Barn find freebie 1978 xs1100E

[olinrj]

Hello all. Wanted to drop in and say and start a thread on my cycle and various projects as I go through each system to get it back on the road.

First and foremost a little history on me and my bike. I'm in the metro Milwaukee area and have had at least one cycle in my possession since high school. Unfortunately most of the time they haven't run. It started with a '66 cb77, then an '83 xv750, an '82 xj650, and a '98 vtr1000. I also bought a '78 gs550e for my brother that he finally took out of my garage, 5 years later. The xs11 was owned by my coworkers father but hasn't been on the road much in the last ten years as he now has a goldwing. While discussing things my coworker brought up the xs and mentioned that his dad has been looking to get rid of it. While I would have loved to snatch it up immediately, I still had the gs550 and xj650 in the garage and both weren't running. On top of that we were selling our house and adding a bike wasn't in the cards. A few weeks later my coworker said he talked to his dad again and his dad said if I was really interested in it, he would let me have it, just so it got back on the road. A bit of negotiating with my wife and it was settled. I could bring the xs home if I cleared out space (got rid of the other two). My cousin was excited to get the xj650 and my parents are housing the gs550.
Now on to the xs11: it has about 57,000 miles, stock everything except for the headlight and bucket. Apparently about 15 years ago the fairing cracked while going over some rough train tracks and wasn't salvageable. The pipes are in good shape but need a clean up and polish. The hard bags are all there, hardware works and the crash bars are good. When my coworker brought the bike over we were able to kickstart it but it would only idle with full choke.
Here's my list of tasks, mostly in order:
check valve clearances
replace stock CCT with Vmax or Venture unit
replace all oils and fluids
diagnose and repair rear brake issue
flush old brake fluid and clean all calipers, master cylinders
clean and bench sync carbs (hopefully cure idle issue)
build/buy sync tool, sync carbs on bike
replace fork seals
clean all electrical connections.

Anything else that I have missed or should include in any steps above?
I don't have a firm timeline on the work as we haven't finished settling into our new house and we are almost done with the bathroom remodel. Thanks for reading this long-winded introduction and thanks in advance for any help!
Bob

P.S. I'll get my profile and signature updated, just wanted to get this posted. Also, as soon as my post count gets high enough I will post pictures.

[3Phase]

How's it going, Olinrj!

No one can post pictures so it doesn't matter about post count but welcome to the Forum!

To post pictures you just have to use a third-party site and upload your pictures there, then add links to them in your post.

.

[olinrj]

Hey 3Phase! Thanks for the heads up on the photo posting. Any preferred third party that you'd recommend? I'm not horribly techo-savvy or into much social media beyond a basic facebook account so the simpler the better.
Thanks for the welcome. I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions for the forum once I get a little deeper into the xs1100.

[Radioguylogs]

Olinrj:

Many of us use Photobucket for posting pictures.

Welcome- sounds like you know your way around the bike already.

[olinrj]

Radioguylogs, thanks for the welcome and tip on photobucket. While I have done a ton of research prior to joining the forum and have done a bit of wrenching I certainly know I have plenty to learn. Early on when even getting the bike was an option I told myself that this is the bike that I will get into tip top shape in stock form before doing any modifications. I am working to improve my skills in electrical diagnostic work and knowing this is a stock system should give a good starting point.

[mack]

Good morning

Olinrj welcome to the site, this should help:http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?t=792

[natemoen]

Welcome! I used to live in Pewaukee, and there are a few other guys in that area. Good luck with the bike!

[Prisoner6]

WELCOME to the XS11 Forums, Robert!

A free XS11 ... that's great!

You will find lots of help here ... there are some very knowledgeable people on this Forum.

Do read the link Mack provided ... some good info there.

With regard to your list ... when you mention "replace all oils and fluids", be sure to include the fork oil on that list.

We look forward to seeing pics of your E ...

[olinrj]

Thanks for the link! I saw that thread before but it never hurts to have a link close by. Here's the first pic of the bike. It's from about 12 years ago. Since that time my coworker cleaned up and repainted the sidecovers and started prepping the tank for paint.


the tank emblems have since been lost. I most likely will want to find replacements but it isn't high on the list right now.

here it is in the garage.

and out in the driveway. I let it run for a fee minutes to run some more fresh gas through the carbs. Idled at 4000 rpms on full choke. Once I let it warm up i turned off the choke and had to stay on the throttle to keep it running but as I did the moment the throttle got into the mains the rpms shot to the red line in a good way.
one shot of the gauges.

