Well, I bought the bike! (pics, etc.)

[knewsom]

UPDATE!

I pulled my carbs this mornin, and only managed to spill about a quart of gasoline! lol

Now, it's off to work - I'm late!

[Jerry]

I've been running a heel-toe shifter for about 4 years now, have gotten to like it pretty well. Point about moving it 1 spline either clockwise or counter-closkwise is a good one; you will find the best "feel" by trying a couple different positions. I also found the placement of the heel pad is very important...to far back and the shifting feels quite akward. I had the rear pad moved forward about an inch on my shifter, made a lot of difference. (Pad is now on the forward part of the heel rather than the back of the heel.)

Your bike would have been top-of-the-line stuff whan it was new and put together; rare to see all the parts and pieces (floorboads, shifter, passenger pegs, et all) still intact and complete. Its a good one!

[81XS1100-2006]

I picked up my 81 XS just a couple of months ago. Been slowwwwwly getting my sh** together and getting her ready for the road. Biggest thing so far has been waiting for the weather (I'm in MN) and my new ignition switch, hopefully I'll have her sputtering by tonight!

[knewsom]

Originally posted by Jerry
I've been running a heel-toe shifter for about 4 years now, have gotten to like it pretty well. Point about moving it 1 spline either clockwise or counter-closkwise is a good one; you will find the best "feel" by trying a couple different positions. I also found the placement of the heel pad is very important...to far back and the shifting feels quite akward. I had the rear pad moved forward about an inch on my shifter, made a lot of difference. (Pad is now on the forward part of the heel rather than the back of the heel.)

Your bike would have been top-of-the-line stuff whan it was new and put together; rare to see all the parts and pieces (floorboads, shifter, passenger pegs, et all) still intact and complete. Its a good one!

Cheers, Jerry! I'm preeeety stoked myself. I'll play with that shifter until it feels right - also, I think I need to get rubber for it; that'll help me feel it better through my boot.

as an aside, do you know Matt and Jerri-Ann in Rifle? (my aunt and uncle) He's a blacksmith.

-Kris

[knewsom]

Originally posted by 81XS1100-2006
I picked up my 81 XS just a couple of months ago. Been slowwwwwly getting my sh** together and getting her ready for the road. Biggest thing so far has been waiting for the weather (I'm in MN) and my new ignition switch, hopefully I'll have her sputtering by tonight!

good luck man, the race to have our bikes up and running like champs is ON!

-K

[BLUEJEEPLAB]

That's an AWESOME name!!! Congrats on the new bike, keep looking here and listening to guys like Prom, MRO, TC and the gang. They know their stuff and are entertaining to boot.

[knewsom]

Originally posted by BLUEJEEPLAB
That's an AWESOME name!!! Congrats on the new bike, keep looking here and listening to guys like Prom, MRO, TC and the gang. They know their stuff and are entertaining to boot.

Cheers - hopefully I'll be able to track down another luggage top so I won't have to redub her the "one-cheeked maroon baboon".

[GNEPIG]

.. those bags look like they could have come off of an old FLH. study the lid you have and look for pics and descriptions of the same under harley parts on ebay.. you might get lucky

.. oh yeah, nice ride and welcome to the forum

[knewsom]

Originally posted by GNEPIG
.. those bags look like they could have come off of an old FLH. study the lid you have and look for pics and descriptions of the same under harley parts on ebay.. you might get lucky

.. oh yeah, nice ride and welcome to the forum

Thanks man, not a bad idea. I could always try to find other luggage that I like, but I like these so dang much! I guess if worst comes to worst, I'll just make a mould from the one I have, and press a duplicate in fiberglass - not really all that hard to do. In fact, I could also use carbon fiber (sandwiched between 'glass), and it'd be stronger than the original.

...maybe there'd even be a market for these.... *scratches head* hmmmmmmmm.

