Should I buy it? (81 xs11)

[chevy45412001]

p.s.

As a side note,noby you should follow your signiture (bout being nice). I dont know this guy but i'm thinking hes preety young(stories of rides with mom dad getting mad etc.) I give him mad props for at least trying to get it for less than 5 bones,$hit any one of us would probly do the same thing,including you. If bikes are that hard to come buy were your at MAYBE ME AND YOU SHOULD GET RICH,thats about the fifth XS i've heard of for that amount round here.I'm not gettin on you though,so i hope you don't take it that way , I just like to ruffle feathers once in awhile

[CRXSi90]

I'm 17, 18 in about a month. I'm really shoved into the N.W. corner of wisconsin, no joke. About 25 miles from Superior.

So one thing I noticed on the way home...the rear brake system needs to be lubricated, or something. It sticks down when you press it. No biggie. I'm not certain if I want to clean the carbs and mess w/ that yet...it was running pretty well by the time I got home, and I'm guessing its been a while since it has been run. Maybe I'll have a look at the spark plugs...he said there was some problem w/ them. We'll see. I can't wait to air up the front shocks too...I don't know what they're at, but I bet it has been neglected.

I can't wait to start cleaning this thing up! I think I'll wait a while before I title and insure it. I wanna get it running good and such. I think I might need to replace the front brakeline too...it looked like someone used one of those worm screw clamps to keep it secured. I'll have to take a look.

Overall, I'm very happy! I'll have to see how much it'd cost to get it painted...I have more important (mechanical) things to worry about first.

[fredintoon]

& now be careful

Hi Kevin,
congratulations on your purchase and just you be careful out there! At 18 you cannot have all that much big bike highway riding experience. I don't care if you've been riding dirt bikes since you were six years old, the XS11 is a heavy and powerful bike that runs out of brakes and steering mebbe 20mph before it runs out of power.
Ride safe!
Fred Hill, S'toon.

[sidecarKev]

Hey Kevin,
I'm probably about an hour or less south of you in Rice Lake. If you ever need any hands on help give me a shout. I will actually be up that way probably in the next week or two picking up a chopper frame and a cb450 near Superior.

[JohnSg]

Now that's what I call a friendly offer! By the way, real nice bike and sidecar.

[chevy45412001]

get it tagged

go ahead and get it tagged AND INSURED. While your fixin it up you'll be out and about.Tages in wisconsin go two years at a pop.Even though i live in illinois mines taged in wis. 06 next update gotta love it...lol,and like fred said theese bikes ROCK ! Just remember there a little stale below 3,000 rpms,but wake up fast above that.Have fun.

[sidecarKev]

Bikes over 20 years old in WI can be tagged as collector. $25 for as long as you own the bike. $25 to transfer to the next. Thats how I have mine tagged. The only bad thing is that to start the program you have to pay $40 or something like that, after that as many tags as you want for $25 each.

[chevy45412001]

collector

ya but aren't those tags only good for three months of the year? like on cars?my tag is only 26 for two years or 13 per year.

[CRXSi90]

Hey, side car Kev, I hope we can meet up sometime. When my mom's Harley needs work, we usually bring it to Rice Lake.

I think you changed my mind...I can't imagine having a running bike and not taking it for a spin while I'm getting it perfected. I think I will get it licensed and insured. I have a plate that is current, actually, so hopefully it won't cost too much to transfer the title. The guy didn't write in the price...I did pay $500, and I'd like to be honest, but since I'll have to pay 5.5% tax on it, I'm tempted to write less. That turns out to be $27.50. Not too bad, I don't mind doing my part, but... Maybe if they use it to hire some new employees at the DMV...they are always sooo slow!

fredintoon, you're right, I don't have much "big bike highway riding experience." I've been a passenger w/ my mom for a while, and rode some @ the end of last year, and some more this year, but really not a lot. Hers is a Sportster 883, which actually seems about as heavy as this XS11. Strange.

Brake Line...

Looks like I need a new brake line for the front, the upper part at least. Is there supposed to be a metal section in there before it gets to the splitter that goes to seperate calipers? Both ends look original, but the middle is metal. It is held w/ those worm gear type clamps. Anyway, I'd feel better if it were more secure. Any suggestions on what kind of brake line to get? Go direct to yamaha, or aftermarket? I'm not looking for a big performer, not racing here or anything, just something that works.

Rear Brake...

I noticed that if I pushed down, it wouldn't come back up really. Is there a spring that pushes it back up. It is a hydraulic system, not direct linkage drum like I'm used to. I'm sure a lot of this stuff needs oiling, so I guess I better get to work. I want to flush all the brake fluid anyway, probably hasn't been done in a while. Any preliminary ideas on how to fix this?

