What did you do with your XS today?

Ordered a new key cut from keys4urride.com. Had it cut and shipped within a couple hours.
Will finally be able to open the gas cap, see how rusty the inside is, and get the dents popped out.

The Ninja rear shock was leaking oil, so I acquired a shock from a Suzuki SV650. Only took a couple hours to modify it to fit and do the swap. It is slightly longer and has a higher rate spring, so the bike sits higher in the rear and doesn't have as much sag, even with the lowest preload. Ride is much nicer now.

I wonder what Honda parts I can install on my bike so I have parts from all the major Japanese brands installed? If the weather keeps going the way it has been, I'll be ordering rear tire #3 before the end of the year. The Bridgestone TW40 melts at highway speeds, and I've been doing a lot of highway riding this year.

Exhaust on.pod filters.carb rejected.

It wasn't exactly today but I started working on my '77 XS400 on Sunday. Got a few simple things done to it.

Aligned the handlebar clip-ons. The right one would hit the tank when fully turned.
Took out the stock turn signals. Thinking about replacing the headlight with this one.
Swapped the battery for a new one. Wasn't the same one so I had to remove the rubber stoppers that were in the original housing for the new one to slide in and also move the ground wire around for it to reach. Oh I also had to replace a fuse and it was interesting because I had one original fuse left in the box to replace it with. This bike was a barn find and it's really neat to find such a little piece still intact.
Then my gear shifter broke, re-welded it twice but it just kept on breaking everytime. Waiting on a new one from partsnmore now.
Took out the left side panel where the clutch wire leads to to see why the clutch is so stiff, haven't figured it out yet but I read a thread on this matter yesterday and I am going to try a few more things today. It had never been opened since factory so it was quite a bitch to crack open. Hurt my hand in the process but nothing major.

And that was it but for me it was quite the day since I am brand new into the world of motorcycles and specially building and fixing. I see most people here either have worked at shops or do it for a living so I am just thankful for all the info posted in these forums to aid through my learning experience!

Hey Dave, what brand of tire will you be going to? My rear tire has a slow leak that I can't seem to find. I am thinkin of going to a different brand even though I liked these Kendas.

Kenda's are on my short list. Mainly due to availability and price. The K671 Cruiser ST is appealing due to its reasonable price and 6 ply construction. The K676 Retroactive is also of interest, but the warning that it is NOT for high load carrying bikes (as mine often is) and its higher price has me second guessing it. The Shinko 777 is also a 6 ply tire, but I'm not sure the tread pattern is aggressive enough for my needs. I'll have to make a decision soon...

Worked on the SJ. Removed everything from the frame except the wheels, motor, and forks.
Managed to break the cross-pipe between the mufflers....

Finally got around to reassembling my carbs after waiting for my butterfly screws and gaskets. Then dreamed of the warmer days to come...

jthiessen said:

Finally got around to reassembling my carbs after waiting for my butterfly screws and gaskets. Then dreamed of the warmer days to come...

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I'm dreaming with you. I finally get mine all done, and can't enjoy it.

Hopefully the spring will come quick this year!

6 inches of Snow, Check; Bike in Garage, Check; Battery on tender, and light is green, Check; Hope the rest of us snow bound residents, are doing well this new up coming season!

Not too much. Did get it back in the garage up on the work table after I finished the oil change on wife's GTV300, that's ready for spring.

Oh! I did drain the gas out of the crankcase. Probably should have done that last fall when I discovered the float valves leaking. Carbs are all cleaned with new float valves and adjusted floats. Just waiting on postman to deliver the new butterfly seals to finish assembling them and see if I can get it to run again.

I plan on draining the oil again after a little test running to be sure the most of the gas is gone.

Once I feel confident it is going to run and start pretty dependably a couple more projects are planned. First to install a thread repair insert in one or both the cylinders. Right now it takes several tries to get the one side to start without cross threading. Next would be to finish up some of the odds and ends on the sidecar mounts and then remove and paint the subframe.

I fixed the connection to my ignition module, so the damn thing would actually start (still only starts 1/3 of the time...). Turns out one of the pins had a fair bit of corrosion on it, and I think that was a some of the problem.

Had a friend help me truck it to my mechanic, as I don't have time to do the complete breakdown and cleaning of the carbs and fuel system that I think it needs.
Only half of the engine is firing (the right side) and that's beyond me and my capabilities at the moment.

