1980 XS11 Special - Mayberry Duck Rebuild

[bikerphil]

Kurt, the 'cop cruiser' is a hoot to ride, never get tired of that setup. That flexable Honda Shadow plastic seat pan makes a world of difference in comfort. Glad you like it bro, I really never finished it, that is the prototype setup from 3 years, 50K miles ago.

[madmax-im]

Kurt...If this bike is not to your liking...I'll gladly take it off your hands...

[kboehringer]

Standard Bags (Venturer?) on a Special

Kurt...If this bike is not to your liking...I'll gladly take it off your hands...

Well I'm not exactly looking to get rid of it... Just kinda getting use to the bags...

XS Friends,
I got a PM asking questions about mounting these bags and figured I'd answer in the thread.......

I am not certain but I believe these bags are from a Venturer? Not positive, but the photos of the bike being dismantled sure as heck looked like one. I did not purchase the front fairing which was mounted on the bike these bags came from and it was absolutely a Venturer fairing.

The quick answer. NO! The bags are NOT a direct bolt-on to a Special. If you won't cut & weld or don't want to.... don't attempt.


As noted in the photo, the forward lower brackets do NOT match-up to the Special rear peg mounts. I had to: cut the brackets off, grind off all the OEM welds, shorten the bars about 1/2 inch to get them into range of the special peg mounts, re-orient them to match the bolt from the rear peg and re-weld the brackets back on using SS tig wire. P.S. welding chrome plated pieces is a PITA without making a mess.

Everything else lines up well except the Reflector on the Special shock is a little tight to the edge of the bag. I will PROBABLY remove the reflectors to avoid rubbing if any is noticed during driving. FYI, I haven't really driven the bike except around the block since the bike really isn't road worthy (crap brakes, crap tires, crap clutch, etc.)

The only other problem I see is the use of a back rest. The shock tower bolts are too short to accommodate the; Special Aluminum Pull Bar, Bag Brackets, AND the back rest mounts. I will have to extend the bolts or remove them and replace them with longer bolts (more welding).

I have yet to determine where to place my rear signals. I think I am going to attempt to shorten the OEM signals and mount them to the fender/frame bolt just behind their original position.... still thinking about that.

I had Nancy (5' 3") sit on the bike with me and she is very comfortable with her foot position and the bags will not be any issue for a passenger. Although I have no intention of ever sitting back there a 5'11' person will not have an issue with leg clearance or comfort back there due to the bags.

The look is beginning to grow on me....


Respectfully,
KURT

[MaximPhil]

Hi Kurt,
Those are not Venturer bags. Venturer bags hinge on the outer edge.
I think these are what was offered by Yamaha as a tour package in 79 /80. Certainly many XS standards have them mounted.
Phil

[kboehringer]

Hi Kurt,
Those are not Venturer bags. Venturer bags hinge on the outer edge.
I think these are what was offered by Yamaha as a tour package in 79 /80. Certainly many XS standards have them mounted.
Phil

Phil,
Thank you for clarifying. As you can tell, I have VERY LITTLE knowledge of the Standard Bikes their options or their extras. The bike that these came off of was certainly modified by its PO who must have added a mis-matched newer fairing and these older style touring bags to his plain standard.
KURT

[MaximPhil]

Hi Kurt,
I suggest you figure a way of tethering those lids so you do not post the horror story of losing one or both on the highway. With you building skills perhaps the side hinge of the later design could be fabricated. It is just a heavy piano hinge riveted on. The later bags have a bit more "meat" at the top edge
and a custom rubber edging.
Phil

[kboehringer]

A bunch of bad news...Not many bright moments w/Mayberry

....I suggest you figure a way of tethering those lids.....SNIP.... Phil

Thanks for the idea Phil. Since I have all the hardware removed (rivets) from the lids and buckets I will install some form of lanyard when I re-rivet the hardware. I looked at the hinge idea and the only way would be to install it on the OUTER or REAR edge. There is just not enough room to swing them up toward the seat or forward because of the structure. Both of the possible choices for a hinge on this set-up would be pretty darn ugly......


MAYBERRY PROGRESS REPORT
Exhaust Bad News...
This weekend I purchased an OEM LEFT side Special exhaust from our friend Bill Kapher for just a few bucks. I quickly found a VERY cheap and VERY beat up RIGHT online and it's headed my way. The bike hasn't had a real exhaust on it yet. Both exhausts are in pretty darn poor shape but would still be functional 'til my friend at the muffler shop has time to help me with the SS set-ups.

