bswinn
XS400 Member
Hello to everyone!!! I'm making this thread as an Introduction and hopefully my future build thread. I suppose I'll get right down to the details of the intro.
I bought a basket case 1977 XS400 just about 4 years ago (before & after pics coming when I get home from work). It sat in various states of decomposition/assembly for two years in my bedrooms and living rooms of my apartments. It was finally finished and able to ride at the start of the 2011 riding season up here in the Northeast of the States.
It was one hell of a knuckle busting, swearing, name calling, fits of depression, and joyous ride for 2 years while going to University for an engineering degree. If I had the choice of doing it again I would.....do it at the drop of a hat.
So, now that I've been riding it for just over 1.5 seasons I've got the bug to do some customization/upgrades. I thought of buying a new larger bike and chopping it, and yes while it might be cheaper in the long run I just truly enjoy my wicked red-headed step child of a bike. Every laugh and joke that is thrown my way about my "too small shitty antique" sort of makes me love her even more. I know her inside and out (litterally) and think it would be a fun ride to rebuild her once again. But before I actually start I want to discuss and be advised on what you all think. Good and bad.
The bike has almost 19K miles on it. 2.5K are my own miles. When rebulding her I tore into the engine. The kick start is no more which sucks. The internall crank case mount was snapped off and hanging by a thread and was unrepairable. She's electric start only now. I didn't replace any of the internal engine bearings. They seemed to be okay to my untrained eye. This was also not done due to the fact that i was unable to find new ones. She has brand new NOS stock rings installed and were put in with a new cylinder honing. Original valves were well within tolerance and in good shape. There is a bit of an issue thought. There seems to be oil leaking from where the valve cover meets the cyclinger head. It's also seems to be leaking from the head gasket. Now would this be due to the head bolts needing to be re-torqued after the rebuild? There also seems to be some oil around the intake boots on the carbuerator as well as the crank case exaust tube. I'll try and post some pics.
So with all of this am I just asking for a headache and a hole in my wallet larger than what a rebiuld takes anyways?
I bought a basket case 1977 XS400 just about 4 years ago (before & after pics coming when I get home from work). It sat in various states of decomposition/assembly for two years in my bedrooms and living rooms of my apartments. It was finally finished and able to ride at the start of the 2011 riding season up here in the Northeast of the States.
It was one hell of a knuckle busting, swearing, name calling, fits of depression, and joyous ride for 2 years while going to University for an engineering degree. If I had the choice of doing it again I would.....do it at the drop of a hat.
So, now that I've been riding it for just over 1.5 seasons I've got the bug to do some customization/upgrades. I thought of buying a new larger bike and chopping it, and yes while it might be cheaper in the long run I just truly enjoy my wicked red-headed step child of a bike. Every laugh and joke that is thrown my way about my "too small shitty antique" sort of makes me love her even more. I know her inside and out (litterally) and think it would be a fun ride to rebuild her once again. But before I actually start I want to discuss and be advised on what you all think. Good and bad.
The bike has almost 19K miles on it. 2.5K are my own miles. When rebulding her I tore into the engine. The kick start is no more which sucks. The internall crank case mount was snapped off and hanging by a thread and was unrepairable. She's electric start only now. I didn't replace any of the internal engine bearings. They seemed to be okay to my untrained eye. This was also not done due to the fact that i was unable to find new ones. She has brand new NOS stock rings installed and were put in with a new cylinder honing. Original valves were well within tolerance and in good shape. There is a bit of an issue thought. There seems to be oil leaking from where the valve cover meets the cyclinger head. It's also seems to be leaking from the head gasket. Now would this be due to the head bolts needing to be re-torqued after the rebuild? There also seems to be some oil around the intake boots on the carbuerator as well as the crank case exaust tube. I'll try and post some pics.
So with all of this am I just asking for a headache and a hole in my wallet larger than what a rebiuld takes anyways?