1982 XJ1100J Project

Hello all,

Recently acquired a pretty cherry 1982 XJ1100J.
22,000 on the odometer, it was pickled back in 2005 and never touched since.
This is my first large bike project, my first shaft drive as well.

I'm trying to formulate a gameplan in terms of getting it roadworthy again.
It was roadworthy when it was parked, and it remains in a complete, unmolested condition.
The bike came also came with a Factory Service manual, which is handy.
As much fun as it would be to tear the whole thing down and rebuild it, I would rather just identify and rebuild/replace/adjust whatever needs to be to get the bike back on the road.

Obvious things in my mind at the moment:
Battery - replace
Fuel Petcocks - rebuild
Carbs - rebuild
Brake Master Cylinders - rebuild/replace
Clutch - rebuild (is currently stuck, won't release)
Tires - replace

Other than that, I'm not sure. Any suggestions or recommendations would be welcome.

 

It's a long and expensive list.
You have named some of them,good job!
What does the inside of the Fuel tank look like ?
If you rebuild the carbs you will need to check and set the valve shims.,and purchase a sync tool.
There are some scary story's on this site about the rear brake shoe bonding falling apart and sizing up the rear tire going the road,may want to think about that.
May want to inspect the wheel bearings,i'm sure the grease in them is getting aged,that means replacement basically.
Of course change all the fluids.
As far as the rear drive go's,it is my understanding that they are very durable and few issues that i know about and that there is nothing serviceable with the exception of the drive gear fluid.

Can you post some photos,you will have to become a member to do so...

 

Does your bike have the original brake lines? Better replacing them too.

 

The fuse box on the xj550 is pretty outdated, yours may warrant a replacement as well

 

Welcome to the forum and congrads on a great bike. To make it road worth and safe is the first things to look at. So carbs, valves, brakes, lighting, tires and shocks. The normal maint on the fluids as needed. Hypo, crankcase oil and filter, along with the brakes. If the brakes have been down (not used) sense 2005 you will want to take them apart, remove the pucks with compressed air or a grease gun (watch those fingers and use a rag to cushion the puck when it comes out). Once it is road worthy take her out for a short ride and see what you think, how it feels. Once you have her back on the road and feel a little accomplishment and satisfaction, start to work on the other things. Wheel bearings if needed, replace the fuse box to a more modern blade type, fork rebuild if needed with new oil. So many things to keep you busy on these older bikes.

Best of luck, keep us posted and when you get five post show us this bike

 

Thanks for all the suggestions and support, fellas.
@JCH @Franz @Timbox @Dre42

This forum looks like it will be an invaluable resource and I am glad I found it.

I'll do my best to keep this thread updated with my progress. I'm new to forums in general, so I'll do my best to get it figured out.
Question: how does including images work; are there restrictions for non-premium members? Also, I guess I would need to use an image hosting service, is there one that y'all recommend?

I haven't had the chance to really get into the bike yet, just getting my work area situated.
I failed to mention earlier that in the same transaction where I acquired the '82 XJ1100, I also was given a '79 XS1100 to serve as a "parts bike" if necessary. The '79 is without the tank, seat, side covers, etc and while it was pickled 20+ years old and put in a barn, it is definitely rougher around the edges compared to the actual project, the '82.

 

After five posts you will be able to upload photographs. Use the upload a file tab. There is a site on You Tube called Andy's Motorcycle Obsessions called Basket Case where he rebuilt an XS 1100 although he made it into a cafe racer.

 

I have the seat and gas tank for that XS1100 I am guessing. I had the same yr XS850 that didn't go well as a project. Not too sure if they are interchangeable.

 

The XS1100 quite commonly had second gear problems requiring the gear to be replaced. The XJ1100 may be prone to that same problem?
Cheers, 50gary

 

Aha. The gentleman I bought it from said that second gear was extremely temperamental. He said that he always skipped through it to third. Any more info on that particular issue?

 

So there are the bikes. Obviously the '79 is the "parts" bike. I have the tank, seat, and side covers for the '82. I pulled the carb rack off, and took the exhaust off. Rack looks pretty good, hopefully the rebuild will be uneventful.

 

I do not know if the exhaust is stock at all. I know the mufflers are HD Sportster, but not sure if the header pipes are stock, they look significantly different from the ones on the '79.

 

Looks like the OEM had a cross over pipe and these do not.
https://www.bikebandit.com/oem-parts/1979-yamaha-xs1100-xs1100sf/o/m138405#sch231230
Good luck with the project.

