Backyard Rescue

[Josh222]

Rescued this old neglected XS400 from a friends backyard. Traded my time( changed clutch on his car) for it, its been sitting for 16 years with the last 6 outside under a tarp when a boat took its spot in the garage. It's going to be my first bike when I am finished with it. Never worked on a motorcycle before but I have been a big rig mechanic for almost 6 years now and know how to handle a wrench

The frame tag says it was built 78/3 and the 9 digit vin I think was 2L0- 052840 (photo ended up blurry) and was wonder if someone could tell me what exact trim it is. It's going to need a ton of work but the motor still moves when i pushed the kick start and the tank doesn't look rusted out. I wonder how bad the the old battery is after 16 years

 

[xs400newbie]

Hi and welcome. I'm also from Ontario and new here. Currently working on getting my 81 road ready. Good luck with that project. Hopefully everyone here can help you with it.

 

[Greasey Fingers]

The angle grinder is your friend

 

[Josh222]

I think my first step will be to get it home and pick up some service manuals for it. I see haynes makes one but is there anything better available?

 

[63-Coupe]

Welcome to the forum. I can't believe how many of these are showing up in Ontari-ari-ario, EH! What part of Ontario are you in?

According to my list "2L0" is valid as either a 1978 XS400E or a 1979 XS400F.

You can get the Haynes and often original manuals on E-Bay, etc. but they are also available to download here.

For a battery I ordered one from XS650 Direct. They are in Stratford so there was no cross border crap to deal with. They are only about 100 km. from me but I was still impressed with the speed of delivery, ordered it on a Friday afternoon and got it on a Tuesday morning. Cost was $48.02 + $12.50 shipping + $7.87 HST for a total of $68.39. It has more CCA's and is less expensive than anything Canadian Tire, NAPA, or Parts Source could come up with. It fits perfectly and seems to have good power. As for longevity, only time will tell. It is their part number 61-2026 (AGM Battery CBTX12AHL)

You might also want to look at the "Classified" section of this forum for parts.

 

[Josh222]

I am in Brampton. What is the difference between a 400e and a 400f ? Also thanks for the heads up on xs650 direct, I am sure I will be ordering a few things from there once I got it torn down.

 

[Drewcifer]

Hey buddy, you'll find the bike very easy to get running.

Do a diesel to marvel mystery oil flush, change the plugs, soak off the chain in some vinegar or diesel, let the carbs sit in pinesol, get a decent battery and it will probably kick over.

new tires and chain will prolly save your life!

The rest is gravy. It will run way before it looks good.

 

[xs400neophite]

congrats on the new bike. We can move that one out of the "Poor little xs400" category and into project bike category!

 

[63-Coupe]

I am in Brampton. What is the difference between a 400e and a 400f ? Also thanks for the heads up on xs650 direct, I am sure I will be ordering a few things from there once I got it torn down.

I am not too famailiar with the sublties of models but as far as I know the only difference between an XS400E and an XS400F is the year.

It appears that your bike is mostly all there so at least you have a good starting point. These are fun and relatively inexpensive bikes to work on and most parts are readily sourced. I imagine though that E-Bay and KIJIJI are about to become your new best friends.

Just be careful using XS650 Direct for parts. They are basically the Canadian subsdiary of Mike's XS from the U.S. who specialize in the 650's so they don't have a lot of XS400 specific parts. Some 650 parts will interchange with the 400's but many of them only look similar and will not work. The battery was a pretty generic item but if in doubt, ask them first or even ask here, someone is bound to have the answer.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

 

[xs400neophite]

disc front and rear=F
drum front and rear=E

I think? 'E' for Economy?
'F' for fantastic? hehe ( I have an 'F')

 

[Josh222]

Thanks for the info xs400neophite.

Spent all afternoon today cleaning out the garage so I have some room to work and put up some better lighting because 2 60watt blubs just don't cut it.

A full load of junk in my outback..