XJ1100 teardown: "We-e-e're off to see the welder, the wonderful welder of ours!"

[XJOK2PLAY]

Ha! Red carpet indeed! I like the carpet but I hurt now. I know it'll be worth it but, man! Ow!
(hypnosis==ON)Bob! You miss your XJ! You want another XJ! Leave your comfy Connie at home and get another XJ!(hypnosis==OFF)

Hahaha! "A" for effort, Scott! But, alas... I only have room on my apartment's porch for 1 bike.

If I had a garage, I'd probably still have mine, as well as the '79 Time Machine!
But... I do love my C14, too.

Seriously, though... I had a lot of fun, got a lot of miles, met and made a lot of friends, and have lots of great memories because of that XJ. Always be grateful for that bike. It kept me sane through the insanity I experienced going through my divorce after 27 years of marriage. Cody said it best... "Bob, you just need to come down here, get on this 11, we'll take a day ride to Guthrie and back, and let the road give your mind a rest." He was right, and by the time we got back, I was once again hooked and had to have one. He then took me to his shop, and there it was. I bought it from Miles Baker, then and there. That bike was awesome therapy.

I hope your XJ brings you the same, Scott.

The 11's will always be at the top of my all-time favorite bikes list.

Plus... no other bike sounds like an 11. I can identify an approaching 11's exhaust note from almost a mile away! In fact, I usually say, "Hark! I hear the sound of an 11!" as one gets near.

Here's hoping it won't be too long before I get to hear the familiar 11 roar from yours!

Bob

[3Phase]

Thanks, Bob. I got more done today but it's not easy.

The guy that's been renting a room from us got a house. When he moved out, he and his helper pushed everything in the garage to the side without saying anything. Some parts are missing and some are broken from being stompled on. Most of the stuff is still here but it's all mixed up, not even close to being organized any more so it's like assembling a giant floor puzzle that's supposed to be a motorcycle.

[XJOK2PLAY]

Oh, man! That stinks!
Sorry to hear they did that to ya.

Some people...

...and I thought that kinda thing only happened to me...

[skids]

Thanks, Bob. I got more done today but it's not easy.

The guy that's been renting a room from us got a house. When he moved out, he and his helper pushed everything in the garage to the side without saying anything. Some parts are missing and some are broken from being stompled on. Most of the stuff is still here but it's all mixed up, not even close to being organized any more so it's like assembling a giant floor puzzle that's supposed to be a motorcycle.

If you need anything, let me know.

[3Phase]

Nope, not by a long shot: "Felons, Firearms, and General Stupidity," it wasn't just a throwaway tagline.

The left side of the bike looks good this morning.
I forgot to slip the u-joint on the end of the driveshaft before I bolted on and sealed the Middle Drive to the case so I had to pull the swingarm assembly, then roll it back to get that bad boy in there and roll it forward to hook it up.

I am really glad to have a center stand now, it makes things so much easier!



So far today I've knocked out the kicker blanking plug and put a new kicker seal in the clutch side cover; changed the throwout lever seal and o-ring, then scraped off the old gasket.
The clutch pack is next.

Baby's getting new Barnett springs and the new frictions have been soaking in 30wt oil for a week now so it's all ready to go.

Edit: Thanks, skids! I don't know what or if I need anything yet.
If it was an XS I'd know but this is my first not-crashed XJ.

[skids]

(snip)I am really glad to have a center stand now, it makes things so much easier!

It is good to keep one around even if you can't permanently install it. I have a 78 E with an exhaust system from an 81H and I couldn't fully retract it. So, I just install it when I need the centerstand. More junk in the garage but useful.

[3Phase]

On my '80G I use the center stand exclusively unless the grade's wrong where I'm trying to park.
It sits too 'high' on the side stand and the wind likes to catch the fairing and take it up and over to the right. It hit Garth's bike and knocked it over the last time I used it, that was it for the side stand.

I haven't had trouble yet with the XJ, it seems to have a little more 'lean' to it but getting the center stand brackets fixed was totally worth it.
I can set the fuel levels and synch the carbs without a jack and blocks of wood.

[3Phase]

It lives!

I'm tired but happy. I fired it up about 8:30 PM and it hit and caught first time.

Hooyah! (whistles and dusts knuckles)


Youtube | 1982 Yamaha XJ1100J First Fire

[motoman]

Nice!.....XJ sounds like a LD ride may be in its near future.

[DiverRay]

Jeeze, you got it to fire, and you have over a month before the big ride? No last minute "I need to rebuild the engine again?!" Sounds good for a first fire. Now is the next two weeks getting all the "little" stuff right.

[3Phase]

Heh, is it June already? Yeah, it's about ready for a long ride -- finally! The fiddly, banjo-pickin' fine tuning should be fun. I think I'll take it out tomorrow and seat the rings first, then mess with the fuel levels and sync but I'm clappy as a ham right now.

I filled it with oil and cranked the engine a few times with the spark plugs out to build oil pressure and get the guts lubed, then let it sit for a few and topped off the oil.

I put fuel in the tank and filled the carbs on Prime, then set her to Run and looked for fuel and oil leaks. It was clean so I grabbed my phone and fired it up and viola! Music!

[3Phase]

The initial seating of the rings was a hoot and a half, this engine's strong and fast!

