Recently Acquired Midnight Special

[Tomaha]

Hi all,

I'm new to XS1100s and motorcycles in general . . . I recently stumbled across a 1980 XS1100 Midnight Special - I'll post pics soon - but the bike overall was in pretty decent shape. Obviously in need of some TLC, the bike really needed a new seat, battery, and tires. The guy had it sitting in his garage for two years.

After changing the oil and placing a battery I bought off a friend, I had a total of $290 in the bike, and joy of joys, it came to life! Obviously, I don't think it's running as well as it could. It starts up every time, but as of right now it only runs on half choke.

I'm not much of a mechanic, and I'm trying to learn, but I'm still a little stumped. I've run Sea Foam with the new gas, and that seemed to help, but past that, I'm not sure. The guy said he had the carbs cleaned and synchronized before he put the bike up, but it did sit for two years. . .

I know I need to check the air filter, but I even had a heck of a time getting to it. Any special tips for that? Please excuse my relative idiocy when it comes to mechanics. Also, any other thoughts about what I've described to you would be very helpful. I've purchased Gumout and contact cleaner, though to be honest, I'm not entirely sure exactly how to use them on a bike.

[crazy steve]

If it sat for two years with any fuel in the carbs, they need to be pulled and fully disassembled and cleaned again.....

http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36017

[donebysunday]

Nice find

Hi all,

I'm new to XS1100s and motorcycles in general . . . I recently stumbled across a 1980 XS1100 Midnight Special - I'll post pics soon - but the bike overall was in pretty decent shape. Obviously in need of some TLC, the bike really needed a new seat, battery, and tires. The guy had it sitting in his garage for two years.

After changing the oil and placing a battery I bought off a friend, I had a total of $290 in the bike, and joy of joys, it came to life! Obviously, I don't think it's running as well as it could. It starts up every time, but as of right now it only runs on half choke.

I'm not much of a mechanic, and I'm trying to learn, but I'm still a little stumped. I've run Sea Foam with the new gas, and that seemed to help, but past that, I'm not sure. The guy said he had the carbs cleaned and synchronized before he put the bike up, but it did sit for two years. . .

I know I need to check the air filter, but I even had a heck of a time getting to it. Any special tips for that? Please excuse my relative idiocy when it comes to mechanics. Also, any other thoughts about what I've described to you would be very helpful. I've purchased Gumout and contact cleaner, though to be honest, I'm not entirely sure exactly how to use them on a bike.

I think a dose Chevron Techron ( not the diluted stuff Chevron with Techron). Gum out I won't use as I found clear gum like substance trying to clean pilot jets with that carb cleaner. Contact cleaner is fine but follow up with dielectric grease in the female connectors. If you have little black flecks in the float bowls ( drain them into a cup and see what comes out, leave it settle for a few hours to check for droplets at the bottom of the cup). If you find flecks of rust or droplets swimming at the bottom of the cup flush the tank and lines. In line fuel filters are smart but install them so they act as a sediment bowl If you know what I mean. Air filter if original can be blown clean but if it starts to fall apart a new K&N off ebay for about $40 is needed as well as the oil and cleaner K&N makes.
Other opinions , chime in please !

Keep us posted and don't do anything without checking with this forum.

[WMarshy]

Sounds like a perfect opportunity to learn about carb cleaning. Youre going to want to read that link above before you begin and probably have it on hand while you are working too. The bank of carbs can be a challenge to remove and put back on, especially for the first time and for someone who doesnt have the mechanical experience yet, but dont worry we can give you tips to make youre life easier. Just remember, everyone has already made almost every mistake possible working on these bikes and wrote about it on here. If you have questions about something try to find your answers by searching the forum and asking before you preform the task, not after! Welcome to the site. Ready to clean your carbs yet?

[Wildkat]

GREAT find!
and welcome aboard!
Looking forward to seeing your pics...

Sikeston? LOVE Lambert's!
I can catch me some rolls...
lol

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Tom,

Glad to see you made it to the Forum. Follow the members list in the above BLUE menu bar, find Catatonic Bug's name, profile and follow the link to his personal web page, where you can then download both user manuals and service manuals in PDF format. Allow some time, the service manual is ~200 MB's!

Next, the PO probably didn't use any fuel preservative like Sta-Bil or Sea Foam, so the pilot circuit is probably still clogged/varnished up, and a proper teardown and cleaning is still in order to get FULL performance out of them. The good thing is that if he truly had the carbs cleaned 2 years earlier, then they should be a bit easier to take apart without as much of the risk of breaking things....see the tech tip link already posted for what to avoid to prevent breaking stuff in the carbs.

I can't remember but I think you're not NEW to bikes, just new to wrenching.
Just wanted to add that so folks won't be advising you about taking the MSF course and such.

T.C.

[Tomaha]

Thanks everyone for helping. If some out there would be willing to watch a short video on Youtube of my bike running, I thought that would help diagnose exactly what's going on. I don't really know what to listen for in carbs, as I've only worked on a couple mower carburetors.

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYv2...JcQZylw/videos

I'm at a weeklong educator workshop in NJ, so I'm going to try and get the carbs off and work on them when I get back home this weekend.

[tarzan]

Welcome.
It is hard to tell from the video,but it sounds like you may have an exhaust leak. It sounds pretty good other than that.You say the choke has to be on at least halfway for it to run.That, unfortunately, will probably entail a trip into the carbs. But, you have a very good deal as far as I can see.
Once you get the carbs cleaned thoroughly and retune them, you should bein good shape. I couldn't see the bike real well in the dark video. Are the tires good?Maybe post a pic or two out inthe light so we can make a better assessment of just what you have there.

