This tip provided by JP Honeywell

The place to buy an Auxiliary Fuse Block is J.C. Whitney. (Part No. 03dh7115w) It costs about $24.95 + shipping and uses spade type automotive fuses. Don't get any of the other fuse blocks from JCW because they won't work for our application. This is the only one they sell which has independent in and out leads. All the others have one input and multiple outputs. Great if you're adding a ton of accessories but inappropriate as a replacement for our fuse block.

You don't have to know anything about electronics but you do have to work methodically. Don't remove any wires until you're ready to do the whole job. Even then, only work with one wire at a time so you don't connect things incorrectly.

Parts you'll need:
1. - Auxiliary fuse block from J.C. Whitney (part number 03dh7115w)
2. - 8 ea female spade connectors (pref. insulated)
3. - Crimping tool (my favorite crimping tool is a pair of Vice Grips)
4. - Wire cutters
5. - Wire stripper
6. - New automotive type spade fuses (matched to the same values as the tube type fuses)
7. - Small piece of 1/8 aluminum to be used as a backing plate for Auxiliary fuse block. 1.5 x 4.25
8. - 2 small nuts, washers and bolts to attach fuse block to backing plate. (You'll need to keep the bolts which hold the existing fuse block to the frame)
9. - 2 rubber grommets (as standoffs to fill gap between backing plate and frame.

1) Unscrew the bolts which hold the plastic fuse block in place. Leave all the wires in place in the old fuse block at this time.
2) Take the aluminum backing plate and trace the holes from the original fuse block onto the plate.
3) Now trace the holes from the new fuse block onto the aluminum backing plate. Make sure the holes aren't too close to allow clearance for the mounting bolts.
4) Drill holes in backing plate.
5) Using a new razor blade and a delicate touch, cut back the wrapping on the wiring harness about 2 inches. This will give you more of the wires to work with.
6) Take a roll of masking tape and make little marker flags for each wire coming into the old fuse box. Make sure the flags are about 3/4 inch above the connector. Label each pair of wires (Ignition, Headlight, etc.) so that you don't screw up the connections.
7) Carefully remove the wires from the old fuse box. I used a small screwdriver to release the old fuse holders from the plastic box.
8) With wire cutters, cut off the old fuse holders as close to the crimped connection as possible.
9) Strip off about 1/4 inch of the insulation and crimp on one of the female spade connectors for each wire. (I know that Doug likes soldering these connections and that's fine but it's kinda hard to work with wires which are so close to the bike.) Using Vice-Grips to crimp these connectors has worked much better for me than the special crimp tools they sell for that job.
10) Don't use the sheet metal screws that come with the new fuse block. Instead, use appropriate sized bolts to attach it to the backing plate. I chose to have the heads of the bolts on the back side of the backing plate to make sure the extra length of the bolt doesn't dig into the frame plate.
11) Use the rubber grommets on the bolts on the back side of the bolts which attach the backing plate to the frame plate to make sure that the assembly mounts securely.
12) Attach the wires to the connectors. I found that having the wires come around the right side of the fuse block (instead of having the wires come around the left side in the stock fuse block) puts less stress on the wires. I did have to change the order of the fuses and wires because one pair of wires seemed a little short to provide a stress free connection.
13) I used a drawing program to create a label to attach inside the clear plastic cover. I glued it in by "painting" the front side of the label with white glue and putting it in the inside of the plastic cover. (don't worry that you can't read it right now - when it dries it will be clear.) make sure you glue it in right side up as the cover will only go on one way.
14) Plug in the appropriate fuses and place the clear cover over the fuse block.
(You can remove the masking tape flags if you'd like to make it look prettier.)

No more fuse block problems.

First, belts should be adjusted at the 500 mile break-in mark. After this, belts should be adjusted every 5,000 miles. The belt should have between 3/8ths and 1/2 inch play (i.e., deflection) when a force of ten pounds is applied in the center of the belt

Second, belt sprockets should be inspected for nicks and gouges. It is possible, although not very probable, that the sprocket could get spurred by road debris.(rocks etc.) A spur on the sprocket could chew on the belt fabric and accelerate belt deterioration.

Third, replace the belt at the recommended interval. It's expensive but well worth the peace of mind and extra protection. Typically, you do not need to change the sprockets at the same time (as you do on chain final drive). And most importantly - never oil a fabric belt, it will just attract more dirt and grime and cause the belt to fail sooner.

It will take some time and patience to perform any of the above tasks, it is much quicker than removing the entire carb assembly. I hope this can help someone else. It sure has helped me.

Caution all the dogs must mesh evenly so no undue pressure is placed on any one gear dog.

INTRODUCTION

This article was written after a long and difficult exercise in tracking down and correcting a problem with no spark in cylinders #1 and #4. The diagnosis process required that I study the XS11 ignition system and create several electrical tests. Other than a few basic tools, all you need is an ohmmeter for these tests.

It began several years ago when the bike would occasionally stop firing in 2 cylinders for a short time. Since it was very brief, there was no way to tell which cylinders had missed or to determine the cause of the problem. As a result, I had no choice but to ride it that way.

Recently, the problem worsened significantly. Within a few days, the problem became permanent and the bike could not be ridden. In this state, it was simple to determine that cylinders #1 and #4 were not firing. Shortly after starting it, a quick touch of each header pipe showed that the two outside pipes were cold. At this time, it would be easier to locate the cause since it had completely failed. Also, it was more urgent now that I had to drive the car to work.

IGNITION OVERVIEW

There are three major ignition components, with wires connecting them; the ignition advance, the ignition unit, and the ignition coils.

The pick-up coils combined with the ignition advance is under the cover on the left end of the crank. It detects the rotation of the crank using two magnetic pick-up coils (black rectangular things about and inch long). Out of each coil comes two wires.

