Time to make the Keeper

[Bartman]

I have a 78 Standard frame, carb set, good wiring harness, TIC module, etc. but the motor has a hole in the crank. I have an 82 Maxim motor that on has 17 k miles.

I want to drop the 82 motor in but am wondering about the ignition system. I do not have the TIC for the Maxim. Can I use the 78 TIC or will I need to swap out and put in old pickups and vac advance from the blown motor?

I have started stripping everything down and should have the motor out of the frame tomorrow.

I will need to stop and buy / make a good buffing wheel before I get to much further along.

[bikerphil]

Yes, I would use the 78 ignition plate and vac advance and also the 78 alternator on the Maxim 1100 motor to avoid complications.

[BA80]

I have a 78 Standard frame, carb set, good wiring harness, TIC module, etc. but the motor has a hole in the crank. I have an 82 Maxim motor that on has 17 k miles.

I want to drop the 82 motor in but am wondering about the ignition system. I do not have the TIC for the Maxim. Can I use the 78 TIC or will I need to swap out and put in old pickups and vac advance from the blown motor?

I have started stripping everything down and should have the motor out of the frame tomorrow.

I will need to stop and buy / make a good buffing wheel before I get to much further along.

You will need to swap out everything from the crankshaft out on both sides of the engine. The XJ has a completely different ignition setup as far as timing controls go. (left side) It also has a completely different alternator. (right side)

You also will need to get a YICS intake tool to balance the carbs. Most XJ owners just leave them installed because the 11 engine runs better without the YICS.

Other than that you're good to go.

In my opinion, I wouldn't worry about any buffing until I got it running good.

Buffing won't make it go............

[BA80]

Yes, I would use the 78 ignition plate and vac advance and also the 78 alternator on the Maxim 1100 motor to avoid complications.

He will need the centrifugal advance unit too Phil. The XJ timing advance is all in the TCI.

[bikerphil]

Yep, I should have been clearer, I meant the whole ignition assembly.

[MaximPhil]

Greg / Phil,
would it not be easier to just buy an XJ TCI ?
Seems a pity to give up the extra power from the XJ alternator
Andreas probably has one.
Maxim Phil

[BA80]

Greg / Phil,
would it not be easier to just buy an XJ TCI ?
Seems a pity to give up the extra power from the XJ alternator
Andreas probably has one.
Maxim Phil

Pretty sure that would require a complete rewire Phil. Not something I would want to do.

[MaximPhil]

Pretty sure that would require a complete rewire Phil. Not something I would want to do.

Greg,
Why is it never as simple as it looks
Thanks for pointing out the pitfalls of the "easy' solution
Phil

[Bartman]

I also thought about the extra current capacity of the XJ but with LEDs and modern stuff I'm not taxing my present 78.

As far as the buffer, these have been in the barn for a few years now and need a good cleaning. I had the carbs on my present bike at one time too. They are already cleaned with the correct jets and no broken posts or anything. Come to think about it I did pull the little mesh filters out that cover the idle seats and they are in my present 78.

I would rather not cut up the harness other than putting modern fuses in.

I can thank Kurt for getting me inspired last weekend.

[robbo]

Alternator

Apologies for slightly sidetracking this thread, but was interested to see the xj alternator has a higher output than the xs. Is the xj unit a straight forward swap over with the xs?

[Schming]

Jat

How well will the newer head, valves and cam work with the older TCI, vac advance and timing?

Would there be any sacrifice in power and mpg or can it still be tuned properly?

[kboehringer]

SNIP.... You also will need to get a YICS intake tool to balance the carbs. Most XJ owners just leave them installed because the 11 engine runs better without the YICS.
....SNIP

Greg,
I have NO experience with the XJ1100 motor/YICS so I should probably shut up. I do however have a bit of experience with a couple other XJ's including my Maxim550 and a good friend's XJ750. The XJ machines I do have experience working on ran NOTICEABLY BETTER without the eliminator once PROPERLY tuned with it installed.

Bart,
Call me if you need some help transplanting that engine (or need anything else) as that engine move is more than a one man job. You can also borrow my YICS tool once you get to that stage of the build.

The oil pan/sensor is different on the XJ also. The XS harness won't have a provision for that. Someone else with more XJ1100 experience will need to confirm but I suspect you will need to transplant the oil pan and the '78 pressure sensor???

KURT

[Bartman]

Thanks everyone.

Of course my plans got changed today, all afternoon was under our rental house changing out the water heater!

I was wondering if the stator really needed to be changed. I don't mind changing one connector to fit the 78 voltage regulator if it can handle the extra juice.

Keep giving me info. We will work through this together.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Bart,

I don't know all of the wires in the Reg/Rect connector, but GEEZER does. He also makes a replacement R/R that creates charging current at lower rpms. It doesn't cause the ALT to create MORE total power, just more power earlier in the rpm range. He makes them for the XS's and the XJ's, and could advise on which wires would need to be where in the R/R plug to allow the XJ's ALT to work with the XS's wiring, or to use the XJ's R/R on the XS's wires. IT's still an ALT and still uses a field coil current to stimulate the ALT to create the power. It just has brushes which helps it create a little more juice than the brushless XS ALT. But the brushes can wear out and will need to be replaced vs. the brushless XS ALT...no contacting moving parts to wear out.

The XJ's Alt is also smaller, so it's not as wide and doesn't stick out as far from the end of the crank like the XS does.

There's also a tech tip on how to make your own YICS eliminator since it's easier to just install it and leave it in place.

My other concern is though about WHAT caused the piston hole in the XS engine? Was is leaky intake boots, or carbs that caused an overlean condition to burn the hole in the piston? You'll want to make sure you know and have corrected the problem, whether it was the XS carbs...or use the Xj carbs instead.

Like Kurt said, the XJ uses an oil LEVEL sensor, not a pressure sensor. I think a pressure sensor is more important, and would suggest you swap the pressure sensor onto the XJ engine. You could swap the XS oil pan, or just keep the XJ pan, just not have anything hooked up to the level sensor.

T.C.

[kboehringer]

Hey Bart,
SNIP......My other concern is though about WHAT caused the piston hole in the XS engine? .....SNIP.....
T.C.

TC,
The engine in question has a hole blasted in the upper engine case at/about the #3 connecting rod. Obviously, the #3 rod broke loose.

The P.O. of that bike added an aftermarket oil cooler. It APPEARED TO BE some back-woods engineering as holes were drilled in the upper case (just above the filter cup) and pipe threaded to accept the oil cooler's lines. Looked VERY amateurish. I've seen folks use an adapter plate between the filter cup and the block. This set-up was nothing of that sort.

I WOULD EXTREMELY STRONGLY suspect either oil starvation or very low oil pressure from "Backwoods Engineering" cased the engine to "grenade".

KURT