I did it again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On the Road...............Sort of......

Petew said:
Man, you just keep falling into good stuff!! LOL! I actually leave my frame slightly longer as it allows a solid mounting area for my seats. I have been looking into the progressive springs myself but I am unsure if I am keeping these two bikes... My original plan was also to use the air boxes and stock exhaust but when cleaning the pipes I found many, many rust holes in the mufflers. I found the option of aftermarket to be more cost efficient as I am not a weld like some are...
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It was a great deal.......I stared and stared at the pics on Ebay for a while........finally said screw it and bought them as I figured 65 bucks and they looked clean from the pics.

Yes I was going to leave a little longer but the look I am chasing has the frame done the same way so I figured it would be good. Seat actually wont go back that far as right where the frame ends a small cowl will be. Hopefully fed ex drops off my last tire today and I can get them to the local bike shop for mounting.....going with an old school pair of Coker Firestones.........ought to be an interesting ride :laugh2:
 
Baby has new shoes ;) waiting on some bronze bushings from Mikes so I can put the swing arm on and then can mount the wheels......oh new brake shoes showing also and need to clean up that mess of a rear drum I have.......Still undecided on front brakes so who knows what way that will go.

Also nice having a mom and pops shop close to me.....I drop off my wheels, tubes and tires and less than 2 hours later and 20 bucks its all done!!!!!!! I would probably take out a tube and be out the 15 so 20 bucks is worth it to me.....

IMG_4691.jpg
 
Did you get the mikesxs swing arm tube also? It's a good idea to replace that also. I have this setup on two of my bikes. I can't really tell any major performance difference over oem style setup, maybe if I where to take corners at 80mph I would. The biggest handling improvement I have ever noticed on any of my bikes is when I went from a 130/90-16 rear tire to a stock 120/90-16. It was night and day. The guy I bought it from put the "fat" tire on it.
 
xschris said:
Did you get the mikesxs swing arm tube also? It's a good idea to replace that also. I have this setup on two of my bikes. I can't really tell any major performance difference over oem style setup, maybe if I where to take corners at 80mph I would. The biggest handling improvement I have ever noticed on any of my bikes is when I went from a 130/90-16 rear tire to a stock 120/90-16. It was night and day. The guy I bought it from put the "fat" tire on it.
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Are you talking the needle bearing kit? If so no just the bronze bushings. I didn't see much more on there as there site is really lacking when it comes to some things.

And yes I bought a 500 tire for the rear and kind of wish I went the 450 or even the 400 rout. Oh well I guess I will need to ride the crap out of it and wear it out......
 
I had a very tough time getting the bronze bushings seated in the swing arm. I actually ruined the first set because one side went in crooked. I had to get a threaded rod and thick washers with a few nuts and tighten it all up together to get the bushings seated.
 
Seconding the threaded rod.
Grease up the threads, maybe use a longer rod coupler instead of a nut to rotate.
Stack a few large fender washers in contact with the bronze bushings so that they won't warp and the one against the bushings will be stationary and won't mar the bronze.
 
Dang the last set I put in my other bike went in like butter.........a little tapping with a mallet and all was good.

I clean the crap out of everything and if rusty well a 3M pad to clean it up.....or a wire brush.

Making a list of SS bolts and screws.......the nickel and dime effect is taking shape :laugh2:
 
If you freeze them first they will go in easier. Never hit them with anything. The threaded rod works well. A press works even better and only take a few seconds.
 
xschris said:
If you freeze them first they will go in easier. Never hit them with anything. The threaded rod works well. A press works even better and only take a few seconds.
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A BFH does wonders :laugh2: and it was a tap to get them in they went in pretty easy and no issues so far. The all thread deal seems easy as I have lots of it at work.
 
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Waiting for parts sucks........:laugh2: ended up putting the all balls kit in the neck and cleaning the hell out of the factory harness. All connections cleaned and dialectic greased. Now I can molest it and make it work for me :D Also picked up a few SS bolts from the local hardware store.......am tossing 90% of the factory nuts and bolts.......

Oh and thanks Pete for the it doesn't go back together like it came apart post :laugh2: trying to remember what part of the harness goes where ;)
 
I ordered a SS bolt set from a seller on EBay. He has a website too: https://alloyboltz.com/product/yamaha-xs250-xs360-xs400-polished-stainless-bolt-kit/

I know piecing a set together yourself might be cheaper, but this kit has everything you need and everything was labelled and was bagged very professionally. I know its just packaging, but I was honestly shocked at how meticulous and perfect this guy is lol. Great products.
 
NewHavenMike said:
I ordered a SS bolt set from a seller on EBay. He has a website too: https://alloyboltz.com/product/yamaha-xs250-xs360-xs400-polished-stainless-bolt-kit/

I know piecing a set together yourself might be cheaper, but this kit has everything you need and everything was labelled and was bagged very professionally. I know its just packaging, but I was honestly shocked at how meticulous and perfect this guy is lol. Great products.
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Yes have purchased a few kits from them before. But I replaced all the bolts holding the battery box in and also all the bolts holding the TCI box in there and the rec/ reg that attach to the box also. I seem to replace most of the bolts with SS for some reason.
 
spectra said:
View attachment 31393 View attachment 31394 View attachment 31395 Waiting for parts sucks........:laugh2: ended up putting the all balls kit in the neck and cleaning the hell out of the factory harness. All connections cleaned and dialectic greased. Now I can molest it and make it work for me :D Also picked up a few SS bolts from the local hardware store.......am tossing 90% of the factory nuts and bolts.......

Oh and thanks Pete for the it doesn't go back together like it came apart post :laugh2: trying to remember what part of the harness goes where ;)
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Holy cow! An intact fuse box!!!. We always remember to take pictures of stuff AFTER they are apart-not before! I am still addressing the proper fitment.
 
Petew said:
Your builds always look so nice and clean. Mine seem to be not so much....
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Thanks!

And yes that fuse box is sweet :laugh2: Even has spare fuses in it :eek: that's why I am almost not wanting to mess with it but the tail lamp and a few other things are going to be different.

Got a new handle bar switch in the mail from mikes and of course the plugs different so will need to swap that one out.
 
Waited for the new brakes to show up and got everything mounted and even polished it all up......
IMG_4703.jpg


Then pulled out the new bearings I got from all balls and this.....................

IMG_4704.jpg


Bottom bearing fits but the hole diameter isn't the same as the top one.........wtf I think someone screwed the pooch somewhere.........so now waiting as I cant put anything together now........

Upon searching I see Mikes carries this exact same kit and says it fits my year..........wonder if somehow the wrong bearing got put in my kit or ?
 
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