1979 XS1100F Fixer Upper Project Begins.....

[bikerphil]

member Mashermoto put Supertrapps for a car on his Mac headers. It looks great and sounds great.[/url]

I also have the Supertrapp car muffler on my Special, it's on a Mac 4-1. It sounds much better and makes more power than the Mac can, JMHO.

[MaximPhil]

Hi Chris,
That exhaust looks like surface rust a good clean up with a wire brush and a coat of high temp paint should make them work for years to come. Good luck.
Phil

[DeanR]

Loved your 'products' post Marty. I'm easily entertained I guess.

[TopCatGr58]

I also have the Supertrapp car muffler on my Special, it's on a Mac 4-1. It sounds much better and makes more power than the Mac can, JMHO.

Hey BikerPhil,

I know I've seen your bike at the rallies, but I don't recall the appearance of the supertrapp can on it? Would you mind posting a photo or two of it here. I have the 4-1 Mac, and although I've drilled the end of my megaphone to try to lower the tone, it still has a metallic tin sound. The supertrapp is something that I might look in to. Could you also provide the info about what CAN you used, model # or what to get it to fit?? Thanks.

T.C.

[CKlamer]

Well the rust is pretty thick on the headers also.
Another option may be removing them and having them soda blasted clean and the have them ceramic coated.

I have a guy in the Florida pan handle that did my Mac Exhaust for the Cafe racer.
I won't know how bad the rust is until I remove the exhaust and start the clean up.
But for now I have all of the other stuff first.
I may try and remove the gas tank and carbs tomorrow.

[D0wn5h1ft]

Don't waste your money on that expensive gas tank rust remover crap. Go buy some Klean-Strip Phosphoric Acid.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Klean-Str...9#.UnRtcPnIuSo

I used the stuff on my '79 tank (just like yours!) that was extremely rusted. I picked up 3 gallons for ~$45 and diluted it distilled water which was enough to fill the entire tank and I let it set for 1-2 weeks. Opened it up, poured all the crap out and looked in. It had ate all the rust away back to bare steel.

Phosphoric Acid is one of the few chemical out there that has a high etch profile for iron oxide vs iron (rust vs steel). Meaning it etches Fe2O3 much much faster than Steel. When it's all done it will look like the steel is pitted but that's just where the rust stopped at. It's not exactly pretty but it gets the job done. The reaction is as follows:

H3PO4 + Fe2O3 -> FePO4 + H20

If you rush it like I did the first time you will see some flaky black stuff on the surface of the steel which is the ferric phosphate (FePO4) that hasn't de-laminated from the surface yet. It can be removed forcefully by filling up your tank with SMALL steel bb's plus a bit of distilled water and shaking the hell out of it. It's a bit of a pain to get every single last BB out but if you're impatient and have a strong back it works.

If you want this done even faster, buy 5 gallons of the stuff and use it without diluting. I didn't opt for it because I'm broke and don't have $75 to spend on refurbing a tank so I decided to wait it out.

WARNING SECTION:
Do not leave the petcocks on when you do this! Why you might ask? Because Phosphoric Acid + Aluminum = Hydrogen Gas + Aluminum Phosphate. In simpler terms it will eat away (rapidly!) at your aluminum petcocks and fill them with a foamy substance that will harden and come out like dried toothpaste. Go get some rubber stoppers from your local hardware store, cut them to size, and plug up them holes! Also a good time to replace all that rusty hardware on your tank. Also also, this stuff smells bad.

TL;DR Don't waste your money on all those fancy "Rust Removers" when all they are is Phosphoric Acid at a lower concentration and a higher price.

[bikerphil]

Hey BikerPhil,

I know I've seen your bike at the rallies, but I don't recall the appearance of the supertrapp can on it?

TC, it's on my Special, not the Standard that I bring to the rallies. I'll snap a good picture for you tomorrow.

[motoman]

Don't waste your money on that expensive gas tank rust remover crap. Go buy some Klean-Strip Phosphoric Acid.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Klean-Str...9#.UnRtcPnIuSo

I used the stuff on my '79 tank (just like yours!) that was extremely rusted. I picked up 3 gallons for ~$45 and diluted it distilled water which was enough to fill the entire tank and I let it set for 1-2 weeks. Opened it up, poured all the crap out and looked in. It had ate all the rust away back to bare steel.

Phosphoric Acid is one of the few chemical out there that has a high etch profile for iron oxide vs iron (rust vs steel). Meaning it etches Fe2O3 much much faster than Steel. When it's all done it will look like the steel is pitted but that's just where the rust stopped at. It's not exactly pretty but it gets the job done. The reaction is as follows:

H3PO4 + Fe2O3 -> FePO4 + H20

If you rush it like I did the first time you will see some flaky black stuff on the surface of the steel which is the ferric phosphate (FePO4) that hasn't de-laminated from the surface yet. It can be removed forcefully by filling up your tank with SMALL steel bb's plus a bit of distilled water and shaking the hell out of it. It's a bit of a pain to get every single last BB out but if you're impatient and have a strong back it works.

