xs400newbie
XS400 Enthusiast
Hello all.
I'm new to the forum. I've never rebuilt a motorcycle but have some general knowledge of automotive repair. I'm hoping that with the help of this forum and some research, I can get this thing back on the road. I'm also hoping that this will not require an intensive rebuild because I'm not so sure I'm willing to spend the money on it. Hopefully a tune-up and maybe a few other things will take care of it. A bit of history then: it's an 81 xs400 that has not been driven in several years. My father used to start it yearly and drive it a bit to keep it running, but the last 3 years has seen some neglect, to the point where it's basically sat in the garage. Now last summer, I decided to drain the old gas, give it an oil change and checked that the plugs were ok and had spark and fuel. We couldn't get it started. It's possible that the battery was too weak. He does not keep it trickle charged. It could very well be on it's way out or toast by now. However, we towed it behind a car to attempt a push start, and she started up. It was low on power but it ran. Alas, since that day it's sat in the garage again. This year I would like to get it started and running right. I will say that the low power issue was evidenced in previous years after sitting in winter storage, but after riding around for a bit, the power returned. Maybe this thing just needs to run? Anyway, where do I start this year? He did put in some fuel stabilizer last year, so maybe the gas is still ok. I would like to check the ignition to make sure everything is ok with it. It has an electric start but the button popped out and was lost, so is using a screwdriver in place of the button ok? It seems to work. I can stick with the kick start also. I would appreciate any help. I did download the manuals but thought to check here first. Sorry for the long post. Thanks in advance.
Let's bring this old girl back to life!
I'm new to the forum. I've never rebuilt a motorcycle but have some general knowledge of automotive repair. I'm hoping that with the help of this forum and some research, I can get this thing back on the road. I'm also hoping that this will not require an intensive rebuild because I'm not so sure I'm willing to spend the money on it. Hopefully a tune-up and maybe a few other things will take care of it. A bit of history then: it's an 81 xs400 that has not been driven in several years. My father used to start it yearly and drive it a bit to keep it running, but the last 3 years has seen some neglect, to the point where it's basically sat in the garage. Now last summer, I decided to drain the old gas, give it an oil change and checked that the plugs were ok and had spark and fuel. We couldn't get it started. It's possible that the battery was too weak. He does not keep it trickle charged. It could very well be on it's way out or toast by now. However, we towed it behind a car to attempt a push start, and she started up. It was low on power but it ran. Alas, since that day it's sat in the garage again. This year I would like to get it started and running right. I will say that the low power issue was evidenced in previous years after sitting in winter storage, but after riding around for a bit, the power returned. Maybe this thing just needs to run? Anyway, where do I start this year? He did put in some fuel stabilizer last year, so maybe the gas is still ok. I would like to check the ignition to make sure everything is ok with it. It has an electric start but the button popped out and was lost, so is using a screwdriver in place of the button ok? It seems to work. I can stick with the kick start also. I would appreciate any help. I did download the manuals but thought to check here first. Sorry for the long post. Thanks in advance.
Let's bring this old girl back to life!