....which did nothing to cure the error....and charged about 1800 USD, that was 5 years ago

Interesting as the actual 5th gear is on the countershaft with the 2nd gear. So if he replaced one of those it would nto have done a thing for the issue. However, you do have to split the cases to get the main shaft in and out.

5. Extremely noisy valvetrain. Has not looked into the valve cover, not done the cam chain adjustment, next to come...

Could very likely be the cam chain your hearing. Also, check valve clearances. However, these engines have a somewhat noisy top end when in good shape.

+ a lot of issues that obviously will rise as the bike is ridden. What really scares we is what the *"#... so called MC workshop has done inside there as the PO told they had split the crankcase etc. to get to the gear axles....their middle gear lubrication gives me an indication of their competence.....

Yep, to get to the main transmission shaft where they apparently replaced a gear. If you look in the FAQ section for the thread titles what to look for in a neglected XS, you will find alot of things to check out that may save you from a game over locked up rear tire or just being coming a member of the push brigade a long way from home.

Good luck with your new bike!! Hope it gives you 30 years of fun and enjoyment.

[Olsen_XS]

Thanks DG!

"...just being coming a member of the push brigade a long way from home." LOL, been there, done that, once owned an old Triumph Bonneville......

I forgot to mention that the XS has two different ignition coils in it; one with 1 ohm primary resistance (cyl #1 and #4), and one with 3 ohm (smaller, probably from a newer model...?). As far as I can see they both run thru the pre-resistor. I have replaced the resistor cap on the HT wires from the smaller one with non-resistor to try to accommodate for the higher resistance in the primary circuit. The wires on 1 &4 have the stock 5 kohm caps. Don't have the clue if it helps, but will replace both of them (the coils) one of these days...

[DGXSER]

The 78 and 79 models all had stock 1.5 ohm coils with the ballast resistor between the TCI and the coils. So, having one of each coil could cause issues, unless they wired the ballast resistor out of the circuit for the 3 ohm coil.

BTW, the E on the end would indicate a 78 model. The letters E through H were used to designate the model year with 78 being E and 81 being H. So typically a 79 will be an F.

I wound up pushing one of these heavy pigs about a half a mile. Then I realized I had forgotten to turn on the petcocks. Made the rest of the path ALOT easier!

[Olsen_XS]

Was almost there last friday, when re-fiting the tank after the carb cleaning and sync./adj. the fuel line to 1 and 2 was kinked so it shut off fuel completely. I seriously thought I had missed somthing when getting the carbs together again......all kinds of thinking went through my head when the bastard started running on only two cyl ....Triumph sound..? It was an easy fix once discovered, whish all issues could sort out like that... BTW bike runs much better now, brown to whitish color on the plugs, maybe a little on the lean side, but haven't rode much since the re-install yet. Tends to stumble a little when full throttle from about 3000 rpm in 5th.

E or F, i dont have the clue, the title doesn't say (have posted the VIN# in signature).

Thanks

[DGXSER]

Kinked fuel lines have been the source of many a carb to be cleaned XSively.

That VIN would indicate it is a 78 model for the Europen market. Here is a link to a thread on the site to decipher the VINs.

[XS1100 Newbie]

Welcome aboard. You will become fully addicted to the XS1100 before long. After your first longer ride on a good running XS, you will be absorbed into the XS mind numbing pleasure, and just want to keep right on riding. Sounds like your bike may not have to many problems. Run through the checklist on the forum for checking out a new bike. Lots of little things that are easy to forget about. Go through the brake system, bearings, etc.. Doesn't mean it will cost you money, just some time mainly. You will be glad you did it all.

[Olsen_XS]

Thank you all, this is like beeing in a BIG family,.. I feel pretty confident that I can get the issues sorted out thanks to this site and the friendly, helpful people in this community.

Yes DG it is def. a 78 from the Vin number, thoug the color dont match. The bike looks exactly like the one in this link (not quite as good shape, but not far away):

http://www.bikersassociationofnorthd...ts/XS11BCG.htm

The real major issue is the 2nd gear, for which the fix is very good described in the tech tips. I am pretty sure I will make it as good as new with the help of the contributers here!

Drive safely!

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Olsen,

Welcome and congrats on your fine find!

Now, remember, these are moderately high rpm performance machines, not stump puller thumpers...so even though folks say that their machine will pull from 3k on up to redline in 5th, it's asking a lot out of the engine, and would suggest you drop it down a gear to roll the throttle on. The power band kicks in around the 4-5 k up to 7.5-8.0k.

Would suggest you get a matching 3 ohm coil for the other newer one, and then bypass the ballast resistor by unplugging it, and plugging the harness side wires together. The 3 ohm coil is only seeing about 9 volts, and needs 12 volts to fire properly and strongly, and the 1.5 ohm coil is old and probably weak...OEM's were only about 15 kV...newer aftermarket replacements are a good 30+ KV depending on the model....see www.mikesxs.net .

With RUST and such in the middle drive unit, you might want to put a little Marvel Mystery Oil, or Dexron tranny fluid in there, just to run it on the centerstand to help flush/clean it out, drain it, and then refill with proper 80-90 hypoid gear oil...synth is okay for mid and final drives.

T.C.

[cywelchjr]

Well, I know that brutus will pull pretty hard from about 3k on, but your right that the power really comes in at about 4.5k, then it's "hang on" time. If I'm just normal cruising I don't worry about it when speeding up as long as I'm at 3k or better, but if I really want it to move out, I shift down to get it to at least 4500 and then let it rip. Even with the full touring package, this thing will move the speedometer needle so fast it looks like a tac!

I know I've shocked a harley or two with it, although I've run into more than a few who get a big grin and tell me they used to ride one "back in the day". Ran into one of Sacramento's finest who wanted to talk a bit because he used to ride one. He was pretty proud of the fact that he had ridden a 79 and they were faster than the 80's, but as I told him, it didn't matter to me, this thing can go faster than I want to anyways.