Ryan's 1979 XS1100SF Build

[TomB]

+1 on what Eveready says, plug the leak first, and get the bike running well, the benefits of an auto camchain tensioner can be pondered later if you decide to.

You have enough to learn about and do without adding more.

[Sparkin79]

Again thanks all.

I'll take a pic of the carbs tonight and post some pics (not going to remove them yet but a pic might help you guys answer the question of what year and also see the state they are in)

I pulled off the seat (and tank yesterday) to take a look at the wiring and I will post pics tonight as well so that you can see what a PO did. As a gruesome preview though I'm pretty sure what someone did was splice wires directly to fuses as I can see wires bound to individual fuses wrapped in electrical tape. Guessing this is not normal.

Also - I did clean the pods and put them back on. Took a while to warm up (in the beginning if I opened the throttle even a little it would die - was that because the engine was flooded) however after a while got it (with the help of some carb cleaner as well) to warm up and idle at about 1000rpm. Let it burn through some fuel for about 10 minutes and drove at very low speeds (1st and 2nd gear) around the block once. After parking no more gas leak and smell has virtually gone away (so feeling better about the fumes in my garage now). However still a slight drip from the CCT - but that was expected.

This week (as long as I get one good day of sun out here) plans (following all your great advice posts):

1. Plug that CCT with something so I can wash the engine.
2. Wash the engine!

Quick question - assuming I should cover the air intake to carbs and also avoid wiring when cleaning but anything else I should should be super sensitive about when trying to get the gunk out (don't want to break something cleaning).

[IanDMacDonald]

Well, nothing too sensitive, but be careful with the neutral and oil pressure switch wires on the bottom of the engine.

[madmax-im]

best way to wash the engine gently is to buy a bottle of Simple Green and a bristle wire brush... spray liberally...afterwards rinse thoroughly with a hose...no pressure washer...works well for me

[motoman]

Sparkin79, the carbs are 80LG(MidniteSpecial).
Running off idle issue is from plugged up pilot cicuit, as well as internals of rest of carbs. But you already knew that.

[dolphans1]

Hello Everybody!

So first thing first, I’m new to both riding and maintenance…be prepared for questions. Picked up a 1979 XS1100SF yesterday and have to say I’m really excited about learning and tooling around with the bike.

I’ve also been reading through the forum posts for known issues/things to look at fixing right away and I’ll be taking those on as well (ie. the fuse box). As for what I know about the bike right now here is a short list of things already I’m going to be checking off in the next couple of weeks (let me know if I’m off on any of these):

1. Speedometer – you can see in the pics below the Speedometer is not stock (at least from what I’ve seen it doesn’t look like it is…round instead of the square ones). That’s fine with me – aesthetically I like the round ones. However it’s also broken. Previous owner told me he was riding one day and the needle started spinning out of control until it broke off (it was also making a screeching sound) – so he just unhooked the speedo wire. Going to try and identify the manufacture and then see if I can repair or if I’ll have to order a new one.
   
2. Previous owner reported the bike “bogging down (losing power) in 3rd and 4th gear” – apparently this had happened to him a few years back as well and he took it to a mechanic who did something to one of the Spark Coils and then it worked like a charm. Unfortunately the problem is back – so I’m going to check the spark plugs, coils, fuel lines, mixture, and also combustion – hopefully one of those will be the problem.
   
3. Haven’t seen the fuse box yet but I’m guessing that is stock and I’ll replace it – if not then cool, I’m one step ahead.
   
4. Looks like the master break cylinder fluid might have leaked at some point because the reservoir at the handlebars is all corroded – may need to replace (going to check for leaks).
   
5. Previous owner stated he just had it tuned up this summer but I’m going to drain all the fluids anyways and replace for my own peace of mind.
   
6. Idle is low in RPM’s – below 1000..probably between 600 and 800. Need to see why this is and I’m hoping it has something to do with the coils or spark plugs…is that even feasible? Basically I don’t want to just turn up the IDLE as that’s not going to fix a problem if there is one…right?
   
7. Don’t think the carbs are stock. Need to check into it to see if I can identify a part number (only reason I say this is my carbs are black and not chrome/silver like I’ve seen in pics of the XS11 from ’79 ads or on google…does that make sense?) To make matters worse (and I’ll post pics of this later) A previous owner removed the stock air-intake box and put on pods…not just pods but 2 different kinds. Carb 1 and 4 have the coil/mesh cones and 3 and 4 have foam shaped like a cup. So unfortunately I have no idea if they ever jetted the carbs when they put the pods on…this is something I want to also try and check…been looking through the forums on this one. I’m not a fan of PODS (from what I’ve read…in actuality I have no idea what I’m doing) so I may even try and find a stock air-intake and put it back in (anyone ever do this…silly question).