 

So after much thinking, I decided that the bike is going to get torn down to the frame and gone through. Not planning on any major disassembly of the motor, though the transmission needs to be gone through because 2nd gear is jacked up. I just decided that if I'm going to end up daily-ing this bike, I want to know everything about it and have confidence in its safe operation. This way when any issues show up later on, I'll have a better understanding of this particular bike. The frame is looking pretty flaky, and since this is the Florida coast, I do want to get it blasted and repainted. Sort of a, "if you don't have time to do it right, how are you gonna have time to do it over?", kind of thing. Anyhow, I disassembled the handlebars and headlight bucket. I took the instrument cluster off (why do you guys refer to it as the Atari, just to be funny?). The only thing I broke was the right mirror, snapped it clean off because I had no idea that it was LH thread.

 

You have a job ahead of you. Good that you want to put the time and energy into your project. When you do strip it down make sure the frame is still in good shape. You have a lot of patina on the frame, just make sure it is not rusted to the point of being weak some place.

 

@Timbox Will do. It doesn't look too bad so far. I'll probably end up smacking the bottom tubes of the frame with a hammer to see if I can hear any rusty bits coming loose.

 

Pretty much. It's also a sort of a tribute to 80's coolness.

The typical place for the frame to rust is near the kickstand. I had to weld up a good sized hole in mine, and it had spent its whole life in Kansas at that point.

 

Ok, very good. Thanks for the info @k-moe
Yeah, I figured it was just to be funny. I'm all about the 80's, such a cool decade.

 

Your 1100 appears to have actual instruments, ie tach and speedo and not the Atari some refer to.
The Atari looks like an 80's monitor, tach, speedo and CMS (computer monitoring system) all under one glass panel.
82 750 Maxim, 750 Seca, Turbo, 920 Virago have these.

 

Yep. No ATARI on the 1100.

 

This is exactly the kind of FUBAR type nonsense from the PO that I was hoping to not find on my bike. What made him think this was a good idea?


Also, does anyone know what this thing is on the front of the cylinder bank beneath the exhaust ports? It is also buggered up with some kind of JB Weld on the bottom portion.

 

Cam chain tensioner beneath exhaust ports.

 

ah, okay. Is it hydraulically operated by engine oil pressure? @Franz

 

No looking at your picture of the tensioner it is manually adjusted. The bolt and locknut. You slacken the locknut and the bolt. Then the spring inside pushes the guide forward to take up the chain adjustment. Then you tighten the bolt and then the locknut.

 

ok, that's a big 10-4, chief. I'll try to look it up in my factory service manual, thanks for the clarification.

 

Great yes check the manual too.

 

I think it should look like this.





See if this matches the one in your service manual?

 

How are you going to fix the drain plug?
That’s a doozie for sure. Might be easiest to find a replacement pan.

 

There are inserts for that problem. So long as the pan isn't cracked too.

 

I'll be having a closer look at it, hopefully I can just try to remove the goop that is on it and fix the original problem the correct way.

 

But the XJ1100 does have a CMS, which could still be referred to as an ATARI??

 

I suppose. Not Square enoough IMO.

 

I would check inside the sump in case any of that (filler around the drain plug opening) is in there. Just a thought be easier to fix on the bench too.

 

That is the plan, to pull the pan, and fix it, man.

 

I doubt that - that's a manual adjuster bodge.

 

Yeah, it does look fricked up, I'll try and investigate more.

 

Yup it is unfortunately.

 

I change out the chain tensioner with a aftermarket one as mine was leaking oil so badly. As far as that drain plug...WOW who would do that? I would not try to fix that, get another pan because you will never be confident it will hold for ever. I guess is you can't find a new pan, you can drop the pan and have it TIG welded and then tap it again.

 

So here is the nifty little clutch holding tool I fabricated last week.


Then I pulled the clutch.


Aaannnd, removed the engine. It was a heavy S.O.B. to remove by myself, but when it's 2 am on a Saturday night, everybody else is sleeping.

 

Has anyone tired putting the bike in gear and brake on and removal of the nut with a air wench and reinstalling with a torque stick,i realize that it is not the recommend procedure.

 

Andy's Motorcycle Obsession's on youtube exclusively uses his impact gun to remove and reinstall the clutch on his XS1100. Not necessarily endorsing it, but if it works, it works.

 

It's very common in the automotive industry or better said everyone !
I did hear about a guy snapping off a Pinon gear using one once... to remove the nut and that always stuck in my head.

 

I have always used a impact gun to remove the clutch nut. Torque stick to put it back on. Never had any problems with that.

 

I also remember guys using impacts on timing gear nuts and that was a big no no , some metals don't do well with them but your usually ok if you control your settings accordingly.

 

Took the tensioner off and inspected it. It appears to be operating properly, according to the information I read in the FSM. The PO must have RTV'd some kind of plug in the exposed end. He must've really liked RTV. Every single cover I have removed so far has not had a gasket on it, just a razor-thin layer of RTV.

 

Gaskets cost money ...LOL

 

I replaced the OEM one with a aftermarket one. That was on my XS but same idea. Gasket kit would be the way to go for lest costly. Good luck.