1980 XS11 Special - Mayberry Duck Rebuild

[wingnut]

Careful Kirt or you could end up with lots of orders for that set up. Very Pro looking results. Maybe build your self some jigs. You could be on to a manufacturing process.

[madmax-im]

damn fine work Kurt!!!

[Bartman]

Those look great.

[kboehringer]

Harley Muffs Lessons Learned

Careful Kirt or you could end up with lots of orders for that set up.

Gentlemen,
Thanks for the compliments.

This is my second HD muff conversion/application. It is quite possible I will be adapting a pair of HD muffs to my third and final XS11 project (Dead Duck) when it becomes my primary project.

I learned a few things about adapting these to an XS11 I want to share to benefit others. These items are in NO PARTICULAR ORDER of importance just a few points or thoughts on HD muffs & XS11 pipes etc..

• The muffs used on this bike (Mayberry) are off an HD sportster or HD 883 (not sure) and they would be a perfect replacement for a Standard with very minimal modification. I did a major mod to create the "Upswept Look" which would not be necessary on a standard. These could be adapted to a Standard and be "Up & Running" in a few hours (most of that time making a small custom support bracket for each)!
• The quality of construction of the HD muffs is absolutely top-notch. I've seen no aftermarket muffler built with the same grade of steel or chrome plating and the welding done by HD is absolutely beautiful.
• The FIRST modification many HD guys perform is to toss these in the trash (or flea market, or craigslist) 15 minutes after they get their bikes home from the dealer I've seen these offered for as little as $20 for the COMPLETE exhaust system. Making these a fraction of the cost of ANY aftermarket slip on muffler. I would never pay more than $50 for any HD set. They are much too plentiful for less than that.
• You'll need a pipe expander to gain a "Hair" of clearance to mount to our double wall head pipes. Literally a hair which is gained with great ease using a proper pipe expander.
• These MUFFS were equipped with an OEM Cat Converter "restriction" at the inlet. The HD guys almost give these kind away. The converter section is easily removed with a long punch, hammer, and about 15 minute work per side....Don't tell the FEDS!
• The HD OEM clamps are strong and functional but leave a bit to be desired in appearance. Very rough look but is normally covered by their heat shields. They're too big to flip around as our frame is in the way. I'm planning to find some nicer looking clamps.
• Standard head pipes are easy to work with! Both of my specials have standard head pipes & HD muffs. The standard pipe gives several inches of clean non-tapered pipe to work with beyond the collector.
• The sound is a little "THROATY" not quite stock. I'll try to post a video. If your expecting a stock XS11 sound, skip the HD's. It's not a bad sound and I've grown to like it (much more than stupid loud head pipes) but it is NOT stock sounding.
• Support bracketry for this style is really easy. A chunk of stainless steel scrap plate and a couple holes....DONE! Creating a nice looking support for the Dyan-Glide style on The DUCK was a bit of a challenge. I like the Dyna-Glide's overall style better but they were harder to work with on a Special. Would be pretty easy to adapt to a standard.
• If you see a pair of these at the swap-meet or flea market GRAB 'EM, Toss 'em in the garage, and call it a $20 insurance policy! Eventually, those hairline rust cracks will show their head in you OEM muffs (usually on the bottom) once they appear your muffs are basically junk. There is no way to weld or repair them once they show those signs (I TRIED!) just not enough metal left as they reached "RUST OUT"

Sincerely,
KURT

[kboehringer]

Struggling, Struggling, - READY TO RIDE???

XS Friends,
I been struggling with Mayberry for several days and have finally made some real progress. I couldn't really test or work on the bike with straight head pipes. I'm just not that kind of neighbor. Once the HD muffs were done it was time to rip into some other glaring deficiencies.

The PO of this bike had a unique & stupid method for dealing with stuck floats. Smack the carbs with a &$_!*$^ HAMMER (or some other hard item). What a &$#**@^#^ (fill in your own adjectives).



He beat the daylights out of the external carbs. I grabbed a full set on Evil-Bay for a mere $50. They were missing a few pieces (including the jets) but all the float posts were solid and the bodies were undamaged. I replaced the outer carbs and moved ALL the parts from the beat up carbs over to them.

The bike ran like TOTAL POOP and would barely stay running. Carburetor adjustments seemed to have absolutely no effect. I checked and re-checked everything related to carbs and found nothing wrong.....

FINALLY, I found a coil primary wire had been rubbing on the bracket for the frame cover shroud. The wire was shorting out the #2/#3 coils to ground. When I pulled the coil I checked primary & secondary resistance and found primary was fine but secondary stunk. Crap! Bad coil!

Not so fast.... let's try the plug wire replacement MOD..... Got nothing to lose right? Changed all the wires in BOTH coils.... Secondary resistance 15.2k Ohms & 15.3K ohms. NOT BAD NOW!!! I performed this repair on THE DUCK so I've been here before! Thanks a bunch to the guys that wrote that post!!!!!!



Last night I got it all back together and she's running pretty darn good. A little more adjusting once it's a respectable time of day (I don't do noisy tuning or car work before noon on Sunday)

Here she is with her HD muffs running "Pretty Good".... Sorry video is a little crappy.
https://youtu.be/bAgcv3RvdT4

We've got a beautiful sunny (although a little cool) day here in Georgia! I think we're FINALLY gonna' get a nice ride in with MAYBERRY!

Hope you can all get out for a spin!

