OliverB
XS400 Junkie
Finally took a couple of pics of the '79 XS400F my son got in trade for a set of Harley Sportster handlebars. Before he brought it to my house he rigged up a true West Virginia emergency gas tank - a plastic soda bottle - because the gas tank that came with it was rusted out. No idea how long it sat but he got it running fairly easily and it sounded great. Has Mikuni carbs. Throttle was responsive and idle was perfect. Don't know how that happened! 
The gas tank and emblems shown are from forum member Savantjk and is from a '79. The tank was powder coated silver and he installed new repro emblems. My son and I were thinking of going with a silver theme anyway, although silver wasn't a '79 color option.
My plan right now is to rebuild the gas tap, try to get one set of brakes working and see how it does. After that, it will be stripped down completely for frame painting, parts cleaning, plating and/or replacement. The bike has the original size tires with the rear being a Yokohama - no longer made. After checking around, I have decided on a set of Bridgestone Battlax BT45s in 90/90x18 F and 110/90x18 R. These are supposed to be close to the old O.E. spec sizes. Not easy to find those sizes in a matched set for most brands. Thanks go out to Drewpy for the hearty recommendation of these tires.
Overall, the bike doesn't really look that bad. The engine is pretty clean and the frame not rusted all over. Header piped and mufflers appear to be stock and in good condition. Need a set of side covers, lots of new rubber parts, brake system rebuild kits, fork rebuild and lots of time. How do you like the custom seat cover? The bars are Yamaha Sport and from my '80 XS400. I switched the Touring style from this to my "80. The speedo was missing. I had a spare one for my '80 and put that one on for now but it doesn't match the '79 style tach. I really don't think the bike has many miles on it. Compression was 149 & 151 - right on. Still can't figure out why my '80 is 175 in both cylinders!
The gas tank and emblems shown are from forum member Savantjk and is from a '79. The tank was powder coated silver and he installed new repro emblems. My son and I were thinking of going with a silver theme anyway, although silver wasn't a '79 color option.
My plan right now is to rebuild the gas tap, try to get one set of brakes working and see how it does. After that, it will be stripped down completely for frame painting, parts cleaning, plating and/or replacement. The bike has the original size tires with the rear being a Yokohama - no longer made. After checking around, I have decided on a set of Bridgestone Battlax BT45s in 90/90x18 F and 110/90x18 R. These are supposed to be close to the old O.E. spec sizes. Not easy to find those sizes in a matched set for most brands. Thanks go out to Drewpy for the hearty recommendation of these tires.
Overall, the bike doesn't really look that bad. The engine is pretty clean and the frame not rusted all over. Header piped and mufflers appear to be stock and in good condition. Need a set of side covers, lots of new rubber parts, brake system rebuild kits, fork rebuild and lots of time. How do you like the custom seat cover? The bars are Yamaha Sport and from my '80 XS400. I switched the Touring style from this to my "80. The speedo was missing. I had a spare one for my '80 and put that one on for now but it doesn't match the '79 style tach. I really don't think the bike has many miles on it. Compression was 149 & 151 - right on. Still can't figure out why my '80 is 175 in both cylinders!
