Recent content by thegrouch

Aleslie - no, I didn't solve the issue and meanwhile I sold the bike, so can't help on that. What I'd do now is to connect the starter direclty to the battery (through the fuse) with shortest & thickest possible wires and see how it goes. If it can crank the engine much faster - the issue is...

Hi, My bike in general has issues with startup, but slowly I am getting it working. I am having issues with very slow/sluggish starter motor - I thought the battery is weak, but replaced battery and it seems that my starter motor doesn't have enough power to rotate enginge faster than "thud...

Hi, I don't know if it's been already posted but I have been to a custom festival recently and found interesting mod on xs400. have a look here and look for "Janek" - funny custom based on XS400 (yellow/orange painting). ;) regards

I haven't been using this kind of battery "replacement", I'm just talking about differences between li-ion and lead acid batteries. Li-ion have advantages - smaller size, higher currents, longer "on the shelf" life, less of self discharge currents. They may serve well if made well. For 180$ I...

For sure you can't ride the bike without the battery. The "amp hour" is typically stating a total charge in the battery and is used mostly to "size" the battery. I mean "11Ah" is smaller than "25Ah". This value doesn't really mean anything special unless you use your bike only for really short...

I have seen some info about XS400 4g5 models & float hights, have been to xs400.net and finally tried to set it myself. I came to the following conclusions: 1)use a normal hairdryer to warm up rubber stubs before reinstalling carbs - it makes miracles (especially in a cold garage) 2)...

A good solution to this problem with light is disconnecting second wire from both ignition coils and then do the ignition setting.

The "D" shape goes with 4G5 model - I had the same issue. What I did I just bought a replacement foam and oil for air filters in spray (shell or sth alike). Works ok, although previous owner used some "scrap foam" and I had to tune carbs after replacement. regards thegrouch

If you're looking for TCI/DCI etc, check: a) "transistor ignition" based on contact points; it's just a "helper" for the points and not full TCI http://xs400.net/wb/media/faq_anhaenge/zuendung_v4/Ignitor_V4.pdf and...

Well, those I used didn't have seals at all so I used the old ones anyway. Still it seemed that the "crown nut" on top of the steering stem didn't catch as much of the thread as before, even after making sure I pushed bearing races all the way into frame. But it looks as it got enough to keep it...

Well, I do loose compression... I was trying once to check valves using compressed air, but that didn't bring any luck since I didn't have a really good compressor and sparkplug attachment. The "oil test" didn't bring any solution either so I am not really sure which way it goes... I'll try to...

guys, I was doing the yearly check on my XS400se and hit the wall when it came to inlet valves clearance check - I couldn't remove the caps covering the regulation screws. After using some not-very-smart-but-effective tools I managed to actually loosen them, but... I had the same issue last...

Hi guys, For this year I planned with my XS to: a)replace head bearings b)change oil in front forks. After dismantling - just few things for you to watch out for / check out. 1. Dismantling front forks is a bit tricky, but I didn't expect to see front pipes being bent. Check that out...

Have a look on this: http://xs400.net/wb/media/faq_anhaenge/schaltplan_4G5_bunt.jpg and http://imageshack.us/a/img827/1012/regulator.jpg This is xs400se 4G5 model, but I bet it's a similar circuit. regards Oskar

HI guys, recently I have been playing a bit with the bike on the center stand just to check different "levers" and "swtiches" and I noticed that the front suspension somehow stucks in the middle position. It looks like it has some tiny "lock" or something that makes it stay in line with bike...