Hoping to install LED lights, within the next month or two, but I need to get it up and running again first.

Well I finished installing the cleaned carbs and filled it with oil to replace the oil/gas mix I drained out over night!

After installing fuel tank I flipped the petcock over to "Prime"and let it sit for a good long time to see if the float valves were going to leak. After about a half hour setting no sign of fuel in intakes so might have that fixed!

Then figured it was as good time as any to see if it would actually run. Pulled out the "choke" actually an enrichener, but that's another subject! Turned on the key and started kicking it over. At first nothing but about the sixth kick, what's that noise? Oh that's 400cc's of pure raw horse power!

After a little time pushed in the "choke" and with a nudge or two on the idle speed screw it keep running. Shut it down and rolled it off the work table. Put on old helmet and a pair of gloves a nother kck or two it was running again.

Open garage door and click it into gear. Clutch a bit grabby, probably due to having 50/50 mix of gas/oil sitting in it for several months! Down driveway and out on the highway, almost forgot it has a 6-speed. For a 400 with a sidecar seemed to do pretty good job getting to 55 mph with no problems on a pretty level road.

Think the tires need to be scuffed in as it was easy to break traction on the cold road. Plus they must be about 4-5 years old.

Pulled in the quarry drive about a mile up the road and made a u-turn to come home. Idle speed hangs up close to 4,000 until I use the clutch to drag it back down. Need to check a few things related to that, advancer or carb adjustments???

Right now I want to let it sit over night and see if it will start easy tomorrow. If it does then need to address a few things, like change oil again, figure out the idle problem, balance carbs, repair dodgy spark-plug hole threads, and on and on it never ends!

Just feels good to have heard it run and take at least a short ride for the first time in months!

Did nothing to the bike today, but I did order a new compact battery! And I'm working on getting my garage insulated, so I can run a little heat in there so I don't have to wait until spring to start working on it again!

Got the side covers put back together. The GOOP worked quite well. I rode about 120 miles yesterday and they didn't come off. Went over a couple of low water crossings, that was definitely an eye opener. Installed the underglow kit as well. Mounted the switch into the battery cover so it's not blowin around in the breeze. Thinking about gettin some different tires here soon as well.

Rode a total of 200 miles today on the Maxim! It was a beautiful day at around 76F (gotta love Texas weather) . Went through mostly highway miles at an average of 75 MPH up to 85 at times and the rest was back country roads with some twists and turns. Both my side covers popped off while I was cruising Tossed them into my pack so I can figure how to secure them onto my bike later on(maybe more GOOP). The Hill Country was waiting for me so I took the chance and rode to every little town I could think of. Plenty of breweries and wineries in that area but didn't have time to stop and drink. Will have to check them out another day (when I am not riding). All in all, riding season has not ended here in texas, yet....

I rode up to the international motorcycle show yesterday here in Cleveland. Was 50°f out. Was worried about wind chill but ended up being fine.

Found out that you can't believe what the Chinese say on their parts. My rear shocks have an inch more travel than what they listed. Ruined the bottom edge of my brand new license plate when I hit max travel on a bump.

Installed a new rear tire. This is #3 in less than a year. Opted for a Kenda K676 Retro Active in 130/90B16 this time. The hope is that it will last longer than an oil change when riding at highway speeds. Gravel and dirt won't be nearly as fun, but sometimes one has to be practical...

16VGTIDave said:

Installed a new rear tire. This is #3 in less than a year. Opted for a Kenda K676 Retro Active in 130/90B16 this time. The hope is that it will last longer than an oil change when riding at highway speeds. Gravel and dirt won't be nearly as fun, but sometimes one has to be practical...

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Tell us how that Kenda works out, Dave. The retroactive looks real durable. I am going to be putting a new Kenda Challenger rear on my bike this friday after finding a slow air leak on my current tire. I think the retroactives will be a step up for me the next time around...

I can tell you that it is physically narrower than the Challenger. Not that this should be surprising, the Challenger is wider than it's size suggests. The tread grooves are reasonably deep and wide, and they cross the center of the tire. I've looked at "Adventure Touring" tires that had less aggressive tread patterns!

I don't expect rapid wear from this tire with it's 67 load rating and V speed rating, as compared to the similarly price Bridgestone TW40 that melted at highway speeds due to its P speed rating. Time will tell.