Story of aquiring my bike and some questions about it. 80SG

[Lbrown311]

First for those of you who have input on my issues skip to 2nd paragraph.

I started my bike search with nothing but the idea that I wanted an old classic trusty bike. I like the Yamaha XS models and the Honda CB models especially. A friend at work clued me in on a guy who owned a couple bikes. One being a 77 Honda CB750K, and the other a 77 Yamaha XS750. I looked at both and saw the bike I had been looking for. The CB fit my style and long lasting easy maintenance, plus looked like the day it was taken off the shelf. A week later the guy told me his wife talked him out of selling the bike. With horrible thoughts of what I wanted to do to him and his wife I respectfully said, "that's ok, it would be hard to get rid of". I lowered my standards and boadened my spectrum. So one day I was set out to go look at a 78 KZ1000, but got rained out by a storm that came out of nowhere. By this time my patience were getting thin, but I realized there was a bike out there for me. That same night while browsing for bikes, I saw it!!! A 1980XS1100 Special completely stock, and all original (so he said). I said to myself "that's my bike!" I knew that I needed to act fast for the price he was asking and the shape it was in, so by 9AM the next morning I owned my very own bike, and I love it to death. Hasn't been a day since I brought it home that I haven't at least touched it.

Now for a few tough (for me) questions that I'm sure have some easy (for you XSive brothers) answers. I was snooping around last night and realized that the vacuum line? that comes from the left side of my engine case to the no.2 carb was tore and disconnected. (I fixed it) Wondering what kind of difference that makes.
2nd I took the bike to a friend of mine who has owned a dealership since I can remember and he sprayed carb cleaner on all the air ports? that are on the sides of the carbs and connect them all. When sprayed no.1 kills or bogs the engine, no.2 sounds like it ran better, and 3 & 4 had no affect. First what are those little ports and second what is happening?
Last thing....If I leave my petcock open I get fuel in my airbox, I've read tons about it and it sounds like a leaky petcock, and leaky octy, needles and seats, or a stuck float. If I shut it off it is fine. Also had gas tank off and no leaks, or so I think, at petcocks. It is a little coughy before it warms up.

Thanks for any help, hope to learn a lot more than I already have before I was signed up from you guys. Safe Riding!

[jetmechmarty]

If the airbox fills with the petcocks positioned to "ON", the shutoff valve (octy) is not working. Secondly, one or more carburetors has/have a leaking float valve. It sounds like you have air leaks as well.

[DGXSER]

I started my bike search with nothing but the idea that I wanted an old classic trusty bike. I like the Yamaha XS models and the Honda CB models especially. A friend at work clued me in on a guy who owned a couple bikes. One being a 77 Honda CB750K, and the other a 77 Yamaha XS750. I looked at both and saw the bike I had been looking for. The CB fit my style and long lasting easy maintenance, plus looked like the day it was taken off the shelf. A week later the guy told me his wife talked him out of selling the bike. With horrible thoughts of what I wanted to do to him and his wife I respectfully said, "that's ok, it would be hard to get rid of". I lowered my standards and boadened my spectrum. So one day I was set out to go look at a 78 KZ1000, but got rained out by a storm that came out of nowhere. By this time my patience were getting thin, but I realized there was a bike out there for me. That same night while browsing for bikes, I saw it!!! A 1980XS1100 Special completely stock, and all original (so he said). I said to myself "that's my bike!" I knew that I needed to act fast for the price he was asking and the shape it was in, so by 9AM the next morning I owned my very own bike, and I love it to death. Hasn't been a day since I brought it home that I haven't at least touched it.

Congrats on ending your long search with a great bike!!!

Now for a few tough (for me) questions that I'm sure have some easy (for you XSive brothers) answers. I was snooping around last night and realized that the vacuum line? that comes from the left side of my engine case to the no.2 carb was tore and disconnected. (I fixed it) Wondering what kind of difference that makes.

That will effect a couple things, one, by fising it you will eliminate a vacuum leak which will effect how that cylinder runs. You also added in the vacuum advance which can help upper RPM range run better.

2nd I took the bike to a friend of mine who has owned a dealership since I can remember and he sprayed carb cleaner on all the air ports? that are on the sides of the carbs and connect them all. When sprayed no.1 kills or bogs the engine, no.2 sounds like it ran better, and 3 & 4 had no affect. First what are those little ports and second what is happening?

