During the resurrection of my ‘81-eleven special I made a couple observations I thought I’d share, as another payment for the help I’ve received. I bought a rear tire. “Shinko” brand (Korean) bias ply. Looks great. Mounted great (mindful of the weight dot in accord to the valve stem y’all). What I also liked was the price. Around $65 If I recall. Lots of tread depth. Reviews I read were good. We’ll see how it lasts.
Second, (a lot of you may have this down pat) I have had a battle with fork seals. Third time’s a charm. Finally came to the K&S stock #16-1027. I’ll spare the whore stories (is there two ways to spell whore, as in terrible consiquences or women of ill repute? I digress). I have a ’75 Gold Wing and the Special takes the same part# as the one for the wing. I found there are apparently two sizes for the different model xs1100’s. I’m not sure, I just know the first set I tried, and were listed for an
xs1100, were too wide (diameter) and I destroyed them. I installed the above part today and they are, so far, flawless and no stiction issues. I really tested them on a nasty 7 mile stretch of tarmac. BTW they are the 37x48x10.5mm (part # above), NOT the 37x48x12.5 that I also f…up the other day because the depth is so tight. It’ll work, but it’s tougher to get in deep enough. Both the 10.5 and 12.5 depth are listed as appropriate and the 10.5 takes a measured eye to get it even around the tube and just below the c-clip and washer space. 1-½” PVC pipe as a driving sleeve worked great (it’s 1-7/8 O.D.), placing the washer on top of the seal for the final few taps cuz it gets tight near the end. Use the factory trimmed end of the pipe as a driving surface since it’s gonna be squarer than the end you cut off. I hope this helps someone. Had I read it, it would have saved me two prior failures.
John
Second, (a lot of you may have this down pat) I have had a battle with fork seals. Third time’s a charm. Finally came to the K&S stock #16-1027. I’ll spare the whore stories (is there two ways to spell whore, as in terrible consiquences or women of ill repute? I digress). I have a ’75 Gold Wing and the Special takes the same part# as the one for the wing. I found there are apparently two sizes for the different model xs1100’s. I’m not sure, I just know the first set I tried, and were listed for an
xs1100, were too wide (diameter) and I destroyed them. I installed the above part today and they are, so far, flawless and no stiction issues. I really tested them on a nasty 7 mile stretch of tarmac. BTW they are the 37x48x10.5mm (part # above), NOT the 37x48x12.5 that I also f…up the other day because the depth is so tight. It’ll work, but it’s tougher to get in deep enough. Both the 10.5 and 12.5 depth are listed as appropriate and the 10.5 takes a measured eye to get it even around the tube and just below the c-clip and washer space. 1-½” PVC pipe as a driving sleeve worked great (it’s 1-7/8 O.D.), placing the washer on top of the seal for the final few taps cuz it gets tight near the end. Use the factory trimmed end of the pipe as a driving surface since it’s gonna be squarer than the end you cut off. I hope this helps someone. Had I read it, it would have saved me two prior failures.
John
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