New member, non-running 84 Maxim 400, Wish me luck.

T

TrueG

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Howdy folks, I guess I should introduce myself. My name is TrueG and I am scheduled to pick up my new (to me) 1984 Yamaha Maxim 400 in 3 days.

Here is a picture....
1984-400YamahaMaxim-5speed.jpg


Here is what I have been told....
The current owner says she used to ride this bike 2 years ago and parked it at the end of the season without prepping it first. It sat all winter and the next season she ended up getting a great deal on a different bike and started riding that one instead.

This bike as sat for 2 years (not sure if that is fall 2009 til now or fall 2008). It was running fine when parked. Is complete except she took the mirrors off (I believe to use elsewhere). Condition of battery is unknown. Tires still look good. Cables might be rusty.

***

I have little to no money to spend on getting this up and running, so I need use some good old fashioned elbow grease where ever possible. :D

I've never worked on a motorcycle before but I have done some minor car work in the past.

Super excited!! :bike:

TrueG
 
I showed the picture to a co-worker and he mentioned that he didn't see a kick starter. I can't see one either. Does this model only have electric start?

I looked on Wikipedia and according to it, the XS400 was only made until 1982. Is the 84 Maxim 400 not an XS400?

Update: I think I just read that that 84 Maxim 400 is also known as the XS400J?


Thanks,
TrueG
 
Last edited:
There is only electric start on there. I have the 82 myself and never ever worry, it starts right up every time (after some poking and prodding). Lube up the cables, replace the battery, oil filter, air filter, oil, check the fuses, and lube the chain. Have fun with it and let me know how it is going.
 
Well my new (to me) 1984 Yamaha XS400(L?) is now parked in my garage.

It's not in quite as nice shape as the picture above make it appear but it looks pretty good.

I will try and post some detailed pictures in the next few days.


TrueG
 
OK, here she is with the seat and tank removed.

XS400L003.jpg


The gas tank has some rust on the inside, so I started by trying to clean that out.

The previous owner gave me bottles of POR15 Marine Clean and Metal-Ready, so I used that.

I first took a handful of pennies and added that plus the Marine Clean solution into the tank. After shaking that for a while I dumped it out. I had a tough time getting the pennies out since there is a lip on the inside around the gas tank opening.

I then rinsed out the Marine Clean solution with water and added the Metal-Ready.

I let that sit for a while with the occasional shaking.

After dumping out the Metal-Ready, I rinsed the tank out with gasoline.

It now looks great inside with most of the rust removed.

As far as getting the tank cleared of rust, should I do anything more than that?

***

When I took the tank off, I noticed something rattling inside. I ended up getting it out and what I found was the main fuel filter and a small penny shaped object that appears to be made of cardboard or something. Does anyone know what that is?

***

Both fuel filters looked good. Do I need to replace them anyway?

***

I also found rust on the underside of the tank.

XS400L001.jpg


XS400L002.jpg


Some of the rust is pretty thick. Should I just spray that with some Rustoleum or something?


Thanks,
TrueG
 
rustoleum would be fine, but as added protection, i would prep is with a wire wheel or brush to knock off all the chunky lose stuff. then prime it and arpay it. im anal retentive about that stuff tho. its really up yo you. if its a driver, just cover it with POR-15 brush on or something thick like that, it doesnt matter if its pretty underneath ot not
 
Thanks for the tip volcomskater77, perhaps I will try and get some of that rust off before I cover it. I figured I didn't need to be too thorough since it's not a place that is visible.

TrueG
 
You need to get rid of the rust.Period.Wirebrush it,then use some Ospho or something like it that contains phosphoric acid to neutralize the rust,then 2 coats of rusty metal primer,then paint.Otherwise,the rust will continue until you have holes in the tank. lha
 
OK, I need to remove the rust from the bottom of the tank before treating and covering. Gotcha. :)

How about my other questions.....

- Was the inside cleaning of tank sufficient?

- penny sized piece of cardboard/paper found in tank?

- change fuel filter yes/no?


Thanks,
TrueG
 
Well, I can answer my own question about the tank de-rusting.

