1976/77 Yamaha xs1100???

[Eveready1100]

Just a little FYI regarding a pre-production bike in Australia.



This bike was photographed at the 1977 Castrol Six Hour Race at Amaroo Park near Sydney which was held in October. The bike was being used as a travelling Marshalls' vehicle and was fully road registered.

It has been speculated that a number of these were imported then sent out for extensive testing in the Outback (Longreach, Western Queensland) after which, a number of design mods were implemented, the main one being the fitment of oil coolers to all models for markets other than the US

The following year, the XS11's ran in the Six Hour, and won convincingly. Full details can be found here - Castrol Six Hour

[FJ111200]

Well, we can see how you might have been misguided by the VIN #, but the ending means that your bike was the 7 thousandth, 6 hundred and seventy seventh one off the line...

T.C.

Correct me if i'm wrong, but, don't all the serial numbers after the model number start with 000101?
So that would mean that the first one was 2H7000101 and so the bike in question would be the 7576th one off the production line.
Am i being picky?

[CaptonZap]

Correct me if i'm wrong, but, don't all the serial numbers after the model number start with 000101?
So that would mean that the first one was 2H7000101 and so the bike in question would be the 7576th one off the production line.
Am i being picky?

YES!

How many fingers do you have?


Or are you cheating and using an abacas?

CZ

[crazy steve]

on a scale of 1 to 10 how hard is it to find parts for xs11's?

Like DGXSER said, most are easy. In terms of keeping a running bike on the road, minor repair and maintenance parts are readily available with rebuild parts for the brakes, fuel system, clutch, chassis, and suspension. Even new rotors and fork tubes can be gotten (although not all that cheaply). You may not find one-stop shopping either, but a bit of looking will turn this stuff up.

Major rebuild parts, not so good. You can get valve shims, cam chains and gasket sets for the motor, but other internal rebuild parts are getting increasingly hard to find, with most being NOS stuff dug out of shops. Transmission parts are mostly no longer available, although the typical problems in the trans can usually be repaired at little or no cost. Middle and final drive shaft parts are also NLA, but good used replacements aren't hard to get.

Trim pieces like seats (except for seat covers), fuel tanks, sidecovers, exhausts, etc can be very hard to find, with degree of difficulty depending on which year/model you have and what part you need. There's a handful of reproduction parts out there but quality is spotty. The vast majority of this you'll have to find in the used market although some NOS parts do turn up from time to time.

I would never throw away any part until I have a replacement in my hand.

Here is a place to start: http://www.xs11.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=78
This will help you know what to look for, and the links can show what may still be available. Yamaha still has some smaller parts, and there's several vendors who specialize in obsolete parts.

[CaptonZap]

I would never throw away any part until I have a replacement in my hand.

And if I might add, never throw away a part just because you don't have a use for it, or know how to repair it, or even if you don't think it can be repaired. The inventiveness of some of the members is amazing.
Let the group know what you have, and if you were going to throw it away, someone will probably pay postage to have it shipped to them. All you are out is the shipping labor, and that is a small price to pay for the information and help that is available on this forum. IMHO

CZ

[Bonz]

Yes, very true... If it wasn't for CZ and him already repairing a broken kill switch knob on one of his bikes, I would not have tried to repair mine that was in pieces. But I saved the pieces, parts, detent ball and everything else, or I wouldn't have been able to fix it once I found out there was hope. I might add, it is one great functioning kill switch now.

[arab-bikerboy]

Haha well I'm am really thankful for all the information it really does help me out.. I want everyone to know that I got her running today and I took her out.. I did have to tape loose wires to the frame haha.. but I am 100% sure when I say this is probably the most bas ass bike I have ever had the joy of riding and owning the power in the engine is amazing all I have to do now is het the wiring straight and have my seat upholstered and ad ahead light and she will be golden!!! I love this forum and I love all the help all of th ou have given me.. my misfire was caused by a shortage of fuel getting to my carbs haha

[Yard Dogg]

I don't know how familiar you are with working on bikes, just FYI. If you were having fuel troubles than more maintenance is likely needed. It's dangerous for an air cooled engine to run lean so it's important to get your carbs cleaned, tuned and synced. It's one of the most common maintenance related jobs to do on these bikes so learning it will be important. Besides, if you do it, you'll know what you've got.

