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Hello my name is Steve and I'm new to the forum. I was recently allowed participation so i could share and learn. Thank you Mr. Gresham.
This intro may be lengthy but I want to get the details out there. I acquired my '81 XS1100 Venturer in July 2015. I got it from Joel, a good friend of my brother, a guy I've also know for many years (small town life.) Joel acquired it after his dad, Doug, passed away. Doug was a good friend of mine. Doug had bought the bike in '95 according to the title history. It was Doug's pride and joy. According to Joel, some time between 2000 and 2005, Doug had torn the engine down to do a top end rebuild. During this time Doug's wife decided to serve him divorce papers so the bike got put on the back burner. The bike became a contentious subject during the divorce so Doug never finished the rebuild. Doug knew if she took it she would have it destroyed out of spite. As life does, his took a turn and Doug's health began to slip. Sciatica. Doug could no longer ride much less get down to work on the bike. In 2012 Doug became ill with what the local quack shack called the flu. A week later Doug was in the hospital with septicemia. Doug passed. His son-in-law wanted the bike but had no way to get it back to kentucky so Joel ended up with it. Joel offered it to my brother, but being a truck driver and father of three, he had no time for it. It was offered to me and I went to take a look. Knowing that Doug had owned a motorcycle repair shop and was a rather a meticulous individual, I figured things would be in good order. All the big parts were there. There were many boxes and from what i could see it was complete. I talked it over with my wife and did some research and figured since it was free it was something I could take on. I got the bike home and then the paper chase began. Joel's sister was R.P. on the estate. She lives in Kentucky. took about 9 months but i finally get all the paperwork i need. Its been a year and about $300 for missing parts and new rings but it finally fired last week. I am a truck driver so progress is slow. I'm home on the weekends. I hold an Associates degree in auto and diesel mechanics but the multi carbs are something I'm not familiar with. the bike came with a service manual and a set of mercury sticks. I still have some issues to work thru and will address those in separate threads. I'm trying to get it running this summer so i can see what else needs addressing and get a feel for it before a full strip and restomod. I will post pics when i figure it out.
This intro may be lengthy but I want to get the details out there. I acquired my '81 XS1100 Venturer in July 2015. I got it from Joel, a good friend of my brother, a guy I've also know for many years (small town life.) Joel acquired it after his dad, Doug, passed away. Doug was a good friend of mine. Doug had bought the bike in '95 according to the title history. It was Doug's pride and joy. According to Joel, some time between 2000 and 2005, Doug had torn the engine down to do a top end rebuild. During this time Doug's wife decided to serve him divorce papers so the bike got put on the back burner. The bike became a contentious subject during the divorce so Doug never finished the rebuild. Doug knew if she took it she would have it destroyed out of spite. As life does, his took a turn and Doug's health began to slip. Sciatica. Doug could no longer ride much less get down to work on the bike. In 2012 Doug became ill with what the local quack shack called the flu. A week later Doug was in the hospital with septicemia. Doug passed. His son-in-law wanted the bike but had no way to get it back to kentucky so Joel ended up with it. Joel offered it to my brother, but being a truck driver and father of three, he had no time for it. It was offered to me and I went to take a look. Knowing that Doug had owned a motorcycle repair shop and was a rather a meticulous individual, I figured things would be in good order. All the big parts were there. There were many boxes and from what i could see it was complete. I talked it over with my wife and did some research and figured since it was free it was something I could take on. I got the bike home and then the paper chase began. Joel's sister was R.P. on the estate. She lives in Kentucky. took about 9 months but i finally get all the paperwork i need. Its been a year and about $300 for missing parts and new rings but it finally fired last week. I am a truck driver so progress is slow. I'm home on the weekends. I hold an Associates degree in auto and diesel mechanics but the multi carbs are something I'm not familiar with. the bike came with a service manual and a set of mercury sticks. I still have some issues to work thru and will address those in separate threads. I'm trying to get it running this summer so i can see what else needs addressing and get a feel for it before a full strip and restomod. I will post pics when i figure it out.
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