New xs400 owner!

Noah

XS400 Enthusiast
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Picked up my first street motorcycles yesterday, two 1980 xs400 for 400$. First street bikes I have owned, grew up racing motocross so I wanted something smaller and lighter weight. Thanks to the CoVid-19 I also needed something cheap! The only real issue with the brown 1980 is the stator grommet is leaking bad. The red one is a good parts bike. I haven’t had the cover off to check where all the oil is coming from, it’s a lot. I will have more pics soon, thought I should introduce myself. Thanks in advance!
 
Only pics I have at the moment.
 

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Looks like they are both chopped up. That will make things much harder to figure out. Welcome to the forum and good luck.
 
Yup, just my style. The guy I bought them from had built a few and had way too many bikes, he was in the process of saving this one from some kid who ran the motor for awhile with a bad oil leak and horrid spray paint job. I hope to clean her up, narrow the seat pan further and either buy or fab a tank similar to the 1978e. I love the boxier smaller look. This will be my local 55mph cruiser. I have my PSD for highway cruising. Thanks for the welcome and response Chris, I have read many of your comments already as I have been looking through forums for info on my oil leaks. On the way to work this morning, I bought some black rtv sealer and two quarts of oil. I plan on cleaning and drying the grommet with acetone, alcohol or brake cleaner and hoping I can seal the grommet leak with that. While I’m in there I’m thinking it’s a good time to check the freeze plug and any other seals. Anything else to look for?
 
On another note, I am a welder fabricator by trade, I have been selling upcycled metal sculptures and ornamental ironwork for the last few years. Here's a recent chopper and set of shelf brackets I made out of upcycled motorcycle parts.
 

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Nice work! These bikes don't have a freeze plug. I would replace and gaskets with actual gaskets as needed. Some things are sealed with yama-bond sealant. I use that only when it's called for.
 
Thanks! I would love to replace the Grommet with another one but it seems very hard to find this particular part. I may be able to use the stator cover from the parts bike if that grommet is still intact. What would the other source of oil leaking behind stator cover be? The PO seemed to think it was just the grommet but its dumping quite the puddle.
 
Welcome. Thats a really cool connecting rod chopper you made. Check out this thread if you havent stumbled upon it yet: http://www.xs400.com/threads/rewire-how-to.5934/#post-61464

Bad oil leaks can develop behind the drive chain cover at the clutch pushrod seal. The seal tears very easily. Other leaks should be visible. You should replace the O-rings on the oil filter housing. Theyre supposed to be changed out every other change or so. The housing bolt is torqued to about 11 lb ft.
 
Thank you Mike, I call them Rodcopters! I’ve made a few now and I could make more, if anyone wants one made from an old xs400 Rod that would be cool! Thank you both for the quick replies and information, this a great community. I will post more pictures and updates soon. It’s been awhile since I found a machine with a good following. I absolutely love this xs400 by forge cycleworks!. http://www.bikebound.com/2018/02/01/yamaha-xs400-brat-tracker/
-Noah
 
Added a little oil and gas and after a short leg workout. Got her fired up! I picked up some steel wool to scrub off the PO's overspay on the chromed parts. Definitely has an oil leak coming from the left side case. I'm hoping to get that fixed over the weekend. Fingers crossed its just a simple seal.

Ill get a better picture tomorrow morning of the front disk brake setup, either the caliper or master cylinder must be bad, it has no function nor fluid at the moment. Hopefully someone can help me figure that out. Have a great night. Stay safe✌
 

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