[charles]

hey knewsom i got my xs in january or so and its running and love it the carbs aint that hard once you figure out the order of adjusting them there is some places here that will be very helpful i even built one of those home made sycronizing gauges that one gentleman made an posted it works like a champ i snaged my bike for 300 dollars and it sat under a tarp for 12 years and i know have it running back and forth to work .........watch ebay the guys find alot of xs stuff there good luck on the carbs but check the forums out there is several on carbs and very idiot proof on getting them right trust me im speaking from experience i am a first time bike owner and xs owner on top of that lol..if i can do it anyone can

[knewsom]

Thanks for the words of encouragement, Charles! I'm really enjoying working on the bike so far - it's pretty easy with all the info on this site and all the helpful folks. Even easier than working on my old Volkswagen, and DEFINITELY more fun! I think the key here is that I can personally lift any individual component of the motorcycle, whereas strong as I am, I could NEVER lift my Bus' engine alone. Furthermore, it's not all enclosed in a tight little cage, making it fairly easy to have access to what needs tweaking.

As it stands, I have my carbs MOSTLY disassembled, but I'm missing a small enough flathead to get the jets out! I'm off to Ace here in just a 'mo to pick one up.

As for the state of my carburators, wellll, three out of four are in alright looking shape and the float balls weren't leaking or anything. ONE of them, however, was EXTRA gunky, the float ball STILL has gasoline in it, and I can't for the LIFE of me figure out where the leak is! I'm probably going to have to drill a hole in it to get the gas out, then patch the hole back up with solder! aggh! And get this - the crappy carb? Same one as the noisy cylinder! surprise, surprise, surprise! maybe just fixing the carbs and adjusting my cam chain tensioner will quiet it right up.... *wishful thinking, I know*

I'm also plowing through the site to find out if there's an alternate method for setting float ball height without the spiffy tool.

Also, can anyone tell me if I should be trying to get my hands on a colortune? or will using a vacum measurement tool work just as well?

Cheers,
Kris

[DiverRay]

Kris,
The float hight can be set with a bit of cardboard, if needed!! Just cut an "L" shape, with the inside of the leg cut to the float setting, I think about 23mm, but check the book for your exact setting. Use it on ALL the floats, two per carb, to set them all the SAME!!
The colortune isn't needed. you should be able to adjust the carbs looking at the spark plugs, and feeling how it runs. You have read the carb thread in the Tech Tips, so just follow the instructions, and enjoy the lesson. You WILL need to syncronize the carbs with vacum gauges or "carb stiks", mercury filled tubes. Once done, the bike should be running and sounding good.
Ray

[charles]

i agree with diver you dont need the colortunning tube just read your plugs ........sycronizing the carbs are easy once you figure out what set screw does what there is a couple of excellent treads on that .......there is an awesome one on how to make a carb sycronizer using pcv pipe and vaccuum guage i made one using that guys specs to the t and it worked like a charm and i only spent 20 dollars on making it cause i already had the vacuum guage and i didnt have to worry about sucking mercury into the bike cause at first my bike wouldnt run worth a poo considering it sat for 12 years with gas in carbs what a mess that was .... good luck

[knewsom]

Thanks, Ray, thanks, Charles - I'm definitely going to be trying to get my hands on a vacum gauge, so I can syncronize my carbs using the method posted here.

Ray, good idea! I'm gonna give that a try, once I've figured out where the leak in my bad float is.

Anyone know where to just buy a new one, in case I can't find it? (although the float has gasoline IN it, it doesn't seem as if any is coming OUT. I'm going to try submersion, and if that doesn't work, it's back to the drawing board)

Cheers,
Kris

[DiverRay]

Kris, You should be able to order a new float from Yamaha or some of the online shops. It will probably be plastic, not metal, but will work the same.
A little HOT water will help locate the leak, just submerge the float with some weight, and look for the bubbles. I would then drill a SMALL hole at the leak site, empty the float, let it dry for a day, and then solder the hole closed.
Ray