just got an xj1100 special

so i finally moved it from the PO's house. Like i said before its very rough to start, when i got there to pick it up i started it with no troubles at all, hopped on and TOOK OFF.... i didnt expect that much pick up from it, it was running great and then it started to spit and spitter and from what my frieand said... it started spitting blue smoke badly. I got it to a gas station and turned it off. I tried to start it back up and it wouldnt start..... waited awhile and then it fired right up. It would idle fine but then when i would put it in gear to go it would spit and sputter and carry on. So finally it stopped and i couldnt get it to start again. Called everybody i knew and asked for help with a trailer, finally got it loaded and before we pulled it off notice there was oil dripping. I really hope the motor isnt blown already. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!

 

Did you accidentally leave the choke on?

 

Do you have the results from the Compression Test you did on the Bike before buying it.

I hope you did one!

There's a great number of factors involved in the bike acting that way.
All of them related to Oil Level and related.
Fuel Level and related.

But, you need to let us know a whole lot more about this bike before you can expect us to be able to comment on what might be amiss!

 

Holy mollie Fratman! What is the mileage on the beast? Best nurse that thing into the garage and give it the once over. Check your oil level (I assume you wisely changed the oil and filter before you went nuts) and perform a compression test. Let us know what you find.

 

ummm, this is what i know.

only one petcock is hooked up, no air cleaner, looks like drilled baffles.

What do i need to perform a compression test? When i get home from work tommarow im going to pull the plugs and see if they are colored or not.

What info can i give that will help?

 

i asked about the oil and filter and all that and he said he did a full tune up and maintenance before he put it up for sale. I guess i shouldnt be so trusting huh?

 

We had a saying in Quality Assurance division: In God we trust, all others we monitor.
One could ask what level of competency the P.O. has as a mechanic. If he is a good mechanic, things should be ok.
If you don't know, well... you don't know.
Do check out all of the systems, ESPECIALLY the brakes, your life depends upon them! And the general population would appreciate your consideration as well.
You might dodge the bullet this time, but I'm not betting on it.
Get that compression test done and we'll see where we land.
Best of luck Dan.

 

brakes work well, i did check those and all the lights, he let me ride it around the driveway and it didnt give this much trouble

 

Mmmmmmmm.....that would qualify as a "problem". Unless he has split the output from the other petcock in two, then only two carbs are getting fuel, as there is no "crossover" pipe that connects the left and right bank of carbs for fuel supply on an 1100.

No air Cleaner, or no Filter? Either way, a problem.

I'm not sure what this means......??? In the exhaust?

Depending on what you paid for it, it still might be a good deal. Carbs can be repaired and rebuilt, filters added, etc. Remember, POI (Previous Owner's Ignorance) is curable, for a fee.........!

 

i paid 700 for it... i was reading and i think he messed up the carbs when he rebuilt them... i was full throttling trying to get the bike to go and got some blow by i think.

chacal, by drilled baffles i mean the exhaust

 

I think he means the airbox has been drilled. No filter is just nuts. What are these guys thinking about when they do that? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

I didn't realize that you could take apart the exhaust cans on those models in order to get to the baffles to drill them out...........!

 

yep, no filter for some reason....

 

But hey, for $700 dollars you're sitting pretty, if the rest of the bike is not a wreck......and as long as it doesn't have the dreaded 2nd gear problem.

 

im going to try and get some pics of stuff im not sure about tommarow.... thanks for all the help guys. One thing im not sure about is on the carb thats all the way on the left, the little rubber boot thing (carb to engine rubber part) has a tube sticking out.... and it looks like he jammed a screw in it for some reason.... what the heck is it?

 

Boils down to:
50~50!
Either you got a good deal ... or, ...
You got burned.

Personally, I would have done a Compression Test if my plans were to ride it.
At $700.00 you'll be at a figure easily attained if the Motor needs Rings, second gear and a starter clutch.

Lets hope all you need is a Oil Change and a Carb Cleaning.
Maybe a tire or two.

I know that the Legendary 1100 is a Beast.
You might have some work to do in order to give that Lion back its Roar!

 

Okay, the verdict is in: you boguht a bike from a dodo.

And you ARE too trusting!

The brass tube is a vacuum port, and there is supposed to be a tight fitting rubber cap (called a blind plug) that fits very tightly over it, in order to prevent vacuum leaks. A vacuum leak that significant will cause the engine (and in particular, that cylinder) to run extremely lean.....not a good thing on an air-cooled bike. I don't see how a screw of almost any size will actually serve to prevent air from entering through there.

You need a blind plug of something similar to seal up that vacuum port before you ride that thing any more. I'll bet the #1 plug is deathly white on the insulator......

And again, unless he rigged a t-fitting into the one functioning petcock, then you're really running on only 1-1/2 cylinders!

The 1100's use dual petcocks in order to be able to keep up with the rather thirsty appetite for fuel that those huge carbs have. Even if he did run a tee-fitting to feed both banks of carbs from one petcock, it's likely that under hard accell or other conditions that the engine might be running out of fuel.

 

i think the petcock setup is one of the biggies then.... how is the two petcock arrangement supposed to be set up? What can i use as a blind plug, can i get them from an auto parts store?

