My new 1100 Midnight Special project bike!

[CatatonicBug]

Looking good! I noticed that you did not move your main fuse to the new fuse block. Something you might want to reconsider... No sense in fixing all the stuff downstream, only to have the main fail on you.

The leak from the tensioner can be fixed in one of two ways - Get a new rubber plug for the end and slog it with RTV when you install it, or get an automatic tensioner from a Venture. I did the latter after the rubber plug started to leak again 1 year after I installed it.

[windjammergump]

ok specialists and critics

bought an 81 xs 1100 special couple months ago and will have pics on here soon but dont know what model....it has the xs1100 special side cover but is a naked bike and i gave up a ltd 1100 kaw.....for the bike....loved my kaw and hope to love this xs....will post pics....kaw would do about 140 with no problems havent turned loose on the yam yet have some issues i am dealing with and want it right before i even think of crankin it...speedo i had to buy and the one that got crashed only reg..80....got fuel system issues i am dealing with....cleaned and installed new carb kits...but dont understand why some years had like 137.5 mains and the 81 has 110?.....low in is running rich but 3k plus runs fine....still burning way too much gas ....smoking white smoke on idle....and jumps from 900 to 1200 ....work in process...

[CatatonicBug]

bought an 81 xs 1100 special couple months ago and will have pics on here soon but dont know what model....it has the xs1100 special side cover but is a naked bike and i gave up a ltd 1100 kaw.....for the bike....loved my kaw and hope to love this xs....will post pics....kaw would do about 140 with no problems havent turned loose on the yam yet have some issues i am dealing with and want it right before i even think of crankin it...speedo i had to buy and the one that got crashed only reg..80....got fuel system issues i am dealing with....cleaned and installed new carb kits...but dont understand why some years had like 137.5 mains and the 81 has 110?.....low in is running rich but 3k plus runs fine....still burning way too much gas ....smoking white smoke on idle....and jumps from 900 to 1200 ....work in process...

First, to determine what model you have, compare the serial number from the frame neck to this list. You'll be hard-pressed to get your XS to pass 140mph. Even when well-tuned, that's about the top end. These are not designed to be speed demons, but more like work horses that last forever.

To answer your question about the carb jets - There are a few different carb setups, depending on the year/model. The early years had a plug that covered the pilot jet, and they got their fuel through the main jet, and a tube that linked the main jet to the pilot. That required a larger main jet to supply both jets with enough fuel. The later years separated the two, and allowed the pilot jet direct access to the fuel in the bowl, which required a smaller main jet.

Be sure your carbs are cleaned (some refer to a "triple-clean" that can often mean cleaning them literally 3 times) and properly sync'd. I don't know how long your bike sat before you got it, but it is common for smoke to occur for a while after sitting, as the engine and exhaust cleans itself out. BTW, idle speed should be set at 1100 RPM once warm.

[motoman]

Looks like it's comin' along good............might wanna keep close tabs on that particular Vetter fairing. It came the way you see it as a dealer option through Vetter specificly for the MNS.

[CatatonicBug]

Looks like it's comin' along good............might wanna keep close tabs on that particular Vetter fairing. It came the way you see it as a dealer option through Vetter specificly for the MNS.

You sure about that?? I've never heard of any MNS ever coming with a fairing on it. That fairing is a Windjammer V, with the black plastic thing around the headlight area, and it appears that someone put the factory headlight bucket in the fairing (sticks out much further than the Windjammer headlight bucket). I still wanna know where the gold fairing trim came from though!

[foreda]

Free!!

Some people have all the luck.. Me.. I fall in a barrell of jiggling breasts and come out sucking my thumb!! Good luck with your new toy!!

[natemoen]

Some people have all the luck.. Me.. I fall in a barrell of jiggling breasts and come out sucking my thumb!! Good luck with your new toy!!

that's a new on

[Ken Talbot]

Hmm, a nice little piece of carpet for underneath the bike when you're working on it. But wait, that would probably catch those little pieces that otherwise bounce away to some completely random direction when you're not looking, never to be found again. Would also be a whole lot easier on the old knees. Why didn't I think of that!

[motoman]

It DIDN'T come with the MNS Cbug. You could order that fairing from Vetter through the dealer for the MNS, and it is a Vetter V which is difficult to find a replacement windshield for.

[CatatonicBug]

It DIDN'T come with the MNS Cbug. You could order that fairing from Vetter through the dealer for the MNS, and it is a Vetter V which is difficult to find a replacement windshield for.

I knew you could get the Windjammer for ANY bike. However, the Windjammer V uses the exact same windshield as ALL the Windjammers. The only difference is the lowers and that funny plastic thing around the headlight area.

[cywelchjr]

I knew you could get the Windjammer for ANY bike. However, the Windjammer V uses the exact same windshield as ALL the Windjammers. The only difference is the lowers and that funny plastic thing around the headlight area.

Yeah, they all use the same one, and while in the U.S. you can't get one from Craig Vetter anymore, the same guys he gets them from sell through at least a couple of vendors on Ebay for not too bad prices. I'm too cheap to buy a new one, so I got an old one for mine, but I may well spring for a new one next fall.