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

[knewsom]

Blown tire, or blown HEAD gasket?

Well, brother, I've never had a blowout on a bike, only in a cage - and let me tell ya (rear tire on a VW doing 90 on I-5 in heavy winds), I don't think I'd ever want to chance having a blowout on a bike. It was hard enough to gain control of my VW enough to get it to the side of the road and then change the mutilated tire in the middle of nowhere - I can't even imagine how hard it'd be to do that on a morotcycle! We're talking ZERO control! I mean hell, 1 tire out of 4 ain't fun at all - I can't imagine 1 out of 2.

Having just bought this bike and not being a "seasoned" rider (I rode for several months when I lived in China, but other than that I'm new to bikes), I'd rather not take the chance of laying my bike down.

The PO of my bike told me that the rear tire was basically new, only a few months old, but I couln't find a date on it, and even though this guy is seasoned as hell (been riding about 60 years), I still don't know if I want to trust his judgement on whether or not a tire is "new", because I know for a FACT that he didn't put that tire on the bike.

In the humble opinion of this noob, spend the 200 bux on new tires! Your life literally IS riding on them.

(I don't mean to sound like a pussy here, but hell, why take un-necessary risks?)

[knewsom]

one more thing

PS, how does a 135 lb dude ride an 800 lb 1100cc 80+ HP bike??

I'm 200 and I work out so I'm really quite strong, and even I have a tough time sometimes with the baboon - how do you manage man!?

[BLUEJEEPLAB]

Since this thread has turned to tires, anyone have any tips or suggestions about balancing? I am going to be putting a new set of skins on the Battle Cruiser and want to save money by doing it myself, but balancing XS tires that routinely run 70 or 75, seems a bit more delicate than those of my old XT that was running off road tires and only hitting 60 tops. My thought is to mount the new tires and then take the wheels to a shop for balancing.

[xs650mike]

If I were you, I'd cobble up a stand and just static balance them on their axles. That should be good enough to get them nice and smooth, I just had my bike up to 105 a couple of days ago and have ridden up to 110 a couple of times and the wheels didn't hop. I always mount and balance my own tires.

A lot of shops won't balance tires they didn't sell. They think it helps them sell tires. I think it just keeps people with a brain from buying anything from them. One local indy MC shop here won't even sell you balance weights, "Those are for our customers." Well, thanks a lot buddy, I was a customer up until now, in case you hadn't noticed, but you won't see my face again! Just because I won't pay you $10 grand to sell me an old Harley worth $5 grand and then spend another $20 grand to have your shop bolt on a sh*tload of overpriced chromed billet like my total fool neighbor who only rides on sunny days wearing bermuda shorts...grumble...bitch...moan...curse...

[mason79]

Re: one more thing

Originally posted by knewsom
PS, how does a 135 lb dude ride an 800 lb 1100cc 80+ HP bike??

I'm 200 and I work out so I'm really quite strong, and even I have a tough time sometimes with the baboon - how do you manage man!?

hey knewsom,

it's only 600 lbs but 95 hp not 80+ thats the safe part, when you are rolling the weight goes away, and the power IS safety, when they delivered, (remember it was not running and pouring gas all over the palce and i went through the carb thing like you, you will get through it!)

i could move it backward, being off the bike and inch by in backing it up, but now that i rid the touring stuff it shaved i 'd say 150+ lbs and that i have had it for a month my technique has improve,and besides i've always like them sparse.

i'm pretty strong for my size, i lift alot of weights and bench 205, curl 90 and should press 55 dumbells, seated pully to 150, i guess that helps, but it's technique and patience.

i'd sure hate to say it but people do fall on bikes, guess you gotta pay attention.

i have aaa, and will have it towed instead of trying to fix it right there.

[xs650mike]

About blowouts and flats. Blowouts are so rare as to be non-existant unless you hit something. I've only had one, on the front. I hit a rock in the road, teach me to follow too close behind a cage. Flats are more common, I've had 'em front and rear at highway speeds and no speed. No fun but usually one can manage, don't hit the brakes, just slow gradually. At speed centrifugal force will keep the tire up, it's when you slow down that you'll really have your hands full. By the time you get stopped I guarantee you'll have some pumped forearms but if a skinny little guy like me can manage it you should too.

One other thing, expensive tires get flats just as often as cheap ones so that's not a reason to buy expensive ones. Good fresh cheap tires are way better than old or worn-out expensive ones so buy what you can afford or happen to like. There are some good cheap tires and also ones to avoid. I have even had some expensive tires I couldn't stand. Nearly all modern tires are so much better than what we had years ago that price doesn't even enter into it that much, it's just about what works well on a particular bike and personal preference.

[charles]

you guys make me sound weak lol i have a full dress xs1100 that i did the carbs and front brakes but i weigh only 160 and dont lift wieghts i drive truck for a living so i guess you could say i sit on my butt alot hehehe but i dont have to much problem managing my bike i guess thats why i like it so much by bro has a harley and its smaller then mine and its a beast to move around not a well balanced bike like my xs is but thats my 2 cents worth..........

[knewsom]

Thanks for the good words and info, gents!

Great info on flats/tires! Makes me less nervous.

When I said sometimes I have trouble with the baboon, remember that the brakes are dragging, the bearings are sticky, and furthermore, I have a gravel driveway where the bike will just SINK if I try to put it on its stand long enough to open a gate! That's where I ran into trouble before - it sank, then fell over. Oddly, picking it up wasn't as hard as PUSHING the old girl through all that gravel!

Anyhow, time for an update:

I now have a gas tank that is (mostly) free of rust and full of good clean 91 octane gas! (well, mostly - it may still have a smidge of WD-40, but probably very little as I rinsed it several times with gasoline before filling it up.)