Two possible major ones as well that I’ve seen so far:

1. Looks like there is oil caked to the front of the engine (behind the front wheel) – possible coming from upper crank case gasket – not dripping or anything but definitely discoloration and some build up from oil in places. I’m going to actually clean up everything first and then watch to see where the build up begins (does this sound like a good route?)
   
2. MY GARAGE REAKS OF GAS!!! – ok so after I rode it around the block when I got it home (didn’t get out of second for fear of the bog down…was just trying to see breaks and a few gear changes working) I noticed a little bit of gas (very very slow drip) coming out of my left petcock. Turned that thing to the off position and the drip stopped. I should say I got really lucky with that one and you’ll understand why in a moment. Thinking that would fix the problem and not seeing anything else leaking I parked the bike in my garage with liner underneath to catch anything that might leak while I wasn’t looking. After about 10 minutes the garage stank like gas. So vented many many times looking for the cause – open garage door, let smell escape, close garage, look for leaks. Couldn’t find anything until a few hours later when I noticed the 3rd (from left) air pod was dripping gas! Turns out, being a novice, I had turned the right petcock to the PRIME position and not the OFF position – and as the bike was on it’s side stand (and on my carbs the 3rd and 4th carbs are connected by a T) the reservoir on the third was filling up and coming out the air pod. So, turned that to the off position, removed the POD, wiped up any excess gas in that carb (also made sure the carb wasn’t stuck shut and could open and close) and then put the POD outside to evaporate and save me from the smell. This morning much less smell – and I’m assuming the remaining is from the reservoir evaporating slowly. The plan today is to fire it up (with clean pod) and let that fuel burn through.

That’s all for now – just wanted to introduce myself, my XS1100SF and what I’m seeing at first glance. Advice, opinions, and help appreciated. Initial PICS Below:

[IMG][/IMG]

Missing the right side cover as well.

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Mix and match PODS - is this a normal practice?

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[IMG][/IMG]

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Here is some of the gunk from the front of the engine.

[IMG][/IMG]

Hey Sparkin79, back the [IMG][/IMG] quotes headers from image posts(when editing) and those [IMG] remarks will disappear around pictures when you post.

I learned the hard way.

Nice pics and nice bike, looks good.

d-1

[Sparkin79]

Alright as promised here are some pics of what the electrical looks like underneath the seat and at the right side cover (I know tanking the tank off is actually pretty easy but I was too lazy and couldn't get good pics of the carbs - I'll post when I get towards cleaning them).





Oh there's the fuses -

[Sparkin79]

Quick two questions:

1) My carbs are fed by two lines coming off the gas. The left hand petcock connects to the 1st and 2nd (from the left side of bike) from a T-joint in the middle. The right connects to 3rd and 4th carb in the same way. Just want to make sure that normal - I had read somewhere about them connecting in the middle between 2 and 3.

2)Two gas lines are coming off of each petcock. One of those lines goes into the carbs and the other is capped off and leads no where. Seem normal? Here is a pic of that - if you look hard you can also see that the plastic/metal cap to one of the filters must have been lost and a PO replaced it with what looks like cardboard from a cereal box.

[IanDMacDonald]

Nope Ryan, not normal at all. The specials (your bike) utilized a safety device that also acted as a splitter of fuel delivery to the carbs, commonly referred to an "octopus" on the forum, due to the shape and splay of the lines. The setup you currently have bypasses the octopus and will work fine. I'm trying to visualize a better way to configure the lines, but default back to the way the Standards are, which is kinda hard, as our petcocks are not similar.

[IanDMacDonald]

Okay, thinking about this now, I would run your setup differently. A word of caution before u listen to what I have to say: the more connections you have, the more points of failure/leaks are possible, which is very possible and dangerous. Take heed to that advice and do not jump on this post. Take all of the posts in, look for the group consensus (from Special owners), then act.

With that out of the way . . . Off the right petcock, have a hose from each nipple going into each side of a T. Do the same with the left petcock. Now, run a hose from the left petcock T to the carb 3 & 4 T-nipple. Run a hose from the right-side petcock T to carbs 1 & 2 T-nipple. You're looking for a criss-cross pattern underneath your carbs as-far as the hoses route. I route mine up in-between 1 & 2 into the petcock, and same on the otherside between 3 & 4 to the right petcock .

Or . . . If it works, leave it alone

[jetmechmarty]

What I did was to get a little more room by plumbing the left petcock to the right carbs and the right petcock to the left carbs.