The ports on the intake boots up next to the head are vacuum ports. Sound sliek you need better caps on no 1 and 2, or the seal at the head could be bad, or the butterfly seals on the carbs could be bad. Have your buddy direct the spray to help identity where the leaks are.

Last thing....If I leave my petcock open I get fuel in my airbox, I've read tons about it and it sounds like a leaky petcock, and leaky octy, needles and seats, or a stuck float. If I shut it off it is fine. Also had gas tank off and no leaks, or so I think, at petcocks. It is a little coughy before it warms up.

I like to refer to our fuel system the same as a kitchen sink. If you are familiar wiht plumbing this will make sense. The float needle valves in the carbs act like the faucet you use on your sink. They control gas flow when needed. The vacuum valve (Octy), and the petcocks work like the shutoff valves under the sink. They turn off the fuel when you need to work on the faucet, or as just in case protection when you leave home for a week or so. If your kitchen sink drips when you turn the faucet off, you do not need to work on the shutoff valves, you need to work on the faucet. Now, you may find that when you try to turn off the water at the shutoff valves that they also need work, much liek it seems your Octy and maybe petcocks need work. But fixing those will not fix the faucet, or float valves in the case of our carbs. Until you get the fuel level correct by having correctly functioning float valves, the rest of the tuning is not going to help much if at all.

[Lbrown311]

Less nervous than before.

Thanks for the replys thus far. Is this something that I can run for the season or is this damaging to the bike to run with a leaky seat? I have checked the oil since changing it since ownership and the level has not gone up...leading me to believe there isn't gas getting into it (heard bad things about that). I am new to bikes in general and have been doing LOTS of research but tinkering is the best way to learn. I dig deeper the more confidence I gain. I have considered cleaning the carbs and I have looked at the Carb Cleaning 101 thread, and I am still nervous about doing it but it might be worth the savings and the learning experience. Also it did seem like it had more Giddiup when I attached the vacuum line. Anyone have an actual manual for this bike (or where I could get one), because the downloaded version on a laptop is kind of a pain to use with grease, gas and oil all over your hands. I think it is a necessity to have if you plan on maintaining one of these Beasts. BTW my dad owns an 07 Stratoliner and he was jawdropped at the power and speed this bike has. What does it accel from 0-60 stock and does it stand a chance against a 2010 R6? Fun questions I have for now. Look forward to many convo's with you enthusiasts. My love keeps growing every minute.
Thanks again,
Lance

Also, I have 4-1 exhaust....is that stock or is that a mod?

[DGXSER]

As fun as it is to ride, I would not ride much if any more until you fix the leaking carbs issue. But yeah, they are addictively fun to ride!!

[Craigaboy]

Thanks for the replys thus far. Is this something that I can run for the season or is this damaging to the bike to run with a leaky seat? I have checked the oil since changing it since ownership and the level has not gone up...leading me to believe there isn't gas getting into it (heard bad things about that). I am new to bikes in general and have been doing LOTS of research but tinkering is the best way to learn. I dig deeper the more confidence I gain. I have considered cleaning the carbs and I have looked at the Carb Cleaning 101 thread, and I am still nervous about doing it but it might be worth the savings and the learning experience. Also it did seem like it had more Giddiup when I attached the vacuum line. Anyone have an actual manual for this bike (or where I could get one), because the downloaded version on a laptop is kind of a pain to use with grease, gas and oil all over your hands. I think it is a necessity to have if you plan on maintaining one of these Beasts. BTW my dad owns an 07 Stratoliner and he was jawdropped at the power and speed this bike has. What does it accel from 0-60 stock and does it stand a chance against a 2010 R6? Fun questions I have for now. Look forward to many convo's with you enthusiasts. My love keeps growing every minute.
Thanks again,
Lance

Also, I have 4-1 exhaust....is that stock or is that a mod?

