'79 xs400 rough>reliable>cafe 'Scarlett'

[willem]

Either way if these are the old plugs, you don't have to worry about them. They don't look overly lean or rich, and it's gonna change anyways now you've set the valve clearance and you're going to sync the carbs and adjust your idle mix. Post some more spark plug pics after you get it running and your maintenance is done

 

[bcware]

An 8 is colder than a 7 and will foul easier. Your stock plug caps should say if they are the resistor type and how many ohms. Chris already described previously how caps and plugs are combined. There is no reason to switch to an 8. Stick with a 7. Switching plugs to something hotter or colder should only happen once the bike is tuned and synched. You need a reliable baseline so the readings can be trusted.

 

[jthiessen]

I will be sticking with the 7's. I am replacing the whole coil, cable, cap and plug, so they should all play nice together!

 

[bcware]

Good idea. Just make sure you pair a resistor cap with a non resistor plug or a non-resistor cap with a resistor plug.

I replaced the entire system myself just for the sake of reliability.

 

[jthiessen]

Headed to the garage today to finish what I started with my valve clearance and points gaps. Wish this newbie luck!

Also decided to do the DCC rear hoop. Gotta take the measurements as to which one to get. Off the top of my head I think the xs400 would need the Large CC hoop, but I'm not sure of the frame diameter.

 

[jthiessen]

Not the best drawing. But didn't have any new real photos to post!

 

[bcware]

This is the plan?

 

[jthiessen]

This is the plan?

It is. Not really to scale or anything. Hopefully the wheels will be more round...

 

[bcware]

It looks like a good one. Get this stuff done and you'll have an awesome bike!

 

[xschris]

It's good to have a vision of what you want.

 

[jthiessen]

I have a question regarding seat components. Mainly the Seat / Base / Pan. Are these three different components to building a seat?

My plan was to weld on my Seat Hoop with a few cross supports that had holes in them. Then make a seat base out of Sheet Metal or Wood, add foam, upholster it, then add bolts that line up with the holes in the cross supports. Then attach the seat with some wing nuts.

Is that sufficient?

 

[bcware]

That will work with some caveats:

Make sure the seat pan material is strong enough; you don't want the head of the embedded bolts ripping through. Alternatively use hardware with a large, flat head to distribute the load over a greater area.

It probably goes without saying, but make sure you use some kind of locking mechanism with the wingnuts or they will come loose. Loctite or locking washers would do just fine. I use split locking washers on most lightweight components under modest torque and have never had anything come loose after many thousands of miles.

 

[jthiessen]

Yesterday was a big day for me, I was finally victorious with my first setting of valve clearances. A lot of thanks to all of you on here. After going through all the motions, I rotated the engine a few times to double check the gaps...Smallest spec fit through just fine. Medium spec was pretty snug. Largest spec didn't go through....I was absolutely shocked!

Feels like the sky is the limit at this point!

Next is a seat hoop. But I forgot to measure, are these bikes 7/8" frame, or 1" frame?

 

[jthiessen]

Just put in my first order to DimeCity for a seat hoop, drag bars and some signals. Cant come soon enough.

 

[Vigo The Carpathian]

Did you have them fab one for you at a larger size? The width of the ones they have on their site aren't nearly wide enough for an XS400 frame. Our outer to outer edge is something like 9.75"

 

[jthiessen]

I ordered the large CC hoop. Yes, it is smaller than our frame, but I've read a couple threads where people have squeezed the frame enough to fit the large CC hoop. Hoping to do that.

 

[jthiessen]

Got a few goodies in the mail yesterday...Can't wait to get working on them!

 

[Alex_D]

Did you order the small seat hoop or the large one?

***
Ok i just saw you had answered that already, sorry, i didnt read everything before posting!

Cant wait to see how it fits, i want to order it as well, pretty soon

 

[njcafe84]

Can you do a write up with lots of pics on the steps you are taking to make that seat loop work? I was interested in the same one and if we can learn anything from your build that would be awesome....thanks

 

[jthiessen]

Can you do a write up with lots of pics on the steps you are taking to make that seat loop work?

I will do my best!

Good idea. Just make sure you pair a resistor cap with a non resistor plug or a non-resistor cap with a resistor plug.

Why exactly is this? None of the parts stores in my city (or vancouver) had non-resistor caps. They said resistor plugs with resistor caps is no problem??