Hornix cafe racer

To much honour ;)
Last week I bought a complete XS400 special topend from a guy I know via motor-forum.nl for only €20,- I love those round shaped cylinders. Bought it as some kind of study-project. How does it al work, how to dismantle the valvesprings etc. I think of completely revising the topend. Glasspearl all the parts, spraypaint the cylinders and make the inside turn to new. In the winter of 2012 maybe a headtransplant for the grasshopper??
It also had a lovely smooth points cover I was looking for for months. It had 3 layers of silver paint on it. After 2 hours of sanding and polishing it looks like I always have my own personal makup mirror...
DSCN3064Medium.jpg

Another thing (sorry, not for the XS but for the SR...): I found the perfect tank for project Thumper Jack. It's a nos Benelli tank which I spotted on Ebay. Last weekend he had more than 10 tanks, but now he's sold out. Read the ad, it's a great story :)
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...RRENCY=0&_sop=12&_dmd=1&_ipg=50&_fvi=1&_rdc=1
Here is the same tank on a cool SR500
BenSitting.jpg

And it also fits a nice BSA single
bsa8.jpg

ok, enough SR talk :)
Today I'll renew the brakepads in the front. When building the XS I took the cheapest pads I could find but I think the double-disc-with-R6mastercilinder-and-steel-braided-hoses-brake-setup can do better. Let's see if 2 pairs of EBC pads can improve it.
After that I will give the headpipes a new black paint coat.
 
that tank looks the biz.
ebc pads should do the trick, mine are great but i use an xs1100 master cyclinder on the resto bike to keep the original look!

I've always like the finned points cover, but each to their own I guess.

I was looking at painting my jugs and headon the tracker, but because of the square fins, i don't think it will look good (may just the jugs though) the round SE type look good painted and the fin edges polished.
 
Maybe just paint the cilinders and leave the head for what it is?
This is a photo of the engine owned by RenaatXS, a XS400 lover from Belgium.
9b9jcz.jpg

The finned cover is back on....I looked at the polished one this morning and the salt in the air did his job on it :( The EBC pads are on, I'm not going for a spin because the weather sucks. Instead I made a vid. Idle is a bit high because it is running on choke. Next vid wil be an actionmovie ;)
 
finned points cover suits the engine. If you are having issues with salt etc use ACF50, I spray it everywhere on my xs400 and not had a problem for 4 years!

I'd polish those edges to highlight the fins.
 
I'll start a search for that acf50 stuff, thanx.
Also thanx to Mr Tree, for holding my pipes after I spraypainted them ;)
DSCN3074Medium.jpg
 
Do you guys know what the correct final drive setup is?
I noticed that I'm currently running a 37 teeth in the back and 16 in front. I counted 98 rolls. When I look @ ebay, you can find a few 38 and much more 39 theeth for "standard". Picture in Haynes says 37....
A while ago I read something about that the final drive was changed through the years. Can't find the website anymore. I think a 39 sprocket would do good to the bike's performance. Maybe even a higher topspeed because in 6th gear it's easier to go in the red area ;)
What's your setup??
 
Hornix said:
To much honour ;)
Last week I bought a complete XS400 special topend from a guy I know via motor-forum.nl for only €20,- I love those round shaped cylinders. Bought it as some kind of study-project. How does it al work, how to dismantle the valvesprings etc. I think of completely revising the topend. Glasspearl all the parts, spraypaint the cylinders and make the inside turn to new. In the winter of 2012 maybe a headtransplant for the grasshopper??
It also had a lovely smooth points cover I was looking for for months. It had 3 layers of silver paint on it. After 2 hours of sanding and polishing it looks like I always have my own personal makup mirror...
DSCN3064Medium.jpg

Another thing (sorry, not for the XS but for the SR...): I found the perfect tank for project Thumper Jack. It's a nos Benelli tank which I spotted on Ebay. Last weekend he had more than 10 tanks, but now he's sold out. Read the ad, it's a great story :)
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...RRENCY=0&_sop=12&_dmd=1&_ipg=50&_fvi=1&_rdc=1
Here is the same tank on a cool SR500
BenSitting.jpg

And it also fits a nice BSA single
bsa8.jpg

ok, enough SR talk :)
Today I'll renew the brakepads in the front. When building the XS I took the cheapest pads I could find but I think the double-disc-with-R6mastercilinder-and-steel-braided-hoses-brake-setup can do better. Let's see if 2 pairs of EBC pads can improve it.
After that I will give the headpipes a new black paint coat.
Click to expand...


i wonder if those tanks fit a XS400?, i think i will have to get one if they do
 
I think it will fit, otherwise...make it fit :)
gave the XS a new chainkit today. I had a 37 in the back and to bring some sprint-power into the bike I went to a 40. 16 front stays the same. Since I almost never drive the XS on the highway I think it will work ok. My Benelli tank was delivered a few days ago. It's really a 40 year old virgin :) Except for the headlight (a bit "too far" from the rest of the bike) I think the basic setup is there! And now...let the spring come because it was freezing today in my Yamaha-shed.
DSCN3110Large.jpg
 
Hornix said:
I think it will fit, otherwise...make it fit :)
gave the XS a new chainkit today. I had a 37 in the back and to bring some sprint-power into the bike I went to a 40. 16 front stays the same. Since I almost never drive the XS on the highway I think it will work ok. My Benelli tank was delivered a few days ago. It's really a 40 year old virgin :) Except for the headlight (a bit "too far" from the rest of the bike) I think the basic setup is there! And now...let the spring come because it was freezing today in my Yamaha-shed.
DSCN3110Large.jpg
Click to expand...

Hornix where did you get the cafe seat and tail for your new project?
 
The 16-40 final drive works really well. It revvs smoothly and the 6th gear is used more often. Here in Holland the max speed on the highway is 120km/h (=75mph) and then the old lady makes 7000 rpm at that speed. Runs great in that area, almost no vibrations.

By the way, is there some kind of self-healing in XS400 world? The last time when I took off the left headpipe, I saw that the exhaust port was not black and dry but a little black and greasy :( Looked like there was some (minor) oil leakage from the valve. Didn't notice any oilconsumption though. Put it back together while singing "time will tell". Last time a checked the exhaust port was dry and black again. Think it was some kind of virus, but Lady grasshopper did overcome :)

To conclude, I have to give a big big cheer to Mr Drewpy. He made a excelent photoshop of my dad, Hornix Sr, sitting on the XS in a nice surrounding. Thanx mate!!!
7f6e3eb4.jpg
 
That old 45ci Harley solo model early on in the stream brought back old memories,had one when I was 16 or 17 yrs old,they weren't worth much then but they are now....lha
 
dont just post on random threads asking for info. do your research, check old threads for info, and if there is none, THEN post. i cant stress enough how helpful it is. it also stops people from hijacking threads
 

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