1979 XS11SF project

So, a friend of mine decided to part ways with his xs11 That has been sitting for 10ish years. I picked it up. This has been my dream bike for a long time... Now it's in my garage

I'm not entirely sure how I want to build it. My Maxim is fairly stock with a couple period correct aftermarket upgrades.

I want to do either a cafe racer or 70's chopper. I want to seriously go all out either way. I am just slightly concerned that if I put a extended front Springer front end on, how will that effect the "legendary" cornering?

I highly regretted not doing a build thread on my maxim, so I guess this will suffice. So far, we pulled it out of the woods, got the vines off, the engine turns freely, and killed some spiders and wasps....

 

Split the difference?



Ya know ya wanna.

 

Seriously...



Or

 

I was being serious.


Do the cafe'

I've yet to see but one or two XS11 choppers that turned out looking right.

This one comes close:


But the shape of the engine....not quite right (nevermind the sidepanels).

 

Then there's this.

Not quite a chopper, but sleek.

 

And this one is pretty darn good too.

 

Do the chopper.

 

so, you're saying I need a second one?

 

That one is nice. Needs a king seat to complete that retro look though

 

So, I'm going to introduce myself. I'm an IT professional who likes restoring and building motorcycles, records, beer, blogging, gardening, and spending time with my girlfriend and 2 kids. I have previously rebuilt a 1986 XJ700 airhead, 1982 XJ650 Seca, and a 1980 Honda CM200T. I have always regretted not doing a build thread/blog for each of my builds. So, this is going to be it.

Now that I've got that out of the way, I recently obtained a Carmine Red 79 XS11 Special with a King seat for $100. I pulled it out of my friend's woods where it sat for over 10 years. So, i figured at the worst, i had a good title and scrap. I'm pleasantly surprised that the motor turns over freely, and i have electric. I can't check for compression yet as I'm missing the kickstart, and the starter isn't turning (which i'm gonna look at tonight).

So where I'm at is that i have some basic questions on where to start. I don't want to like do something stupid like paint a rare color or do whatever boneheaded thing i shouldn't do.

I'm planning on doing a not necessarily budget minded build. I'd really like a show quality result. I want to do it the way i really want to do it. Pods, custom body work, but i still want to keep that XS feel to it too. I also want to keep it period-correct. I want it to be like someone bought it in '79 and Cafe'd it before putting a mile on it.

What parts do i need for the carbs? I have found full rebuild kits that include jets etc. but I don't see if there is any internal gaskets, o-rings, throttle shaft seals etc that should be replaced at the same time. I don't really want to sit and wait and keep ordering parts. I need to get the carbs done so i can check out the engine and hopefully burn off the rear tire before tearing it all down for paint. Also, how do i check the fuel level on these carbs, there is just a drain at the bottom...

What's up with the "octopus" I get the whole principal of what is going on there, but i also see mods to get rid of it. Yes or no?

I'll get some pictures up as soon as i figure out how.

 

Ok, so I figured out I'm going to do an old school vintage cafe style build. This is #4 I'm working on, and I'm quite sick of doing everything mostly factory. It's boring actually. I want something daily rider and show quality. I don't really care how long it takes either, I want to do it all exactly how I want it.

I found a place that can do new cafe style seats to fit most any bike, and I think I'm going to try that.

Before all that, I need to do the carbs to just confirm 100% that everything is good. And by confirm 100% that everything is good, I mean go out in the driveway and nuke the rear tire.

 

I have "rebuilt" 5 sets of XS1100 carbs and by rebuilding I took them apart cleaned them (ultrasonic) and put them back together. The only thing I replace was the bowl gasket.

the fuel level is not generally measured in the xs11 you measure the float height with the carbs off the bike turned upside down and bowls off. Measure from the base to the highest part of the float and should be 23mm (IIRC it's in the manual) if you have the plastic floats and about 25mm if you have the brass ones. I believe Len has parts for these carbs now if something is two corroded to use.

Here is a link to where you can get a manual on line;
http://www.ringler.us/family/mybike.html

 

Thanks dude!

I opened up the carbs and found that one float pillar is broken and held on with what looks like jb weld or something similar. The PO (a good friend) never had the carbs off, let alone apart.... So I guess Im just going to leave it.

I swapped out the bars with a spare set of XJ700 bars (they worked perfectly), and mocked up where I want the rearsets to go. It fits nicely, looks good, and actually seems to be more comfortable to me than the stock setup. (i got long legs)

I got a whole list of parts I want... Progressive springs (front + rear) dyna coils, ballistic evo2 battery, now all I need is money....

 

Likey! Looks like an A&M fork kit on an otherwise stock frame.

~Ghost

 

Here is my XS11 Café.....

I recently modified the tank with an R1 Cap to finish the look I was after:


The "Chopper" idea will be a lot of work and look pretty cool.....BUT.... the combination of a powerful XS1100 motor and a chopper style front end make me wonder if the bike will be comfortable to drive more than a few miles? I've driven the bike above HUNDREDS of miles from ATL to "The Ton" vintage rally in Hendersonville NC. I've driven in rain as well without issue. The bike is very comfortable to drive with a nice driving position and for some reason this thing gets crazy good gas mileage!

Personally, I'd consider the café style but make the choices (seat, bar height, etc.) that allow for decent drives with relative comfort. This bike will be driven to the Vintage Yamaha Rally in Stecoah in a few weeks. My son will be driving it and will likely put more than a 1000 miles on it. Most Café bikes and no choppers (I know of) would allow the driver to do this.

Respectfully,
KURT

 

***adds R1 gas cap mod to list of things to do***

 

The Horse is a magazine specializing in low budget choppers, and every year they put on a coast to coast race. It's called the Stampede. Must be a hard tail, no rubber mount engines, no bags, no windscreen, from Barstow to North Carolina, 2,300 miles. The warriors usually do it in less than 3 days, the winner does it in 2. It IS possible, but your nether regions must be made of steel, and intestinal fortitude off the charts!
The point here is that choppers are not supposed to be easy or comfortable. It is all about toughness.

 

http://cyclesource.com/newsblog/?p=20958

 

I really like what you did with your XS1100.

 

?.

Gary H.