I too was very surprised by how powerful and responsive the engine is on these bikes. Love it. I have ridden a lot of newer bikes - and this one takes them all for real world enjoyment. I bought a new R6 a few years back and road it all over the west coast and alaska - the XS doesnt stand a chance though. You can just about do 60 in first gear with the R6

[fredintoon]

Thanks for the replys thus far. Is this something that I can run for the season or is this damaging to the bike to run with a leaky seat? I have checked the oil since changing it since ownership and the level has not gone up...leading me to believe there isn't gas getting into it (heard bad things about that). I am new to bikes in general and have been doing LOTS of research but tinkering is the best way to learn. I dig deeper the more confidence I gain. I have considered cleaning the carbs and I have looked at the Carb Cleaning 101 thread, and I am still nervous about doing it but it might be worth the savings and the learning experience. Also it did seem like it had more Giddiup when I attached the vacuum line. Anyone have an actual manual for this bike (or where I could get one), because the downloaded version on a laptop is kind of a pain to use with grease, gas and oil all over your hands. I think it is a necessity to have if you plan on maintaining one of these Beasts. BTW my dad owns an 07 Stratoliner and he was jawdropped at the power and speed this bike has. What does it accel from 0-60 stock and does it stand a chance against a 2010 R6? Fun questions I have for now. Look forward to many convo's with you enthusiasts. My love keeps growing every minute.
Thanks again,
Lance

Also, I have 4-1 exhaust....is that stock or is that a mod?

Hi Lance and welcome,
first bike? Fer Chrissake take a rider's course.
A trick to carb cleaning they don't tell you:-
Do all the work in a big cafeteria tray so those tiny parts can't escape.
My SG's octopus was long gone before I got it but I can't bring myself to believe that a fuel system with at least 8 lines in it is a good way to go.
If your local bike shop don't have or can't bring in a printed Clymer's or Haynes manual, buy a used one from Alibris.
In a straight line it'll surprise an R6 but the R6 will out brake and out handle it any day.
4-1 exhaust is aftermarket for sure.

[kevxs]

manual

you just just print the manual at work when no ones looking

or get it done at kinkos or somewhere like that

[Kit]

Anyone have an actual manual for this bike (or where I could get one), because the downloaded version on a laptop is kind of a pain to use with grease, gas and oil all over your hands.

I bought mine here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Yamah...sQ5fLiterature
The best price I could find, and it's brand new. There is also a factory service manual, which I picked up on ebay as well. Just did a quick search, but didn't see any available right now. Keep an eye out. It's nice to have both.

[natemoen]

Where in Minneapolis are you at? I just moved out of the area, I was in Hopkins, but still get back over there every now and then. There are quite a few other members in the no.neapolis metro area too.

[Lbrown311]

Keep the flow going.

I am in South Minneapolis. I had some friends that lived in Hopkins area and still a couple there. If your ever around let me know. Sounds like I need to get myself some manuals and take a crack at the carb cleaning 101 guide. I'll hope for some rain days so I don't feel so bad about not getting to ride it . It sounds like I have a leaky octy, but more importantly a leaky seat. Hopefully its not terrible when I go digging. Not sure when I will start....Need to grow a pair first. I will keep you folk updated.
One thing I forgot... I did a feeler test on my exhaust headers and feels like no.2 is a lot warmer than the others. Running lean...?
Thanks for the replys.
Pretty sure I am an XSer for life.
Already thinking about getting one to set up for touring. I really like the Midnight Specials
Tata for now.
Lance

[natemoen]

Pull the plugs and see what they look like. Could be the other 3 are running rich.

[Lbrown311]

hmmmm

I did pull the plugs the day I reattatched the vacuum line to the no.2 carb but I am not exactly sure what I'm looking for. It seemed some were more black than others. I also need to grab a gage for them so I can get some measurements. I just ordered an Owner's Manual off ebay today. Is there another one I should own or does that cover most of it. It is the original OEM manual.
Thanks

[natemoen]

If it is the owners manual it is not of much use. If it is the factory service manual it is very helpful. Clymer is about the only other manual but not necessary if you have the fsm.

[Lbrown311]

Title said Service manual

1978 1979 1980 Yamaha XS1100 models Service Manual_OEM
That is the manual I ordered on Ebay ealier today. Says service manual so I am hoping that's what it is

Anyways. Another note from today's adventures on the bike. I rechecked the exhaust headers and now the no.2 is colder than the rest. This is after attaching the vacuum line to the no.2 carb. Assuming this had something to do with the change from it being the hotter of the four.

I read a lot more....(at work ) today about maintenance and such things in the tech tips. I still have some more to read, but I am getting less concerned about digging deeper. So I "think" the next rain day we get I "might" start doing some tests I've read about and trying to get my carbs cleaned and sync'd. It sounded like my floats are the plastic version....are those less susceptible to damage?

Also I saw the plug tech tip today and mine looked pretty good...might be newer? Keep in mind I have only owned it for a week and a half now...what are the things I should be doing as a new owner of a 31 year old bike with no history on it?
Thanks in advance,
Lance