When I was first starting out in the power sports business I was working at a dealership that sold Honda, Yamaha, Husky and the last of the old style Triumph motorcycles. I almost bought a new CBX but my friend our service manager talked me into the standard model 1979 Yamaha XS1100 in dark blue with gold pinstripe. It was as tough and reliable as an anvil. Nothing ever went wrong with it and I rode it really really hard. Great underappreciated bike!
That's awesome to see it fired up again. I'm restoring a 1980 XS1100 SG right now. It was sitting in a garage and donated to me for free. It's all there (minus the fuse block of course) but found a new, replica fuse block unit to replace it with. She wasn't stored properly, so cylinder #4 is a but rough looking using a bore scope to check. I'm just taking it slow and rebuilding the top end if necessary to get it running again.
Awesome! Good job bringing this wonderful Motorcycle back to life. Nice to see the Heavy XS's making a come back. Hope to see an update on your progress.
Very good work, I luv to see these old bikes brought back to life. I too have an old 1100cc bike with 4 carbs,but it's running good and hasn't set around for years, doesn't need a carb balance yet!
john harris what bike do you have I had a 1981 Kawasaki kz1100 one bad ass bike my cousin has it now for his back up bike when he is working on his Kawasaki zx14r
Thanks for the comment. I needed to pull the carbs out 3x to get them dialed in. Problem was I kept doing just not quite enough. My recommendation for anyone with these mikuni carbs is: -make sure ALL jets and orifices are clear - even the hard to get ones, -set the float heights properly and uniformly -sync the carbs by hand with a flashlight shining it through the output side and viewed from the butterfly side.
I started riding at age 4 and have owned and ridden them all, Japanese, Italian, German, American and here I am at age 60 with an artificial shoulder and now riding a 2021 Yamaha T-7. Once I pay it off I’ll be acquiring a T-12 for 2 up long distance rides with my Bride. YAMAHA.
I have the same carb sync gauge set.......they work perfect if you hang them from a rope/bungee cord from your garage door or something handy. That eliminates all the engine vibration. Also, there should be those white dial valves that fit in-line in the vacuum lines, and you dial them down to where the needle barely vibrates. Thats the trick, then you have easy to read sync gauges.
You should have a damper screw to stabilize the needles on each of the vacuum gauges. I've synchronized carbs a thousand times and what you are doing is nuts. A damper will keep the needles at one level and then turning synchronizing screws on the carbs is easy.
I don't think there is an accelerator pump on those carbs. twisting the throttle before trying to start the bike won't do anything. I also have had trouble with that type of sync tool and I think it needs to be revved to work correctly. nice video, good luck.
That model of carb synch does work well but should have come with small white screws that you have to add to the black rubber lines. Cut 5" off the end of each of the tubes. These short pieces attach to the carb synch. White screw part next and then the rest of the hose to the carbs. Start with the screws turned out. As the bike is running, turn them in and watch the needle slow its movement. The needle will almost come to a complete stop and the pressure reading of that carb. If you turn the white screw too far the needle will simply drop and you turn the screw out a bit. Hope this helps.
Thanks a lot for amazing video Capt. Willy. I have a question about gorgeous XS: why there are 2 fuel petcock ? I never see double fuel petcock on japanes 4 in line classics. The Four's and Z's series I know have only one fuel petcock on the left side. How they work ? Must use both in daily use ? Thanks a lot for your patience.
Alfredo, thanks for the comment. I always ran with both open. The XS is a thirsty beast with an over-engineered fuel vacuum pump and distribution system (known affectionately as the "octopus"). It seemed logical to me to present as much potential fuel supply to the system as could be made available. After all, Yamaha did provide the 2 fuel petcocks. I did run it exclusively off one side or the other every once in awhile and didn't really sense any starvation or other adverse effects. But, that said, I never checked the fuel economy between the 3 states (both open / open left only / open right only). In retrospect I'd think there might be a slight burn hit when both were open simply because the available supply flow was 2x. Anyway, thanks again and ride safe... CW PS - the petcocks were 3-position: prime (bypassing the vacuum diaphragm pump), normal, and off.
@@CaptWilly Thank a lot Capt. Willy fou your kind answer. Understandable the thirst of XS 1.1, air alone without gas cannot give so much power. Twins fuel petcock intrigued me because I seen always one in the left side of the tank, always "open" because gas fall only with depressure when engine run. Otherwise it is possible turn on prime position if bike seated for a long in garage. Have good fun with gorgeous XS !!!!! BYE !!!! Alfredo
I have a question . How do you know exactly when the carbs are in sync with those needles bouncing all over the place? Why not get the mercury carb synchronizer? I think you can dial in the carbs much better but I could be wrong .
