Web Page Created: Wednesday, August 31, 2005
This Page Is Periodically Updated
I bought this bike in August of 2003. It had been setting against the outside of a house partly
covered with a blue tarp. It had not been run much and had been kept there, exposed to the weather, for quite some time.
( 1) Washed bike. It was beyond dirty..
( 2) Took fairing off of bike and stripped it of lights & wiring.
Repaired several breaks in fiberglass. Reinforced floor of fairing.
( 3) Repaired two minor dents in gas tank.
( 4) Stripped, cleaned and resealed tank with POR-15.
Bought this Cycle Kit and an extra can of sealer just to make sure the inside was well sealed.
( 5) Repainted gas tank and repainted YAMAHA logos on side of tank.
( 6) Repaired and repainted side covers and side cover logos.
( 7) Bought stock seat pan and converted it over to touring seat pan. Beefed it up with sheet metal.
The old seat pan was rusted out, but foam was still good.
Here's the specifics on the petcocks and adapter plate:
Information on petcock:
Information on petcock adapter plate:
Biker's Choice Petcock
492872
CHR STRAIGHT PETCOCK 3/8 NPT W/VITON GASKET
57-74 SPORTSTER 66-74 BIG TWIN
MFG#011409 OEM# 62125-55B MADE IN TAIWAN
QUALITY PRODUCTS FOR HARLY DAVIDSONS
PINGEL
FUEL VALVE ADAPTER BLANK
VN-P# A1902C-B
PART NO: DS-390336
(14) Replaced and rewired fusebox. Used Automotive fusebox. Cost less than $5.00 for new fusebox.
The clips on the old fusebox had deteoriated and were too brittle.
One set of clips in the fusebox that had held the fuse for the headlight was missing.
That particular fuse had been jury rigged with an automobile radio fuse holder.
(15) Took the headlight & turn signal control completely apart. Took everything out of the housing unit.
It was a mess all gunked up with dirt, oil and grease. Cleaned contacts, re-greased and re-oiled moving parts.
Now the switches work smooth - just like new!
(16) Took apart and cleaned all electrical connections.
(17) Replaced the electrical connection which connects the gas tank to the bike harness.
(18) Took my bike for its first ride (since buying it in 2003) on Wednesday, July 27, 2005.
The front brake is not completely releasing its grip on the disk. The back brake is doing the same thing.
The clutch cable (or clutch) needs to be adjusted.
It was a rather interesting ride being as I have not been on a bike since 1980 - 25 years ago!
It didn't take long to remember the gearshift, clutch, front brake and rear brake hand and foot operation.
(19) Opened up and took apart the front brake master cylinder.
The front master cylinder needed cleaning and fresh fluid.
Refilled with new brake fluid and bled front brake line. Aug 2, 2005
(20) Opened up and took apart the rear brake master cylinder.
The back master cylinder needed cleaning and fresh fluid.
Refilled with new brake fluid and bled rear brake line. August 8, 2005
(21) Took off and cleaned outside of front and rear brake calibers, brake pads and pistons.
The calibers - where they face the brake pads - were filthy.
Cleaned and lubricated outside of caliber piston rubber.
Took off and cleaned all brake pads and where they sit on the caliber mount brackets.
Some brake pads were stuck in their position on the caliber mount.
Drained and put new fluid in and bled front and rear brakes. August 9, 2005
(22) The last time I took the bike out for a ride I noticed that the clutch had been slipping...
or seemed to be slipping. Although I only had 3 miles on the bike since I had last changed the oil
I decided to try something which another XS1100 biker suggested. He said that I might have a buildup
of gunk and varnish on the clutch plates. He said for me to put in "a few ounces of Marvel Mystery Oil
in the crankcase" and run the bike though the gears while the bike was on the center stand. Then I
should drain the oil and put in fresh oil. He said that this might help clean off the clutch and stop the
clutch from slipping. Well, I tried this procedure. I added a couple ounces to the oil in the crankcase,
ran the bike through the gears several times while the bike was on the center stand. Then I drained the
oil - it was black! - and put in fresh oil. I didn't change the oil filter this time around. Running the bike
on the street will have to wait until my next day off from work.
Too much to do this time on my days off. Monday, August 15, 2005
(23) Took the bike for a ride. Cleaning the brakes, calibers as well as putting some Marvel Mystery Oil
in the crankcase to clean the clutch - and then refilling with new oil - sure has helped.
