Just about ready to give up on the super xs

[xs11lover]

I've had this 'super " 79 xs11 standard for at least 5 years now. It's got the 1200 kit, Kleihin cr special race carbs, msd ignition, super coils,back cut trani, ported head, nice kerker, custom gauges, beefed up swing arm, drilled brakes and steel lines, fork brace, air forks, heavy springs, and I'd bet there are some things that I missed. It has a history a mile long with a pile of paperwork. I have had it tucked away in the corner because I always knew it was more than I could handle. I've worked on it here and there over the years...Last summer I sold my 2 prize xs11's and thought it was time to dive into this thing. I did alittle xtra work....pod filters, solo seat, bobbed rear fender, polished everything, painted motor body, cat eye tail light, clubman bars,oil change, cam chain adjustment, brake cleaning, and had Ole clean up the carbs for me. After getting them back the bike ran ok but leaked gas...after ordering float parts twice I got the leaking taken care of.
I'm just about ready to get a fender and put it on the road and It starts popping and acting funny, ...it's about dusk...then I notice that the middle two pipes, (2 &3) are just about glowing. I shut it down and think why me.
Now what.?????? Is it the coils? Not enough gas to the middle two? I've always been suspect to the plug wires...The mds unit? .........I wonder if the cdi box should be hooked up with the msd ignition?? And how about the vaccum advance??? I'm starting to think I have more quetions I can't answer time in my life to ask them. I'm not sure Bob Jones himself would have the answers........All the while the $100 feild bike 11 special sits in the corner and mocks me......It could be inspected and ready to go in a week.
I'm on the edge of parting this thing out.....all the special parts could pay my health care costs for 3 months! Or maybe I could spark it up and watch it burn.

[Rickrod3]

Sorry to hear the bike giving you so much trouble.
Maybe you could try a rack of stock carbs on the bike as a diagnostic test.

Rick

[petejw]

hang in there,
uve got parts on that bike id kill for.

when u replaced the floats did u set the float levels?
sounds like u could be running lean,
also a carb sync and mixture adj wouldnt go astray, if everything else
is the same as in jets.

just read it again, u added pod filters, the middle 2 cylinders
are known to run hotter than the outer 2 on an inline 4,
u may need to rejet,
try bumping the mains up 2 sizes and see how that goes.

[petejw]

also those keihin carbs are great if ur drag
racing the bike but arent the best for a road bike
even tho u have the mods that u have,

as rickrod said, maybe a set of stock carbs wouldnt
go astray for everday riding.

[xs11lover]

I just replaced the pods with other pods...so nothing changed too much.
They used the bike for drag races at one time...paper work states 140hp..??
I didn't set the floats, because I didn't know what to set them to. They looked the same and I thought I should let them be. I replaced the float needles and little o ring gaskets (after cleaning they were seeping gas) and one float jet that just seemed out of round. I didn't fit right and always leaked just a little.....but that was on carb one, not 2 or 3.
I didn't notice the super hot center pipes until I washed & polished the bike all day sunday and put it back together. The mother's power cone and the plug wires had a little fight....but I put that all back together and had good spark on all 4. It was letting out some pops and not running real great after the wash so I let it warm up a little and set it on the side stand in the sun to dry out. At dusk I fired it up again and notice the red pipes and it was still popping... it also let a few drips of gas out the #3 carb......but doesn't seem to be happening any more. I guess I should take those F'''in carbs out again and set 2&3 at the same setting as 1 &2. I'm really close to selling parts and running the field bomb....it's simple and runs like a clock after setting in a field for 3 or 4 years.....I figure it's a sign from God.....

[petejw]

pull the plugs out and see what
they look like, be worth giving them a clean,
the floats u replaced were they 2 and 3?
id pull the carbs and check the floats with callipers to be sure.
also after messing with the floats its always a good idea to sync the carbs.

the pods u replaced them with were they the exact same brand
or another type?

how about swapping carbs from the other bike to see how
it runs?

[dezmitchell]

Sry to hear your having troubles .....I recently had to take my xs in over sheer frustration, it just wasnt worth my blood pressure anymore my advise is find a old school shop with some ancient mechanics and drop the bike off to get pampered ya its guna cost you some cash but whats the difference between investing $700 to get it running vs. Selling it/parting it and losing money and in that senario you still have nothing.

