Yeah i agree these xs400 yamahas really werent intended for highway use, they are alot fun on the back roads. but there not bad for a short distance on the highway, its a nice starter bike, i paid four hundred for mine, not to bad for a starter bike, yes i agree if i had to do alot of highway driving i would get atleast 650
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Is this bike OK for the Highway?
- Thread starter dellrio
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Brandenfwee
XS400 Member
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I have just recently bought a 1980 xs400. Odo has just under 4500 miles. Its my first bike and im enjoying it so far. I havent taken it over 45mph because my rear tire is dry rotted pretty badly. Where can I get a good, decently priced tire for this? Its not the prettiest bike in the world. Sun and weather has taken its toll on it. So I dont need anything too pretty for a first bike anyway, but I do want it to be safe. Thanks guys.
dellrio
XS400 Member
Just about any motorcycle shop on earth should be able to get you a new tire. Just search online for local shops to you and call around for pricing. I was quoted about $130 for tire plus install on my my bike, I wont need one for a while though.
Weight isn't the issue; it's the fact that the bike is naked. My gsxr 750 has a full fairing and weighs less than my xs400 but is rock solid on the highway. Even in heavy winds If I crouch the bike is nearly unaffected.
If you're dropping to 52 up a hill you need to downshift. When you drive these tiny bikes around you need to keep them in their power band (probably above 6k rpms). My 78 will do over 100 and it even has over-sized tires which should be slowing it down (and yes, I know the speedo is reading higher than normal).
There is little top end after you exceed 70 mph, but if you're in the slow lane and not trying to over-take you should be able to keep up just fine. If highway driving is going to be a regular occurrence a wind shield would make a huge difference.
If you're dropping to 52 up a hill you need to downshift. When you drive these tiny bikes around you need to keep them in their power band (probably above 6k rpms). My 78 will do over 100 and it even has over-sized tires which should be slowing it down (and yes, I know the speedo is reading higher than normal).
There is little top end after you exceed 70 mph, but if you're in the slow lane and not trying to over-take you should be able to keep up just fine. If highway driving is going to be a regular occurrence a wind shield would make a huge difference.
Well, Im not really having any problems with riding it on the Highway other than all the moron drivers on the highway thinking they need to 90 mph in the there vehicles. I have a nice windshield and saddlebags on my bike, the wind at times blows ya around but thats normal even in the pick up. But, my friend has a goldwing and he gets the same feeling with the wind. any ways keep rolling
lhaolpa
XS400 Junkie
I got a set of kenda tires for my dirt bike from Motorcycle Superstore.They are good tires,especially for the price,and they have tread patterns for street bikes as well.My wife's Explorer has had a set on it for 2 yrs and they have given good service and are still on the car,with plenty of tread left.That might be a good place to look. lha
DanMach
XS400 Addict
I was curious about this as well and when I bought my 82 XS400J(The DOHC motor) it was both good and bad.
It can sit at around 70mph all day long without any problems yet(about 1k miles or so at roughly this speed). Doesn't burn any oil or anything while I ride.. so it does that well. The bad side of this is that 70 is as high as you can cruise.. I can drop it into 4th and redline it if I suddenly need a burst of speed up to 80. If I pin it at 70 or so it'll creep up to 75 or 80 even given a long enough timeline.
It can sit at around 70mph all day long without any problems yet(about 1k miles or so at roughly this speed). Doesn't burn any oil or anything while I ride.. so it does that well. The bad side of this is that 70 is as high as you can cruise.. I can drop it into 4th and redline it if I suddenly need a burst of speed up to 80. If I pin it at 70 or so it'll creep up to 75 or 80 even given a long enough timeline.
lhaolpa
XS400 Junkie
You can easily and cheaply adjust your high speed cruising capabilities by changing 1 tooth on the primary[front]sprocket.Add 1 tooth for a slightly higher ratio,1 tooth less for lower ratio with more power but lower speed.That would help an underpowered bike to cruise if the problem is revs. lha
OnePhate
XS400 Addict
I'm in michigan too, I managed to get the bike up to 101 according to gps coming down the zilwaukee bridge following very close to a speeding suv. As soon as he got about 50 feet ahead of me my speed dropped to around 80 fairly quickly.
