Motorhate

Ah thanks fellas will give that a go and let you know how it goes.

Riding home last night, dip headlight bulb went so had to use full beam. Went to change the bulb this morning and can't. I've got one of them double oval custom headlights: There's two hex screws on the side which I've undone but the housing (which I'm assuming should pull out) won't pull out. There are no other screws apart form the two side screws which thinking about it now, might be optional mount screws. Anyone else done one of these before?

I actually got to the bottom of this. Turned out to be a busted pin on the starter motor. Most likely this is putting extra strain on your battery. I managed to bodge this fixed and it turns over fine now.

Check them out, great pipes from the reviews. http://www.pacificcoaststar.com/pcs/v_star_1100_thugstar.htm

Thanks for the advice mate. I've decided on a set of Pacific Coast Thugstar Extreme pipes which can be got with a rejetting kit. They much tidier and sound a lot better than the Cobra pipes.

Thanks for the information Dickwad (lol at the name). I didn't think k they were the same but if you say they are then Noise, if you could post yours out to me I'll try and fit it. Naturally I'll pay postage and if it fits, i'll give you something g for it.

Thanks for the reply fellas. I did consider other tanks and even custom tanks up wanted to use a stock ta k I stead as believe it or not i really like them.

Does anyone know where I can get one in the UK ? All of the ones for sale seem to be in the USA, dented up really bad and very expensive. I'm looking for one that fits a custom if anyone has one or knows where I can get one.

One door opens and then another one slams right in your face. Now ... only one indicator works. The others stopped working more or less at the same time. Now only the near-side front indicator works. I've got two LED indicators on the rear which have worked fine up until now. On the front there are two normal type indicators which again have been working up until now. I was tempted to think that its a fuse but if one is still working that would rule that out, same goes for the flasher unit. By the way, the indicator light on the dial works for the side that the indicators are not working, but won't work for the side where the single indicator works. I'm assuming this is either a bad earth or some dodgy wiring that I've missed when the bike was taken apart. Looks like its gonna have to be taken apart again ...

I use my XVS1100 as a commuter at the moment and believe me, it isn't really a commuter. In fact, it handles like a bus and weighs a ton. I'd personally get a CB500 for around town, they're reliable cheap bikes and the engines are bulletproof. Sell the Harley and get a Warrior or Royal Star !!

Bike is finally finished. It was taken apart and checked over and had a lot wrong with it. Sluggish starting was down to a broken pin in the starter motor. This had caused some wear on the starter clutch which was replaced. If you've never replaced one, get an expert to do it. I got a mechanic to do it, who broke two removal tools in the process as it needed a proper hefty Yamaha tool to remove it and even then, the amount of force needed to remove it was unreal. Finally it was removed and replaced with a new one from Ebay which the mechanic was very impressed with. Also the carbs were filthy and the idle jets blocked. They were caked in crap and way out of balance. This was rectified. Alos, the choke was sticking, as was the throttle. The brakes weren't the greatest, and upon taking them apart, there was a tiny stone trapped between the pads and calipers which caused uneven wear on the pads. They were also replaced. Whoever had this bike did NOT take care of it at all. It was filthy underneath and absolutley caked in grease, dust and road crap. I cleaned all this off which took a good while to do. Engine was surprising in OK nick. Once the carbs were cleaned and balanced it ran really smooth. The amount of crap on and in the carbs was unreal and I'm surprised it ran at all. Next job it to replace the crap exhaust that's been fitted. I've already ruined a pair of waterproofs on it (hence the bodged heat shield. There's also a hole where it doesn't fit properly which I've bodged up with some exhaust paste. I've also replaced the grips with Kuryakin ISO grips which are far more comfortable than the leather grips (I kid you not) that were on there. Other little things were the rear brake master cylinder cover being absolutely covered in crap, so much so that it required grinding off. There's still some other things to do as well, the wheels are covered in crap, so much so I think I'm going to need some sort of hydrofluoric acid to get them clean. Could do with some new mirrors, a new front master-cylinder cover, a new headlight and this evening, the rear indicators stopped working. One day this bike will finally be fixed.

Latest instalment ... Got hold of a 2006 model battery box which looks to have the rectifier mounted in a different position, away from the exhaust pipes and exposed to the air flow under the frame. Managed to get that in place but as pointed out above, its fried the battery - brand new Motorbatt Quadflex that cost me £55 grrrrrr !!! Still sluggish when trying to start though. So now I'm trying to fix the sluggish starting I thought I'd replace the starter clutch. Bought one off Ebay and got a mobile mechanic round to fit it as I didn't have the tools or the time to do it. Wow ... the flywheel is an absolute bastard to get off. So much so, that he broke two flywheel pullers trying to get it off and ended up ordering the proper Yamaha tool to get it off. He rang me yesterday and said it had arrived and its one chunky bit of kit, so the XVS 1100 flywheel must be designed to be a pig to get off. I'll keep you posted.