I was to the point of torching my xs im glad i finaly took the bike in now i have something thats reliable and runs like new.


I know alot of peeps on here see this as cheating but hey i own a xs to ride not to wrench on, a project is all fun and games as long as you can RIDE it....Its amazing how fast it can become not fun when its a hot sunny day and you cant ride

[jetmechmarty]

Dez,

I won't beat you up for taking your bike to the shop, but for many, if not most of us, repairing/restoring these old bikes is as much a joy as riding them. Defeating a problem brings a great sense of accomplishment.

I hope you have a place to work on your bike during the winter months in that frozen tundra you live on. It would be advantageous to know something about your motorcycle, as it will require maintenance again, often at very inopportune times. Or....don't get out of range of your shop's tow truck.

[DGXSER]

Hey Dez,

Don't take the ribbing about cheating to heart. Truth of it is, it all boils down to time and money. Which do you have more of, or value more. Your decision was the right one for you, especially if the bike came back better than when you dropped it off.

Reality is, there are very few folks around that still work at those shops that have a clue about these bikes. So it is very very common to find someone took it to the shop, and it came back worse than when it went in! There iis a fellow XSive who I believe may still be XSless since a fire at his house, who took his beloved stallion to a local "mechanic". he was known for chopping and bobbing XS650s. Well, he apparently only knew how to chop and bob, cause the bike ran like crap every time he got it back from him. He eventually sold the guy a "good condition" used engine after his first one ate a valve. Well, "ggod" is a very subjective term. After a few of the local XSives gave him a hand with things, we ended up replacing a bent valve, installing the oil pump idler gear from his destroyed engine, performing the dremel fix on the gears.....you get the idea. Your very lucky to have a shop local where the folks have a clue. That is why we shy away from telling folks to take it to a shop.

[jwhughes3]

swapping carbs

The mother's power cone and the plug wires had a little fight....

I spit my coffee out on that one - sorry you are having trouble with it - sounds like it could really run...

I have to jump on the band wagon - swap the stock carbs from the Field Bomb in and see how it goes.

John

[Ken Talbot]

I wonder if the problem is in fact with the outer two cylinders not running properly, as can be caused by flakey pick-up coil wires or something else in the ignition circuit for those two. The centre two may be just fine, and you only saw them glow because it was dusk. ???

[dezmitchell]

Well hey i will take some abuse on here thats fine what comes around goes around.... And yes i am very luck to to have a shop that specializes in old straight four's but all im saying is that sometimes a trained profesional (old school mech. not 20yr old fresh outa school) may pick up something you missed i hope to see that super xs of yours running it really would be a shame to spend all that time and effort and end up parting the bike out.

You got fuel?
You got spark?
You got compression?

Perhaps test your coils maybe the timing is off one tooth? perhaps valves?

I donno im just tryin to throw some ideas out there

[xs11lover]

OK..the bike was running pretty good before detaling.
The pods are the crappy round ones but I made some stacks from an old air box.
I did sync the carbs....or a least dialed #1 in to match the other three. They are all within a lb or two. Very close to each other. I'll get back to that when I don't have red pipes.
I didn't replace any floats, just needles, o rings and one float jet on #1.
I did think about pulling the carbs from the field bomb and strapping them on the super xs, but I thought with all the mods and pods that the stock 79 special carbs wouldn't have a chance......but yes I get the point that my pipes may not be red. Good thought.
And yes the mothers power cone on a drill works like you wouldn't believe.
Just move all wires because when it grabs it grabs now!
There are no pickup coil problems on this bike, wires all test fine. It ran pretty good just the other day.
Thanks for your thoughts.......I'll check the float heights and the plugs....then move on to ripping the feild bombs beating heart out if I have to.
I'm just thinking coils and ignition problems and I'm not sure what to do about that.
Oh yeh and my local Yamaha shop wouldn't spit on my bike if it was burning in the parking lot. I would need an old crusty drag racer that knew it all.

[natemoen]

There has to be something on the end of the crank (guess it could be on the cams but thats to hard on this engine to be worth it) to tell the igy box where the pistons are. So what does it have there for the sensors?

[DAVINCI]

And yes the mothers power cone on a drill works like you wouldn't believe.
Just move all wires because when it grabs it grabs now!

maybe you caused a coil wire problem by yankin' on em?