1980 XS11 Special - Ugly Duckling Rebuild

[DiverRay]

Check my thread on the 79-redo. After all the hours on my '79, IF I can get $2,500 for it, I make about $0.50 per hour for labor.... But, I'm NOT complaining, because I'm proud of the results, and it does run well now!
And yes, I have one more to save, but SWMBO stated that I cannot start until the winter time. So late September, I'll be starting on the cases for the engine, and going from there.

[kboehringer]

HD Pipes.... A BIG project.

BTW we have yet to see those HD pipes installed so if you have done that please by all means post up some more pics...

XS Folks,
Unfortunately, the HD mufflers will take quite a bit of work to assure they don't look like pooooop. I had one on just a bit ago and it will look nice but I have to do the work slowly and carefully. One thing is for sure, I'm not spending any more time messing around with the EMGOs

Some ideas on the HD muffs.... The exit end has a bit of a tapered angle opening that will be cut off and reduce the overall length by 1-1/2" or so. I will cut about 4" out of the muffler at the inlet end in the large diameter area and tig it back together. The adapter inlet will be sliced and angled slightly. I need to fab a bracket from the rear of the passenger pegs to catch the HD stock welded mounts.
Overall, they should be about the length of a stock muff with a slightly different style. I may swap the pipes L to R which will place the HD disclaimer/EPA labeling on the under side. However, that flip will make the mounting points too visible. GOTTA WORK SLOW ON THESE! MAYBE, I can get 'em done for XSSE. It sure would make the ride a little more enjoyable!



VALUE vs. EXPENSE (the MSExcel Post).
Much like my other "Toys" the resale value(s) are not really important as these are things I don't have any intention of ever "Flipping" or selling. There is some sort of personal story to each which is more important to me than $$$$$. BUT, what dummy spends more to fix one than to buy an already good one?....I guess I do. I've owned probably 30+ motorcycles and would love to have an example of EACH in my stable but that's just not possible. The only one I really miss a lot is probably my Silver/Blue SECA650. I sold it before moving to ATL and basically gave it away in perfect condition.

For all the years I've been riding motorcycles the bikes I've always wanted, and never owned, were the XS11 and the Honda CBX. I don't think there is any chance I'll ever find a CBX but I have my XS11! There's not much chance I'd ever sell it regardless of the offer..... I've been offered (by people that actually had the money) significantly higher dollars for my T/A than what I have spent on it (not invested - SPENT) and much more than it should actually be worth in retail value. The car is still in MY garage right NEXT TO MY XS11!!!!

NEW SLIPPERY TIRE:
I washed the tire yesterday, mostly to get the Yamaha Technician's finger prints off of it. But I hadn't thought of the form release gel. I'm driving to work tomorrow (35 miles) and will take it easy on the way I'm gonna run out into the garage and wipe the tire with a little mineral spirits as suggested. Thanks for the advice on that. It would not have occurred to me......

Sincerely,
Kurt

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Kurt,

I bought mine NEW also in '83, ~$3200 IIRC, rode it for ~9 years, then tranny crapped out, parked it, poorly stored it, hard financial times, sat for ~10 years OUTSIDE , finally got back to working on it, did a little big bore top end job($700 kit and boring)...that was a big part of my expenditure along with replacement fork uppers ($250), cavalcade seat($150), New tires, SS brake lines, and then a variety of other parts....total was ~$2500. That was 14 years ago, and I'm still riding it, and doing other mods and stuff to it along the way. I don't ride it that often, and so I can't see putting $10-20K into a new H-D or similar "Bling" machine....besides I have much more performance in the XS11 as well. Money well spent IMHO!

T.C.

[kboehringer]

Junk Yard Find? or LOSS?

XS Folks,

Quick question or two.

Went to the junk yard today to re-visit the XS750/850 that I had picked over a few weeks ago. Remembered it had a rear master and final drive. My rear master is missing the lower rubber boot and the cap is crappy. Figured I could probably use those parts if they were better. I have also made a very quick review of a few posts that talk about using a XS750/850 final drive on our XS11's to reduce highway RPMS? Again, I've spent very little time studying those other posts and really don't know much of the reasoning or facts at all.

