Cy Welch

I would recommend checking www.xs11.com as I recall that someone on there had a couple of calipers. Also lots of good xs1100 specific information.

Please stop yelling. Typing in all caps is considered rude, kinda like yelling in someones face. Based on the description it sounds like the voltage regulator has gone bad. Often they cause not enough voltage, but it sounds like in your case it's too much, this will boil the battery dry and blow bulbs. You will need to replace the regulator, if you don't know how to do this you should get the shop manual or pay you local shop to replace it.

Make sure they are clean (not just the bowl but the passages and jets as well) and make sure that you have no leaks in the carb mounting rubbers. Also make sure that your needle valve seats are not leaking (very likely on a bike this age) as the o-rings that seal the needle valve seats into their holes flatten out and wear out and the WILL leak gas around them making it run rich (which is what it sounds like could be happening.) I ended up getting complete rebuild kits that came with all the parts (including the needle valves and seats) from MikesXS and that solved MY problems. After that it was just a matter of getting them dialed in properly, and that was actually pretty easy. Of course, glutton for punishment that I am I just got a 1980 XS1100G that has the same carbs on it, and I suspect all the same problems, so I'll be getting 4 carbs kits and redoing 4 carbs (and I don't look forward to balancing them, but I will).

Off the bike upside down and there is a service manual that can be downloaded from a post on here that has the numbers but for the 78 they are most likely 32mm or 1.26 inches.

Got my new bike today. Picked it up and drove it home from the seller. Nice condition 1980 XS1100G. Got a few small problem (broken starter button with a radio shack button mounted in the fairing, high low beam switch broken, deteriorated fuse box etc). All in all it's in really nice shape and runs great (slight roughness at idle yet, but I don't think anythings been done with the carbs). I was wondering if anybody knows where I can find a service manual for these bikes? I an owners manual online but have not found a service manual yet. I'll put up pictures later this week.

Sounds like the charging system is knackered. Start out by fully charging the battery, then with the RPM at 3000 check voltage at the battery, if it's not 14.5 volts or very close you have a problem.

Retest. Make sure that the pressure testing is tight in both sides. Also make sure that the plugs are properly torqued when you put them in (13-16 ft lbs). Also if you have seperate coils, swap the coils, plug wires and plugs between the sides to insure the trouble doesn't move. If it does, try just swapping the plugs as they can and DO go bad internally (high resistance). If compression and spark are good then it's pretty much gotta be fuel, make sure that the carbs are clean and adjusted and in sync. You WILL need some sort of metering device to do this, though there are plans for a home made one on the internet (uses plastic tubing, a piece of plywood, a ruler and automatic transmission fluid) that is supposed to work even better than dedicated guages. I had a problem pretty much exactly like your describing and all I did was to replace the plugs as I had a bad one. I found that out by swapping the plugs and the cold side switched. PS, I had ridden about 2500 miles before I realized that one side was basically dead. Other than leaking seals and such after sitting for 14 years, the engine runs good and stong today. It goes off the road after the 1st of the year for a teardown and gasket/seal/clutch replacement (as soon as I find the right replacement bike to ride while it's off the road, since 2 wheels are my primary transportation and I ride year round).

Actually the damaging the o-rings has been disproven, but I'm not sure I would personally trust it for lube. I can guarantee that they would not advertize that it is good for chain cleaning if there was any chance of it causing damage, large corporations are just two careful in today's litigious (sp) society.

I think the quoted size is the engine side of them. I suspect the filter side is different and it sounds like the OP has the wrong carbs for the bike which is why the correct parts don't fit.

Mine runs about 5500 at 60 which for that speed feels just about right. 4500 seems a little low, like the sprockets are not right.

I got some air filter foam that was the right thickness and carfully cut it to fit and put it on where the original was. Then I ordered new ones from bike bandit and kept the old ones are spares.

And it's not a regulator, it's either on or off.

Yes, its just plugging the fitting with a rubber cap. The fitting is to turn the fuel flow on so if you use a non-vacuum petcock you need to cap it. The vacuum carbs can be tricky to modify or adjust, but when working right provide very good fuel control for a carb.

It's because of what can and will get into the tank. The stock filter if in good condition (the tampon in the tank) does a good job, but going in any way aftermarket you NEED an inline. I have found that an inline AND the in-tank cause too much restriction for me, so I took the inline out since the in-tank filter is in like new condition.

Sounds like your not firing on all cylinders . If you are getting gas in the exhaust then the cylinder would not be firing for some reason. That would also cause top speed to be limited.

More likely is that the connections got corroded and the heat melted things (from the arcing caused by the corrosion). Yes replacing the fuse box is the bast option, and may as well go for modern blade fuses in the process.

Did you swap the plugs? Those things do go bad and that can be a failure point. Yes if you hook the timing light to the wire and get strobing then you have spark, but it could be not getting to the plug tip.

Yep, keep it charged all the time and it will last a long time, since the two killers of batteries are overcharging and running them down.

Got some sprinkles this morning, and had intermitent clouds the rest of the day. Supposed to rain on friday which is my daughters wedding day. Oh well, at least we will be inside.

The 1980 uses a different mounting than the earlier models, I found complete seats on ebay, but not the mounting hardware without the seat (was a bummer because I had/have the original seat with all the mounting hardware gone), at least not the part that locks it down. You can get all the frame mounted parts, but the clips and rod on the underside of the seat I have not been able to find by themselves for any price.

Got em at Kragan's, actually I think they were like $1.99 (found the reciept) but they were really cheap, and exact OEM even. Kinda cool cause it costs more to get them on ebay even, and I only have to go about 2 blocks to get them. Go in with the original part number and they can cross them and give you several options, the OEM were actually the cheapest. I may try a premium plug next time to see if it makes a diff on the gas milage, I think they have a cross for a multi-tip plug as well.

On the 1980 there are 4 fuses. The main is 30 Amp and the rest are 10. I replace the fuse box on mine with an aftermarket that uses modern style blade fuses. Works well and I have 2 extra circuits if for some reason I really WANTED to run the battery dead all the time by adding load.

Any lead/acid battery not maintained pretty close to full charge while being charged WILL be dead in a very short time. The exception is the initial dry charge they are shipped with, but that can never be redone AFAIK (unless maybe you can drain the electrolyte from a fully charged battery so it's dry and then replace it with fresh later, but I'm not sure if that would work).

Good luck on that, I spent considerable time trying to find seat mounting parts and finally had to buy a seat because I couldn't get the mounting hardware anywhere for any price. You can see diagrams of them on bikebandit.com under oem parts.

Not firing for any reason will have the same affect, but generally if for electical you should be getting a gas smell from that pipe. If your not getting a gas smell from the side not firing it may be that it's not getting any fuel. Among other things make sure your getting spark on that side as a first step and if you have a timing light, make sure it's coming up at the right time. Also check the spark plug after running it to see if it's wet, and whether it's oil or gas on it. If it's dry, or oily without a gas smell on it check the fuel system. Also make sure it's not the spark plug by swapping them (had one go bad and found that by swapping them, then the other side didn't work). If that happens then get new plugs, their pretty cheap, I got new ones for about $1 each at the local auto parts store.