Unfortunately, because of the bags, an OEM Special exhaust won't even come close to fitting. Another problem with adding Standard bags to a Special! I guess this exhaust will find a new home on DEAD DUCK! Looks like Mayberry is gonna get a custom set of Harley Muffs like the DUCK!

Clutch or Second Gear Bad News....
Doesn't look like the Mayberry Duck is gonna make it easy on me! Took her for a LITTLE ride and had trouble getting her into 2nd smoothly. The clutch is trash and I have the new fibers just waiting on the Barrett springs to show. I don't BELIEVE this is the common second gear issue as the bike does not come out of gear under heavy load as I ran her to 7000 a couple times without an issue. All the linkage has been checked and nothing looks bad there. Hopefully, the new clutch will solve the issue....FINGERS CROSSED!

Crankcase full of fuel bad news...
THOROUGHLY Cleaned the carbs the other day and set the floats to spec. When I went to check the clutch linkage noticed the oil smelled of gas... YEP! Got a sticky float (or two, or three, or four), and some bad petcocks and probably a bad OCTY. Kinda figured these old parts would need more than a cleaning.

One LITTLE piece of good news....
Figured out what to do with the rear turn signals that had to be removed to fit the bags. I had some of those cheapo little signals laying around and decided to extend their wires and give 'em a try. These little things are bright as the dickens! I like 'em!



Looks like Mayberry wants to fight the idea of becoming a handsome ride! I'll win in the end but it might cost me a small fortune......

Respectfully,
KURT

[tomcos67]

Looks like you got your hands full.!You will figure it out..I have no doubt.
These bike's look nice with the hard bags.Now I got to get some.
Hope all goes well...

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Kurt,

I reviewed the previous photos of this thread just to look at the before images of the bags, and confirmed that they are dual latches front and back. As has been eluded to, they can come loose and then they fly away. I don't know if you were going to keep/reuse the OEM latches? McMaster-Carr sells a variety of draw latches, and have some with pad lockable type slots that you could put a small caribeiner in vs. an actual padlock to provide a little more security against popping open. Attaching a strap or chain to the inside of the bags/lids using the latch fasteners would be a way to not add any additional holes, but you may want to use some bolt/nut type of fasteners vs. rivets.

Now, as to your turn signals, I can't see how long the mounting shafts are. They are quite bright. But I also know the level of vision that many of the motorists out there have....have you ever looked at my little info tech article about why we motorcyclists are invisible?
http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22346

I feel they would be better seen and interpreted if they were placed a bit farther apart from each other as well as the brake light. I think I see a nice vertical bracket plate between the bike and the bags frame that would allow them to be positioned between the 2 bars and just behind the bags!? JAT.

T.C.

[Eveready1100]

Kurt, just an observation but the bags in this photo make the back of your bike look a bit droopy



While you're doing mods to the bracketry to make them fit, have you thought about kicking them up a bit to try to clear the oem pipes you've got?
Having a quieter bike will help keep your other half much happier on long trips, so it'd be well worth the effort if this is going to be your long distance bike




I fitted Beemer panniers to my SF when my wife was well enough to travel with me and I set them up to clear the exhausts properly. An added bonus was that they made great armrests for her when I strapped our sleeping bags on top of them.

[IMG][/IMG]

[kboehringer]

A Couple replies....

Hey Kurt,
SNIP.... But I also know the level of vision that many of the motorists out there have....have you ever looked at my little info tech article about why we motorcyclists are invisible?
http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22346
T.C.

I just took a good look at that article. I hadn't seen that one before. I'm going to make my son (beginning bike rider) read it as well! I like the SMIDSY video too and we've both watched that one together.... That's ONE of the reasons WE wear reflective vests EVERY TIME we drive (1 mile or 100 ).

I feel they would be better seen and interpreted if they were placed a bit farther apart from each other as well as the brake light. I think I see a nice vertical bracket plate between the bike and the bags frame that would allow them to be positioned between the 2 bars and just behind the bags!? JAT.
T.C.

Thanks TC. You are correct! These need to be a little further apart, better yet, I ordered another set and they will be placed IN ADDITION to these in the location you suggested. They are pretty small so they won't look obnoxious and will make it much easier to see me & Nancy from the back.

