Barn find freebie 1978 xs1100E

[MPittma100]

There is an alternative to the tee o ring fix. There are aftermarket brass tees available too. There are 2 types - one tee is for the bowl vents, the other is for fuel. Basically the same tee but 2 different widths. Depends on year model carbs you have.

Problem is that they are not cheap. Some guys are asking almost the same amount for used OEM tees?

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.XYamaha+XS1100+fuel+tee.TRS1&_nkw=Yamaha+XS1100+fuel+tee&_sacat=0

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-1J7-14988-00-00-PIPE-STARTER-CON-/281742875223?fits=Make%3AYamaha%7CModel%3AXS1100&hash=item41992f1a57:g:VXsAAOSw-7RVDIcc&vxp=mtr

3H3-14988-00-00, 2H7-14988-00-00, 1J7-14988-00-00 are some OEM part numbers.

[olinrj]

Thanks Mike. Today I stopped at harbor freight and picked up the o-ring assortment. Tomorrow I hope to pull the carbs and get the tees repaired and reassemble everything. I'm still planning to put some miles on the xs this year, I just don't know if it will happen in September.

Thanks,
Bob

[olinrj]

I repaired both fuel supply tees and last night got the carbs on and everything back together. Today I put a couple gallons in the tank and started it up. Initial startup was rough and it didn't want to idle without the choke on. I adjusted the idle a bit at a time until it would idle without feathering the throttle. I decided to try to take it around the block and that's where it got interesting. While off the throttle but in gear the bike seemed to want to accelerate. I took this initially as me not being used to the cycle. When I began to slow down for a stop sign I clutched in and the motor raced to around 6k rpms. I thought I lost the throttle cable. I shut off the bike and once stopped verified that the cable was intact. I tried to start it again and it once again surged to about 6k rpms. Because I was a couple blocks away I decided to feather the clutch to get going and try to make it home. Once in gear, the rpms dropped to match the cycle speed, so it wasn't a runaway. It's in the garage ready for a little more attention.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this? My initial theory is the idle screw is set too high and now that the engine warmed up and got put under load things are freeing up and acting like they should and my initial adjustment to get it going then is way off for what it needs now. I work tonight but will try to get a few minutes in tomorrow if possible. I'm so close to getting a real ride in that I can taste it!

Thanks,
Bob

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Olin,

Okay, throttle cable not stuck....but ensured that there is actual a 1/4" slack in the throttle cable at the handlebar..there's an adjustment possible there!

Turn the main central idle screw back/CCW until the screw isn't hitting the setting plate.

Also, ensure that you don't have any vacuum leaks with the intake port synch caps/plugs.

Did you BENCH SYNCH the carbs/butterflies?? The carbs are out of balance and that causes the runaway idle. There is a tech tip about using a bread stick tie, but that's still not as accurate. Instead, use the 3 pilot jet port holes in the top of the carb throat engine side, the butterfly will partially cover one when almost completely closed, and set the others to the same position, and this will get them close enough to not have the run away idle, but then you will still want and need to vacuum synch them...but you should be able to get a decent test drive/ride with just a bench synch.

Also, ensure that the vacuum advance unit is plugged into the #2 carb metered port on the carb body, NOT the intake carb mount/port!

Then once started/warmed up and not running away with the idle....you can adjust the main idle screw to set it to around 1100 rpm.

T.C.

[olinrj]

T.C.
Thanks for the troubleshooting tips. There is about a quarter inch of throttle turn before the cable engages. I did verify the carbs were bench synched. All had the same exposure at the pilot jet port holes, but I cannot remember if one was fully exposed or not. The vacuum advance hose is indeed plugged into the correct nipple on the number 2 carb body. The caps and vacuum lines all are attached and secure but I didn't vapor test for leaks with propane or other gas. I am thinking that I was too overzealous in my initial idle setting and didn't wait for the engine to properly warm up before taking it off choke. I'll reser the idle control know and go from there. Thanks again,
Bob

[skids]

You definitely have to wait for the engine to reach equilibrium prior to making changes! (As long as the engine keeps running).

[olinrj]

Skids,
I definitely realized that after the fact! Unfortunately, I couldn't reach the idle screw without taking one of the petcock vacuum lines off, so I had to shut off the xs every time I adjusted the idle. Looking back now I suppose I could just turn the petcock to prime and cap the vacuum line. I'll give that a whirl and report back.

Thanks,
Bob

[olinrj]

A big thanks to donebysunday for stopping over and then taking a ride with me as I gave the xs an initial run. I was able to get the idle sorted and during the ride the cycle felt great and didn't have any issues. When I parked after the ride I used the side kickstand and saw oil seeping out of the airbox at the seal line between the top and bottom half. I didn't have any gas or carb float issues until now but may have overfilled the crankcase when I changed the oil. I'll investigate further but for now I am quite happy to have it on the road again.

Thanks,
Bob

[Eastcoaster]

oil

check that crankcase I have filled mine with leaking fuel and spewed oil right up the air box through the breather like I hit an oil geyser

[donebysunday]

Meeting

BOB and his wonderful family was a pleasure !
When you were first warming up the engine and I saw that wiff of blue smoke I thought valve seals. On the other hand I overfilled my brand new 79 SF and it did the same.
Must get together for another longer ride and check out progress on both of our bikes.
Maybe we can get dbShea to come along, one of you guys can be leader, these days I follow. Don };-)

A big thanks to donebysunday for stopping over and then taking a ride with me as I gave the xs an initial run. I was able to get the idle sorted and during the ride the cycle felt great and didn't have any issues. When I parked after the ride I used the side kickstand and saw oil seeping out of the airbox at the seal line between the top and bottom half. I didn't have any gas or carb float issues until now but may have overfilled the crankcase when I changed the oil. I'll investigate further but for now I am quite happy to have it on the road again.

Thanks,
Bob