@@CaptWilly When i remember it right, you have to pre-synchronize the 4 carbs before putting into the bike by measuring the distance of the closing disc-shaped plates covering the small holes partially when you look into the holes of the carb-bank from the valve-train side. Every disc has to cover one of the small holes for the idling mixture the same amount. Then never touch the synchronizing srews for that adjustment again. The synchronizing gauges used when the engine is running in idle are only used for adjusting the idle-mixture. The problem is the worn out sealing rings of the carburetor axle holding the disc-shaped objects letting adittional air in so you are not able to adjust the idle mixture resulting in uneven idle engine run. You can temporarily fix this by getting some grease inside the worn out sealings of the carburetor axle, needing to take the carburetor axle out by grinding the safe-stamped ends of the holding screws for the disc shaped plates. A worn out carburetor axle bearing (axial) can result in part of the spring getting in between the gap and cause the carburetor to hang when on full throttle ! Keep that in mind to fix, too, when overhauling the carburetor axle bearing. Happend once to me i grabbed the clutch and saved my live thanks god.
A combination of Chemtool B12, aerosol brake cleaner for the passages, and regular carb cleaner for the main body parts. New boots were a must as well.
I know there were 2 carb systems on these XS bikes - the diaphragm pump type with the "octopus", and a simplified gravity feed system. Pretty sure those were the same possibilities before 1979.
Why did you call it a XS1000F it's a wm1100cc bike.. dont ya know what you have there slick ? Lol All kidding aside I had a XS1100 it was a 1980 this was in 84 bought from a guy for $1000.00 had 1800 miles on it. That puppy was wicked fast !! Had a lot of near death experiences on it..lol..but loved it and for some reason so did the ladies...met my wife of 32 yrs while I owned that bike..miss it a lot.
@@CaptWilly I have 2 , A 1981 Yamaha XS1100 special and I also have the 1981 Xs 1100 Midnight Special . That one is black & Gold .I am restoring that one
@@XS-ry6ig like that midnight special. I'm done with the old Yamahas for now, sticking with the other UJMs Honda, Kawasaki, and Suzuki. I have an '87 Honda VT1100C in the garage that I just finished. Got it on the cheap but I saw the potential. Now if I could just get a title in NYS I'd be able to ride it!
gindevo if you mean rpm, ok. Besides, I didn't have control valves installed to regulate the pressure to the dials, so the entire thing was not super useful. I fixed that and synced them properly. Syncing at idle is where to start...
When I was first starting out in the power sports business I was working at a dealership that sold Honda, Yamaha, Husky and the last of the old style Triumph motorcycles. I almost bought a new CBX but my friend our service manager talked me into the standard model 1979 Yamaha XS1100 in dark blue with gold pinstripe. It was as tough and reliable as an anvil. Nothing ever went wrong with it and I rode it really really hard. Great underappreciated bike!
That's awesome to see it fired up again. I'm restoring a 1980 XS1100 SG right now. It was sitting in a garage and donated to me for free. It's all there (minus the fuse block of course) but found a new, replica fuse block unit to replace it with. She wasn't stored properly, so cylinder #4 is a but rough looking using a bore scope to check. I'm just taking it slow and rebuilding the top end if necessary to get it running again.
They're great bikes. I've had several.
I'd recommend upgrading the glass fuse box though.
I had an 80 XS1100 what a great bike ! I'll miss it for ever.
Awesome! Good job bringing this wonderful Motorcycle back to life. Nice to see the Heavy XS's making a come back. Hope to see an update on your progress.
Very good work, I luv to see these old bikes brought back to life. I too have an old 1100cc bike with 4 carbs,but it's running good and hasn't set around for years, doesn't need a carb balance yet!
john harris what bike do you have I had a 1981 Kawasaki kz1100 one bad ass bike my cousin has it now for his back up bike when he is working on his Kawasaki zx14r
As far as I know, Dellorto carbs were the only carbs with accelerator pumps, My BMW R90s had them
78 KZ 650 mikuni carbs had acelerator pump on 3rd carb too
Thanks for the comment.
I needed to pull the carbs out 3x to get them dialed in.
Problem was I kept doing just not quite enough.