The clutch grabs a lot better and smoother now.. Monday, August 22, 2005
(24) Took the bike for a ride. Wednesday August 24, 2005. 56 miles. Not a long a "trip"
by most standards but it was my first serious ride on the bike. I did kinda wonder what would go wrong.
Lucked out. No serious problems. The clutch does need adjusting. I am going to re-adjust the clutch,
take it for a ride and see what happens. Thursday, August 25, 2005
(25) Adjusted the clutch. Working fine so far. Monday August 29, 2005.
(26) Took the bike for a ride. Another 56 miles. Clutch/Gear shifting working fine. Wednesday August 31, 2005.
(27) Started riding the bike to and from work at the end of August.
(28) Took the bike in to get some new tires. The old tires were on the bike from when I bought it and I didn't
trust them. Took the bike in on Tuesday, October 4, 2005. Got the bike back on October 11, 2005.
Cost: $264.18 Busy Place.
(29) Bought some new rubber carberator boots for the bike a couple months ago. Time to replace the old ones
which had deep cracks on them. No telling how long they've been on the bike. Put them on.
Cleaned up/polished up the outside of the carbs. Rain letting up some here in Oregon.
Been one hell of a wet winter. Cost: $95.00 Saturday, February 25, 2006.
(30) The rainy season finally tapered off in Oregon and summer is on the way! Time to ride. May, 2006
I got tired of my fingers getting cold in the springtime when I was riding that I decided to do something about it!
I made some mittens for my bike's handlebar grips. They work GREAT!
The photos are below if you're interested.
For information on how I made them CLICK HERE
MAKE YOUR OWN MITTENS FOR YOUR YAMAHA XS1100...
LEFT MITTEN MEASUREMENTS
RIGHT MITTEN MEASUREMENTS
(31) If the leather ties on the mittens seem like they are too far away from the openings, they aren't.
When you tie the straps to the handlebars it forces the mittens to open up AND it also forces the end of the
mittens to swing back toward the rider and over the handlebar grips.....
I suppose if you want to go out and spend a fortune on "motorcycle luggage" then that's entirely up
to you. Myself, well, I prefer to keep the money in my pocket. So, I made my own bike luggage by
converting some standard luggage which I bought at the Salvation Army for use on my bike. Total
cost of the luggage: $7.00. The bags were $3.50 each.
I converted two pieces of luggage for my bike. One piece of luggage (closest to the seat) stays on the
luggage carrier. The second piece of luggage is set up to come off when needed.
This luggage is the kind of luggage that has the wheels on the bottom and the handle that
extends up. I took the wheels off and attached a piece of 2x4 underneath the luggage to
raise up the luggage bags above the luggage rack. The reason for this is so I can unzip
the luggage which has a zipper that goes around the bottom of the luggage bags. Without
my raising up the luggage off of the luggage carrier I couldn't unzip the bottom of the luggage bags.
The two pieces of luggage are connected to each other with plastic connectors. The connectors
are connected to nylon strap material (the kind you find on motorcycle helmets). And, the nylon
strap material is connected to the bags via "D" shaped nickel rings. The nickel rings are held
onto the bags with small sheet metal brackets I made. Each bracket is simply a retangular piece of
sheet metal which I cut so that it fits through the "D" ring. I then folded the sheet metal in half
around the straight part of the "D" ring.... and then drilled a hole in the sheet metal to bolt it to
the bag. The bolts go through the metal support frame of the luggage bags. That's about it.
Kinda simple.
Click on the photo above or on "Motorcycle Luggage" to go to a link that I put up that has a
bunch of photos I took of the bags. Some of the photos are kinda large, but they do show
you how I made the connectors AND how the "permanent" bag is attached to the bike.
Sunday, June 25, 2006
If you have a hassle everytime you go to turn your bike around in a garage or in a narrow driveway I have a real simple - and not too costly - solution to this problem.
I built a motorcycle turntable that's simple to build and works really well. I simply got tired of the time and work it took for me to turn my bike around in my narrow driveway.
Click on the picture or on the link for more information on how you can build your own bike turntable. It's real easy.
Sunday, July 03, 2006
(34) The idle light on the bike went out. Replaced it. No biggie....but I did have to drain the oil to do it.
