JeffH Bike Repairs - Colorado Rally Prep!

[kboehringer]

XS11 Friends (especially friends of JeffH)!,

Jeff has been stressing out about getting his bike ready for the big event out west in July. The bike really needs some attention to be safe to drive out there to meet his friends out west. Jeff has already changed his clutch, tires, and bearings and made a few other significant repairs in the last couple weeks....

Now, he's completely covered up with family events and commitments so the time is just not available for him to get his XS11e ready for the event.

So, I offered to lend a hand.

The PO of Jeff's bike had done some really crappy repairs on the wiring like this POS.....


This is where we started.....

Last night I finished the change over to a modern block.... EVERYTHING WORKS!!! Yippeee!


Now, the saddle bags are completely messed up and multiple colors. Jeff just happens to know a guy with a nice set complete with factory seals and good hardware. Only problem is they are the wrong color......

Since we have to paint anyway......How bout we squirt some paint on this nasty tank!

While I have the tank off.....Lets get those broken standpipes on the petcocks. Kinda stinks not having a reserve..... Especially on a LD Ride....


Working hard to get Jeff ready for the ride west.... He wanted his friends to see his progress. He will be there on his XS11E!

I got to get back to the E, tons of work to do!!!!!

Kurt

[BA80]

First time I saw Jeff's bike at XS Southeast it had chicken wire holding the headlight on and cargo nets over the saddle bags instead of covers.

I don't have a lot of Standard parts (cosmetic) but I do have some bags that style for parts and a Pacifico fairing, not to mention TONS of mechanical parts.

Holler if you need anything. If I got it y'all got it.

[kboehringer]

Moving fast.....

First time I saw Jeff's bike at XS Southeast it had chicken wire holding the headlight on and cargo nets over the saddle bags instead of covers.

Greg,
I have a similar experience. First time I met Jeff he was helping me find my way to XSSE. His saddle bags were covered with trash bags held on by bungie straps.

The bike may have looked well used but the driver is second to none! Jeff sure can ride! He'd smoke my butt on any road anywhere. I learned a ton just following him through that XSSE rain storm and it sure was nice riding along with an experienced driver!!!!

It's gonna look worse before it looks better.....

I found out why all the pieces looked like a different color. The side covers were a base coat of ORANGE. That under-color had a huge effect on the topcoat. The tank has (had) like a million coats of failed clear. Impossible to remove the striping without significant sanding as they cleared over the pinstripe. I was hopeful the tank & etc. could just get a fast wet-sand and a blast of color.... Not a chance. Too many big dings and gashes and too much clear to rough up. ....Gonna need high-build primer.

Right side cover cracked badly (hence the abundance of Duct Tape), left cover missing a chunk. Hopefully get that fixed with a little resin & glass.


Gonna take a few minutes break for some Sweet Tea!

KURT

[XJOK2PLAY]

Kurt,

Thanks for helping Jeff out! You a good man, Charlie Brown!
(You do good work, too!)

Can't believe how bad the wiring was... wow!


And... I totally agree with ya about Jeff's riding skills!
That boy can ride twisties! I've seen him do it!

(Marty can, too! He had his wife on the back riding Deal's Gap with me hot on his heels on my Connie! Unbelievable how fast we went through those turns!
Plus, she acted like it was no big deal... kinda bored! LOL!)

I'm really looking forward to seeing everybody at this one. Should be a blast!
Bob

[JeffH]

Remember, PO had done a number on this POS. Neglect and parked under damp tarp sunk in the mud.


Little gem I got in Kentucky in 2012. A rusted up mechanical nightmare


Been carrying around a TC fusebox since 2012 but never bothered to put it in. Why work on it when it was running so good. Rallies to ride to Canada to Key West


The rabbit wire over a sealed beam Greg mentioned. Rode it to 2012 SE rally like this.

rode in GA, SC, NC & TN like this for year and never got a ticket before getting thePacifico on

Pressed my luck riding 14,000 miles with those nasty wires. Miracle had no problems at all. But time to get it fixed. Bike still looked bad too. Paint was nasty and had duck tape holding side covers on. Bike a real runner but looked bad. Kurt is going to make it pretty. Awesome

Jeff

[kboehringer]

Hole in Dash?

XS Friends,
Not much to report today unless sanding and sanding and more sanding is exciting to anyone

I did however fabricate a cover plate for the huge 1970's radio that had been improperly installed in the fairing.

