Two Year Project

[Barnfresh]

I found this bike in the fall of '09 behind a barn and finally got my first good ride in today. She's an 80 model with a '78 engine. I'm trying for an old school cruiser and it's coming along. Got some leaks to fix and a TC fuse box to put in tomorrow. I can't wait to ride it to work next week!

[TopCatGr58]

Hey "Fresh",

That's a great looking ride for sure, congrats on the find and the resurrection!

I noticed the large array of lights on the trunk, but if they are standard bulbs, would highly suggest you swap in LEDs for them, lest you run the risk of frying your reg/rect unit or killing your battery trying to run that much with the stock charging system. I would expect or hope that you would have seen the many threads on here about the weakness of the XS11 charging system, and the amount of extra load just running lights can put on the system!

Also, don't recall your posts about any previous riding experience, etc., so just be careful out there getting to know your machine, as well as watching out for the cagers!

T.C.

[DCracer25]

hey thats a nice bike I like the looks of the vetter bags an all. enjoy your ride for yrs to come.

[XS1100_OEM4ME]

Nice

She looks ready for the road Even the LONG road with all that luggage If the extra lights are brake lights, don't worry, they wont run your battery down if you dont sit in traffic all day Have fun

[cywelchjr]

Those are both running and brake lights, and even so, going LED does help a LOT. I ended up replacing the fittings on mine because it turned out as they worked less and less well that the things were partially melted. If you check my photo's in the "what did you do" thread you can see the lights I used from Walmart. Superbright LED's has a set that is similar although they are a little more square. As I recall, they are also a little more pricey by the time you get everything you need to hook them up as well, as they don't come with everything you need, where the Walmart ones do.

[Barnfresh]

Thanks TC - My last bike was a '76 Honda 750 which I sold 30 years ago when babies started poping out... This big 4 has a lot more guts and weight and requires practice. I also noticed the bags, trunk, windshield and fairing need some getting used to in the West Texas wind...

The PO said he had the bags and a fairing put on by the Yamaha dealer in Denver when he bought the bike in '81. I figure Watts = Volts * Amps and the book says the tail/brake lights are 8/27 watts then these four 1157 bulbs are .66 amps each tail and 2.25 amps each brake = about 14 amps with the brakes are on and both filaments on with the stock tail/brake light - that's a lot of power! My numbers may be wrong, but I'm heading to WalMart!

[cywelchjr]

Thanks TC - My last bike was a '76 Honda 750 which I sold 30 years ago when babies started poping out... This big 4 has a lot more guts and weight and requires practice. I also noticed the bags, trunk, windshield and fairing need some getting used to in the West Texas wind...

The PO said he had the bags and a fairing put on by the Yamaha dealer in Denver when he bought the bike in '81. I figure Watts = Volts * Amps and the book says the tail/brake lights are 8/27 watts then these four 1157 bulbs are .66 amps each tail and 2.25 amps each brake = about 14 amps with the brakes are on and both filaments on with the stock tail/brake light - that's a lot of power! My numbers may be wrong, but I'm heading to WalMart!

If the sockets are good many auto part places carry led bulbs that are plug in replacements, just be sure to change the ones in the brake light too as many of them don't get along with regular bulbs. I got mine at kragen auto before they got bought out, but last I checked they still carried them.

[XS1100_OEM4ME]

Learning

OK, I am always willing to learn helpfull stuff What bulbs would I want to replace with LED's on a stock 79SF? I would think the turn light bulbs would need to keep the OEM pull to make the stock flasher work Should I change any to reduce the load, and which ones

Hey "Fresh",

That's a great looking ride for sure, congrats on the find and the resurrection!

I noticed the large array of lights on the trunk, but if they are standard bulbs, would highly suggest you swap in LEDs for them, lest you run the risk of frying your reg/rect unit or killing your battery trying to run that much with the stock charging system. I would expect or hope that you would have seen the many threads on here about the weakness of the XS11 charging system, and the amount of extra load just running lights can put on the system!

Also, don't recall your posts about any previous riding experience, etc., so just be careful out there getting to know your machine, as well as watching out for the cagers!

T.C.

[cywelchjr]

OK, I am always willing to learn helpfull stuff What bulbs would I want to replace with LED's on a stock 79SF? I would think the turn light bulbs would need to keep the OEM pull to make the stock flasher work Should I change any to reduce the load, and which ones

Just the brake light and the trunk lights, and maybe the dash lights, but those are so small as to make it more work than is worth the work unless you already have things apart IMHO. I'd go ahead and get them if you were thinking about them, but would wait till you have the speedometer and tachometer out to deal with them.

[bikerphil]

Beware of those 1157 type LED bulbs for using as a brake light. Every one I have seen is not as bright (especially during daylight) as the incandescent type, it doesn't utilize the reflector correctly in the tail lite housing. Myself, I would rather waste a little power rather than getting rear ended on a bright sunny day. Tail light lens/housings that are designed for LED's are great, but the incandescent housing/reflectors just aren't designed for LED bulbs, JMHO

[XS1100_OEM4ME]

Thanks again Phil

I didn't even think about that, Old reflectors are made for old style bulbs Tech. is great, but not having a SUV ride up my butt is better Even on his bike, sounds like the charging sys has done fine for 30 years

Beware of those 1157 type LED bulbs for using as a brake light. Every one I have seen is not as bright (especially during daylight) as the incandescent type, it doesn't utilize the reflector correctly in the tail lite housing. Myself, I would rather waste a little power rather than getting rear ended on a bright sunny day. Tail light lens/housings that are designed for LED's are great, but the incandescent housing/reflectors just aren't designed for LED bulbs, JMHO

[bikerphil]

Yep, and the 79 Special is the only XS11 model with a single bulb tail light, we need every bit of brightness.

[Barnfresh]

I got 4 LED 1157 bulbs for $16.00 a pair at O'Reilly's auto parts - put them in the trunk and they are good and bright. Then I found the brake lights were not wired up in the trunk even though they had dual fillaments. I bet the dealer did not want to overload the system and did taillights only... Now I can hook up the brake lights with no worries.
Thanks!

[XS1100_OEM4ME]

Ok

Just like I said, no problem for 30 years with no overload of the elec sys

I got 4 LED 1157 bulbs for $16.00 a pair at O'Reilly's auto parts - put them in the trunk and they are good and bright. Then I found the brake lights were not wired up in the trunk even though they had dual fillaments. I bet the dealer did not want to overload the system and did taillights only... Now I can hook up the brake lights with no worries.
Thanks!

[cywelchjr]

I got 4 LED 1157 bulbs for $16.00 a pair at O'Reilly's auto parts - put them in the trunk and they are good and bright. Then I found the brake lights were not wired up in the trunk even though they had dual fillaments. I bet the dealer did not want to overload the system and did taillights only... Now I can hook up the brake lights with no worries.
Thanks!

With the single I wouldn't run the LED either, but with the trunk with it wired two I wouldn't worry, but, they won't work right in the trunk unless you change the one in the brake light too, it's the way their designed. Catatonic bug and I both have the same bulbs (well had, I got rid of them in the trunk when I switched to the new light assy's in the trunk, still have the same ones in the brake light though and they work fine with the LED units from walmart). The brake light function of the LED's won't work with a standard 1157 bulb in the circuit, but with the trunk plus the brake light you will have plenty of light back there, and IMHO, the ones you got work just fine. And frankly, they don't use the reflector of the socket at all, it's all direct light unlike the normal bulb which sends light every which way.