My recommendation for anyone with these mikuni carbs is:
-make sure ALL jets and orifices are clear - even the hard to get ones,
-set the float heights properly and uniformly
-sync the carbs by hand with a flashlight shining it through the output side and viewed from the butterfly side.
I started riding at age 4 and have owned and ridden them all, Japanese, Italian, German, American and here I am at age 60 with an artificial shoulder and now riding a 2021 Yamaha T-7. Once I pay it off I’ll be acquiring a T-12 for 2 up long distance rides with my Bride. YAMAHA.
Awesome !! ..love these bikes ...I've an old SECA 750 !!
I have the same carb sync gauge set.......they work perfect if you hang them from a rope/bungee cord from your garage door or something handy. That eliminates all the engine vibration. Also, there should be those white dial valves that fit in-line in the vacuum lines, and you dial them down to where the needle barely vibrates. Thats the trick, then you have easy to read sync gauges.
I did manage to get a reasonable sync by installing valves inline. There's just too strong a vacuum if not attenuated..
Wonderful vid. Good job getting it back to life!
You should have a damper screw to stabilize the needles on each of the vacuum gauges. I've synchronized carbs a thousand times and what you are doing is nuts. A damper will keep the needles at one level and then turning synchronizing screws on the carbs is easy.
I know. Commented on that earlier. But thanks.
I don't think there is an accelerator pump on those carbs. twisting the throttle before trying to start the bike won't do anything. I also have had trouble with that type of sync tool and I think it needs to be revved to work correctly. nice video, good luck.
poor boy definitely no acc pump on those carbs, rebuilt a bridge myself, and i actually noticed there werent
You need to get the mercury carb sync . They are 100% accurate
That model of carb synch does work well but should have come with small white screws that you have to add to the black rubber lines. Cut 5" off the end of each of the tubes. These short pieces attach to the carb synch. White screw part next and then the rest of the hose to the carbs. Start with the screws turned out. As the bike is running, turn them in and watch the needle slow its movement. The needle will almost come to a complete stop and the pressure reading of that carb. If you turn the white screw too far the needle will simply drop and you turn the screw out a bit. Hope this helps.
ppd5613 Yes, I got clued into the need for vacuum valves after this. Thanks for the comment, though...
All respect to anyone mechanical, but bro u seriously do not know what u are doing...due respect...u did somehow make it run. congrats
Thank you for pointing that out.
You have to have control valves on each gauge..
Yeah, I know. I added them.
The carb synchronizer looks like something from the old Batman series
i had one of those fantistic bikes, thanks for the memerys
Thanks a lot for amazing video Capt. Willy.
I have a question about gorgeous XS: why there are 2 fuel petcock ?
I never see double fuel petcock on japanes 4 in line classics.
The Four's and Z's series I know have only one fuel petcock on the left side.
How they work ?
Must use both in daily use ?
Thanks a lot for your patience.
Alfredo, thanks for the comment.
I always ran with both open. The XS is a thirsty beast with an over-engineered fuel vacuum pump and distribution system (known affectionately as the "octopus"). It seemed logical to me to present as much potential fuel supply to the system as could be made available. After all, Yamaha did provide the 2 fuel petcocks.
I did run it exclusively off one side or the other every once in awhile and didn't really sense any starvation or other adverse effects.
But, that said, I never checked the fuel economy between the 3 states (both open / open left only / open right only). In retrospect I'd think there might be a slight burn hit when both were open simply because the available supply flow was 2x.
Anyway, thanks again and ride safe...
CW
PS - the petcocks were 3-position: prime (bypassing the vacuum diaphragm pump), normal, and off.
@@CaptWilly Thank a lot Capt. Willy fou your kind answer.
Understandable the thirst of XS 1.1, air alone without gas cannot give so much power.
Twins fuel petcock intrigued me because I seen always one in the left side of the tank, always "open" because gas fall only with depressure when engine run.
Otherwise it is possible turn on prime position if bike seated for a long in garage.
Have good fun with gorgeous XS !!!!!
BYE !!!!
Alfredo
With the tunnel down the middle of the tank you either had two petcocks or a crossover tube between the two sides.
No, not there, but I added control valves to the gauges and retuned. Good to go after that.
Did this bike make it back to the road? I have a soft spot for these bikes. Nice to hear it run
Yep. Then I sold it.
I'm restoring another one now. Almost done - just chasing down a few things after replacing the head gasket...