Hopefully I can fit some work here and there in the next few weeks to keep progressing with my list but with a bathroom remodel and two young boys at home that might be a stretch. Thanks for stopping in.
Bob

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Bob,

Glad to see you on here, and that you've learned about posting photos. I fixed the alignment....when you post/add a photo..first hit the ENTER key/carriage return button to start a NEW text line, and THEN put the photo text in...and then again hit the ENTER key to get to the next line before typing anymore text. Otherwise, the site will put the photos side by side, which causes extreme side scrolling due to the photos being too wide for the web page.

Okay, the thread/link posted was to the "what to look for in a neglected XS11" which is pretty good, but a bit outdated, and we need to add/change some of the info in it. As you have already read/found, putting on an ACCT is a good step towards engine and valvetrain survival.

As you stated, the headlight isn't OEM, neither are the front turn signals.. they look to be HONDA. The front forks have an XS650 style fork brace...it's adequate. You may or may not know , but the seat isn't OEM, but is probably a bit more comfortable than OEM. 57K on the clock....you probably have another 50K in the engine...they are well overengineered!! It also has an oil cooler/radiator....that does look OEM, but I think they were only put on the later 81H venturers....so it's probably aftermarket. It's nice, but if you want, you can remove it....there is just an adapter plate that is sandwiched between the OEM filter cup and the engine case. The handlebar clamp is also a BLING item from MikesXS.net.

I went to your photobucket account to view the photos closer, looks like the PO put in some individual ATCO fuses to replace the faulty glass ones. I resell a fuseholder that will fit under the side cover if you're interested:
http://www.xs11.com/forum/showpost.p...5&postcount=10

There are a couple of gauges down on the handlebars, but can't tell exactly what they are...some better photos would be helpful for us.

Aside from the fluids, yes, rebuild the calipers to check and remove corrosion that likes to build up under the square O-ring in the groove of the caliper housing which can then cause binding of the caliper piston, don't forget the spooge hole of the MC's. The middle drive drain nut can be a little hard to find, you should have the service manuals from the download link I provided with your registration email. Remove the rear wheel and also the final drive from the swingarm, inpsect all splines, clean and regrease. Also check out the LEFT REAR WHEEL BEARING....they are NOT available from YAMAHA, but ARE on ebay....NA5904 is the proper search criteria.

Also would suggest separating the steering head assembly, clean and inspect the races....if notched, replace bearings...otherwise repack and reassemble and you'll have great steering affect! Since the bike has sat for 10 years, the tires are probably quite old...check the born on date...see the change front tire tech tip on where to find it on the tire. Anyways, you'll probably need to change them despite that they may have plenty of tread depth, because they will be old/hardened and slippery!

That's about it for now.
T.C.

[olinrj]

TopCat,
thanks for checking in. Correct, the headlight and turn signals are Honda. When the fairing failed that was what he had on hand, so on they went. The seat is nice, no tears or worn spots. He said it was quite comfortable for long rides. The gauges are for the shocks, one for thr front, one for the rear. The owner prior was apparently a shorter rider and the forks were set lower in the triple trees, the air shocks making up the difference. The oil cooler has a brand tag on it, don't recall at the moment but it will probably stay on. I plan on getting a fuse holder once I am into the electrical portion of the bike and plan on calling on you. Concerning the bearings, in a previous job my wife worked in the office of a machine shop and developed a great relationship with a local bearing supply house. I may check with them on the left rear bearing.
I'll try to get some more pictures of the rest of the bike tomorrow, and they should be up tomorrow evening.
Thanks again,
Bob

[DiverRay]

One item you WILL need is springs for the clutch! After 30+ years, they just do NOT work well. The stock plates are probably good, so a set of BARNETT springs, and ONLY Barnett, will help the clutch. Welcome to the site! and let us know if you are in need of parts. We ALL have a few "spares" around, and will help out when needed.

[olinrj]

Thanks for the tip DiverRay! I'll add it to the list. I assume that while I am in there I should check the plates for thickness as well. Anything else while it it open? Any suggestions for a source? A search on the interwebs only turned up ebay and amazon for the Barnett heavy duty part number.

Thanks,
Bob

[Prisoner6]

... Any suggestions for a source? A search on the interwebs only turned up ebay and amazon for the Barnett heavy duty part number.

Bob,

Partzilla has the clutch springs ... have a look at this:

Barnett Clutch Spring Kit

[olinrj]

I reached out to a friend of my father who works at a bearing supply house and he can get the NA5904 bearing but wanted to clarify one thing. The bearing comes with or without an inner ring. Which is correct for our application? Price is pretty good and he can have them within a week. Should I tell him to order additional bearings to have on hand for other members? I'll confirm price once the inner ring concern is settled.
thanks,
Bob