After Acct installed.......

[Bikes]

Started up, warmed up, smooth idle, a little lower than before.....got busy so three days later, this morning, I jump on and head out to work.....running a little rough at the lowend.......used to be able to put it in 5th at 20 mph and pretty much leave it there.....not now.......above 3 and on the highway smooth and lots a power......putting through town, not so good, rough, gotta keep the revs up a little, not horrible but not as nice...
I'm gonna re sync the carbs and such this weekend but wondering if there's any other post Acct ideas.......thanks...

[dbeardslee]

ACCT shouldn't affect the way it runs - it just tensions the cam chain, and usually the only noticeable difference is in reduced cam chain noise. If the old tensioner allowed it to jump a tooth on the cam chain, that would certainly cause issues, but I think it would be much more severe than what you're describing. Or if the cam chain is way stretched that could conceivably cause issues.

If it was me I think the first thing I'd do is check the timing to make sure it's set properly. If you really want to rule out the cam chain as the problem, pull the valve cover off and check to make sure you're on the dots at the cams when the #1 cylinder is at TDC.

[Bikes]

I was just thinking....running things through my melon....I also rebuilt the petcocks and just maybe have a small vac leak which could show up like this....I'm gonna check later...........

[dbeardslee]

A vacuum leak could certainly make it run rough. If you suspect the petcocks you could always plug the vacuum lines and set the petcocks to prime and see if the problem goes away. I went around and around with rebuilding vacuum operated petcocks on my 79F and finally got rid of them in favor of manual petcocks, and I never looked back.

[TopCatGr58]

Started up, warmed up, smooth idle, a little lower than before.....got busy so three days later, this morning, I jump on and head out to work.....running a little rough at the lowend.......used to be able to put it in 5th at 20 mph and pretty much leave it there.....not now.......above 3 and on the highway smooth and lots a power......putting through town, not so good, rough, gotta keep the revs up a little, not horrible but not as nice...
I'm gonna re sync the carbs and such this weekend but wondering if there's any other post Acct ideas.......thanks...

Hey Mark,

The others have already provided good info, if valve timing is correct, then it could be vac. leak, or carbs, synch....or even a low voltage issue...and here's why!

I see in your signature that you have 2 Harleys, and so I can only assume that you're used to riding them and within their engine's performance parameters....lots of low rpm torque, and limited upper rpm range with increased vibration once you're near or above 3k rpm!

But if you want to ride an XS11 properly, you're going to have to get used to running it in the higher rpm ranges and lower gears for that SLOW of a speed!
The XS11's power band doesn't get started until around 3.5 k rpm....and can run SMOOTHLY at 7 K ALL DAY LONG! I know you experienced your bike's ability to PULL and Putt around at 20 mph in 5th at 2K rpm because these engines do have a fair amount of low rpm torque and HP.

BUT here's the rub....the electrical system...charging system is relatively weak, the ignition components...especially the coils need a good level of voltage to provide the full amount of firing power....but at 2k rpm...you are not reaching the minimum peak rpm required for the ALTERNATOR to function to provide enough power to keep the battery charged! Folks have reported draining their batteries from just extended synch tuning at idle. You need at least 2500 rpm to reach the minimum engine speed that will provide adequate charging current....and so to run around at 2k with the lights, then brake/turn signals, etc., you're draining your battery and not getting enough voltage to the ignition components to maintain full spark which can also cause misses and such!

SO...I highly suggest that you crank that throttle a bit more and keep it in 2nd or so when doing only 20 mph, and keep the rpms to at least 3k no matter what road speed you are maintaining....to keep your battery happy!

T.C.

[Bikes]

I get that TC...had an FJR for a while and she liked the higher revs too.....this was a definite change from before which I'm pretty sure it was a piece of crapola in one of the carbs....25 mile commute home tonight.....ran rough for four or five minutes, started to smooth out and by the time I went probly two miles it had cleared, good idle, smooth from the bottom up....nice ride home, slow mo through a couple villages, no problem.....highway speeds heaven......really runs good.....
If it acts up again I'll probly do the mandatory "third" carb cleaning......
No vac leaks BTW....
I like this bike.....

[motoman]

Started up, warmed up, smooth idle, a little lower than before.....got busy so three days later, this morning, I jump on and head out to work.....running a little rough at the lowend.......used to be able to put it in 5th at 20 mph and pretty much leave it there.....not now.......above 3 and on the highway smooth and lots a power......putting through town, not so good, rough, gotta keep the revs up a little, not horrible but not as nice...
I'm gonna re sync the carbs and such this weekend but wondering if there's any other post Acct ideas.......thanks...

Gonna have to pull that carb bank, remove bowls and everything internal for a REAL cleaning. Your issue is likely the pilot circuit. Remove the pilot jets and clean, paying special attention to the teeny tiny sideholes in pilot jets. Use a pointy toothpic and clean them, removing the build-up around circumference of those tiny holes. Keep anything metal away from them!. Now guess what after installation of carb bank?..........Re-set idle mixtures and re-sync, keeping idle under 800rpm for both those settings. When done, re-set idle mixture at the specified 1100rpm. Go for test ride. The auto tensioner has cams in perfect time the full reolution now, so minscule issues WILL now show up. Motor should be as smooth as silk through ANY rpm range if tuned correctly.