No ride? Get an XJ1100!

[3Phase]

When I saw the same jackrabbit and the same fence post for the 10,000th time I started to feel like I was in a Hanna-Barbera cartoon with those repeating backgrounds.

The wind is weird. It was constant and cold out of Canada on my right and after droning a few hundred miles I needed cold weather gear on that side but on the left I probably could have worn shorts, sneakers and a tank top.

[HalfCentury]

There are two bolts on the tray holding it to a couple of rubber isolation mounts on the frame.

Remove the fuse panel, then remove the two bolts on the bottom of the battery box that hold it to the rubber isolation mounts and it'll come out the left-hand side.

That did it. Thanks. The battery box is out and the "lock" and housing are out. That makes wrenching the rear master cylinder much more agreeable. I will roll the bike out and clean the now exposed grungy parts that were hidden by the battery box.

The brake lines are now connected and the master cylinder is mounted. Even with the new found room to wrench, the portioning valve does not clear the battery box platform by much and the cylinder is still a pain to shove into its designated space.

[3Phase]

That did it. Thanks. The battery box is out and the "lock" and housing are out. That makes wrenching the rear master cylinder much more agreeable. I will roll the bike out and clean the now exposed grungy parts that were hidden by the battery box.

The brake lines are now connected and the master cylinder is mounted. Even with the new found room to wrench, the portioning valve does not clear the battery box platform by much and the cylinder is still a pain to shove into its designated space.

No, there's not much room but you can at least see and get a wrench into the place where there's not much room.

I'm going to flood bleed the rear master and proportioning valve so I don't have to dink around with it. The parts have to be spotlessly clean to do this and at this exact moment they are so all it will cost me is a little brake fluid. Brake fluid is cheap, my time is not.



Prime the front and rear linked brake line and hoses with clean brake fluid, then plug the banjo fittings for the proportioning valve and just let them sit to allow the air bubbles to come out of the hard line and the hoses.

Take out the big bolt and the internal parts for the proportioning valve.

Submerge the lower half of the entire rear master cylinder assembly along with the separated, individual, proportioning valve parts in clean brake fluid that's been kept covered and allowed to sit long enough for the air bubbles to come out of it after pouring it out of the bottle.

Fill the master cylinder reservoir with brake fluid and make sure the proportioning valve cylinder is filled too.

Slowly work the master cylinder piston until it picks up prime. Don't churn the brake fluid but keep working the piston and tap the assembly with a rawhide mallet or small brass hammer until all of the air is out of the assembly and that short, pre-formed, brake hard line between the master cylinder and the proportioning valve.


Cover the assembly and let it rest and go do something else to let it 'breathe' and allow the air bubbles to come out of the fluid.

Uncover the assembly, tap on it and slowly work the master cylinder piston. All of the air should be out of the master cylinder, now do the proportioning valve.


Leave the proportioning valve and its parts submerged in the brake fluid and reassemble it, then snug the bolt. Make 100% sure there is no air trapped inside the bolt head behind its internal rubber cup and washer. Make sure there is no air clinging to the cylinder walls, valve piston, the lower cup or the spring.


Put the diaphragm and cap on the master cylinder reservoir and tighten the nuts.

Put two plastic brake line plugs in the proportioning valve outlets, then take the assembly out of the brake fluid and gently wash off all of the brake fluid.


Bolt the assembly to the frame.

Connect the primed front and rear brake hoses to the proportioning valve.

Connect the brake hoses to the brake calipers, then bleed the brakes.

Clean up and go for a test ride.

[3Phase]

I don't believe it but I shouldn't be surprised, there was mud and chunks-o-grit in the gas tank. It's clean now but WTH! I wouldn't have made it to our infamous rest stop in Beaver, UT.

Now it's off to the dealer for fork oil, they're closed on Mondays.

[3Phase]

After I wasted most of the day with the dentist and my cardiologist, I came home and found the brake parts from XJ4ever in Atlanta:-



Yay! Now I can put the XJ back together!

[motoman]

I don't believe it but I shouldn't be surprised, there was mud and chunks-o-grit in the gas tank. It's clean now but WTH! I wouldn't have made it to our infamous rest stop in Beaver, UT.

Now it's off to the dealer for fork oil, they're closed on Mondays.

You.......then Roo a couple summers later(this summer headed to Canon city rally) having no oil pressure on his Kaw. Voyager(IIRC)..........Y'all just need to find a way to sneak quietly past Beaver, Utah in the futurer.

[3Phase]

I might have to sneak up through Durango or go around and up the East side of the Rocks to get away from that quaint little Utah town.

I'm not getting out of here tomorrow unless I skip getting the frame and center stand welded. Stupidity happens and here lately it's been happening in spades so I'm just now getting to work on the bike today. The good news is that it's mostly just straight reassembly and attention to detail, the bad news is that there isn't any bad news and that's freaking me out.

[Bonz]

Stay South, there's a cool front and the high country's going to be a lot colder than you probably want to ride in if given a choice. Lots of pretty scenery going through the southern part of the state this time year too.

[3Phase]

Stay South, there's a cool front and the high country's going to be a lot colder than you probably want to ride in if given a choice. Lots of pretty scenery going through the southern part of the state this time year too.

It'll be gone by the time I get up there.

Here's a link to the NOAA Geostationary Satellite Server with animated maps. There are a plethora of regions, images, and composite views available so I have it bookmarked and it works with my smartphone too:-


Continental U.S. (CONUS) Infrared


"You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows!"

[3Phase]

Ouch....

My fifth day of dental work this week is done, finally, and my whole entire skull hurts. Several Root canals; an extraction and bone grafts; a few temporary crowns; a bunch of fillings; all done now so I can go back East and I don't have to worry about anything until October when I'll get the permanent crowns. I should get my set of fake teeth back from the shop with some new teeth in them too.

