Taking over restoration myself

[JimmyXS11]

I have been reading this site for quite a while and have never posted. The wealth of information here is amazing.

I bought my XS1100E last year, knowing it had sat up for a while. The last time I saw it run I watched the back end of it disappear over the horizion, leaving me and my VT750 in the dust. It ran pretty good and had a few electrical problems. I rode it about 60 miles and when I stopped the floats were stuck with the usual result. I pulled the carbs and took them to a shop to have them rebuilt. Months later I got them back, installed them and they leaked just like before.

I took the whole bike back and after six months he admitted he could not do the job. Just proves again that the mechanics today do not know how to work on these bikes.

Today I installed a replacement fuse block and removed the carbs again. Because of the encouragement I have read here, I am going to tackle them myself.



There are a few dings in the paint on the fiberglass and the paint will have to be redone some day as it is a bit crazed. The chrome also needs a lot of TLC and elbow grease.







This is the way the wiring looked when I started and below is the end result. I will remove the number flags when I am more sure I got it right.



Thanks for what you have compiled on this site and thanks to TC for the deal on the fuse block. I'll try to post updates as I get the work done.

[DGXSER]

Enjoy the journey, it is alot of fun working on them. And nice looking 74 Bug you have there!

[Jfries]

Nice

awesome looking E this is the look i want!! how many miles does it have,, and do you mind me asking how much you paid?

[JimmyXS11]

JFRIES – Thanks, I kind of like it too. I do not know if I can trust the odometer. It shows 8,052 miles. I believe it has a few more than that. I was buying from a friend and believed it to be in a little better shape. He did not misrepresent it, I just did not ask the questions I should have asked. I paid $1,100, but I am not unhappy with the price. When I bought it, I did not know what a gem the XS11 is and I love it.

DGXSER – I have already enjoyed the effort and look forward to success at the end of the journey. It already has new tires and minor repairs. Sharp eye on the Bug. It used to be my daily driver. It too needs work like rebuilding the motor, paint and much interior work.
Two classics in one photo with great possibilities for both.

[dpotter58]

very nice bike. You will love the ride.

[WSL91]

Is that the Pacifico fairing? I didn't realize how big they are. Looks like you have a real solid bike to begin with and thats half the battle.

[jwhughes3]

Get together

Jimmy,

I too live in a city with an Alamo (NW side).

PM me when you get a chance and we can get together and talk XS.

John

[dpotter58]

and a classic bug to do with it!

[greatnw]

Great looking bike. If tires and carb cleaning is all you need you did just fine. Elbow grease on the chrome and paint is just standard with anything as old as these bikes.
Carbs aren't that hard, just take your time and if something isn't looking or acting right make sure you are doing the procedure correctly so you don't break anything and cost yourself money. Mine were pretty messed up. The gas looked like matted grass in spots. I sprayed them and put them in a ultrasonic cleaner and it seemed pretty darn simple.
Good luck and great riding!

[JimmyXS11]

Is that the Pacifico fairing? I didn't realize how big they are. Looks like you have a real solid bike to begin with and thats half the battle.

Best I can tell it is a Pacifico made for Yamaha as an option the dealer could add. Same for the bags. It sure is nice sitting behind it on the interstate. Don't know about later in the summer, it gets hot in south Texas.

[natemoen]

Yes, that is the Pacifico fairing. Weight wise it is basically the same as the vetter fairing I hear but the Pacifico supposedly cuts through the wind better.

[JimmyXS11]

You can imagine the love in my heart when I opened number 2 and found this! It was not this way when I took it to the shop to have the carbs redone.





I am thinking of trying the drill a hole in the flat part of the post support and using copper wire method. Because of the angle, I am concerned about the wire touching the float pivot. Is the post itself solid and could the hole be drilled through it? At least it would be a straight tie down.

Then I let a screwdriver slip and damage this as well. Not a good day.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Jim,

The base support of the float pin is still there, so it's really just a matter of securing the end of the pin to that end of the post. You can drill holes thru the side of the broken float post base, and run some SS wire thru it and up around the end of the float pin to secure it in place.

Suggest you take some fine emory cloth to the float pin near the head to thin it down a little so that it slides in and out of the remaing float post easily without requiring you to tap it in thru an interference type fit. Once the bowl is back on, it will prevent the pin from sliding out/sideways anyways, so a tight fit in not needed.

No biggie on the main jet, they are softer brass and can get worn or chipped like that, just make sure the hole isn't blocked with any brass shavings/chips, you can use a fine file to dress up the slot of the jet. And you may want to invest in a good quality variety set of screwdrivers so you'll have one that will fit it snugly!

T.C.

[geobiker]

Used Carb bank

Jim:

I don't know what your financial situation is but sometimes members on the used part forum will have a bank of carbs for sale (you can also look on e-bay but prices there can vary wildly). I picked-up a spare bank of carbs last year for right around $100, just to have spare carb parts on hand.

[JimmyXS11]

I have carbs disassembled with the exception of separating the carb bank. It was really pretty clean, but between PineSol and six cans of carb cleaner, I think it is ready to go back together.

Used a Dremmel to drill a hole through the broken float post. Plan on using SS wire to tie down the float pin.

While I had it apart, I thought I would go ahead with whole K&N carb kits I got from Georgefix. Now I read that the replacement needles are not as good as the old ones. Not sure about which to use now. Suggestions?

Found an interesting setup on the needles. The #2 was set down one and the rest were down 2. Not sure what setting I will use. Suggestions?

Brakes work fine, but I plan on cleaning and replacing the fluid just in case. Which brake fluid does it take? I guess I could look it up.

I am so ready to get it back together and go riding. Looks nice in the driveway, but will look better flying down the road.

PS, the guy I bought the bike from died last week. I really wanted to take it by his house when I had it running right. RIP Bill.