Topic: Sidecar time!

[78whiteorbs]

So, I picked up a 79 Xs1100 with a sidecar! Hadnt ran in at least 3 years says the PO but was in a heated building . While trying to find info on the sidecar I actually found a build thread from the original owner who did all the sidecar work,which is pretty cool I think.







here is a link to site with pix:

http://hahnda.blogspot.com/2005/01/1...watsonian.html

http://webpages.charter.net/kbhahn/sidecar1.html

so fast forward :

Got the bike home and it has a marine type battery in the trunk of the sidecar wired for entire bike which I though different but this is my first sidecar bike so what do I know (after emailing the guy who owns a bike shop now ,he said this is pretty common in sidecars) . Hooked a fully charged battery up and it was turning over and getting some intermitant weakish spark-
Also the headlight and gauge lights were not coming on.

I popped the freshly rebuilt carbs on with a brand new set of manifolds that came with it and cranked it over and over and not even a sputter. sprayed some carb cleaner in each bore and still nothing .

Let it sit scratched head. Has compression check , has fuel check, has weak spark..... so I pulled the leads of all the plug caps and trimmed them replaced and still no joy.

Then a clue ! Removed plug cap and went to start it with just the plug lead straight to the engine to see sparkage it sparked a few times and oddly the headlight and the gauge lights came on and it sputtered a bit .

Then I was distracted and tried it again and the headlight would not come on and the gauge lights were dead. Sooooooo when the head light and gauge lights are on it was firing enough to stumble over which was wayyyyyyy more than it was doing which was NOTHING before.

Seems electrical problem.... I tested and it is getting juice to coils . Not sure what else to do next as I have never really worked on a electronic iggy bike just points and such . This bike looks to be in very good

repair otherwise and will clean up nicely if I can get it back up and running -

sorry for the longwinded post but if you got this far thanks for reading !

[brooze72]

Pretty sweet looking rig, good find.  Check the grounds as something is funky.

[78whiteorbs]

thanks, this bike is so clean it's hard to believe it'd have an electrical problem .  Has spark just weak .....

[RAFster122s]

Interesting fairing, who made that, or is it custom?
Electrical ground problems cause all kinds of nightmares, corrosion doesn't respect time, it thrives with it even in good storage conditions. Nice find.

[toytuff]

Interesting fairing, who made that, or is it custom?
Electrical ground problems cause all kinds of nightmares, corrosion doesn't respect time, it thrives with it even in good storage conditions. Nice find.

Looks like the one I have off the CB 350 G.

tt

[78whiteorbs]

appears to be the same one . The PO removed it though  so not in my possesion which suits me . Actually think that the plexi was replaced by some material resembling peg board. Like pressed fiberboard    painted.

the guy had to be 7 ft tall to see over it .

[Terry in Australia]

That is sweet mate, well done! Those XS1100 ("Elephants" was their nickname back in the day) handled like crap, but were very fast, so strapping a sidecar on one is a good idea, although a "leading link" front fork assembly would be a good idea if you're gonna do a lot of miles, the weight of the Elephant alone overwhelms the spindly 35mm forks on that 630 pound (dry) behemoth.

I love that sidecar, it looks like a 1950's English Sportscar! Yep, it is common for sidecar guys to install bigger batteries for added reliablity, and quite often, auxillary fuel tanks too. As has been said before, you've got a bad earth somewhere, so meticulously clean every wire connector, especially the frame earths.

If the ignition is bad (check your ignition key switch, it could be the problem) you can buy a Dyna ignition, sometimes those old OEM electronic ignitions go out, usually the ignitor box is the problem, but they're more expensive than a new Dyna S, or way better still, a Dyna 2000. Cheers, Terry.

[78whiteorbs]

Thanks, it is a Watsonian Sidecar- pretty sweet I think that it opens . Looking through electronics and anxious to get it running but so far not getting very good spark erratic at best http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBpiA...ature=youtu.be

electronic iggy bikes I wouldnt really choose normally but it was a great deal for 1200$ I think. I would had rather had a cb750 with a side car just because I am way more confident with points .  Maybe the some of the black box electrics are bad...its kinda pissing me off. Thinking about picking up another xs1100 as a parts bike as there is one really cheap near me . I was the cb350/rd350 king for a while with several models and now its seems I am going hoggin'! I have a Buffalo(GT750 Triple) and and now an Elephant so it seems!lol

I just hope I dont end up with a Goldwing...lol
I do love all motorcycles though big and tall, fat and smile, I ride em all.

[78whiteorbs]

BTW - I am told this is faster bike than a CBX!

[Stev-o]

My brother had an XS11, it was slightly faster than my Kaw 1000. And Terry is correct, handled bad. I think due to the  shaft drive. He went down on it on the Million Dollar Highway in  CO, was lucky and only bent the bars.

[Terry in Australia]

They were a good bike mate. Sure, they were a big heavy bugger, but were a great touring bike, so don't think that the ignition problems will overshadow your enjoyment, once you get those electric gremlins sorted, you'll love it.

You've got a GT750 too? What model mate? I want a "K" in original condition, it was my favourite. I had a "J" with the crappy (but very attractive) 4LS front brake, it was great, but the crank seals were toast, so it used to burn all my gearbox oil. I had an "M" as well, they were better bikes, but not as attractive, IMHO. Cheers, Terry.

[78whiteorbs]

It's a 74 model with 75 tins. Hope to get it back running soon!

[Terry in Australia]

It's a 74 model with 75 tins. Hope to get it back running soon!

They're a great bike mate, I'm really looking forwards to finding a nice one!