81 XS 1100 Start

[XSIIE]

Hey Bretts,

Check out the this thread for brakes

http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=40222.html

An intersting option for brakes if you want stainless.

Eddy
78E
81H project in 1million bits
81RH daily ride
81RH spare bike running nicely

[BrettS]

Thanks Guys,

I did seem to have some trouble getting a hard back brake. At first I was using wrong brake fluid then swapped to dot 3. Bled the hell out of it and it was better but I thought it could be better still. I adjusted the brakes to full reach. Maybe the lines are expanding some? But it is stopping pretty good at the moment. I was looking at some brake lines after you mentioned this.
Not exactly the thread I saw but about the same lines.
http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38507

Lucky you pointed that out Jonesy as I can't think of any other reason to buy you a beer. 

Glad to know that Errol is correct, I think I remember he is one of those northen fellows ?
I think I already gave those conectors some sought of a clean. I was concerned that they would fall apart as I removed them. The plan is to give the bike a full rewire once I have any modifications soughted, not sure if that will be a second hand loom or a fully custom one. (Do it once and do it right  ) My guess is that is about 1 year away before I strip the bike so I hope they hold out till then. ?
I think until I do a full rebuild this bike will have intermitent issues such as miosture on conectors or even wires comming loose. If it gets too annoying then the rebuild will have to be moved ahead of schedual.
Looking forward to getting the spark advance soughted, he hasn't posted it yet 

[excess.11]

Brett , the plastic connectors which hold the female spade terminals at the TCI Unit have degraded to the point where they are brittle and may become an issue. There are kits available or even salvageable wiring looms where you can recycle these connectors. A minor amount of moisure on those connectors you have .......wil start playing havoc with your electrics.

[steptoe]

glad to see all is just about sorted,, you,ll have no worries with putting the cintrifucal advance in, it slots in like it has always been there,, be certain to make sure it is clean and moves with ease,,

if your going to come looking for Ev, you;ll need a day or 2

one other "last" thing, with the TCI, it might pay to pull the plugs off and give the spades and other a light wipe with one of mums good finger nail files,, going on the condition of the plugs in the last pics

it has been a mammoth thread, but when you get it running, it will be more than worth it

[Jonesy]

I see that now Jonesy, I like that you take the time to point that out

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I just didnt want to miss out on a free beer

[Eveready1100]

No worries, mate. Just trying to look after you. They are a big, heavy bike with marginal brakes when used in anger. Maybe a set of braided lines before anything else? The original lines may look ok, but in time are prone to swelling badly. Mine still had the original lines on it, with the little DOT rings to identify year of manufacture. They let the lever move right back to the bars, if given a big enough squeeze.
 Regarding the carby question, I haven't seen them in the flesh, but at a guess, I'd say they were 78-79 carbs due to the floats and the mixture screw type. I'm sure some of the more carb experienced gurus can jump on here to clarify this for you. (Me rides around for over two years with a broken float post, big help I am on this subject)

Have a good weekend, mate. Tis beer o' clock.

[BrettS]

I was just reading Jeff's post as you posted Errol

Bretts , aside from the starting probs.......i see your bike is a "Bitsa".
The front end/wheel is all off a "Standard" model.....along with the gauges.......rear wheel as well.....and tail light assembly....probably the rear mudgaurd as well as indicators.
Being that this is the case.....is raises the question as to the originality and mating of the parts to suit all the electrical requirements from the loom to all the auxillary components.
Start with the number of the TCI unit........what does that read?
Also drop the headlight out of the shell and see what is going on regarding the connectors behind there ........are they cut and joined or simply all plugged into each other as you would expect ?

I know I checked wether the harness had been messed with but I didn't even know what a TCI was then.

What you say has crossed my mind Errol. Another friend told me this about them after I bought it.

Hi Brett, those pigs were the third fastest production bike after the Kawasaki Z900 and the Suzuki 750 Waterbottle back in the 70's. Step up , farken hang on to it , they lift in 4 th gear if you twist em and Smoke the tyres if they don't lift .We used to call them pigs because of the size of the mothers not the looks . They are extremely rare now , most were smashed and crashed . Make it a factory genuine original and your sitting pretty in the future , like i said not many left now .

This has been in the back of my mind and at times I have been leaning over the handle bars as I hit the excelorator just in case it all comes together and kicks in.
I would agree I am not the most sensible person but I still have all my digits and not even seen any serious injuries in the metal industry so I must be doing something right 
I apreciate the thought as the road is, excuse the french, A fucking dangerous place.

[Eveready1100]

I reckon we should start the rally shouting each other beers, then go from there.
Jonesey was right on with his reference to his previous post. Also, some time ago, Jeff had asked about the identity of the TCI unit, but the question must have been overlooked as there was plenty of posts happening at once.
It's hard to believe that you (Bretts) were a newbie when you started this thread. You've come a long way in a short time, mate!

I'm pretty sure the advance unit will make the ignition suit the motor as PGNZ has hinted at. I thought I recalled something about minor wiring differences between the models in that respect, but if the present ignition unit is running things at the moment, I can't see any dramas from having a more correct ignition curve to suit the revs.