Sincerely,
KURT

[HalfCentury]

That is a seriously good looking exhaust and it sounds good. I like the low growl. Congrats for fixing the PO nightmare carb issue. The PO of my XJ650 told me he would shake the bike side-to-side to get it to run better and he told me he cleaned the carbs. NOT

I rode my XJ1100 around my neighborhood yesterday to listen to the speedo shrieking. A speedo swap is in order before the fairing goes on. It is wonderful to ride these bikes.

[kboehringer]

Time to make a BAGGER?

Mayberry seems to be running quite well!
https://youtu.be/YsWCJCUbt6w

I don't think that my Tutor/Teacher/Friend at the PPG Auto Paint Store would approve but I risked it and painted the bags in 66 degrees yesterday. He always told me NEVER less than 70 but I added a little extra hardener, shot in light stages, and it looks pretty good!



Time to start on getting the bags on now that the bike isn't leaving a puddle of gas on the floor every night and the exhaust sound is respectable.

KURT

[kboehringer]

Rear Rack & Windscreen (temp)

She's coming along.......

Finally got the rear rack on. Needed a bit of bracket adjusting to make it fit a SPECIAL. Also purchased a windscreen locally for $40. Windscreen is in crappy condition and too small for my liking but it will do for a little while and the brackets are worth the $40.


Picked up a little extra storage/tool bag like DUCK has. Can't stand that frilly leather crap so I ripped it off the bag and replaced it with a less than perfect logo from the standard I got for parts. Not a great piece but better than that frilly stringy leather junk.

BAGS ARE DONE and ready for install...... Just waiting on the UPS man with the PROPER brackets.....

[Schming]

Rear pegs

Kurt, I don't know if this mod can be done on the Special but I relocated my rear pegs on my G so the wife's feet reach and she can hold herself back in the seat better. These are mid eighty XVZ Venture pegs and I think I used the right on the left and the left on the right sides.

[kboehringer]

That is one PROFESSIONAL MOD!

Kurt, I don't know if this mod can be done on the Special but I relocated my rear pegs on my G so the wife's feet reach and she can hold herself back in the seat better. These are mid eighty XVZ Venture pegs and I think I used the right on the left and the left on the right sides.

Schming,
That is a SWEET mod! My wife rides with me just about every time I get the bike out. Nancy is a little on the short side at 5'2" and she is constantly sliding down on me...... In the twisties, I tap her on the knee when we begin the approach to a nice fun curve and she pushes herself back and squeezes her knees in on me so we can roll into the curve together.

I have upgraded to the XJ pegs (front & rear) on all my 11's mostly for the better looks but the pads are a tad wider and "IMPO" give a better feel than the XS pegs.

I'm gonna get Nancy on the bike tomorrow and she how that would look and see if she thinks that would be easier for her to KEEP OFF MY BACK! LOL

Did you use a stud and a nut instead of the one bolt that would normally be in that location?

Kurt

[Schming]

Kurt I used chromed bolts I had in my metric bolt bin that are the same pitch and length as the stock SF bolts. I have a set of the chrome brackets if ya want them.

[kboehringer]

BigFOOT!

I have a set of the chrome brackets if ya want them.

Schming,
Thank you very very much for the offer. BUT, it seems my gal has feet that are TOO BIG to make this mod a good idea.....


I didn't think the differences between the Special & Standard were that much? Honestly, I thought they shared a nearly identical frame. However, if I move her feet to a similar location as you did, she'll be encroaching on my legs...

Guess I just have to put up with her constantly being on my back!

Kurt

[BA80]

Guess I just have to put up with her constantly being on my back!

Kurt

That's marriage in a nutshell isn't it.

[kboehringer]

Finally the RIGHT Parts! Paint Idea?????

XS Folks,
Working three project bikes at the same time is difficult to keep focus but I'm getting a lot closer to done with this one... She's running really nice and I was able to drive Mayberry to work the other day (<70 miles round trip).

The trip allowed me to learn a bit about the bike and I've already addressed a glaring deficiency in the rear brakes.... Replace the Master Cylinder! Done! I've also gotten quite use to the high-quality brakes on DUCK and will quickly upgrade from the stock OEM front master to the 16mm offered by MikesXS which is already on The DUCK.

Now that Mayberry is running well, it's time to finally get her into BAGGER form. Thanks to some great help from Mike (Radiologsguy) I was able to identify the proper brackets for a Special with the newer style bags.





I had to weld some extra holes the PO put in them for lights and B.S. but that's now done and the mounts are nearly ready.......

The differences in the bag supports are significant! The correct brackets have a shelf the bag sits on for support. In addition, the bag extends away from the bike & pull bar by 3.5" vs. 1.75". This will allow the bags to easily clear the pull bar and the back rest supports!

HERE'S THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION:
I wonder if these support brackets would look good in Body Color (Jetstream Blue Metallic)? Honestly, most of the brackets will be hidden by the bags themselves but this could liven up that dungeon under the rear tire & fender area being a lighter color? I really don't want to mount these them remove them again for painting....

My bikes are NOT OEM correct in many areas and RESTO-MOD is my preference not RESTORATION. Kinda' hard to imagine these with body color?
It should not be too over-bearing since much of it will be hidden...
THOUGHTS?

Sincerely,
KURT

[MaximPhil]

Hi Kurt,
I would stay with black for the brackets as they are more of a frame part than a trim part. IMHO. The piece that goes on to the top shock mount has broken on both of mine. I would suggest some form of reinforcement in that area.
Phil