Decided it was a good time to switch over to Gastrol GTX SAE 20-50 motor oil. $2.50 a quart!
Yamaha brand motor oil now hitting $6.00 a quart! Rediculous price!!
After riding the bike for a few hundred miles I encountered no problems with the new oil.
No clutch slippage with different oil. Good!
Thursday, August 3, 2006.
(35) Put new grips on the bike. One of the old grips started to rip on the end. Cost: $14.00
Friday, August 4, 2006.
This wasn't too complex a project. I wanted a hard "bag" to put my bike cover in. I already had one but it was
a hassle to jam the bike cover into the soft nylon bag every night when I got off work... I wanted a hard bag that
had one end that opened up so I could just shove the cover into it, close it, lock it and be done. That's when I got
the idea of converting a golf bag into a kind of utility bike bag.
I found a golf bag at a thrift shop for a few bucks. The main body of the golf bag was constructed of rolled plastic or
plastic-nylon. A durable material for my purposes. I took off the attached pockets of the golf bag as well as the ends of
the bag. Then I cut the bag down to 2 feet. Then I closed off one end and added a "door" to the other end. One end of the
golf bag is really a plastic/nylon food dish. The other end that is the door is really a pie pan...I do plan to replace THAT door
with something a tad better looking. I stitched two straps around the bag. I also stitched 2 "D" rings on top of the bag and
2 "D" rings on the bottom of the bag so I could attach the bag to my bike. The hinge for the door is made from nylon strapping...like the strapping on
a bike helmet. The "lock" is a simple nylon clip lock....as is found on belly bags or nylon backpacks. All the parts came from the
thrift shop.
Total cost: Less than $5.00
Sunday, August 14, 2006
(37)
Weather Note: October 19, 20, 21 clear & dry. Kinda cold on the road: 40-43 degrees in early morning. Some light fog.
Monday, October 23, 2006
(38)
Weather Note: October 26, 27, 28, 29: Cold. 38 degrees and foggy on Highway 101.
Wind Chill 22 degrees at 60 mph. Sunday, October 29, 2006
(39)
Weather Note: Wednesday, November 1, 2006 Heavy rain. Looks like it will be that way
for the next four days....maybe more. Hitched bike up in the barn till the weather eases up.
(40)
Weather Note: Wednesday, December 13, 2006 - Heavy rain and wind Satellite Image
(41)
Weather Note: Friday, January 12, 2007 - Temp 26 degrees at 05:00 am. Brrrrr.
The wind chill at 50 miles per hour with a temprature of 26 degrees is 6 degrees Farenheit....Brrrrr
(42)
Weather Note: Wednesday, April 25, 2007 - Temp High 60s, Low 40s. No Rain! ABOUT TIME!!!.
In 2006 a log truck tire threw a rock that pretty much destroyed my windshield. After that
happened I had to figure out how I was going to replace it since I could not find anyone that
makes this specific windshield for my bike. In the end I ordered a sheet of Lexan 25" square and
3/16" thick. In the end I cut and shaped my own windshield. Click on the windshield photo to
find out how I made a new windshield for my bike's fairing.
Total Cost: $51.70
May 17, 2007
(44)
Back On The Road! - After a LONG wet winter I checked the bike over and took it out on the road. No problems.
The nice spring days are here! Riding the bike to and from work again! Tuesday, May 22, 2007.
(45)
The right front caliber was sticking. Rebuilt it. It was one of those projects where you think it's going to be
a royal pain - and isn't. I love that kinda job! Monday, August 14, 2007
(46)
*BUMMER!* Wednesday, September 19, 2007. 04:00 am. It's pouring rain outside. Weather reports say that
thunder storms are going to hit tonight and tomorrow. This is going to put a SERIOUS crimp in my riding!
Man! Summer FLEW by this year! Must'a been having a whole lot of fun, eh? (((smile)))
Wednesday, September 19, 2007.
(47)
Thursday, September 20, 2007. It's going to be some nice weather for a while yet.
Looks like the weatherman called this one wrong. Ridin!
(48)
*Nasty Weather!* Drizzle started on Thursday night, September 27th, 2007.
Drizzle turned to regular rain at 0400 am on Friday morning, September 28th at 0200.
It's now raining. Weather reports say that we are going to get more of the same for the rest of this week.
-- Friday September 28th, 2007
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