I haven't checked the fuel levels and done a sync yet but it starts immediately, it idles and runs smoothly, it doesn't miss a lick and it doesn't backfire or mutter under its breath on overrun/decel.

I somehow managed to put one of the long oil pan bolts in a short hole.
The bolt tightened up and torqued fine but didn't quite touch the oil pan so it was dripping some oil after the two mile run for the initial set
on the rings.
Naturally, it was one of the inaccessible bolts on the left next to the Neutral light and covered by the exhaust collector.

I got a nice sizzle mark on my arm from pulling the exhaust and putting in the correct bolt.
The rubber stop for the side stand broke and fell off while I was putting the exhaust back together so that had to be fixed too before I could go back out for a short shakedown ride.











It hasn't leaked a drop of oil since I changed the bolt, now I wait for the engine to cool down so I can check a few minor things:

The Oil level warning indicator comes on, then goes off by itself while I'm riding.
I don't know what's up with that but it's not a shorted or pinched wire.
Does it sense high oil levels like from a slight overfill or does it just do low levels?

The Neutral light comes on in Neutral but also in 1st, 3rd, and 5th gear.
It goes out in 4th and 2nd.
Again, it's not a shorted or pinched wire.

I did the washer swap for the 2nd gear fix with no other milling, modding, or an extra washer.
I know it's bordering on heresy but with all the accumulated miles folks have put on their transmissions I'm convinced it's not necessary and 2nd gear can just go right ahead ride against its retaining clip without a washer.

The problem now isn't a skipping 2nd gear, the transmission doesn't want to downshift unless I quickly whack the shift lever with my foot.
I need to recheck the 2nd gear alignment marks but the bike has to get leaned over to the right so the cover can come off without draining the oil.
Where's a right-hand side stand when you need one?

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Scott,

I'm pretty sure the oil level sensor is only a LOW level sensor, so not sure why it would be going off with higher levels. Perhaps the sump is getting a little too low under higher rpm runs where it's getting pumped up into the upper cylinders??

The return spring for the gear shift lever is probably sprung, but it could be the the shift lever not in "perfect" alignment with the drum?? Instead of whacking it down, try just gently pulling up on it a little, not enough to shift back UP a gear, just enough the reset the ratchet of the pawl, and it you are then able to complete the next down shift, then that will confirm the weak spring NOT returning the lever back up far enough to reset the pawl/ratchet.

I meant to comment earlier about your oil pressure sensor/light quandry....I can't recall what ALL of the dash warning lights are for.....you have a nice big RED warning light right in the middle of the turn signals.?

T.C.

[3Phase]

Hey Scott,

I'm pretty sure the oil level sensor is only a LOW level sensor, so not sure why it would be going off with higher levels. Perhaps the sump is getting a little too low under higher rpm runs where it's getting pumped up into the upper cylinders??

It does it uphill or downhill; riding slowly, moderately, enthusiastically, stopped at a light or sitting in the garage on the center stand, it doesn't matter.
The engine's almost cool enough to work on so I can go dive into it. I may need to find the sensor off my wrecked XJ but I don't remember where I put it.

The return spring for the gear shift lever is probably sprung, but it could be the the shift lever not in "perfect" alignment with the drum?? Instead of whacking it down, try just gently pulling up on it a little, not enough to shift back UP a gear, just enough the reset the ratchet of the pawl, and it you are then able to complete the next down shift, then that will confirm the weak spring NOT returning the lever back up far enough to reset the pawl/ratchet.

That's another thing to check when I get the side cover off but it's a N.O.S. return spring. The weird part is it worked fine for a few miles, then it started to act up.

Finessing the shifter doesn't work.

I meant to comment earlier about your oil pressure sensor/light quandry....I can't recall what ALL of the dash warning lights are for.....you have a nice big RED warning light right in the middle of the turn signals.?

T.C.

Yes, it's a red light that says, "Warning."

The LCD dash will show which circuit caused the warning.

Now that the bike runs again I can see that adding the XS11's pressure sensor shouldn't cause a problem.

The XJ's diagnostic dash lights up and turns on all the LCDs when you turn on the ignition switch but it doesn't seem to run and complete its diagnostic routine until after the engine starts.

No problem!

I think the XJ's oil level switch is Open when there's oil in the pan.

The XS11's pressure sensor is Closed until the engine starts and raises a mighty three or four PSI to open the switch and turn off the Oil light.

The computer won't 'know' about the pressure switch unless the oil pressure drops while the engine's running, then it'll think that the oil level is low.

If the pressure switch does cause a problem, the P.O. drilled a hole in the plastic ignition switch cover for his ate-up headlight toggle switch and wiring hack. I can put an oil warning light in the hole and it'll look like it's supposed to be there.

[BillyRok]

The Oil level warning indicator comes on, then goes off by itself while I'm riding.
I don't know what's up with that but it's not a shorted or pinched wire.
Does it sense high oil levels like from a slight overfill or does it just do low levels?

My XJ started doing that when the oil is cold. I would head off down the road and the first turn at an intersection the low oil light would come on. I panicked the first time and quickly verified the proper level through the sight glass. Once the oil heats up it doesn't happen. Maybe the sensor is a bit gummed up but since no oil leaks around it I decided to leave well enough alone.

Congrats on getting the bike to fire, it sounds good...nothing sweeter than going from a pile of parts on the floor / bench to hitting the starter the first time and hearing it roar to life...YESSSSS!!!