Threads on oil sending unit

[old_chopper]

The sending unit on my XS is out of order. The threads look to be 1/8" NPT but I haven't removed it yet to check. If they are npt I can pick one up at the auto parts store. Can anyone tell me what thread they are?

[natemoen]

Yes they are cause I used a 1/8 npt tee there to add in a oil pressure gauge.

[old_chopper]

Thanks! I'll grab one on the way home.

[cywelchjr]

Thanks! I'll grab one on the way home.

I'm not sure if any automotive unit will give you the right cutoff point pressure wise. Other than that minor issue, I'd guess it would be no more than an issue of getting something that fit in that area. I'd think if someone had found something that actually worked there would have been talk about it rather than the talk about how to fix the things when they stop working. Than again I may have no idea what I'm talking about, but so far NOTHING has been that simple on these beasts .

[natemoen]

Not sure of this but I have heard the stock one is something stupid like 5 or 10psi.

[James England]

so far NOTHING has been that simple on these beasts .

Don't be so negative..... they're easy to work on! Ultra-modern bikes are much harder to work on than the old XS1100's.....

[crazy steve]

Not sure of this but I have heard the stock one is something stupid like 5 or 10psi.

Typically, most 'oil light' senders switch at between 3-5 psi so as not to have 'nuisance' lighting at idle. You'll find this is true of nearly all of them, whether they're for a bike, car, or truck. On some newer cars with gauges, the 'oil gauge' is really just a glorified light, as the manufacturers got tired of dealing with complaints of low pressure at idle (entirely normal on most motors, but owners couldn't be made to understand that) so rigged the 'gauge' to read mid-scale as long as there's any pressure...

[cywelchjr]

Don't be so negative..... they're easy to work on! Ultra-modern bikes are much harder to work on than the old XS1100's.....

Oh no, you misunderstand me. These are indeed easy to work on. Finding parts from third party sources that bolt on and work, that's what's not been a simple thing in far too many cases.

This has been the bane of my existence on getting the auto cancel mod to work properly. Turns out the technical info available was correctly incorrect. (the specifics were correct in the details, but incorrect in parts of what they meant concerning the parts that were not detailed, specifically referencing the auto cancel unit itself, which it turns out CANNOT source 30ma, at least not at 12v).

I think I got it figured out, but being on part time and partial unemployment and not having gotten an unemployment check as of yet, means I don't have the fundage to try it till NEXT payday (too much month between paydays these days).

It's the finding parts that plug and play off the shelf that just don't seem to be that easy with these bikes.

[James England]

Oh no, you misunderstand me.

When I thought about buying another XS1100 after a long time without one, I did wonder re spares availability and checked on eBay and other places first. I was surprised at just how many parts there are, both used and NOS which are readily available. I renovated my bike and bought, cheaply, NOS fork sliders, fork stanchions, even rear shocks. I bought a brand-new, still manufactured seat, brake pads, carb rebuild kits, bitty things like headlamp adjuster, NOS fork ears, front reflectors. I just bought a NOS lift handle and a set of UK spec handlebars, used TCI unit.......... etc etc.

eBay has loads of spares available, ready to stick right in. I broke two this year (well beyond repair) and sold every single thing on them.

[cywelchjr]

When I thought about buying another XS1100 after a long time without one, I did wonder re spares availability and checked on eBay and other places first. I was surprised at just how many parts there are, both used and NOS which are readily available. I renovated my bike and bought, cheaply, NOS fork sliders, fork stanchions, even rear shocks. I bought a brand-new, still manufactured seat, brake pads, carb rebuild kits, bitty things like headlamp adjuster, NOS fork ears, front reflectors. I just bought a NOS lift handle and a set of UK spec handlebars, used TCI unit.......... etc etc.

eBay has loads of spares available, ready to stick right in. I broke two this year (well beyond repair) and sold every single thing on them.

A lot of those parts are not so easy to get over to here on this side of the pond. Standards are FAR less common over here than they are on your side, being that the specials were the big seller here. When searching for a tank, I find typically 4 to 1, 4 special tanks to 1 standard tank, and the standard tanks are usually pretty high priced for junk (rusty crappy tanks that I wouldn't put on my machine for any price). Especially since the 80+ models use different forks than the earlier models, and they too are harder to find, use different side covers, the decals are different, about the only thing the same is the headlight and turn signals, even the seat is different (oh, they use the same luggage rack as the earlier standards). So yes, lots of special parts over here, not so many standard parts, especially 80 and 81 parts, and a lot of the 81 standard parts don't interchange to the 80 cause it's a bit of a hybrid using the special exhaust and such.