This is something that you can put off for a bit. Yours will run as is. Also, many have advised on here to avoid automotive fuel line as it tends to shed pieces into your carburetors.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there Sparkin,

As has been stated, the Special "had" the Octopus/vacuum controlled valve, but it's been removed on your bike....many special owners toss it due to the believed unnecessary complicated routing and # of hoses/connectors....see the diagram Marty posted! The petcocks are gravity feed, I can't remember exactly but I think the front spigot was just for the PRIME function, the rear was for the run and reserve, you can test that with the hoses off. You want to have the reserve function....I think the Prime also feeds from the reserve tower so using that spigot could let you run out of gas and not have a reserve because it would be used all the way down with the prime setting.

Running the lines across to the other side of the petcocks allows you to be able to lift the tank a bit before reaching the end of the slack of the fuel lines, easier to gain access to the carbs and such.

I would add that you should put INLINE fuel filters on the lines before they go into the carbs, the in tank petcock tower filters do not provide fine enough particle protection.

If the capped off spigot line is hard to maintain, then like Ian said, you can "T", or "Y" connect the 2 spigot lines into one. I was able to find some "Y" shaped ones that put less angular stress on the lines coming from the petcocks spigots vs. trying to use a "T".

T.C.

[Sparkin79]

Thanks on the Gas Lines...now about that Headlight

Thanks for the advice on the fuel lines guys...I like the crossover for more slack idea and I've taken note of the auto fuel lines problem and also the filter you mentioned TC. I really appreciate it.

Quick (or at least I hope anyway) about the Headlight. I've read a lot of posts about the headlight relay and jumping that, but being a novice I wanted to get this straight:

1) on the 79SF standard operating would have been (with relay) that the headlight would turn on once the engine started

2) however if you jump the relay and splice the wires then the headlight would go on as soon as you turned the bike on regardless of what the engine was doing.

Is that correct. I ask because mine turns on the second I turn the bike on regardless of the engine. (note I have read the threads so no need to rehash just wasn't completely clear on what original state would have been or why mine stays on all the time - I've also downloaded several wiring diagrams that I'll use as reference but wanted to just get a quick yay or nay). Thanks.

[bikerphil]

1) on the 79SF standard operating would have been (with relay) that the headlight would turn on once the engine started

2) however if you jump the relay and splice the wires then the headlight would go on as soon as you turned the bike on regardless of what the engine was doing.

Yes this is correct. If your headlight turns on with the key on engine off, then the relay has been bypassed.

[Sparkin79]

New/Old Problems

Hey all - slowly making progress and probably a mistake or two.

So just to catch up before I ask any questions:
- plugged CCT with wine cork while I'm waiting for the OEM cap to come in.
- washed the engine free from as much gunk on the outside as possible.
- was about to do oil and middle gear change when I realized local stores don't carry the oil filter so ordered a bunch online and waiting for delivery.
- ordered lots of other things (including xs650 speedo).

So here is what I'm recently up against and my questions: After washing and drying I wanted to make sure that the bike still started (and that I didn't break anything) and no luck. Starter worked and engine would fire for a second and then die. Tried several combinations of the choke and petcock positions but no luck (although it did sound like it would catch so many times with the choke fully open). After about a 4/5 minutes I started noticing the head light dimming and losing power when I'd hit the starter so stopped at that point, took off the seat and charged the battery back up. After charging tried 2 more times to start but again it would sputter but not stay on. So left the bike on its center stand to think about it. About 24 hours later (yesterday) I started smelling gas in the garage and checked that 3rd pod filter on the carb. Soaked even more then last time in Gas. Pulled that filter and ran finger inside carb to see how wet and actually it was pretty dry - yet when I turned the filter upside down a puddle of fuel streamed out that had been collecting. So in removing the filter I noticed the line to the 3/4 carbs was also went and had become kinked in an almost 90 degree angle to the carb. There also seems to be a small hole or crack in the line. Additionally, checked the second line off of that petcock which has been capped and it too appeared to be wet. It lies on top of that filter that I found gas in again. The filter is foam and seemed to be wet at the top where that line would hit it and then became more wet farther down. What I think is happening is that both were leaking fuel into the filter.

I had already ordered the fuel lines and connectors to replace anyway so that will take care of that problem and that will be done this week. However I still want to do a oil change on the bike before I start it up again but now I'm unsure as to what I should do first:

Is it ok to do an Oil change if I'm not sure the engine will start afterward, or should I trouble shoot the starting problem first (possibly pull the carbs to clean earlier than I had planned) - or should I not try to start again until the oil has been changed because gas might have leaked in?