1st time engine rebuild....Help will be needed!!!

[Bugeater]

Hey Guys! So recently I picked up a 1979 XS400 project bike for the old man and myself to restore.

I have been riding for a few years and have gotten more into the wrenching side of things lately. I wanted to learn how to do a basic rebuild on a fairly basic motor and found this little XS in a guys basement that got it years ago and never got around to getting her running. $300 later I had my project

I called the old man and told him not to make any plans for his free time as I would be using it up getting him to help me! Only one problem. I work out of town and will only have a week to work on this with him.

He is a little more savvy with this sort of stuff and with a his help and a little help from you folks out there I'm hoping I can learn how to do this!!

So without further adieu......

Question number one: What parts do you recommend I buy?

- I understand I will not know for sure until I open up the engine what parts are needed but she has 51,000 KMS on her and has been sitting a while. That coupled with my time constraints means I would like to order the parts now so I have what I need. I don't mind buying a few parts and if they are not needed just keeping them for next time. I already bought a full gasket set but can you guys recommend anything else I might need right off the bat?



Question number two: Where do you guys get your parts?

- I have done a bit of reading and this is what I have come up with....

www.partzilla.com

www.cmsnl.com

www.Mikesxs.com

www.jcwhitney.com

www.xs650direct.com




Question number three: Any other suggestions? and what is your favorite?

-I know some of those are more for the XS650 but some carry parts for the XS400.

I will take as many pics as I can while we get into this and any advice as we go would be greatly appreciated. Thanx Guys!!!

 

[willem]

welcome sounds like a fun project

1. My shopping list would probably be:
- (gasket set)
- brake cable (or stainless steel brake line if you have a disc)
- clutch cable
- throttle cable
- battery
- spark plugs
- spark caps
- swingarm bushing
- tapered steering head bearings
- air filter
- oil filter
- oil
- fork seals
- fork oil
- chain
- sprockets
- brake shoes front and back (or pads if you have a disc brake)
- little things like some different color wires, maybe a blade type fuse box (4 fuses: 20, 15, 10 and 10 amps), some chain grease, penetrating oil (something better than wd40), impact screwdriver, electrical tester, feeler gauges for the valves.

2. Ebay! also boats.net has a lot of little stuff like bearings and bushings, nuts and bolts

3. Use google search on the forum. I don't hear many stories of people ordering from jcwhitney or xs650 direct. xs650 parts generally don't fit actually.

 

[DARKMIDKNIGHTWARRIOR]

Welcome to the forum! Sounds like a fun father son project. There is a thread around here that states what you should do for a first bike look over. Worth a read.

 

[xschris]

Welcome to the forum. I would give the engine a good oil change and check adjustments before taring it down. People have had engines that sat for 20yrs run fine. We need pics of what you have

 

[iamunique127]

In the first place, heed xschris' advice. He knows of what he speaks.

Being in Canada you can't buy from MikesXS unless you have a US address at which to receive the parts. XS650 Direct is the Candian equivolent but they don't carry nearly as much stuff or reference bikes other than the 650 so you need to cross reference part numbers with MikesXS.

One more place in Canada is Parts 'N More. I get lots of parts from there, prices are good and the delivery is fast.

Also, you'd be surprised how much you can get from your local Yamaha dealer, with no shipping costs. That is where I always check first. Of course they are OEM parts and may cost a bit more than places that carry aftermarket parts.

Have fun.

 

[Bugeater]

Okay guys thanx for all the great advice. I have been trying to get the pictures I took off my phone but it ain't happening!! However when I get back from working up north I will take some good pics of the bike before we get into it. I bought a full gasket set and oil gasket set. I found an eBay store that sells gaskets and stuff really cheap and he's out of Vancouver so it's nice to support local. Also he sells new piston rings for about $40 bucks. I know I might not even need all this stuff and it might start up and run fine but I also am using this as a learning to rebuild motor so I don't mind cracking er open even if she doesn't need it.

I go home in a week so expect all the questions to start right about t
hen!!! Thanx again guys and I will get some pics goin ASAP!

 

[iamunique127]

I have picked up seals from that guy in Vancouver, too. Not sure what else he has.

There is an NOS guy in Nova Scotia called Rocky's Wheels and Deals where I've found obsolete parts I couldn't get elsewhere in Canada and he offers free shipping.

I bet you're itching to get going. We're really getting spring out here now, only had an inch or so of fresh snow yesterday so things are looking up.

 

[Bugeater]

Okay guys we start working on the bike tonight! I will take lots of pictures as we go. Thanks for all the advice and help already. We will start with just tring to get it running then see where we need to go from there!!

 

[Bugeater]

It's gonna take some work to make her pretty again!

 

[Bugeater]

I have a box of parts that still need to be put back on but that's the gist of it anyway. The P.O. Thought it would look cool to do flames on the tank with a sharpie pen

 

[xschris]

Looks like you have a bit of work to do

 

[BBS360]

Looks like a great project! I'm in Victoria too, doing a similar rebuild on a 360.

In addition to the sites linked above I have also ordered from NW Vintage Cycle Parts: http://www.nwvcp.com. They're just south of us in Oregon. Pretty quick shipping and I don't think I was dinged for customs.
I've ordered a number of things from NW and Rocky's. Just discovered my battery box grommets are rotten but Rocky's has them.

Looking forward to seeing the progress!