[fredintoon]

Thanks everyone for helping. If some out there would be willing to watch a short video on Youtube of my bike running, I thought that would help diagnose exactly what's going on. I don't really know what to listen for in carbs, as I've only worked on a couple mower carburetors.
I'm at a weeklong educator workshop in NJ, so I'm going to try and get the carbs off and work on them when I get back home this weekend.

Hi Tom,
kinda dark in there, eh? Sounds kinda like mine and unless you hear "A deep booming knock" the noise shouldn't worry you.
If it wont run with the choke off when it's warmed up it's clean the carbs time.
Steal a cafeteria tray to put the carbs in while you work on them to keep those small parts from falling on the floor and disappearing.
Watch for the teensy springs and balls that make the choke control rod go click and stay open, half-open or closed.

[donebysunday]

let it soak

It's good to check what comes out of the float bowls, 9 drain into a cup to see ) that's what tells you what's coming out of the tank ! If it's fairly clean you might get lucky and just letting the cleaner Like Chevron Techron soak the varnish out of the pilot jets may take care of it, as if it only runs with the choke on it's starving for fuel at low speed which means the pilot or idle/slow jets are most likely plugged. If you have flecks of dirt or droplets of water at the bottom of the cup you will need a full tank, lines and carb cleaning. You might also try opening the pilot mixture screws to allow more pull/flow through the pilots 3-4 1/2 turns out is max. Try that and see if it cleans out the pilot jets then re-adjust and don't forget you need to sync the carbs.

Thanks everyone for helping. If some out there would be willing to watch a short video on Youtube of my bike running, I thought that would help diagnose exactly what's going on. I don't really know what to listen for in carbs, as I've only worked on a couple mower carburetors.

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYv2...JcQZylw/videos

I'm at a weeklong educator workshop in NJ, so I'm going to try and get the carbs off and work on them when I get back home this weekend.

[Tomaha]

OK, so I checked what came out, and I couldn't see any specks of dirt or water. I have seen that crap come out of a mower, but I was glad not to see it dripping out of my Midnight Special (there's an awkward statement!).

Two questions - first of all, how can I get to the friggin' air filter? I know I really need to check and see how bad it most likely is, but I haven't been able to find out a good way to get to it. I know it's in the airbox between the carbs and the battery (right?), but Idk how to get to it.

Also, how can I adjust the mixture? Is the screw to adjust that actually in the carbs, or can I adjust it from the outside? Again, I know I'm exposing my ignorance, but after looking through the service manual, I'm still a little confused.

Thanks again for all the help, and since I got my garage door fixed, I'm hoping to put up some better pictures soon.

[donebysunday]

idle mix screws

No crap in the bowls, Great !

Jack up the tank so you can get at the idle mix screws, ( a fan blowing on the engine keeps it cool ) I made special screw drivers to fit the slots in the mixture needle slots. adjust them to 2 1/2-3 1/2 turns out depending on how the engine sounds, these idle mix screws are at the front of the carbs just behind the intake boots. If yours have not been tampered with they will have a brass plug in them. These can be removed. PM me.

Done };-)

OK, so I checked what came out, and I couldn't see any specks of dirt or water. I have seen that crap come out of a mower, but I was glad not to see it dripping out of my Midnight Special (there's an awkward statement!).

Two questions - first of all, how can I get to the friggin' air filter? I know I really need to check and see how bad it most likely is, but I haven't been able to find out a good way to get to it. I know it's in the airbox between the carbs and the battery (right?), but Idk how to get to it.

Also, how can I adjust the mixture? Is the screw to adjust that actually in the carbs, or can I adjust it from the outside? Again, I know I'm exposing my ignorance, but after looking through the service manual, I'm still a little confused.

Thanks again for all the help, and since I got my garage door fixed, I'm hoping to put up some better pictures soon.

[bikerphil]

how can I get to the friggin' air filter

There are 4 wing nuts on the bottom of the airbox. Take the 2 plastic side covers off, the right one just pops off, the left one unlocks with the ignition key. Loosen the 4 wing nuts and the lower half of the air box will drop down with the air filter.

[donebysunday]

idle mix screws

No crap in the bowls, Great !

Jack up the tank so you can get at the idle mix screws, ( a fan blowing on the engine keeps it cool ) I made special screw drivers to fit the slots in the mixture needle slots. adjust them to 2 1/2-3 1/2 turns out depending on how the engine sounds, these idle mix screws are at the front of the carbs just behind the intake boots. If yours have not been tampered with they will have a brass plug in them. These can be removed. PM me.

Done };-)

OK, so I checked what came out, and I couldn't see any specks of dirt or water. I have seen that crap come out of a mower, but I was glad not to see it dripping out of my Midnight Special (there's an awkward statement!).

Two questions - first of all, how can I get to the friggin' air filter? I know I really need to check and see how bad it most likely is, but I haven't been able to find out a good way to get to it. I know it's in the airbox between the carbs and the battery (right?), but Idk how to get to it.

Also, how can I adjust the mixture? Is the screw to adjust that actually in the carbs, or can I adjust it from the outside? Again, I know I'm exposing my ignorance, but after looking through the service manual, I'm still a little confused.

Thanks again for all the help, and since I got my garage door fixed, I'm hoping to put up some better pictures soon.

[Tomaha]

Air filter here?

OK, so here's a potentially very stupid question - should there be an air filter in here? There wasn't one above it by the air boot (I think that's what it's called - the rectangular tube that sucks the air in). Am I way off, or has my bike been running with no air filter?