Meanwhile, back at the bike: the rubber u-joint cover has been replaced and the '850 Final Drive and my modified u-joint are installed -- ready to roll!






No, I couldn't really see this mess until I pulled the rear wheel and swing arm for the '850 mod'. I had washed it down with water and some engine cleaner but it looked like there was asphalt on the swing arm so I decided to finish cleaning it when I did the FD mod'. Surprise! It was burned and bubbled paint on corroded steel and the acid damage hit both bearings too.

I'm not in the mood to play around with it, I swapped in a spare swing arm with decent paint and good, cleaned and hand-packed, bearings. I just love old-school batteries, don't you?

Now I can put the rear master and the brake caliper back on. Woohoo!

In a bizarre bounce and bank shot that Hollywood and Industrial Light and Magic combined couldn't reproduce, I lost a lock washer down the cam chain tunnel when I changed the valve shims. The washer looked like it went through the rag I had stuffed in there and I couldn't find it with the bore scope so I had to pull the oil pan. The oil pan's clean and there was nothing unusual in it except a lock washer that some idiot dropped in it so that's all squared away now.

The alternator brushes and the rotor slip rings are cleaned. The brushes are almost brand new and both of the end plugs in the main oil gallery have new o-rings. I still have to finish up a few final connections for the replacement wiring harness, then change a couple of connectors so I can hook up Geezer's rectifier that I just bought for my '80G.

The front and rear shock oil has to be changed; check and grease the steering and wheel bearings; mount the fairing and see if the soft bags will fit under the seat; get the center stand fixed!

It's a busy day.

[3Phase]

Whew! The swing arm, bearings,final drive, brakes, and a bunch of little niggly things have fought me every inch of the way today. The brakes are on and connected with their new seals, lines, and pads so all that's left is bleeding the system. Both masters are full of fluid already bled and I have a vacuum pump so what could possibly go wrong?

I had to do the insurance today, then go to the DMV to make sure I can ride the bike when it's finished.

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."
- Douglas Adams

[JeffH]

> G O, F I G H T, W I N ...............

I enjoy brake fluid and xs brakes (even with a mighty vac) about as much as i enjoy getting gum on the bottom of my shoe

> THEN RIDE, RIDE, RIDE

Hope you can get on the road by Sunday. Hope the button up & test ride goes smooth.
btw: glad to see you got a swing arm. Bike isn't going more than about a foot without that.

Jeff

[3Phase]

Thanks, Jeff, I needed that!

I made it easy on myself and put Teflon tape on the threads of the bleeder screws to seal them, then I left them open. I stuck a clear hose on the barb of one screw and submerged the other end in brake fluid, then used the vacuum pump to drawl brake fluid into the system without pulling in any air.

After it quit showing bubbles in the clear hose to the vacuum pump I switched the lines around and drew brake fluid in the other direction until it stopped bubbling.

I closed the rear bleeder screw and ran the clear tube on the front -- linked -- caliper back to the rear master cylinder reservoir and slowly re-bled the front brake. I closed the front bleeder, switched the clear line to the rear caliper and master cylinder reservoir and slowly re-bled the rear brake.

The single front brake was a piece of cake and I even managed to recycle the brake fluid back into the front reservoir without bumping the handlebars and splooshing brake fluid all over the towel I had draped over the frame and the engine. When I was finished there were no more visible air bubbles in the fluid or trapped in pockets in the high spots of the system so I removed the Teflon tape from the bleeder screws before cinching them closed.

Viola! The carefully orchestrated linked brake plays perfectly and the performance by the front solo is solid as a rock!

I'll bleed the system again after it's settled for a while but now I can finally put the battery box back in over that bedeviled master cylinder and the rotten swing arm, then strap down the harness and all of those connectors on the right-hand side along with the fuse block so I can make sure the electrical system works.

[HalfCentury]

You can accomplish the same result with a large syringe pushing brake fluid into the bleeder nipple and wait for the fluid to start arriving in the master cylinder. This method can be accomplished with the master cylinder bolted in place on the bike.

[madmax-im]

Thanks, Jeff, I needed that!

I made it easy on myself and put Teflon tape on the threads of the bleeder screws to seal them, then I left them open. I stuck a clear hose on the barb of one screw and submerged the other end in brake fluid, then used the vacuum pump to drawl brake fluid into the system without pulling in any air.

After it quit showing bubbles in the clear hose to the vacuum pump I switched the lines around and drew brake fluid in the other direction until it stopped bubbling.

I closed the rear bleeder screw and ran the clear tube on the front -- linked -- caliper back to the rear master cylinder reservoir and slowly re-bled the front brake. I closed the front bleeder, switched the clear line to the rear caliper and master cylinder reservoir and slowly re-bled the rear brake.

The single front brake was a piece of cake and I even managed to recycle the brake fluid back into the front reservoir without bumping the handlebars and splooshing brake fluid all over the towel I had draped over the frame and the engine. When I was finished there were no more visible air bubbles in the fluid or trapped in pockets in the high spots of the system so I removed the Teflon tape from the bleeder screws before cinching them closed.

Viola! The carefully orchestrated linked brake plays perfectly and the performance by the front solo is solid as a rock!

I'll bleed the system again after it's settled for a while but now I can finally put the battery box back in over that bedeviled master cylinder and the rotten swing arm, then strap down the harness and all of those connectors on the right-hand side along with the fuse block so I can make sure the electrical system works.

wait..i'm confused...I thought you swapped out the POS swingarm??? Or are you just mad at it and call it rotten cause its been a PITA???Inquiring minds want to know...