Carb Boots/Intake Manifold...

Yep, mine has cracks. I still have to verify that they are causing a problem (spray starting fluid, right, and check for change in idle). So I read they will cost about 100 to replace all of them...any aftermarket source for less? What are the lines that go into the carb boots? It looks like they're all messed up. Splitters w/ one end hanging loose, one end plugged w/ a bolt, lol! It really needs some help. Is there any place I can download a manual for the motorcycle?

Handle Bars...

I think I mentioned this before, but is there any particular kind of bar which is good? I'm thinking of just going to JC Whitney and getting some. I find it awful hard to release the clutch when I'm @ full lock left.

Anyway, I can't wait to get cleaning it up, touch up some paint, clean up the chrome, polish the paint, etc...

This is an awesome site...Is it Ken who runs it? If so, thank you very much...if someone else, thank you! I'm sure there are more than 1 behind the scenes, so thank you to them too. Further, thank you to all the members. If I missed anybody, thank you too...not the stupid hackers that brought it down, though.

Kevin

[CRXSi90]

Synthetic Automotive Motoroil (Mobil 1, Amsoil)

Is synthetic motoroil OK for the engine oil? It is shared w/ the clutch, so are there problems there?

I hate to ask, but can someone lay out what I need to change all the fluids in the bike? Seems like there are so many different cases, the engine oil, mid case, rear differential, frontal oil, upper rear oil, gas tank oil, upper valve oil, cylinder sprayer oil, accessory oil, just-in-case oil, drinking oil, blinker oil, brake oil, clutch oil. tire oil, wax-oil, etc. You see my confusion? LOL

Kevin

[mitch]

Brake pedal

Mine was sticking it was just rusted on the shaft take it off clean and lube it. No doubt thats all it needs ....................MITCH

[CRXSi90]

Thats what I needed to hear, thanks for sharing your experience!

Just thought of this...I suppose I could start a new thread sometime. LOL, nah....it all relates

[Czekus21]

As far as yer engine oil, I followed the links associated with this forum about oil analisis between car and bike oils, synthetic vs conventional.. I used to use bike specific oil, I now use Castrol GTX 20-50. Seems to work fine and it's alot cheaper. You do NOT want to use an oil that contains "MOLY" this will give you major clutch slipage. You can pick up a manual for your bike at most bike shops. If yours does not have them, you can pick up a clymers manual on Ebay for $20.00. All of those lines by the carbs are probably fuel lines that come off of the octopus. It sounds like the previous owner wanted to do away with that ( which is possible ) but should be done correctly. When you do get er put together, she's going to be a power house so PLEASE, Keep the testosterone in check. I'm 38 and have been on bikes all my life. Big, small, in between dirt atc, atv, The 1100 has got balls and even with EXperience, scares me every now and agian. If you get over confident, you'll get hurt. ( don't want that ) Also, you should know, It's not a matter of if you go down, it's a matter of when you go down, hopefully you won't be cruzin at mauch speed.

[Czekus21]

I forgot to mention to sidecarKev, NICE BIKE It'd be nice to have somthing like that around myplace. My dog is jealous cauz he can't ride. I rigged up a seat for hime but when we started to go, he freaked out and dove off. Anyway, nice unit, ( I say that everytime I see your bike )

[sidecarKev]

ya but aren't those tags only good for three months of the year? like on cars?my tag is only 26 for two years or 13 per year.

Nope. The tags are good for every month except January. Also only rode for pleasure use. Isn't that what motorcycling is?

Looks like I need a new brake line for the front, the upper part at least.

Well you could go with new brake lines. But if it were me I would see if someone here or ebay has a used one to get you going. I like to get the bike going down the road before I decide to stick a bunch of money and time into it. Whatever you do I would get rid of the hose clamp metal thing.

I noticed that if I pushed down, it wouldn't come back up really. Is there a spring that pushes it back up.

Yep a spring is supposed to push it back up. Work it with a little penetrating fluid, see it that helps. Like all old bikes you will sooner or later have to tear into that master cylinder, both for the front and rear. I think 99.9% of these bikes need there spooge holes cleaned out to work right. Spooge Hole Fix

Carb Boots/Intake Manifold...

I guess if the bike is running okay there is no need to pull the carbs, YET. More than likely though your intake boots are only cracked on the outside. They look bad but it tales some really deep crackes to go all the way through. Mine had some surface cracks but I just patched em up.

Is there any place I can download a manual for the motorcycle?

Nope, no free manual. There is a CD you can buy with loads of stuff on it. Can't find the info right now since the hackers screwed with the site.

Handlebars are up to you, just remember that different length cables and maybe wires might be needed.

I can send you a few manual pages to get you by if you want about the oil change. Its something you probably want to do soon.

Where you at anyways?