1980 400 Special

[HackJob]

Hi all my name is Josh, im new to the forum, just thought I'd drop in and share some pics of the bike I picked up and ask some questions. Bought it for $550 and it runs great! Other than the kickstart being sprung I have no complaints whatsoever. I will be posting updates as I clean up and get some new parts for the bike. There are a couple scrapes/gouges in the stator cover, anyone know a good way to buff or sand those out without too much headache? Also, any knowledge whether or not xs650 tank badges will fit on the xs400 tank? I can't find any reproduction xs400 badges.
Thanks! Also feel free to drop pictures of your bikes in the comments, I'd like to see some light mods others have done!

 

[arfstrom]

Nice bike Great photos!

Welcome to the group,
Strongly recommend fuel filter, Oh Crap bars for passenger, I had third thought, but I don't remember

My daughter and I was going to see about making a replacement one, since mine is brittle, and really fragile.

a lot of people fill that space with bondo.

 

[HackJob]

Thanks arfstrom, I have a fuel filter coming in the mail, and have been looking at grab bars on ebay... I was thinking about doing the bondo, but the original paint is still pretty nice and I'd rather not mess with it, if you end up making some replacement badges I would definitely buy a pair!

 

[xschris]

The mikesxs badges for the 80-84 xs650 special tanks will work. Welcome to the forum.

 

[HackJob]

Thanks xschris, I just checked it out and ordered a pair, appreciate it.

 

[xschris]

Your welcome

 

[oslocafe]

hi Josh, first thing i did on my 81 special was to get a new front brake line because the brake had a spongy feeling. I got the new brake line from www.helperformance.com, they are mid range on price and top notch on quality.

 

[HackJob]

Thanks oslocafe, mine feels pretty tight atm but I'll take that into consideration, can anyone tell me what the seat lever/locking mechanism looks like? The seat pan looks complete with the latches, but there is nothing to latch on to under the seat?
Thanks!

 

[xschris]

Looks like your missing the seat latching/locking mechanism.

 

[HackJob]

Thanks again xschris, I got tired of looking at the faded side covers, so after trying and failing at painting the gold back on to the old chipped badges with a brush, I decided I'd just take the covers off and repaint them and the badges, not perfect, but now I can sleep. Here are some pics...

 

[xschris]

Looks good

 

[BamaBill]

Lost one of my side covers on it's first ride, bummer because they were in like new condition. After buying 3 different ones on e-bay just to find they had cracks, one was for the wrong side and the other had the tit broke off I gave up on side covers. I run pods anyhow. I cut some thin stainless sheet metal, it was scratched so I gave it a brushed finish with an angle grinder with brush attachment. Siliconed them to the battery box and added some retro MoonEyes stickers.

 

[HackJob]

Hey @BamaBill, I like the look of that fairing in the front and the side covers don't look bad either, it works! Thought I'd drop in with some updates, put the lower bars on, mufflers, exhaust wrap, new tank badges and swapped the front tire to a Dunlop to match the back. Have a few other parts coming in, I'll put more pics on as I add to it. Not really sure of future plans but for now I'm keeping with the stockish look. Anyone know of a site that sells seat covers?

 

[HackJob]

I CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHY THE PICS ARE SIDEWAYS!? Just have to turn your heads. ☺☺

 

[arfstrom]

Fixed it

 

[HackJob]

So a guy I work with gave me these old school stacks, I cleaned them up but the rubber was so old and cracked it had to be pitched. I put the screens back on with electrical tape and it looks decent. Not sure if it's going to be used for this project or not but i just thought they were pretty cool and worth a post.

 

[xschris]

Unless you are going to race the bike and plan on a rebuild in a few k-miles don't use them They are for race setups or show bikes. Not for daily drivers.

 

[OleDoc]

Yea they might keep out low flying birds