I have a question . How do you know exactly when the carbs are in sync with those needles bouncing all over the place? Why not get the mercury carb synchronizer? I think you can dial in the carbs much better but I could be wrong .
Can't. I added vacuum control valves later to even out the deflection. Then you can synchronize.
@@CaptWilly When i remember it right, you have to pre-synchronize the 4 carbs before putting into the bike by measuring the distance of the closing disc-shaped plates covering the small holes partially when you look into the holes of the carb-bank from the valve-train side. Every disc has to cover one of the small holes for the idling mixture the same amount. Then never touch the synchronizing srews for that adjustment again.
The synchronizing gauges used when the engine is running in idle are only used for adjusting the idle-mixture.
The problem is the worn out sealing rings of the carburetor axle holding the disc-shaped objects letting adittional air in so you are not able to adjust the idle mixture resulting in uneven idle engine run.
You can temporarily fix this by getting some grease inside the worn out sealings of the carburetor axle, needing to take the carburetor axle out by grinding the safe-stamped ends of the holding screws for the disc shaped plates.
A worn out carburetor axle bearing (axial) can result in part of the spring getting in between the gap and cause the carburetor to hang when on full throttle ! Keep that in mind to fix, too, when overhauling the carburetor axle bearing. Happend once to me i grabbed the clutch and saved my live thanks god.
@@torstenkuehnel3832 Yes. That's a bench sync.
I don't think the carbs are balanced
These engines are 9 to 1 compression or thereabouts so 120 on the test with it even across the board may not be far from what they spec when new.
I agree its pretty decent for its age, mine is around 155 however so I know its not perfect.
Nice!
What did you use to clean the carbs up?
A combination of Chemtool B12, aerosol brake cleaner for the passages, and regular carb cleaner for the main body parts. New boots were a must as well.
Looking at getting a 750 soon for $600 looks like it's all there just been sitting
The 750 is nice but if you can find an 11...
Now do that with an injection engine. JK, love old engines successfully firing up!
Said "XS1000" on the video. Oops. Of course it's an 1100!
Lovely machine,but would have started and ticked over a lot sooner if you'd left the throttle alone .but you've for a grand job ,well done
need some dampers on the v gauges stop the needles bouncing around
Yes, I added 4 shortly afterward.
Its different in 1979 than the year before.
How so?
I know there were 2 carb systems on these XS bikes - the diaphragm pump type with the "octopus", and a simplified gravity feed system. Pretty sure those were the same possibilities before 1979.
@@CaptWilly its because the 1978 model is inaccurately listed as worth twice as much. I think there is the 8 cylinder version also.
@@dforwardslashsporeman7387 Definitely no 8 banger in this group! All the 1100's were inline 4's.
@@CaptWilly they're making fun of it to say it its doubled over because the same as I choose and a twin of that.
Why did you call it a XS1000F it's a wm1100cc bike.. dont ya know what you have there slick ? Lol All kidding aside I had a XS1100 it was a 1980 this was in 84 bought from a guy for $1000.00 had 1800 miles on it. That puppy was wicked fast !! Had a lot of near death experiences on it..lol..but loved it and for some reason so did the ladies...met my wife of 32 yrs while I owned that bike..miss it a lot.
I misspoke.
You did not work on the carbs on my 2 1981 Yamaha's. NASTY NASTY NASTY.
They do get smelly sticky!
@@CaptWilly You need to try the mercury sync not the needles . The mercury is 100% accurate.
@@CaptWilly I have 2 , A 1981 Yamaha XS1100 special and I also have the 1981 Xs 1100 Midnight Special . That one is black & Gold .I am restoring that one
@@XS-ry6ig like that midnight special.
I'm done with the old Yamahas for now, sticking with the other UJMs Honda, Kawasaki, and Suzuki. I have an '87 Honda VT1100C in the garage that I just finished. Got it on the cheap but I saw the potential. Now if I could just get a title in NYS I'd be able to ride it!
You need higher rmp to sync carbs !!
gindevo if you mean rpm, ok. Besides, I didn't have control valves installed to regulate the pressure to the dials, so the entire thing was not super useful. I fixed that and synced them properly. Syncing at idle is where to start...
it's impossible to sync carbs with this crap! sorry mate
I did manage to get a reasonable sync by installing valves inline. There's just too strong a vacuum if not attenuated..
I wud have sprayed sum WD-40 down plug holes
Why?
Wht wud dat do ...???
I buy that for 100 bucks