What I did: Used lime flavored diet cola as phosphoric acid - the carbonation may have helped agitate and break off the bits of rust, but after I emptied it, I noticed that there was still some in there - so I took 2 litres of remaining soda (it takes 20 litres to fill the tank) and mixed in a bottle of regular old rust remover. I shook that up in the bottle quite well before adding to the tank. Once added to the tank, I also added my SAE socket wrenches to break up any remaining rust. I then shook it like a SOB, and let it sit for about 10 minutes on the top and 10 minutes on the bottom. After that, I took it to the bathtub, where I emptied it and rinsed many times with water - took about 10-15 rinses to get all the remaining rust out - but the good thing is, it was ALL BLACK. The diet coke sufficiently neutralized the iron oxide! After that, I did my best to drain the water, and then put a bunch of WD-40 into the tank, swished it around, shook it up, drained it. Repeat. Then did the same with gasoline. Repeat. Repeat. Took to gas station, and filled 'er up. It was a pain, but it got done, and got done well, so I am happy!

In other news, I removed my front wheel, the brakes look like hell, but the pads are good (crazy, but then again, only 25k mi). I think I need to completely disassemble the brakes and flush the lines, then refill, bleed, and remount the wheel. I'm not certian if my bearings are bad or not... they move pretty easily and every once in awhile they'll kinda "catch" just a little bit - not enough to keep my greased up finger from turning it, but enough for me to notice it - however it doesn't seem like it'd be enough to make any sort of difference when one considers the momentum of bike and rider. Any suggestions there?

Ok, well, I'm off to track down a tire! The rear will have to wait a week or two - since there are ZERO cracks in it, I think it'll be ok for about that long (gotta wait for another paycheck to but a new tire).

[81XS1100-2006]

following the progress

Knewsom,

I've been following your progress with keen interest as I'm in process of getting my 81 road ready. I'm glad you have been so specific as to how you've been getting the tank/carbs cleaned as those is at the top of my list. I'm in a similar situation as far as $$ & waiting for shipped parts too.

You have me a bit afraid of what I'll find next when I'm pulling off the tank, airbox, and carbs for cleaning, I suppose it's anybody's guess! Same thing goes for going over the brakes, I've got pads for all three calipers and I'm praying for the best when I go to change them.

I do have a question for anyone following this thread, there is a screw on the tire side of the brake calipers, the one on my back cal is missing, is it absoultly nessicary?

[DiverRay]

81XS1100-2006,
That screw holds the brake pads on. You really would like to find a replacement. It should not be more that a few dollars at Yamaha, and is probably available from other places.
You will want to flush the brake system completely. I would recomend a rebuild on the master and calipers. If your carefull, you may not need parts, just pull apart and clean everything.
Ray

[knewsom]

I'll be careful not to "brake" anything.

Good info Ray, and certianly pertinent to what I'm about to do as well! Cheers!

81XS1100-2006, best of luck with your project - it sounds like you and I are certainly in about the same situation! If you find you need 42.5 Mikuni pilot jets, let me know - I have an extra set.

Hopefully your tank was full of gas when it was parked, unlike mine which barely had ANY, and instead was full of rust!

I'm definitely going to be taking my brakes completely apart and cleaning them a la Ray's thoughtful advice - hopefully I won't need to completely rebuild them, becasue I don't have much dough left, but we'll see, eh?

-Kris

[81XS1100-2006]

there is gas in the tank, and when I've opened the carb bowl drains, the gas comes out nice and clear. So hopefully it won't be too bad in there.

Also another case of "it ran last summer..." duboius perhaps....

So far I've been having toruble locating a battery locally for under $80! That's more expensive than the one in my Chevy Van! Anyone have suggestions? I used to find good cheap ones ($30) for my 70's KZ's no problem.

and thanks DiverRay, I'll find a mount screw for sure.

[DiverRay]

81XS1100-2006,
Try Wallmart for a battery. The Deka # is ETX18L, this is for a gel type, but you should be able to cross it into an inexpensive lead acid. I would also put some "seafoam" or "Berryman's B12" into the gas tank. This will help clean out any gunk in the fuel system.
Kris, just use brake fluid to clean everything, and you should be able to run. The rubber brake hoses WILL need to be replaced sooner rather than later. Plan on about $140 for a complete set of stainless hoses, and stoppies once they are on.
Ray

[knewsom]

"braking" the bank

Originally posted by DiverRay
81XS1100-2006,
Try Wallmart for a battery. The Deka # is ETX18L, this is for a gel type, but you should be able to cross it into an inexpensive lead acid. I would also put some "seafoam" or "Berryman's B12" into the gas tank. This will help clean out any gunk in the fuel system.
Kris, just use brake fluid to clean everything, and you should be able to run. The rubber brake hoses WILL need to be replaced sooner rather than later. Plan on about $140 for a complete set of stainless hoses, and stoppies once they are on.
Ray

*wince* ouch - how bad are the rubber ones gonna hurt me in the meanwhile?

Thanks for the tip on only using brake fluid - the brake cleaner stuff will mess up my MC? Can I at least use it to clean up the OUTSIDE of my brakes? theyr'e gummy as hell.

good call on Wallmart for the battery - though honestly, mine came with a brand new one. At least it came with SOMETHING I can use...

[DiverRay]

Kris,
Go ahead and use the brakeclean on the metal parts, just try not to get too much on the rubber parts. The rubber is old, and may not take the cleaner.
Flush the system really well with plenty of new brake fluid, and the old lines should hold for a few months. Just remember, they are 25 years old, and not getting any better, but then, neither am I.
Ray