Looking for Input

[JustinM]

Hello,

I am buying a 1981 Yamaha 400 Special. Hopefully I will pick it up Tuesday. It seems pretty stock to me other then the sissy bar. I am completely new to the vintage motorcycle scene and I am looking for a place to start. The only thing that it needs is new tires. I like the look of the bike as it is. However, I would like to make it a little louder and look a little nicer, but still preserve the vintage look. Any thoughts or ideas? I was thinking about adding some wider bars, louder exhaust, and LED lights. I would also like to polish up the metal and either replace or recover the seat and change out the pegs and grips. If it polishes up I am not looking to repaint it right now.

I like the cafe racer look but I do not feel like that is what this bike needs. The problem that I am running into is that there are so many options that it seems like an overload.

Any help or thoughts on where to start would be much appreciated,
Justin

 

[Gramatron]

Well congrats on the new find. It looks to be in pretty fair shape. First and foremost get some fresh tires on there. An inexpensive set of Shinko's should do nicely. Meanwhile pull of that sissy bar and order some low rise handle bars. These are easy mods that wont take long. Here's my Hawk for example. Oh and I also added an ebay tail light and chopped the rear fender. Modding for a custom seat will be much more involved.

 

[JustinM]

Wow. Thank you for the reply. That is kind of what I was looking to do. Smarten it up a little but not try to change the vintage look too much. I wasn't really sure which way to go with the handlebars, but I really like what you've done there. I think I will start like you said to.
Excited to get this thing on the road.

 

[xschris]

Welcome to the forum. If your exhaust is in good shape leave it and DON'T cut it up. The bike will run it's best with this setup. If you want louder look at MAC systems as those are the only ones that are made to fit these bikes. They wont make it really run any better and you will need to re-tune the carbs to make them work but they are louder.

 

[NewHavenMike]

Read the manuals and get to know the bike lol.

Get out the chrome polish and some wax for the tank.

Theres manuals on here for download, but I prefer to have a hard copy at hand. Haynes has a decent one the I used to rebuild my entire engine.

You really need to be mechanically inclined to enjoy these bikes. Once you figure out this bike, your knowledge will apply to almost any motorcycle from 1940 to now lol.

Get a set of tools if you dont have one. A couple screwdrivers and channel locks isnt gonna do it.

 

[JustinM]

Thanks! I'll keep the exhaust the same for now. If it's best for the engine then I don't see any need to try to fix what is working already.
I will look into the Haynes manual. I like to have a hard copy to reference as well.
I am a little mechanically inclined. And I am willing to look up and research what I need to do before I dive into it headfirst.
The paint isn't horrible so making it shine up is right up my alley.
lol 1940's to now... don't tempt me just yet. I'm just getting my feet wet with older bikes.