Oil change? So soon?

[bikerphil]

Oh yeah! One more thing, when stopped and sitting in first it'll sometimes slip out and into neutral.

Make sure the clutch is adjusted properly according to service manual. After shifting into 1st gear at a stop light, it helps to feather the clutch lever once to make sure the gears are meshed. Sometimes without doing this the trans can be more prone to find neutral.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there Daryl,

Well, rotating the gear shift lever UP will make it much more difficult to shift up thru the gears because you'll need to pull your foot up much farther. If you can't reposition the mufflers/pipes, Mike's XS makes a LONGER shift lever that you could then modify/bent outward more to be able to clear the pipes and still maintain the lower position for easy upshifts. Or you could even try bending your OEM lever.

Yeah, the straight cut gears do like to WHINE, as long as you've ensured you've got good hypoid in the middle/final drives, then you're probably just hearing the normal gear whine.

Yamaha under the rules from the EPA leaned out the jetting on the XS11's each successive year, along with changes in the carbs as well. The 78-79 used 135 mains but they also fed the pilots. In 80-81 the dropped the mains to 110-120 because the pilots fed directly from the float bowl. The newer fuels burn cleaner, so they don't color the plugs as easily. So, yes the 80SG is jetted more lean to begin with, and then with the aftermarket 4-2 pipes, they may cause the engine to breath a little more which could lean it out a little more. The "GUIDE" says 2 sizes up for every mod, but subtract 1 when 2 or more mods occur. The specials stock were 110's, the standards were jetted up to 120's. 2 sizes up would be 115. I've got an 81 Sh, put 4-1 pipes and Pod filters. Started with 110, went to 115's but Dyno still showed room for a little more, ended with 117.5's, good power to redline, nice light tan color.
SO....contrary to Mike's advice, sounds like it couldn't hurt to go up a couple of sizes on the mains. YMMV, remember to check the plug color with a proper throttle chop technique.

T.C.

[Bonz]

Does the 80sg normally run a little lean? After it gets warmed up it seems to run quite well! I just dont want to cause any damage to the internals with too lean of a mixture.

Help me understand your question about running lean? If it runs well once it’s warmed up, that is how it was designed.

[darylcaribou69]

I guess there wasn't really a question about it running lean. It runs good, I'm not going to mess with it too much. With that said.

After draining the oil, I realized the spring that holds the oil filter where it belongs was not there when I got the bike! This last oil change, today, I got a spring in the mail and it was installed.

After draining and refilling all fluids the bike seems to go smoothly, I used the purple stuff in the mid and final drives 75w140. Running 20w50 valvoline conventional oil and a wix filter in the engine.

When I got home I listened to the engine and at about 4500-5000 rpm there is a tap, sounds like it's coming from the top end, also could be a leaky exhaust gasket.

Along with the spring for the oil filter I got new fork seals that need to be installed sometime soon, I can only imagine what the oil looks like in those forks. I am considering replacing the rear shocks as well, they dont take bumps well and the bike feels like I'm driving a fettuccine noodle down the street.

The ride continues.

[skids]

I am considering replacing the rear shocks as well, they dont take bumps well and the bike feels like I'm driving a fettuccine noodle down the street.

The ride continues.

You might check the swing arm bearing adjustment (watch out for the mistake with the torque spec in Clymers). Loose swing arm will make the bike feel like it is swerving around corners.

[TopCatGr58]

Replacing the OEM rear shocks is a good idea. They didn't have good dampening when new, and probably don't have much if any NOW, and that can also let the swingarm flex under loads in corners.

T.C.