If you want this done even faster, buy 5 gallons of the stuff and use it without diluting. I didn't opt for it because I'm broke and don't have $75 to spend on refurbing a tank so I decided to wait it out.

WARNING SECTION:
Do not leave the petcocks on when you do this! Why you might ask? Because Phosphoric Acid + Aluminum = Hydrogen Gas + Aluminum Phosphate. In simpler terms it will eat away (rapidly!) at your aluminum petcocks and fill them with a foamy substance that will harden and come out like dried toothpaste. Go get some rubber stoppers from your local hardware store, cut them to size, and plug up them holes! Also a good time to replace all that rusty hardware on your tank. Also also, this stuff smells bad.

TL;DR Don't waste your money on all those fancy "Rust Removers" when all they are is Phosphoric Acid at a lower concentration and a higher price.

Have to dissagree here. EvapoRust is your best bet. Attacks rust ONLY! Will not hurt paint, plastics or aluminium. It works amazingly well! Saw how it worked wonders for all the internals of my kill switch when 3Phase put all those tiny pieces in a plastic paint can lid full overnite.

[DGXSER]

Have to dissagree here. EvapoRust is your best bet. Attacks rust ONLY! Will not hurt paint, plastics or aluminium. It works amazingly well! Saw how it worked wonders for all the internals of my kill switch when 3Phase put all those tiny pieces in a plastic paint can lid full overnite.

+1 Well, I use Metal Rescue, but similar product. The concern with the Acid approach is that you may now have a tank full of pinholes. Now you need a liner, and or a repaint. I have done several tanks with MR now, and it has worked wonders on them for me.

[jetmechmarty]

I am a big fan of Metal Rescue. It does just like you guys said. It only attacks the rust.

I had a tank that had a failed liner. Once removed, it was obvious that it was completely rusted underneath. It was a 3 gal tank that I filled completely with water and two cups of phosphoric acid. Overnight, the tank was clean. I followed with a Caswell epoxy liner.

Here's how I sealed the petcock openings:

[jetmechmarty]

CKlamer,

Your head pipes are MAC. Check out the Mashermoto bike.



video:
http://s139.photobucket.com/albums/q...t=P2270569.mp4

[natemoen]

I have one of those tanks that has been over done with phosphoric acid. When I first got it, I was amazed how clean the inside was. As I began striping the thick paint off I started finding epoxy putty slathered all across the bottom of the tank. As I got through the putty I found dozens of pin holes. The epoxy of mashed up into the holes and there is a hidden layer on the inside off to the sides that you cannot see.

Acid does work but it is a thing you need to watch very very close. Evapo-rust or metal rescue is a much easier solution.

[jetmechmarty]

I have one of those tanks that has been over done with phosphoric acid. When I first got it, I was amazed how clean the inside was. As I began striping the thick paint off I started finding epoxy putty slathered all across the bottom of the tank. As I got through the putty I found dozens of pin holes. The epoxy of mashed up into the holes and there is a hidden layer on the inside off to the sides that you cannot see.

Acid does work but it is a thing you need to watch very very close. Evapo-rust or metal rescue is a much easier solution.

Nathan,

I agree. Phosphoric acid will go right through the tank. I cleaned and neutralized mine as soon as it had done its job. I had no choice, but to install a new liner.

My SG is starting to rust on the bottom. I'm going to treat it with Metal Rescue and try to continue without a liner. I have been running pure gasoline most of the time. It's getting so just the sight of a corn stalk gets me .

[GLoweVA]

THANKS!
Look forward to digging in to this bike but first I have to find some where to put her.
Can't leave her sitting here in my office for long.

But with two other bikes and this one just no room left.
So I may find a temperature controlled unit until I can get it running.
But for $400.00 I just could not pass it up.

You weren't kidding about putting the bike in your office. LOL!

At least it's not outside, so you can work on it anytime! (rain or shine)

I don't think you're going to save those carb boots. It looks like red plasti-dip was use don them.

Here's an ebay listing for some inexpensive used ones (not too bad looking either): ($25 + $15 s/h)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-XS110...7#ht_594wt_758

As you will find, this site and ebay are you 2 biggest friends on getting parts for your bike.

Keep us posted and ask for help, we love to give advice because most of us have been there/done that.

[D0wn5h1ft]

All of those products you mentioned all have Phosphoric Acid as the active ingredient if you read the product label. Save yourself the money.