~schon

So, after a very long riding hiatus, I finally purchased another motorcycle.. been wanting to get one for a very long time, but other things kept cropping up.

In June I bought a Yamaha 1979 XS11 Special - I wasn't really looking for a project bike, but I fell in love when I saw it. I initially thought it just needed some TLC, but after I got it home, I realized the previous owner had sabotaged one of the cylinders to make the bike look better than it was (once I got it firing, the cylinder was burning a *TON* of oil - think "James Bond smokescreen", and you won't be far off.)

Lacking tools, excess free time, or a place to work, I took it to a local mechanic, who sait it was definitely the rings or the cylinder, and wanted lots-o-dough (but not more than I expected) but wanted it all up-front. The money-up-front set off my warning bells, and I wasn't convinced it was rings - so I took it home and decided to try myself.

After I took the engine apart, it became clear that the cylinder and pistons looked almost brand new - I figure they were replaced 1-2 years ago... the head on the other hand, looked like what I expected (tons of carbon deposits, very nasty).

Someone has definitely had the engine apart recently - I suspect trying to fix the blue smoke Turns out that it was the valve oil seals - replaced them (after trying to find the appropriate tools for almost a month) and all looks good!

I'm so happy!