XS400 from Eastern Europe

cjxs

XS400 Enthusiast
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Hey!
I guess it's about time that I introduce myself since a became an xs400 owner yesterday :bike:

I read through quite a lot of threads here before buying the bike and you guys sound very helpful and welcoming.
So, I'm from Kiev, Ukraine and the bike I bought appeared to be a 4g5 model which according to the skillzman1's post should've been made in 80-83 (the paperwork states it's a 1988 model which I doubted from the start).
I rode it for 200 miles from the place I bought it to my hometown which was really exciting since it's my first motorcycle, ( had 5 different scooters before). There's was a little getting used to shifting gears at first but I got quite comfortable soon.
My plan is to bob it and make it look something similar to the bike in this video:

http://vimeo.com/39580055

And those are the current pics

img0204xd.jpg



The head pipes are not stock and changed their color which I don't like

img0203cs.jpg


I'm planing to either wrap or paint them black and change stock mufflers to black shorties.
I will also be getting rid of the speedometer, tachometer (which is not working anyway) and just using one like this

Bike was running fine when I bought it but I have a couple concerns now. There's a rattling sound on 1st and 2nd gears and it seems like the clutch is disengaging and engaging again constantly. It disappears on higher gears and it runs pretty fine at 30+ mph. The second problem is that is started reving too high while idling after 5-10 minutes of riding which didn't happen when I bought it.

I might have overheated it as I was riding for what later appeared to be 90 miles non-stop at 60 mph (the speedometer, and odometer of course, wasn't working properly showing lower speed and lower mileage).

What would be the first things you'd check?
Is there any specific manual for this model? Didn't find the right one in manuals forum.
The guy who sold me this bike said that the oil led should be on if oil pressure is alright, but every scooter I had had it on only when I was running low on oil (however they all were 2 stroke).

I'll be posting pics and updates as soon as I get something done which, I hope, will happen soon.
 
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The manual you're looking for is for the SOHC bike. It can be found on the forum in pdf form, but I'm sure there's someone on here who can ship you their manual for a nominal fee.
the oil light should be on only if it's not getting oil pressure, such as when it's off. If the oil light is on, then you either have a bad switch or truly bad oil pressure.
There's also a thread someone entitled "what to look for in a neglected xs". I'm sure you can find it if you pop the key words into the search bar.
The idling may be due to an air leak/lean condition. check your rubbers first, and then your carbs if you don't find any cracks or holes.
 
Thanks for the reply! I would really appreciate if someone offered to sell me a manual, so please pm if if you can.
The oil light works as it should, it's on when I turn the key and off when start the engine.
I also figured out the problem with the clacking sound. It had faulty spark plugs of different kind and of them could possibly be from soviet times so I bought 2 new ones and the problem went away. Seems like one of cylinders wasn't working properly. One plug was charcoal black and the second one very pale. I'll see how those new ones will do.
Electrics is really messed up with lots of naked wires and some russian automobile parts which I yet have to find what they do and what there should be instead of them.

Would someone be able to take a look if shoot a video of the wires? I'm planning to rewire the bike myself and want to order original parts where possible.
 
Check out the thread for wiring diagrams too. If you can't find the one for your bike in the free manual, that'd be the next best place to look.
 
Thanks, PsuedoMonkey! Looking at them right now. Not as easy as I thought it would be. By the way, the previous problem with power loss and noise returned. I pulled out the plugs and it seems that the carbs went out of sync. One plug has almost no sign of coating (is it the right word for that?) and the second one is really black with a thick (coating?). I'm taking the bike to a workshop to sync carbs tomorrow.
 
Everybody's saying I need to change my chain and now I really think I should as it is pretty loose on the back of the rear sprocket and is clicking and clacking when i roll the bike while the engine is off.
I decided to change both sprockets and the chain to be sure they all fit well together.

Do you think that those sprockets

http://www.wemoto.com/bikes/yamaha/xs_400_se/80-82/picture/sprocket_front/
and
http://www.wemoto.com/bikes/yamaha/xs_400_se/80-82/picture/sprocket_rear_-_steel/

will work fine with this chain?

http://www.wemoto.com/bikes/yamaha/xs_400_se/80-82/picture/chain_swift_heavy_duty_o-ring/

They're all listed under xs400se on wemoto, but I still want to be sure. Thanks in advance!
 
look ok to me, make sure they confuse your bike with the DOHC of the same year!

bought stuff from Wemoto before and they are good
 
The image says Chain 50
Shouldn't it be 53 (or 530) to fit the bike and chain?

10003128.jpg
 
So, with a bit of photoshop I now have a rough idea of what I want to achieve.


click for a bigger version



Meanwhile waiting for some parts to be in stock again at dimecity and looking for a good welder for the rear loop and frame fix which apparently was broken and then poorly welded.
 
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While taking the bike apart I found that I have different parts from those 3 cars installed.

vaz-kamaz-matiz.jpg


Lol. Never thought a part from KAMAZ would fit in.
 
Ha-ha ) I don't think think any of you would be using those parts, unless your building a rat bike.

Here they are:

Regulator and rectifier

full


full


Notice the USSR quality stamp on the first one )) It's huge, and it sparks when you move it a bit.

There's also an oil filter from Daewoo Matiz. And not just filter, I mean the whole thing. The PO threw the original oil filter cover away and used that. I already got an original one from xchris.
 
Ha-ha ) I don't think think any of you would be using those parts, unless your building a rat bike.

Here they are:

Regulator and rectifier
Советский народ непобедим. :doh: :laugh:


There's also an oil filter from Daewoo Matiz. And not just filter, I mean the whole thing. The PO threw the original oil filter cover away and used that. I already got an original one from xchris.
That I might have kept, if it works and doesn't leak. The larger filter is probably somewhat beneficial, and Matiz filters are likely widely available over there. It would be nice to have a filter I could pick up at any parts store rather than ordering.

The XJ guys actually have a conversion kit to a spin-on filter, and given that XJ series use the same filters as XS series, it should also work on the XS.
 
and the daewoo matiz filter fits? wow

Apparently it does, you can see it sticking out in the second photo of the first post.
But I won't be keeping it, I don't like how it looks nor I know how well it works with the bike.

Last several days where almost like Christmas, got my order from DCC and the haynes manual arrived in the morning.
The headlight is Bates style bottom mount and I ordered it black, but the guys from Netherlands sent me a cheaper chrome version, however refunded the difference after I complained. I still have to paint it black.

full


Waiting for the dampers to arrive now (had to buy them for 100 euros, doh!) to install the chain with sprockets and ride the bike to the welder to fix the front of the frame and weld the rear loop.
 
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