Kurt, just an observation but the bags in this photo make the back of your bike look a bit droopy
.....
While you're doing mods to the bracketry to make them fit, have you thought about kicking them up a bit to try to clear the oem pipes you've got?
Having a quieter bike will help keep your other half much happier on long trips, so it'd be well worth the effort if this is going to be your long distance bike

Eveready,
Thanks for the comments...I appreciate the input. I just went and took a GOOD look at the set-up and I think I can get these up a bit with a little work and a little more welding! The armrest deal for the passenger sounds good too. I had thought the bags made Mayberry look like she had a "Wide Butt" but hadn't noticed the "Droopy-ness" you saw... It's there! Droopy!

Whether it gets an OEM exhaust, or something like my DUCK (Harley Muffs made to fit), the UPSWEPT look of the Special (and XJ) exhaust is extremely attractive to me. It's one of the reasons I LOVE the Special.

I may be one of very few people that have tried to install these style bags on a Special so I've got to blaze my own trail. Mike (radiologsguy) has a special with the later Venturer bags on it and they sit a bit higher and don't appear to cause any difficulty for his OEM pipes.

I need to start hacking away at these and get 'em up and out of the way. I've got a couple mechanical issues to fix this weekend (new clutch tonight, valve check & adjustment, CCT leak repair, etc.). Once those are done and tested the bags are getting modified! I GOT TO GET 'EM UP!

Respectfully,
KURT

[kboehringer]

Something is not right in the transmission....

Clutch or Second Gear Bad News....
I don't BELIEVE this is the common second gear issue ......FINGERS CROSSED!

XS Friends,
Seems all the finger crossing and the new clutch isn't going to fix the transmission problems! Something is seriously wrong in there!

All the plates (metal & fiber) measured within spec. although the fibers were pretty slick and glazed. They were replaced with an EBC set.

The springs were significantly out of spec and were also replaced.


I've read all the postings and data on the 2nd gear problem and I'm still not convinced that's what's wrong. But, "Something" is definitely wrong in there.

It feels like the clutch (and it associated shaft) is not really disengaging. Almost like the clutch is semi-worthless due to some other internal issue. The clutch with hold the bike but the shift into 2nd is ROUGH. I would expect the shaft to slow after the clutch is disengaged? It's also a bit of a chore to get it out of gear into neutral when the bike is running. The bike will stall as I have the clutch pulled in and search for neutral. I also hear the faint noise that sounds like the starter is engaged or somehow effected during the stall.

Regardless, I'm not tearing into the transmission until I have another short-block as a back-up sitting on the side. I'll continue to mess around with the bags & some of the other misc. issues but the bike will not be driven until I figure out this transmission problem.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

KURT

[Blank Slate]

Sorry to hear the bad news. Love the bike and its name!

[kboehringer]

Will an XS11 Engine fit in a Honda Accord Trunk.... YEP!

Sorry to hear the bad news

Thanks Blank Slate.... But today took a turn for the better. I acquired another complete '80 engine from a standard today for $50! Had to travel a bunch of miles to get it but now my problem is how to get it out of the car?



I'm not sure of the overall condition of the motor. Previous owner of the bike said "The bike just stopped running". Been in a barn for a couple years after it "wouldn't start anymore". As we all know, it could be 1000+ different things that kept it from running including a wiring harness that looked like complete pooop. Regardless, it will hopefully contain the undamaged transmission components necessary to repair Mayberry's engine!

I also acquired a BUNCH of other parts for a very reasonable price! Some of these items are Standard XS specific (seat, side covers, etc.) and will have no use on my Special but the guy was gonna toss 'em in the trash as he's planning on using the frame only as a basis for an unusual bobber project.




I'm PRETTY SURE these are REAL VENTURER Components????????

The remaining components on the frame will be shipped to me at a later date as he hadn't a chance to get the speedo/tach, head lamp, signals, and a whole mess of other little parts off of the frame. I actually didn't have any more room in the Honda Accord anyway!

Today was a better day for the future of Mayberry!

Respectfully,
KURT

[MaximPhil]

Hi Kurt,
That certainly looks like a Venturer set up. I think the package was offered as an accessory in 1980 before being included in 81. Has it been repainted? as all Venturer were blue.
Phil