The four wires from the pick-up coils go all the way back to the ignition unit mounted on the rear fender. They come in via a four-wire plug. On my '79F, the mapping is as follows:

• Pick-up coil Ignition unit

• Upper Blue -- White/Green
  
• Upper Rust -- White/Red
  
• Lower Blue -- Yellow/Green
  
• Lower White -- Yellow/Red

The ignition unit does its magic and signals the ignition coils when to fire via three wires in an eight-wire plug. The three wires attach to the ignition coils just behind the steering head under the gas tank. The Red/White wire is common to both coils, the Orange wire controls the ignition coil for cylinders #1 and #4, and the Gray wire #2 and #3. If you take off the gas tank, you can easily get to the connectors for these wires located just above the coils.

TEST AND REPAIR STEPS

The first thing to do is to check all wires and connectors. Each connector should be disconnected, cleaned by filing lightly or sanding, and lubed with something like tuner cleaner - not -WD-40. A good example of this was a problem I ran intowith this job. Instead of cleaning one connector, I simply pushed it together more tightly. Later, the bike had power but would not crank. I eventually tracked it down to the connector I had tightened. It was for the emergency off circuit. Tightening it had broken the connection and the bike acted as if the emergency off switch was on. After cleaning the connector, the bike was fine.

Another thing to check for is cracked spark plug wires, which allow the very high voltage spark current to escape and short to the engine. This problem is typically the worst when the engine is wet. You can check for this by running the bike in the dark (don't do this in an enclosed area) and throwing water in the wires. Visibly check for sparks anywhere a plug wires nears the engine. Also check for sparks jumping from the plug caps past the plug to the engine.

Try correcting this problem by smearing dielectric grease on the wires, inside the plug caps, around the plug insulator, and anywhere else where shorts occur. Hopefully this solves the problem because the wires are permanently attached to the ignition coils and new OEM coils and wires were $120 several years ago. Perhaps aftermarket brands would be a better choice if the wires are bad.

Here is an little article found in our local rag (Bike S-A) written by a chap called Piet Spoed (Speed)van Zyl........I hope that this could be of help to someone out there. It is headlined "Performance Tips". I quote: "CV carb's slide lifts in direct relation to the motor's RPM under load and is not linked to the throttle as in the case with the non vacuum slide carb.
(1) Stages Lets assume your bike redlines at 11000 rpm:- The first step (from idle to approx 4000 rpm) is controlled by the pilot circuit which is made up of the pilot jet, pilot air jet, fuel or air screw and float level. So if the mis- fire or whatever occurs below 4000 rpm don't look at changing the mainjet. The second step, most commonly known as the mid-range (3000 to 8000 rpm) is controlled by the needle (which works according to it's shape and clip position) and the needle jet (emulsion tube). This is usually the area most affected by the fitting of aftermarket pipes and the stage where you spend most of your riding time. Note that the main jet still has very little effect below 8000 rpm. The final step (7500 to 11000 rpm) is controlled by the main jet size, the bigger the jet size the richer the fuel mixture will become.
(2) Tuning: Now you know that if the bike splutters off idle below 3000rpm that you should look at a)pilot jet-blocked or fallen out. b)fuel screw to rich or to lean. c)fuel level in carb bowl incorrect- leaking needle and seat or float height incorrectly adjusted. If the motor doesn't respond well or surges at 6000 rpm look at working on the needle clip position, moving the clip up (needle down) makes the mixture leaner and vice versa. It is only while running flat out above 8000 rpm that any changes done to the main jet size will be left to do.
(3) Rich or lean How do I know if the misfire or surging is caused by a lean or rich fuel mixture. Does the problem become worse as the motor warms up? If yes, the carbs are set to rich and needs leaning out. To check for leanness is to give the carbs more air by removing the airbox lid. If it makes the problem worse then the carb is set to lean and needs more fuel. The latter can be confirmed by going the opposite direction-giving the carbs less air (partially closing the airbox intake). The carburetion should improve. Remove the carbs and do the necessary adjustment if needed.
(4) Dynojet- For the 'tuner' who would like to go a little further there are kits available such as the Dynojet kits which includes all the hardware to get your bike dialled in, especially when you have jetting adjustments to be done, like fitting aftermarket exhausts. The kits are custom designed for each specific bike and include comprehensive instructions and all the hardware you need such as special needles, jets, springs, drills, etc. Note that these kits are for CV carbs only" Alex. To live is to ride!

As you know, there are two ways to replace a #412 style silent camchain. The first one is to split the cases apart if the chain sprocket is not located at the end of the crankshaft. This method requires a lot of shop time and money. The other method is one that I've used for the last 13 years with 100% success. It deals with cutting the chain. First, you must purchase the Motion Pro tool called Camchain cutting and riveting tool. Once you have access to the old camchain (from camshaft area), you drive out one of the pins on the chain right thru with the tool. You also drive out a pin on the new chain, but not completely out, since you will want later to redrive that same pin in for reconnection. You then connect the new chain onto the old chain by using safety wire, spacing the two links as if there was a continuous link. Then slowly and manually rotate the crankshaft until the new chain emerges from the engine. Note that the camshafts must be removed before this procedure as a valve may hit a piston during rotation. Then disconnect the two chains, and toss out the old one. Now is the time to reconnect the ends. Use one of the cam sprockets and roll the ends on it. This facilitates alignment and operation if you're alone to do it. When the holes on the chain are aligned, use the tool to drive the pin back in until it emerges at the other end by the same distance each side. Then carefully rivet the end ensuring that it slightly mushrooms both sides, but doesn't actually break the end of the pin. Finally check for absence of kinks or stiffness on that link. I have replaced several chains that way without any comebacks over the years. But it must be done right! A tip from an A.M.I. graduate located in Canada.