 

That, my XJfriend, is the vacuum take off port for vacuum syncronization. It should have a rubber cap on it like #2 and #4 (#3 is used to switch your petcock, it should have a rubber hose on it running to the port on the back of the petcock). If there is a screw in it, the P.O. or some other enterprizing and cheap SOB didn't have a replacement cap laying around and was too lazy to wander down to the parts store and get a new one. You can leave it in (I wouldn't out of a sense of respect for myself and my machine) and hope it isn't leaking (odds could go either way on that one) or replace it with a new cap and sleep better at night. Your choice but I hope you choose the cap.

***Edit- I'm obviously having a senior moment here, I'm thinking you had an XS1100 like my old beast with an in-line 4. Seems I'm out of touch. Sorry about any confusion.***

 

Blind plugs---yes, an auto chain store will probably have something very similar. I do sell the original ones for a couple of bucks or so.

Hopefully, the carbs still have the vacuum "pod" unit on mounted to the top of the #2 carb.....if not, none of this is going to make any sense!

And even if you do have the pod, this gets confusing, go slowly!:


Fuel hose routing, XJ1100:

NOTE: XJ1100 fuel lines are routed as follows:

-Vacuum hose at vacuum pod: 5" long HCP5365C and uses 2 x HCP3951
(or HCP3102 aftermarket) squeeze clamps 7.2mm ID

-Fuel hose?? on #2 carb: 7" long HCP5357 and uses 2 x HCP3951
(or HCP3102 aftermarket) squeeze clamps 7.2mm ID

-Ports on vacuum pods, left-to-right, (each port is numbered on top) 3-1-2-4, with 1 & 2 being siamesed the center):

#3: 4" hose HCP5369 coming off of it, to a vacuum straight "T" HCP5364.
Uses 2 x HCP2945 squeeze clips 10.2mm ID.

Out of the single T is a 2" hose HCP5369, going to the LH petcock front outlet position. Uses 1 x HCP2945 squeeze clip 10.2mm ID at the T, and
1 x HCP542 three-finger clamp at the petcock 10.15mm ID

Out of the straight T is a 9" hose HCP5366 (cut in half), going to the
#1/2 carb fuel inlet. Uses 2 x HCP2945 squeeze clips (no a/m) 10.2mm ID.


#1: an 8" hose HCP5366 (cut in half) going to the LH petcock rear outlet
position. Uses 1 x HCP2945 squeeze clip )no a/m) 10.2mm ID at the pod, and 1 x HCP542 three-finger clamp at the petcock 10.15mm ID


#2: a 9" hose HCP5366 (cut in half) going to the RH petcock rear outlet position. Uses 1 x HCP2945 squeeze clip (no a/m) 10.2mm ID at the pod, and 1 x HCP542 three-finger clamp at the petcock 10.15mm ID


#4: 5-1/4" hose HCP5366 (cut to size) coming off of it, to a vacuum
straight T HCP5364 Uses 2 x HCP2945 squeeze clips (no a/m) 10.2mm ID.

Out of the straight T is a 3-1/2" hose HCP5366 (cut to size), going to
the RH petcock front outlet position. Uses 1 x HCP2945 squeeze clip (no a/m) 10.2mm ID at the T, and 1 x HCP542 three-finger clamp at the petcock 10.15mm ID

Out of the single T is a 9" hose HCP5366 (cut in half), going to the
3/4 carb fuel inlet. Uses 2 x HCP2945 squeeze clips (no a/m) 10.2mm ID.

SUMMARY:

Vacuum Pod fuel lines = total length of 50" of 1/4" ID fuel line:
1 x 2"
1 x 3-1/2"
1 x 4"
1 x 5-1/4"
1 x 8"
3 x 9"

3 x HCP5366 cut as follows:
1 unit cut into a 9" and 8" pieces
1 unit cut into a 9", a 4", and a 3-1/2" pieces
1 unit cut into a 9", a 5-1/4", and a 2" pieces.

4 x HCP542 three-finger clamps (at petcocks)
12 x HCP2945 oem squeeze clamps (or HCP122 oem clamps when used with aftermarket fuel line) used at every position EXCEPT at the petcocks.

 

wow, that is really confusing.... hopefully ill find some pics or something

 

should i go by this?

http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=713

chacal can you send me a pm with the price for all that stuff?

 

so should i go by that diagram? if not can sombody point me in the right direction to one or just post one?

 

this is a scarry statement,,,,,I would asume these to be along the xs11 type of power,,these old bike's had masive torque at anything above idle,,,an a nooby riding 1 that wasn't ready for it was a recipe for disaster,,,,,good luck getting the beast back,,,hopefully,,,Dan

 

Yes, that is the correct diagram! XS1100 and XJ1100 models are almost identical bikes, mecahnically speaking.

And yes, be careful on that thing.......the 1100 models are about the only versions of these XJ bikes that can actual do a wheelie, and pretty easily and unintentionally!

 

thanks guys.... i would just like to get this thing to the point that my old bike was.... just get it started and take off

pic

 

Ummmmm....something looks funny........that's not the 1100, is it ????

 

no, thats my old bike... kz440


way way way way way to small to be an 1100, i guess i should try and get pics of the xj so you guys can see what im working with huh?

 

Okay, whew! Had me going there for a moment........!

 

PICS+1