A word of caution, though, Brett. When you fit this bit and take it for a run, be careful, as where in in past  Dusty would accelerate then feel like it was running out of steam, now it'll take off and rev right off the top of the redline as quick as, and seeing you're very inexperienced with handling a big heavy bike, just take baby steps please.
 I'd hate to hear of you hurting yourself due to an unanticipated rush of power.
 That'll all come further down the track, once you're used to it.

[BrettS]

I see that now Jonesy, I like that you take the time to point that out  I love learning new stuff and I can't believe that I thought the vacumn advance was the main mechanisim to do this job. I am only a weekend warrior mechanic but still I love that I know that now.

[BrettS]

It crossed my mind whether it would work Pg but kinda hoping Errol knows what he is doing in that regard    It goes surprisingly well for having no main advance. I earthed the motor to the frame today and at the moment it seems to be running better, pretty friggen good really.
I say at the "moment" because while I was taking it for test runs today after adjusting the clutch it dropped two cylinders again. It has done this before but after I fiddle around it seems to fix itself. I was unsure if it was spark or carby. Although there is a spark it seems to work again after I investigate pulling the leads on and off while running. Today I decided it must be carbies and almost started to strip them down again. I started to pull the tank off and the carbies flooded with fuel like the needles stuck open again. I shut the fuel off started the engine let it run for a while with the fuel off and then it was running fine again. So at the moment I am thinking the carbies need a better going over. Maybe a bit of crap got in some where?
I planned to start work on the carbies that Bryan gave me but I wanted to set them up for pod filters as a comparison.
Oh well all is running well again at the moment. I will be looking forward to putting the mechanical advance in and see what happens.

While it is fresh in your mind Errol, I have been wondering. With the mikuni carbies and the 5H4 motor what "year" carby kit should I use to rebuild the carbies. This would also be with the 4 into one exhaust and the original air box.
I will start a separate thread for Bryans carbies and any modifications.
 
Thanks again everyone, this has been a mammoth thread, There is no way I could of got to this stage without all the help or a very big wallet.
Dusty has been pulled out of the shed and saved from the wreckers/parts bin.

[Jonesy]

Can I have a sip of beer too please. .....pg 11 repl #163 probly got lost amongst all the writing
kudos to Eveready and pgnz for being more specific and detailed.
bloody excellent find all the same, so a horse led to water can drink. Credit to you Brett for persisting with the problem.
You better start doing some hand grip exercises cos that thing is gunna fly now. 

[pgnz]

 no wonder the previous dude only clocked a few K's then wanted to sell the bike,  with no mechanical advance and the wrong 2H7 blackbox there's no ignition advance at all,  it'll be sitting on only a flat 5 deg advance at all revs, engine will be as dead as a dodo.  Vac advance unit would add a few more degrees of advance when there's no load on the engine,  but gas it and the vac advance becomes null and void,  there's still gonna only 5 deg advance and no power.   Whether the early model centrifugal unit matches perfectly the later models pickup-coils and base plate etc is another story...   You'd assume it would slot in there though..?

[Eveready1100]

Ummm......... That'll be Bourke, mate! Bathurst is turning into a bit of a pipe dream ATM

Glad we finally got to the bottom of the problem.
Stick your new bit in and you might just find yourself riding the "Ball Tearer" you first imagined Dusty would be.

[BrettS]

Yaaa Errol I think you found it, bloody champion. See what happens when you put several geniuses together  Thanks to PGNZ for pointing us in the right direction too 




I have snapped up the advance unit you linked. Fingers crossed it will run a ripper after that is installed.

See you at Bathurst 

[Eveready1100]

Mate, I might be tempted (forcefully) to accept an ale or two at the Rally.
Just one other thing to finally piece the riddle together, under the timing cover where you have the non - adjustable plate holding the pickup coils, if you remove the timing rotor, then undo the whole backing plate assembly, taking care not to twist or stretch the wires going to the pickup coils (pulling the rubber grommet out of the casing to release the wires helps a lot) have a look in there to see if there is one of these



sitting on the end of the crankshaft. This is the centrifical advance unit that works with the early type TCI unit.
If there isn't one present, that is why your bike won't rev properly (doesn't help economy at speed either)
If it's not there, the cheapest way to sort it would be to hop on the Bay and grab this one - CLICKY
and fit it onto the crank. Now the advance curve will be suited to the ignition unit that's fitted to DUSTY

The other option is to get a later model TCI unit and swap them over, but they are a rarity and quite exxy when available.

If there is one actually in there, it may be seized up and immovable but some CRC and manipulation generally will get it moving smoothly in no time.

Let me know what you find, mate.

(Oh, and get those earths sorted ASAP)

Edit....
Just found some diagrams on the UK part number finder to help you understand which bits I'm taliking about


^ XS1100 E / F diagram. The part we're interested in is #10


^ XS1100 G / H diagram. Note the plain sleeve in place of the centrifical advance unit. # 12