Newbie lookin for some advice!

[ddragon63]

Meh.... I say just ride it!

clean clean clean the carbs, A aerosol can of SeaFoam DeepCreep is your best friend! Check the mixture screws and make sure all are in 1 piece... Trust me when I say its better to find out now that you need to hit guys up for a couple parts here and there, than to take it for a spin or 2 then have it fail... now you've got the itch and your mad that you have to take it apart...

Petcocks... pull them apart lube the seals and discs with some vasoline or White Lithium grease and reassemble... if theres no crack, splits, or chew marks in the disc and seals they should stop leaking. After "Old Man" sat for 7 years I got some dribbles out of the petcocks from the gas drying out and subsequently drying the seals out. A rush of fresh gas on dry seals and the gas will find daylight... pulled em apart, cleaned them up, lil white lithium grease on the parts, reassembled, and no more leaks.

For when you get it back together....
Also buy a can of SeaFoam from the parts store or Walmart. Put half the can in the tanks with your fresh gas and the other half in the motor oil. Run some heat cycles in the driveway. 10 minutes running 5 minutes not.... Do this for a while and then dump the oil and filter and put new in. This will help clean out any scale, varnish, rust, oxidization, etc that may have built up in the motor from its slumber. the SeaFoam in the gas will help clean out carbon in the intake ports, combustion areas, and valves... you can also use the DeepCreep to fog the carbs with once you get it running. Get it warmed up and spray it into the air intakes of the carbs until the motor starts to stumble. then shut it off and let it sit for 15 minutes. The DeepCreep will sit in the combustion area and bubble all the carbon, and oxidization out. Make sure you do this in a WELL vented area... as once you fire it back up the pipes will fog you out of the garage. and don't forget to set your Cam Chain Adjuster... you can find a million write ups on how to do that on here

Most of all ENJOY!!!! and Welcome to Channel 11

[James England]

OK. Got the tank and petcocks cleaned, can't afford to seal it right now so I got two heavy duty in line fuel filters. Got the new battery in it, turn the key, and to my dismay nada. so tomorrow I'm gonna tear into the ignition system and clean all my connections.

I bet it's your fuse box. The OEM ones fail after a few years.... tired, dirty clips cause problems. I'd put a TC fusebox in.

[mikubuilder]

it might be right handlebar switches...have same problem myself, just no time to look at it

[zookey]

My husband picked up a 79 XS1100 Special a couple of years back. He sounded just like you..... what do I have to do before I start her up and take a ride.

Take a ride he did. As he left the driveway he found out that the bike can go from 0 to 90 in a quarter mile... then he got the throttle unstuck and brought the bike crawling home. I think he learned his lesson.

Do what these guys are telling you and take your time, do it right the first time, and be able to enjoy your bike for years to come!!

[jjz28]

Acutally, its way faster than that in a quarter mile

[foadhagen]

Electrical issue wasn't the fusebox thank god! Turns out it was just a corroded connection. I went from the handle bars to the battery and cleaned everything, all my switches work but she still won't crank. Time for some more research!

[mikubuilder]

well, I've got the same bike, and in about the same conditionas you...starting it(cranking) should not be too much trouble...
first its your ignition switch...you must get at least low oil and neutral lights on...then it's to right handle bar...your kill switch(two red wires you can jump together ) and starter button(this grounds out to frame) this blue wire goes to starter solenoid....
just make sure your battery is fresh from a charger and ready to take some cranking...
you said you've cleaned all connections...most important are your grounds, some people even double them up or replace with new cables...
keep reading posts here and continue checking...I follow Crazy Steve's advice of isolating systems and checking them separately....makes troubleshooting much easier

[foadhagen]

Finally heard her run! Turns out I needed to put a little gas in my carbs just to get her going, now she fires right up and runs strong. Next step, brakes!

[zookey]

yeh........... those can be important....

Congrats on getting her fired up and hearing her roar! It is always a sweet sound after having to work to make it happen.