Seems a PO installed the radio with supports typical for an old car but woefully inadequate for a motorcycle and it's plastic fairing...DUH!
We'll be adding a weather radio and will need to perforate this piece to install it. An additional plate was fabricated to be installed behind to "Sandwich" the damaged plastic and provide significant support for the radio as should have been done in the first place...... The dreaded PO strikes again!

Not sure if we should use Rivets or SS Hardware? Thoughts? The SS hardware would make access easier should we need to remove the radio. I would use Socket head cap screws for that.....BUT some properly sized rivets in all four corners might look cleaner? THOUGHTS???

She's coming along but the sanding is a PITA...

KURT

[JeffH]

Yep, "this hole" in the dash. PO had 4+ lb radio supported on Pacifico without any reinforcement. Of course that cracked the dash.


Riding through the Big Walker Mountain tunnel heading back home from XS Rally in Canada.
I had stuck a piece of self-stick linoleum over the gaping holes so I didn't have to look at the holes, but of course it fell off.

Jeff

[TopCatGr58]

XS Friends,

Not sure if we should use Rivets or SS Hardware? Thoughts? The SS hardware would make access easier should we need to remove the radio. I would use Socket head cap screws for that.....BUT some properly sized rivets in all four corners might look cleaner? THOUGHTS???

She's coming along but the sanding is a PITA...

KURT

Hey Kurt,

Great work you're doing, Kudos for your efforts. I vote for the SS hex head bolts, but get the crown/rounded ones, similar to what I found for my gauge cluster.

T.C.

[MPittma100]

Tank pinstripes

The tank pinstripes are available in a kit if you are planning to replace them. Bike is looking good.

[kboehringer]

Jeff gets some paint....

Took a couple hours off and shot four coats of High-Build on the tank, block sanded and prepared for paint. The Georgia sun baked the primer dry within minutes......

Well, I just couldn't wait....

I had to hit 'em with their first coat of color.....

I'm not certain how well the guy at PPG did on the color match. Seems close and this is only the first coat over a light gray primer. I hope we get a little more depth with the next coat.....

Still a lot more paint to apply for the bags and POSSIBLY the fairing. This used 5oz. of color and I only have a pint....

KURT

[BA80]

Some 2 or 3 part clear will deepen it and make it Jeff proof.

Put the stripes on first though.

I'm guessing you found a side cover and you're not painting the bags?

[kboehringer]

Some 2 or 3 part clear will deepen it
I'm guessing you found a side cover and you're not painting the bags?

Greg,
Due to time constraints this is a single-stage PPG paint job. HOWEVER, the PPG Shopline Single-Stage paints are FULLY compatible with their Base & Clear version. So, at a later date clear can be applied over the cured single-stage if desired or another layer of PPG Base & Clear can be applied over the single stage without any need to strip or prime.

I didn't find the unbroken side cover I would have liked but instead repaired these with resin & glass.

The saddle bags (currently Mayberry Blue) will be painted this weekend.

The Pacifico Fairing's paint is pretty decent and should respond well to a bit of wet sanding and buffing. It does not have the spider web cracking, dull finish, or major chipping damages the other parts HAD. If there isn't enough time buffing is all it may get. Unless the color from PPG is far off in which case I will make the time to get it done as well.

KURT

[MaximPhil]

Nice work Kurt. Nothing like a rally dead line to make things happen
Thanks for helping JeffH have a reliable good looking XS for Colorado.

Phil

[kboehringer]

Radio in...not complete....But it's in.....

Yep, "this hole" in the dash. PO had 4+ lb radio supported on Pacifico without any reinforcement. Of course that cracked the dash.
SNIP.....
Jeff

Well Jeff won't have to look at that hole in the dash anymore.....Had to make a couple very custom mounting plates. The cracked dash is thoroughly SANDWICHED between the plates. I took TC's advice and went with the SS M6 x 1.0 button heads with nylon insert locking nuts on the reverse. It's VERY firm!

It's powered up and seems to have all the features working.... But, I still have to get the speakers mounted....Might get it all done tonight!


Now on to the speakers so Jeff can jam some Led Zeppelin!

Kurt

[natemoen]

If you are looking to do with some of those saddlebags, I am in need of one of the cover with the rubber......