XJ11 Forks and Gaiters

[madmax-im]

another in your XJ series on inspection maintenece and repair..You are most indepth and meticulous iin going through your bikes... Thanks for sharing the experience..
I wish i had that type of technical and mechanical expertise...something tells me a thorough tear down of swampthing is in order..Alas..i dont know who might be willing to undertake such a task...

[3Phase]

List of Lists

I'm just going through the lists on the Maintenence pages. They're very long lists.

The P.O. kept records in the XJ1100 Service Manual that start with an oil/filter change in 1994 with 51,200 miles on the bike and end with a new battery in January, 2016, with 59,569 miles.

The records cover 21 years, 2 months, 22 days, and 8,369 miles.
That's 398-point-5 miles per year for 21 years.

Unfortunately, the only thing recorded that resembles work aside from oil, filters, battery, and tires was field stripping one sticking brake caliper and exercising the others, changing the rear brake pads and bleeding the brakes back in 2003.

It takes a lot of time to correctly go through the complete list when nothing on the list was done until I bought the bike in 2017 after it had served 22 arduous years of garage queen duty.

I have a decent camera handy that can capture the rapture of some of the more scintillating moments of motorcycle maintenance, that makes it all a little less tedious and gives me time to take breaks and think about the next steps in The Plan as if I actually had one.











The custom bookmark was created by Capton Zap for the 14mm XS1100 seat nuts.

[madmax-im]

My bike was turn key because it was bought brand new in early 1983..had it 30 yrs...

[3Phase]

My bike was turn key because it was bought brand new in early 1983..had it 30 yrs...

Man, your bike must have been fantastic when it was brand new. I saw a couple of them that had just arrived on the showroom floor in late 1981 next to a full dresser that was probably an XS1100 Venturer.

I was a little too small to ride any of them at the time, I only weighed a buck and a quarter soaking wet back then but the really important part of the decision was that I didn't have enough cash money to buy any of them without financing and making payments. I really wanted a '750 Seca but my wife and I both liked the XS Specials and the XJs even though we thought they were trying too hard to be Harleys and the "Sun rises out of your behind" pattern on the XJ seat was hilarious!

Now I own one of them and it's still a beautiful bike and it still has that same hilarious sunshine pattern on the seat that made me laugh thirty-five years ago. By some strange coincidence, mine was a turn key bike too. All anyone did for its entire life is turn the key and ride it, turn the key and put it away, then turn the key over to the dealer and they turned it over someone else.

[madmax-im]

seeing you redoing this Maxim ...bringing it back to its former glory reminds me of how it used to be...

[3Phase]

seeing you redoing this Maxim ...bringing it back to its former glory reminds me of how it used to be...

Well, she keeps me off the streets, and she keeps me out of trouble...


Sometimes at night, Lord, when I hear the wind
I wish I was crazy again, yes, I wish I was crazy again!

[Bonz]

JAT, and definitely doesn't follow the supreme protocol that you have taken Scott...

When servicing forks, I flush them with regular old gasoline which cleans them well, then chased it right away with some ATF, since I use ATF. Then fill the forks with the appropriate volume. I don't think there's anything in the bottom of the fork that would have a problem with the petrol.

Thoughts, condemnation, accolades?

[3Phase]

JAT, and definitely doesn't follow the supreme protocol that you have taken Scott...

When servicing forks, I flush them with regular old gasoline which cleans them well, then chased it right away with some ATF, since I use ATF. Then fill the forks with the appropriate volume. I don't think there's anything in the bottom of the fork that would have a problem with the petrol.

Thoughts, condemnation, accolades?

Supreme protocol? You're scaring me! I hope no one's going to ask me for papers 'cause I only have a pipe!

Yes, there are a couple of problems with using gasoline without disassembling the forks.

Flushing with gas is never a good idea even though I used to use it for everything too, the stuff works great! The problem with using it to clean the XS11 forks is getting all of the gas out before you close up the forks.

Unless you let the forks sit open for a while and work them to let the gas evaporate then the ATF, fork oil, mink oil, moose milk or whatever you use will mix with it and slow the evaporation. Even after a flush with clean fluid there'll still be some gas left in there and when you cap the forks, the vapor can't get out. In the very long run it's not good for the oil or the seals. No, it won't 'splode unless you left a lot of gas in there and you pull a cap off and use your lighter to look down the stanchion see how much gas is left in there.

The other, more serious problem is the dirt and sludge. Like switching to detergent oil in your engine after running non-detergent, or synthetic oil after running dino oil, the gasoline will loosen the gunk that's been piling up in the bottom of the forks and the other little nooks and crannies, mostly staying put and not bothering anything or anyone with the possible exception of Inspector 12.

Unless you disassemble the forks and clean them, some of the gunk will come out of the drain hole in the bottom of the fork but some of it won't, it gets loosened and remixed into your favorite fluid along with the gasoline. When it gets sealed up in the fork, then it has to go through the E Ticket fork oil ride a few thousand times on your next rides before it eventually hooks up with some other gunk and settles out on the bottom again.

[donebysunday]

Good Mornnnnnning !
See this, https://www.kbb.com/motorcycles/yama...0%26%20cruiser

[3Phase]

Thanks! That KBB shows a few hundred more than I paid at the dealership.