I think that when the speed limit was 55 this bike was great for the hiway mine can jump from 55 to 75 pretty quick. but at todays hiway speeds at least here in mo. on I-70 slow lane can be 75 it can make passing a big rig a little tough. personally im sticking to the biways with mine the corn is tall and the guys running cattle are cutting hay everything is smelling and looking great. cant say that about the hiway. I understand that some people are using theres as a commuter but my choice would be something with more motor.
gregarious1
XS400 New Member
My first bike was a '79 XS400 and I had it once up to an indicated 95mph (so probably more like 85-90) and there was not much left in the tank as far as speed but even if there was I couldn't use it because the bike would exhibit a bad wobble when it hit that speed. I did use it to commute from college to home on numerous occasions (about 120 miles) and once took it from Houston to Corpus Christie in a day (about 225 miles) without any problems. Back then the national speed limit was 55 though so no one was going much faster anyway. I now have a '77 XS360 and haven't been able to get it past 70 mph (probably true speed).
My 1980 xs400 does well at 60-70. thats fast enough for me 
No use in pushing the motor more than that. I agree, anything more than 60-70, I would find a bigger cc bike. I have put aftermarket mufflers, and change other parts, and its a fun little starter bike.
No use in pushing the motor more than that. I agree, anything more than 60-70, I would find a bigger cc bike. I have put aftermarket mufflers, and change other parts, and its a fun little starter bike.lhaolpa
XS400 Junkie
My 1980 xs400 does well at 60-70. thats fast enough for me
Actually,these bikes,if in good shape and geared right should be able to cruise at almost any reasonable speed[70-75,even 80]without much trouble.The problem is they're 30 yrs old at least,and parts are not readily available. With proper intake,exhaust,and jetting,they should perform as new or better.With a SOHC model with 5 gears,there are less options,but as I said in another post,changing the front sprocket 1 tooth smaller,or the rear 2-3 teeth would give you enough speed and a little more power.It might be worthwhile to get a front sprocket 1 tooth smaller,as they are cheaper and try it out on the road and see what changes.If as you say,you have enough throttle to downshift at 70,and reach 80,then you should easily cruise at 75-80 with a smaller front sprocket.Good luck. lha
lha, you mean 1 tooth bigger on the front sprocket?
less on the rear or more on the front sprocket to raise gearing.
1 tooth front sprocket = 3 on back
more on the back sprocket and less teeth on the front to lower gearing
sohc had 6 gears, dohc had 5.
drewps
less on the rear or more on the front sprocket to raise gearing.
1 tooth front sprocket = 3 on back
more on the back sprocket and less teeth on the front to lower gearing
sohc had 6 gears, dohc had 5.
drewps
dellrio
XS400 Member
I thought I saw something about this elsewhere on the forum - are our speedometers in general inaccurate, or is it a bike by bike calibration? If it says I am going 57MPH in a 55 zone I hope that is truly what I am going?
lhaolpa
XS400 Junkie
Actually,they all had 6 gears,I was reading one guy saying that he dropped to 4th gear as a passing gear,thereby cruising in 5th.To add 1 tooth would raise the gear ratio,and help a bit in reaching cruising speed,but evidently there's not enough power to maintain cruising speed in top gear.A slightly lower ratio would give one a little more power in high gear for cruising.If you raise the gear ratio,it would make the problem of running out of steam at cruising speed worse as the motor would be working much harder,but the lower ratio would give a boost in available torque at high speed at the expense of a few mph's.My experience with such matters as loss of power is that usually when you lose power at cruising speed,the problem is related to loss of compression,either from rings or valves.. lha
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