[arab-bikerboy]

oh i am for sure going to clean the carbs, i build and sell bobber in the birminham al area so i am familiar with bike but everyone can still learn a thing or two as they ride so thanks you for the heads up and ill keep an eye on her.. i just had to take her out to see what all they hype was about haha

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there Bikerboy,

Glad to hear that you're decently skilled in the mechanical area, that will definitely be needed with this bike. They are very reliable ONCE you put it into good reliable condition. As has been mentioned, the carbs are a big part of getting the most out of the potential performance. The fuel delivery system varies with the models. Your standard uses vacuum controlled petcocks, making sure the vacuum lines to the intake boots for the petcocks are intact and not leaking can help to ensure that you have good fuel flow. We highly recommend INLINE fuel filters....lots of crud/rust in the tanks, and the tank filter towers won't necessarily filter the very fine particles as well as a filter. The carbs have float bowl vents on the upper "T" fittings, they are usually connected to hoses and the air box, the airbox nipples can get clogged as well as the "T's", if the carbs are not vented, they will flood, etc.!
You'll want to get a good read on some new spark plugs to see if the jetting is right for the pipes, stock carbs are mains=135, pilots=45.

I resell 6 slotted ATCO style fuseblocks to help replace/repair the OEM glass/brass clip style block which is usually falling apart. Another weak point is the pick up coil wires, they like to fracture with age and constant flexing due to the action of the vac. adv. and cent. adv. components....see the tech tip for the PU coil wire repair for diagnostics and repair info.
To help eliminate other age/corrosion/exposure electrical gremlins, we also suggest pulling apart every connector, inspecting for corrosion, cleaning with contact cleaner and the dielectric grease to keep corrosion out.

The OEM coils are 1.5 ohm type, and a ballast resistor is used to provide power to them after the bike is started...runs the coils at about 9 volts, but the BR is bypassed by the TCI during starting to provide full 12 volts/power for easier starting. The BR is on the upper left of the engine/head area just under the gas tank. If you decide to put on aftermarket coils to get stronger spark....ie. 35+ KV vs. the OEM 15KV, then select Dyna or Accel rated at 3 ohms, and just remove and bypass the ballast resistor.

As mentioned, your exhausts are not OEM, look like MAC 4-2 with turnouts, and they may or may not have the baffles in them. Your rear shocks also are aftermarket, they look good. The OEM side covers often fly off due to poor attachment design, missing rubber fittings for the frame that the covers fit onto.......some will attach cables to catch them if they fall off. The left side uses a plastic locking tab and is often broken off. There are tips and threads on repairing the tab. The front fork/fender brace is one designed for the XS650, not as strong or stiff as the TKAT design, but is better than nothing.

Another common malady is poor maintanence of the final drive and swingarm driveshaft....the zerk fitting does not provide adequate lubrication of the driveshaft/final drive junction....need to take it apart to inspect, clean, and regrease by hand. Same for rear wheel to final drive splines. Middle and final drives use 80-90 gear oil, you can use full synth in those. Engine oil should be a 20-50 range dino type. The clutch springs easily go weak and can slip under strong throttle, Heavy duty or Barnett springs can go a long way in getting the most power/torque to the rear wheel.

Special care needs to be taken when dealing with the cam chain tensioner, performing the adjustment, as well as recommended replacing with an Automatic tensioner from a later series of models of bikes...search ACCT for listing of year/models to get off of ebay.

Okay, you've got lots more work to do, have fun, enjoy, and if in doubt, post here before attempting the work. Find Catatonic Bug's profile, follow the links to his web page and download the service manuals for free!!!

T.C.

[arab-bikerboy]

Wow sounds like i have a lot more to do than i thought.. sounds intimidating but ill get at it in the morning hopefully.. thank you for taking time out of your day to post and help me out other forums do not reply at all when i post about the bike so im glad i was directed in your direction.