81 XS1100 rough float height

[motoman]

choke broke, or difficult moving

The choke slide can be kept to operate freely by occassionally putting a couple drops of Kroil on ALL of shaft assembly, and some of that will work its way to the ball detents. (Kroil, "the oil that creeps") thats what it says on the can, and is what it's famous for, way better than WD-40 or any other penetrating lube on the market! Can be got at your local gun store or sometimes Tru-Valu, orange rectangle can with black lettering, ans is non aresol.

[wingnut]

Eric a little lube (light grease?) at the #4 and #1 carb where the choke rod passes thru the carb body might fix it. There is a little ball bearing and spring that ride in the choke shaft detents I used a little light cup grease during assembly. My choke works pretty easy but the leaver was cracked when I got the bike so I my have freed it up during the carb rework. If I find a good source for a leaver I'll post it.

[wingnut]

Choke Leaver

Found a source, little pricey

Part Number Description Model Prefix On Hand Price Add Cart
1 3H3-14975-00-00 LEVER,STARTER 1 XS1100 SF 3H3 7 $45.35
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[skids]

Re: Choke Levers

Eric. you can probably saw off the part of the lowers that covers the choke lever, like I did. Mine had a rectangular hole that did not line up with the lever. It was black plastic, only one layer thick, and cutting it (and the opposit side to match) was really easy.

Originally posted by eroellig

PO didn't have the Windjammer lowers on when I got it. Holding the left lower in place, I can see that it will be difficult to open the choke with the broken lever when I have the lowers in place.
Eric

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Folks,
Cruising Ram is working on getting some made in Russia, but until then, check out this thread for a do it yourself fix!
Choke Lever Fix

Also, you could take a piece of metal and EPOXY it on the inside non-visible edge to strengthen the joint to reduce it from flexing which will help keep it from completely fracturing!

As has been mentioned, a little oil on both the choke actuator rod, along the back side where the detent balls are, and even a little on each choke plunger assembly, can go a long way in reducing the resistance of the lever action!
T.C.

[xs650mike]

Raised float levels question

I know this is kinda OT but on my XS650s which are EPA carbed a great improvement in throttle response was gained simply by raising the float levels. I did this on the advice of an XS650 guru. When I asked how high to raise the levels he told me it was nearly impossible to go too far. Well I went too far but the bike ran way better anyway. Since the plugs were black I lowered the levels some and now everythings perfect. Now comes the question: can raising the levels above the stock spec improve the performance of an XS11?

[pggg]

Mike, if the floats are too high , the whole carb loses the plot. A very fine line. Too much gas and the bike runs soggy and boggy. Very likely your 650 carbs were set lean as hell on their pilot circuit, and the float tweak richened up that lower circuit for better response at off idle to mid revs, but tuning the carb to the standard float setting is the way to go, rather than moving float levels. Larger jets or raising the needles is preferable, unless of course the floats are set less than factory specs.

[xs650mike]

pggg,

In the XS650 world it's a common easy way to make bikes with the factory extra lean EPA* carbs (1980-84) run better. My bikes had perfect plug readings on all circuits after I did this. Don't know why it wouldn't work on XS11 Mikunis as well. I don't suppose anyone's even tried it. Sure it's possible to go too far, I did that myself, but a small tweak sure made a big difference. The carbs supplied on bikes sold in markets outside the USA are tuned differently.

*EPA = Environmental Protection Agency

[pggg]

Mike, the emission control carbs will have the idle circuit screws set lean. I've read here that the later model 11's even have them sealed up to prevent Joe Public from fiddling. Basically 3 ways to richen the fuel ratios - floats, needles, jets. Tweak the right combination and you're home laughing. Just a matter of experimenting. Lean idle and pilot circuits are a p.i.t.a. as the motor feels flat and unresponsive when cool. Improves somewhat when hot. Read the other day that atmospheric CO2 levels are the highest EVER for the last 650,000 years. Determined by ancient ice samples. The increase is phenomonal and way beyond any natural cycle. Scary.

[xs650mike]

Originally posted by pggg
Mike, the emission control carbs will have the idle circuit screws set lean. I've read here that the later model 11's even have them sealed up to prevent Joe Public from fiddling.

Read the other day that atmospheric CO2 levels are the highest EVER for the last 650,000 years. Determined by ancient ice samples. The increase is phenomonal and way beyond any natural cycle. Scary.

Right, that's exactly the kind of carbs they are. Rather than go through and rejet the XS650, just a simple slight adustment of the float levels gives me perfect plug readings and the bike runs great...what's wrong with that? My '79 11SF runs great just the way it came to me, burns 87 octane and averages 38-42 mpg...I'm happy. I understand the carbs on the '80 and up models are even leaner than the '79 carbs though.

I think the rise in CO2 levels has way more to do with cutting down rain forests all over the world than my raising the float levels a bit on my 650. Ethiopia wasn't always desert, it just got they way fairly recently. Maybe we should all run stock bikes and not rejet? Don't be silly, we just need to farm trees, not cut down ancient forests.

[pggg]

An even simpler slight twist of the idle screws will do the same.
O2 levels don't seem to be dropping, so lack of forest cover isn't causing CO2 increases alone. Vehicle and industrial pollution is the number 1 culprit. As we're all gasping our last breaths on our mandatory portable ventilators in 5 years time, I'll be saying - "If only that XS650Mike didn't tweak his carb floats that extra 2mm, we wouldn't be in this position!"

[xs650mike]

Yep, O2 is a big problem. I grew up in Los Angeles where you have to hurry up and wear out your tires before the ozone rots them. Now if we could just figure out a way to get all that lower level ozone up into the ozone layer of the atmosphere we could probably save the planet. You're down there under the ozone layer hole aren't you pggg?

[pggg]

Yeah Mike, that O3 hole is pulsing away down here like a bad nightmare. Too damn close for comfort. Summers here and already the sun is lazer - like in it's intensity. A harsh microwaved radiation feel. The weather patterns have gone haywire - my scuba diving has been ruined, haven't been able to dive the SE coast for a year. A continual series of huge spooky ground swells have been looming out of Antarctica and battering the coastline for months on end. 100 year floods are happening every year. Earthquakes are becoming more and more common and the bloody volcanoes are starting to stir again.

The space-savvy Incas say the planet is approaching the peak of a 50,000 year cycle of natures destruction. According to their calender the forces are gonna peak in 2012. As far as earthquakes, tsunamis, floods and cyclones go, we ain't seen nothing yet. It's still all on the increase. Just wait till 2012 hits!

Good luck, and batten down the hatches.