I grabbed both the final drive and the rear master for a total cost of $20. Not too big a deal if the final drive is not going to work. The rear master is NOT the same as the XS11 but the cap & boot will work. The reservoir plastic will not work as the XS11 is bigger and mounts different.

Before I spend any significant time cleaning up this final drive, is it worth cleaning or is it a wasted couple of bucks I should just toss in the trash can? The steering head sticker was worthless and the front of the motor was covered in mud & gunk so I don't really know if this was an XS 750 or an XS 850 that the parts came off of.



Thanks,
KURT

[3Phase]

Kurt,

That's a good price for the drive and master! Does the Final Drive coupler turn easily or is it difficult to turn or 'notchy'? If the coupler turns easily, go ahead and clean it up, you can use it for the '750 Final Drive mod. If the it feels 'notchy', go ahead and clean it up, your wife will kill you if your $10 doorstop gets grease and gear oil on the floor.

I can't be absolutely sure from the picture but it looks like you have a Type I XS750 Final Drive. You need to look at the casting numbers, not the hand-scribed assembly dimension numbers.

All Type II Final Drives have a Phillips screw next to the Input Coupler to hold the Pinion Assembly in the housing, Type I drives don't.

750 drives have 1J7Y0 and Y-1 casting numbers and an open space around the axle tube on the drive side. The drive in your picture has the open space around the axle tube.

850 drives have 1J7Y0 and Y-2 casting numbers and a pressed collar around the axle tube on the drive side.

.

[kboehringer]

Door stop of upgrade?

need to look at the casting numbers, not the hand-scribed assembly dimension numbers......All Type II Final Drives have a Phillips screw next to the Input Coupler

Scott,
Thanks for the help. I looked all over the thing for a casting number and can't find anything. It looks like it's had a couple coats of "rattle-can" paint but I wouldn't think that would cover a casting number? Although it looks like dirt, the thing spins smooth as silk no notchy feel at all. Some idiot stole the fill plug out of if a couple weeks ago and it's peeeing relatively clean lube all over the place .

Here's a better pic of the input side.

This number is the only identifier I could find on the unit:


I don't know if it's helpful to identify this but the drive does NOT have the "Yamaha" lettering as part of the casting like my XS11 final drive has.

I'll study all the posts & threads on this upgrade and do the proper leg work and cleaning, if I can be sure this is not a door stop first.

Thank you,
KURT

[3Phase]

Do the inverted

You have the drive upside down.

If it's a Type II, the Phillips screw would be in the lower right corner between the mounting stud and the coupler, the only corner that can't be seen in your picture.

I think I was wrong about the Y-1 casting number on the XS750 drives. The Type II '750 drive I had used a Y-0 casting number. Here's an old picture showing the XS750 and XS1100 drives:-


XS750 and XS1100 Final Drive Casting Numbers

[kboehringer]

UNknown Final Drive

If it's a Type II, the Phillips screw would be in the lower right corner between the mounting stud and the coupler, the only corner that can't be seen in your picture.

Scott,
There is not a Phillips screw anywhere on this unit.

I checked everything and there is NO identification on the thing ANYWHERE. I looked through the rim on my XS and the final drive is clearly marked in the casting 2H700 with a small Yamaha logo in the upper ring (like your sample). I can't see the other area on my XS because of the plastic cover. There is NOTHING on this unit I got today.



I did a bit of web searching and found nothing. There was a how-to on a Yamaha triple site and the guy was showing photos of a final drive and how to change bearings and such. The unit he was working on did not have any markings like my XS or like the photos you provided.

I know I'm not crazy. That bike, or what was left of it, was a Yamaha XS triple. I've owned a couple of them. Since it was on a Yamaha triple, and it does feel very smooth, it's probably a good candidate for the upgrade/change. However, I won't be in any big rush to install it until I can be certain what the heck it is.........

The junkyard purchase of the master cylinder made it worth the trip! The cap, reinforcement, diaphragm, and protective boot, were all in really nice shape and much better than mine. I have already installed them on 11. Those parts alone were worth the $20 to me.....

Thank you again,
KURT

[3Phase]

Kurt,

No Phillips screw means you have a Type I XS750 drive. I've never seen the Circle-H brand before but the guys over at the triples site might know.

Watch out for stinky gear oil. Even if you find a drain plug for the drive you'll have to keep it 'nose up' because the XS750 and XS850 have oil lube holes in the bottom of the coupler.