Well fellas, before I looked at the carbs, I found that whatever clown had this bike before me fitted pipes that don't fit to the engine block 100% and there's a tiny series of holes around the gasket where its at the wrong angle. That means either there's air getting in (which is more than likely the case and causing the pops) or the carbs do indeed need doing. I personally think its the pipes. I was going to try and bodge it with thicker gaskets but out of curiosity I tried looking at complete systems for a 2001 XVS1100 Custom and couldn't find any in the UK. Most were either slip-ons or systems that required at least one factory down-pipe fitted. I don't have the factory down pipes as they never came with the bike. Any ideas where I can at least get a price of a complete exhaust system, preferablly short shorts or slash-cut style?

Thanks for the input fellas. I managed to find a possible culprit after taking off the air filer housing (hypercharge). One of the small hoses has split so I repaired that and there's a bit of an improvement in tickover, however, the popping is still there. I'll wait before I re-jet and see if a simple balance and mess around with the air screw makes any difference. Also the timing may need to be looked at as well. Once again, thanks for the input.

V&H probably do, but I don't know what make the exhaust is. The bike supposedly had a service a while back but i don't oniw if the timing and valve clearances.were done. I'll check out your suggestions and see if that makes a difference.

I finally got the rectifier fixed on the bike, long story for another thread. Anyway, i've noticed since I got it, it runs really hot, has trouble idling sometimes and also the chrome custom pipes are discoloured to a goldeb colour. This, and it also pops when deceleration takes place. I was told that the bike had been rejetted but either it hasn't or its been done wrong, so I'm going to get it done. Trouble is, I don't know what pipes mine are. They long shotgun types with no makers name. Any idea what kit I should get and what stage jets I should fit? I've got my eye on a Vance and Hines kit for around 70 quid.

Does anyone know where I can get a pair of rectifier mounting screws? The screws on mine are what's technically known as FUBAR. One has snapped and the other js just covered in melted plastic

Thanks Toutsuite, I've seen that site and before and bought stuff from them. Not bad at all as it goes.

Hmmm … you may have something there dt502001 I fitted a new battery the other day as the one that was in it was for the XVS650 (I replaced the MBT12B4 with a MBT14B4 as per the Motobatt site recommendation). These are sealed as far as I know, so I won't be able to top up with distilled water. It fitted fine and there are no obvious faults with the wiring. I haven't checked the stator but I'll check that tonight. I've ordered a new rectifier and if the stator is knackered, I'll get one of them too. I think at this rate, this bike will end up like Trigger's broom.

Well here's the latest installment for anyone who cares. I managed to get the panel off to get a look at the rectifier and its bad. Real bad. I managed to undo the back bolts on the exhaust engough to move the pipes to get the panel off covering the rectifier and its fallen off its mounting and burnt through the lower part of the battery box. As you can see, this to use a technical term, is FUBAR'd. I'm about to order a battery box which the rectifier housing is attached to but was wondering if a 2006 box will fit a 2000 bike? I'm assuming so but don't want to pull the trigger on one in case it doesn't. This may explain the sluggish starting if the rectifier was buggered too. Also, I managed to get the air filter undone I think its a K&N filter inside, which means it just needs cleaning and oiling. I hate paying for stuff that is a blatant rip-off and I've heard the K&N cleaner and filter oil is just that. Can anyone confirm? I've heard that soap and water and a coating of WD40 will do just as good a job.

If I was going to go for a big American cruiser, I'd choose Victory over HD any day of the week. I think Victorys have better engines, better styling and from all the reviews are just a more bang for the buck motorcycle. In your situation, I wouldn't buy new, but would get a loan from the Post Office (they seem to be doing the best deals at the moment) and get either the XVS950 or even go for the 1300. Avoid HD, you're just paying for a badge.

Maybe because he wanted something a bit more reliable that a bike that is still using pre-war technology in its engines.

Unfortunately not, I've got shotgun pipes which are long, very long in fact and they are a pig to take off. In fact, I don't even think they're meant for this model as the foot-brake wasn't returning on back to its normal position when braking freely due to the exhaust stopping it. I'm half tempted to just get the whole done it one hit as the exhausts had to have thicker gaskets put in. Grrr ... that old saying, "you buy cheap, you buy twice" was never truer in this case!

Well fellas, thanks for the advice. And Slice ... coming from East Ham I fee your pain mate! Well, another chapter to the tale - tonight on the way home form work, the rectifier appeared to have a bit of a moment, by cooking what I think is a protective rubber near it. Stinking white smoke was coming out form under the battery compartment, where the rectifier is situated. I noticed yesterday a lead that appeared to go nowhere (4 female connectors in a square plastic surround) I now believe that it was part of the rectifier or what connected to the rectifier. I wasn't sure what it was so assumed it had been disconnected by the previous owner. Anyway, current situation is that to get the side panel off where the rectifier is located, I need to take the exhaust off which is a major pain (as I don't have a garage). This could possibly be what was causing the sluggish starting - although the bike still started with it disconnected so who knows??? I'm not sure what damage was done by the smoking rectifier as I can't get the panel off.

Well, I got the new battery and the symptoms still persist. I'm really reluctant to buy a starter clutch at the moment as I've just spent loads getting it roadworthy. I take your point dt502001, and thinking about it now, the exhaust was taken off to replace the gaskets so the starter could well have a bad earth. I'm getting the pronounced "clunk" when the engine is tuned off from running which I'm not sure confirms its the actual starter clutch or not. How hard are they to replace? Is it do-able for an amateur with the correct tools?