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My xs11 project!!
Ok. Where to start.... I've had my xs11 for about 5 years. I've rode it twice now. Lol whenever I was 18, like most, I wanted a motorcycle. I knew a couple of friends with one. My dad had an old Kawasaki 454. A little bike of sorts. He hadn't rode it in like 10 years. At one point the garage flooded and so did the bike. Well he always said that I could ride it if I got it running again. With Me being 17 at the time, no mechanical experience and no one in the family with any ether, there wasn't a lot of hope of me getting getting this bike working. I guess messing around with the wires for a couple of days knocked enough corrosion off for it to start. Same old stinky gas too. Lol Anyways I was off to a summer of riding Tennessee back roads with no job and enough money to keep a full tank most of the time... somehow. Lol
Well fast track to just before Spring the following year. I deside that I need a bigger bike, a faster bike, a bike of my own. Me being a over confident and just plain ignorant goes off a buys someone else's "project". Didnt run and he didn't know why. No spark at all. He had 600$ on it, I offered 400$ and before I could think twice he already took the money out of my hand. Lol. So I trailer it home. (Moms home) lol. Also the first time I'd ever backed down a 300 ft driveway with a trailer. I didn't think I was ever gonna get out of their. Lol
So I'm back home(mom and dads home) and I'm slowly realizing that I might have just thrown 400 bucks away. I cannot figure this out, I find this forum, which does lead me on th right trail. Figure out its a 81 motor in a 79 frame. I have to spark because there's no ignition unit. Bought a 79 unit and mechanical advance. Still nothing and that's where the bike sat for years until a couple of weeks ago.
I've sense bought my own place but one day wile waiting on my son at my moms, I got to thinking again how great it would be to get the bike working. By this point I can't remember anything I did to the bike (Ignition system). Start searching the web. Come across this forum again. It took me a couple of days but I finally remembered my login info.
So At this point I'm thinking ignition pickup coils are the suspect. The wiring is somewhat hashed. I grabs the multimeters do start testing. Pickups are good, main coils are good. Hashed wiring is all checking out. As I'm trying to find how to test the ignition unit itself, I see that someone points out that 90% of unit problems can be fixed by re-soldering the connections. I'll be damned if It didn't work like a charm. Strong blue spark on all four!! No gas lines at this point so I deside to go ahead and go through the carbs the best I can without a rebuild kit. Not too bad. A little of that green stinky gas but for the most part clean. Someone had "rebuilt"' these not too long befor the bike was parked. 2 idle screw/needles broken, a float post broken, pilot jet stuck, i just left that one.
Finally get the broken needles out. I had to drill one out it was the only way. I tried everything.
New needles are in the mail but I couldn't resest trying to start it and ways. Broken needles or new ones. Lots of backfiring through the carbs. Pickup coils were backwards. Switch those and she STARTED!! Caught off guard honestly. Lol doesn't run the best but runs never the less. I still need to look into this "color tuning" I hear of.
So front brakes are actually looking good, gotta rebuild the rear so I try to take her on my maiden voyage. Start it, pull the clutch, give it a little gas, shift to first and.... Stalls and lurches forward. Clutch is stuck and I have no rear brake or The Secondary kick stand, whatever it's called. Lol
I actually still get the clutch broken free... To find out 1st gear is gone and 2nd after about 4000 rpm. So this is probably why the bike got parked way back whenever (It did seem like it was partially stripped).
I did manage to limp the bike to my house. Died twice, damn fuse box, had to push start, so there might be a generator issue
So there it is guys. That's the start of my story. Lol the plan is it ultimately chop the thing up a bit. I know. I know. But this isn't a purest kind of bike. It's too far gone.
PICTURES!!! She's ugly, but she's my ugly!!
Well fast track to just before Spring the following year. I deside that I need a bigger bike, a faster bike, a bike of my own. Me being a over confident and just plain ignorant goes off a buys someone else's "project". Didnt run and he didn't know why. No spark at all. He had 600$ on it, I offered 400$ and before I could think twice he already took the money out of my hand. Lol. So I trailer it home. (Moms home) lol. Also the first time I'd ever backed down a 300 ft driveway with a trailer. I didn't think I was ever gonna get out of their. Lol
So I'm back home(mom and dads home) and I'm slowly realizing that I might have just thrown 400 bucks away. I cannot figure this out, I find this forum, which does lead me on th right trail. Figure out its a 81 motor in a 79 frame. I have to spark because there's no ignition unit. Bought a 79 unit and mechanical advance. Still nothing and that's where the bike sat for years until a couple of weeks ago.
I've sense bought my own place but one day wile waiting on my son at my moms, I got to thinking again how great it would be to get the bike working. By this point I can't remember anything I did to the bike (Ignition system). Start searching the web. Come across this forum again. It took me a couple of days but I finally remembered my login info.
So At this point I'm thinking ignition pickup coils are the suspect. The wiring is somewhat hashed. I grabs the multimeters do start testing. Pickups are good, main coils are good. Hashed wiring is all checking out. As I'm trying to find how to test the ignition unit itself, I see that someone points out that 90% of unit problems can be fixed by re-soldering the connections. I'll be damned if It didn't work like a charm. Strong blue spark on all four!! No gas lines at this point so I deside to go ahead and go through the carbs the best I can without a rebuild kit. Not too bad. A little of that green stinky gas but for the most part clean. Someone had "rebuilt"' these not too long befor the bike was parked. 2 idle screw/needles broken, a float post broken, pilot jet stuck, i just left that one.
Finally get the broken needles out. I had to drill one out it was the only way. I tried everything.
New needles are in the mail but I couldn't resest trying to start it and ways. Broken needles or new ones. Lots of backfiring through the carbs. Pickup coils were backwards. Switch those and she STARTED!! Caught off guard honestly. Lol doesn't run the best but runs never the less. I still need to look into this "color tuning" I hear of.
So front brakes are actually looking good, gotta rebuild the rear so I try to take her on my maiden voyage. Start it, pull the clutch, give it a little gas, shift to first and.... Stalls and lurches forward. Clutch is stuck and I have no rear brake or The Secondary kick stand, whatever it's called. Lol
I actually still get the clutch broken free... To find out 1st gear is gone and 2nd after about 4000 rpm. So this is probably why the bike got parked way back whenever (It did seem like it was partially stripped).
I did manage to limp the bike to my house. Died twice, damn fuse box, had to push start, so there might be a generator issue
So there it is guys. That's the start of my story. Lol the plan is it ultimately chop the thing up a bit. I know. I know. But this isn't a purest kind of bike. It's too far gone.
PICTURES!!! She's ugly, but she's my ugly!!
) Work SLOWLY as you modify.. measure several times, before cutting anything. Do only ONE modification at a time get it done and then move on. Don't toss anything or sell anything you have until the bike is DONE to your liking. 
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