The work that I did was insufficient. I checked it last night and the interior surface has flash rusted. :(

I will have to treat it again and this time use a sealer to coat the inside so that it doesn't rust up again. This is really unfortunate, I can't really afford another rust removal kit. :(


TrueG
 
Weekend Update:

Power:
I'm happy to report that I at least got the electrical system working. The battery was shot when I got this bike, so I purchased a new one for $45 from All Battery.

Imagine my disappointment when I put the battery in and turned it on, and nothing happened. No lights, no nothing.

Using my multi-meter I determined that power was getting all the way to the ignition switch. So I opened it up and found that the one of the pads was corroded. I cleaned it up, spent a long time getting it back together again and voila... power has been restored. :)

Gas Tank:
Last time my tank flash rusted after using phosphoric acid (POR15 Metal Ready) because I didn't do anything after treating it. This time I decided to try Evapo-Rust. Damn that stuff is expensive. The best deal around here is 1L for $10. I purchased 3 L and let it sit in my tank. It worked for the parts that it covered, but it took a long time and I wasn't able to get the small amount of liquid to cover everything.

So I dumped the Evapo-Rust back into a 4 L bottle, rinsed out the tank with water, dried it with a blow-drier and dumped in 1 L of POR15 Prep and Ready - $13 (same as Metal Ready). The acid worked great as usual, but this time after dumping the POR15 back into the bottle, I washed it out with water and put the Evapo-Rust back in. Since the tank was already perfectly clean, I wanted to let the Evapo-Rust coat the tank since it supposed to prevent rust from forming.

After letting the Evapo-Rust coat the tank, I dumped it back into a bottle, rinsed the tank with water and dried it with a blow-drier. This time the rust did not appear to come back. I will check it again when I get home.

Starting her up:
After putting the tank back on, hooking up the hoses and adding gas, I decided to see if it would start. Sadly it did not.

After purchasing an 18mm spark plug socket for $9, I pulled out the spark plugs. They didn't look too bad, so I connected the cable, grounded the plug to the engine and hit the starter. I could see spark every cycle, but it wasn't a very big spark. I sprayed a little carb cleaner into the cylinder (in case the problem was fuel) but it still wouldn't turn over. :(

Next step:
I just checked and I can get a pair of NGK DR8ES-L spark plugs for $8.49. Should I go ahead and change the plugs or should I be looking elsewhere first?


Thanks,
TrueG
 
If the plugs are gapped correctly and clean, I don't think that's the issue.

When you sprayed the carb cleaner in, were you cranking it with the throttle all the way open at the same time? Spraying it in and then cranking may not do it because it will fire more easily in aersol form. If that's what you did, did you try both cylinders? I am assuming the air filters are off and you are spraying directly down the throats.
 
Well, they appear to be gapped correctly, but I wouldn't call them clean. They were pretty black. Can I clean them up with a wire brush?
 
Last edited:
HoughMade said:
When you sprayed the carb cleaner in, were you cranking it with the throttle all the way open at the same time? Spraying it in and then cranking may not do it because it will fire more easily in aersol form. If that's what you did, did you try both cylinders? I am assuming the air filters are off and you are spraying directly down the throats.
Click to expand...

OK, I'm thinking I did that wrong. I sprayed carb cleaner into the spark plug hole (both sides), put the spark plugs back in and tried to start it. I tried it with and without the throttle open.

I have not looked at the air filter yet.
 
Update:

I checked the compression with my thumb and it seems to be pretty good.

I ended up buying new spark plugs anyway. I tried starting it with the throttle open and I got a giant backfire through the air intake. I still had the air filter on at the time and I was pretty freaked out that something blew.

I tried several more times, but I could only get the occasional backfire.

Carbs
I took the carbs off and attempted to clean them. They were actually pretty clean with only a little bit of brownish film in the bowls. I couldn't get the diaphragm cover off as the screws started to strip.

I put it all back together, but could only get backfires. Actually I had a giant flame shoot out one time. I guess I have fuel and spark, just not in the correct place.

I watched a carb cleaning video and I noticed that I didn't get the float valve. Could that be the problem?
 

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