The XS1100 uses grease so one of the changes you have to make is to plug the oil holes for the '750/850 drive mod. You can wait and store it 'nose up' then plug the oil holes later if you decide to do the Final Drive Mod or you can plug the holes now and find a new drain plug.

The tutorial says to pull the pinion gear to plug the holes but you don't have to do that, just make sure the oil holes are squeaky clean and 100% oil-free, then find or make some plugs that fit the oil holes and glue/seal them in place and be done with it.

Remember -- this is supposed to be fun! This is way I did it but there are many others:

Aluminum Spiral Nails For Oil Lube Hole Plugs


Trimmed Nail Head


Mix JB Weld For Both Plugs


Set Plugs In Both Oil Lube Holes


XS1100 U-Joint Yoke Extended



Photobucket: Final Drive Mod Slideshow

.

[TopCatGr58]

Okay Scott,

I've never seen that extension for the U-joint...just the COLLAR that is in the MOD text! Where did you get the donor section?? How did you do it? I know you welded it, but did you stick the male end of the drive shaft into it to help align the parts so that they would be straight while welding, and I would assume some well placed TACK welds first before laying on the heavy beads. If this technique replaces the COLLAR, then looks like we need to add this to the tech tip as an alternative mod!

T.C.

[3Phase]

T.C.,

When I first did the '750 mod I bought all the recommended parts but I didn't trust the spacer idea so I cut the barrel off the yoke from a bad u-joint and extended the splines the full length of the driveshaft again.

At the time I wanted it to be stronger than just the spacer but I also wanted to be able to undo the mod. I used the driveshaft to hold the parts together and aligned while I drilled and pinned both pieces with a couple of broken 1/8" drill bits, then covered them with JB Weld. The JB Weld crackled off like I thought it would but you can still see one of the holes in the yoke and it still has the pin in it.

When I decided it was time to make it permanent I brought the driveshaft along to the welder's shop so the parts would stay lined up through the heating and cooling.

However it turns out it uses up two XS11 yokes so don't mess up.

Cut The Yoke


Dress And True The Spacer


Check The Splines


Extended Yoke vs Spacer


XS1100 U-Joint Yoke Extended



.

[jetmechmarty]

Another really good option is to leave the stock final drive on there. This ain't Oklahoma. Put the XS750 drive on eBay as an "upgrade" to the XS1100. Keep in mind, it isn't an upgrade for everyone.

[3Phase]

I agree, Marty, the original drive and the engine has lasted all this time and it works really well with the transmission ratio too -- you don't need to change a thing.


It's a pretty nice mod though.

.

[kboehringer]

It's a Final Drive Door Stop....

I agree, Marty, the original drive and the engine has lasted all this time and it works really well with the transmission ratio too -- you don't need to change a thing.

XS Guys,
Whatever it is, it is now going to be a doorstop. As I stated earlier, I really hadn't read up on the mod/change. I read enough to know it MIGHT be something that would be of interest. HOWEVER, now that I see what is involved I'm not interested.

I did not know this was so complicated to perform (i.e. welding, spacers, sacrificing another shaft, plugging oil holes, etc. etc.) If this were just a direct bold-on I would give it a try and could easily reverse the work in an couple hours if I didn't like it for some reason. That is obviously not the case with this mod/change.

It'll be a doorstop until I get sick of looking at it and toss it in the trash can....I may tear it apart just to see what "makes it tick" before I toss it in the can!

Thank you for all the information, You've saved me a minimum of two full hours of cleaning time trying to make this thing look like I didn't just pull it out of the mud in a Georgia junkyard.

I've got to spend those two hours working on fitting the HD Exhaust instead!

Very Respectfully,
KURT

[3Phase]

Kurt, it is a bolt on mod.


XS750/850 Final Drive Conversion....that elusive 6th gear!
Final Drive Transplant _ Kudos 2 XSChop!
XS750 Final Drive Conversion
"Mod of the Year, 2006!"
by Cody(Maximan) and XSChop, posted 11-12-06

Yes you can reverse the changes any time you want; no you don't have to do any cutting and welding.

By using two plugs for the oil holes you don't have to take apart the drive like they show in the Tech Tip from back in 2006.

.