XS11 bogs down on acceleration

[dbeardslee]

I am still not completely convinced that it doesn't have something to do with the carbs, but is seems unlikely that the other carbs would produce the same symptoms

Bingo. My advice is don't get tunnel vision on carbs. I pulled mine 15 times last summer trying to fix bad coils. Needless to say all the carb work didn't do much for the coils . I've also become a big believer in digital multimeters. If it was me, I'd run some electrical tests on your wiring. Start at the TCI, turn the ignition 'on' but not running, and place one probe on the orange, red/wht, grey, and wht/red (one at a time from the back of the large TCI connector while it's plugged in to the TCI) and ground the other probe to the frame. Readings on each wire should be 12v. Repeat the procedure for the black/wht - reading should be 6v. If you see readings that are around the 11v range, it's time to clean and replace electrical connectors - especially for the red/wht wire. If the voltage falls below 10.5 volts the TCI won't fire, and it could cause symptoms like you describe. The alternator only throws 12v at idle, but it increases to 14.2v at 2200 rpms, so if your wires are stealing some voltage you may not have enough juice to reliably fire at low rpms.

Last summer as I was going through my wiring, I started with 11v at the TCI. I kept going through it connector by connector, and rechecking my readings. I didn't just clean the connectors - I disassembled the housings, clipped the ends off the wires, and crimped new connectors onto the wires. The problem with just cleaning them is that, if the ends of the wires have corroded, the corrosion can work it's way up inside the wire sheath and no amount of cleaning is going to get it out. I had a few connector housings that showed obvious signs of heat, and those I replaced the housings as well. With each connector I repaired, I recovered 1 or 2 tenths of a volt at the TCI. By the time I was through I had the full 12v back at the TCI, and it made a noticeable difference. And don't forget the handlebar kill switch, the ground straps, and the connectors that are hidden behind the fuse block mounting plate and in the headlight bucket - they're prime offenders.

If you don't have a good crimping tool, Geezer sells a nice compound unit for around $20 IIRC. It does a factory double crimp, and that's what you want. Pretty sure he sells all the wire ends and housings too.

Anyway, a little time spent with a DMM can be very productive in locating problems that can otherwise be a real PITA to diagnose. JAT