New to forum and xs400

[southTxs400]

Hey everyone, I bought a 1981 xs400 a couple of months ago off of craigslist for $500. It had all the paper work along with current plates. It just didnt have inspection because the electrical is full of shortages. The bike itself runs and the previous owner said he put in new carbs. I believe him now because after I had it parked for over a month, the bike started on its first kick when i went down for spring break Ive tested out everything and the ligths work, but like i said the electrical is bad so bilnkers dont blink, headlight is not working but does work (found that out after my cousin and I directly connected i to the battery and drained it!). I talked to someone who said they could rewire the whole bike from front to back for anywhere between 100-150 dollars. Im a college student who doesn't know much about bike and this xs400 was my first. I taught myself how to ride on youtube lol so much of the very little i know about bikes comes from online. Anyway being a college student, I am always on a low budget but i really like the bobbed look on these motorcycle. I know from researching that their is a very small market for replacement parts for the xs400. How much money would a person expect to go into converting an xs400 into a bobber? Also, does anyone have a good site or ebay seller that sells smaller blinker and a headlight? I want to change to smaller LED lights that dont stick out as much and an h4 headlight (i believe thats the kind of bulb that is currently used in motorcycles) because i was told that the older sealed beam headlamps can really drain your battery.
Any help would be much appreciated! thanks in advance guys!
-Robert

 

[OliverB]

Hi and welcome to the XS400 forum. You have chosen a good bike to start with. Known electrical problems stem from the fuse box being next to the battery. The battery should have a vent tube attached to vent battery gas down and away from the wiring but often this tube has become detached and/or lost. The metal clips which hold the fuses become brittle and break off. Many folks remove the fuse box and wire in 4 separate weatherproof fuse holders. Check on yours.

Of course, there may be other wiring issues. depends on the condition of other areas of the bike. Some folks recommend checking each wiring connector for corrosion. I like to flood my connectors with dielectric grease to prevent future corrosion.

There is a replacement reflector that will take an H4 bulb. A link is below. I haver one in my '80 and so does my son in his '81. I would recommend a SilverStar Ultra bulb plus LED stop/tail bulbs. When you install an H4 you increase the amp drain on the system. Using LED stop/tail bulbs zeroes out that increase since LEDs use virtually no amps as compared to filament type bulbs. The older sealed beam headlights are lower wattage than an H4 and don't drain your battery as much as an H4 will - that is incorrect info you were given. Our headlight diameter is 6 3/8" and off-the-shelf replacements are not available. With the new reflector and SilverStar Ultra H4 bulb the night visibility is excellent.

Others will chime in with suggestions for modifying your bike.

Spend some quality time searching and reading posts on the forum. You will learn a great deal without even having to get into your bike.

http://store.candlepower.com/ca61quhahewi.html

 

[southTxs400]

Thanks Oliver! I will go ahead and look into that and yeah im not sure if the fuse box is supposed to have a cover, but mine doesnt. I have checked the fuses and they all seem to be fine. I just think its time to get rewired lol. The electric start worked when i first purchased the bike but now it doesnt. I love the kick start tho.

 

[Requiem]

how much money is required really depends on what you can do yourself, and what you want to achieve mate If you're happy just cutting off the rear, using the old front fender at the back and getting a different saddle it doesn't have to be expensive at all!
If on the otherhand you want to change the entire frame, filters, tank, headlight, set of wheels etc etc there's no limit to what it can cost you

 

[crush1776]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on scoring a good deal! Historically "bobbers" were early american (basically Harley's and Indians) that GI's returning from WWII cut all the unnecessary stuff off (front fender, 3/4 of the rear fender, curb feelers, wolf whistles, racoon tails, huge seat, etc) of to make them lighter, therefore faster. So you see, you really don't need to spend any money to have a "bobber" , hack saws are cheap! Now to make an xs400 look right you will probably have to spend a few hundred dollars, and I would strongly suggest befriending a welder or enrolling in a welding class in school.

History lesson aside, there are some very knowledgeable folk here that will help you along the way. From personal experience I can tell you that it is probably best to find a bike that you really like the looks of and try to copy it as best as your ability/ budget will allow (with personal touches to uh, personalize it of course). Wow, this is getting long winded, so bye for now.

 

[southTxs400]

Thanks to all for your input! Yeah i mean, Im not looking to go out and buy a new frame... I was thinking of just making the necessary cuts here and there on the current frame if thats possible ... To be honest though, I wouldn't know where to begin lol. But like i said if i could just make the necessary cuts to the frame, slap one of those single seats on it, and maybe some other kind of handlebar then i would prefer to do that. I just dont know how it would look considering the bike is pretty short lenght-wise and I know bobbers tend to be a little bit stretched. Here are some pics of my bike tho.

 

[drewpy]

welcome to the forum STxs400

 

[HoughMade]

I had intermittent electrical problems where sometimes things would work, sometimes nothing worked. Turns out the connections in the fuse box were all knackered (hanging out with the Brits too much) even though the fuses themselves were good. I replaced the fuse holders and connections in the box and everything works perfectly. I also, one at a time, took apart every electrical bullet connector and cleaned the female connection with mineral spirits on a Q-tip, and the male with a rag and mineral spirits. I have had absolutely no problems since I did all this.

 

[southTxs400]

thanks i'll probably try that out houghmade. I was going through the forum and saw post labeled "german chop" under the chopper topic section. Is that what a bike could look like with just minimal cuts to the frame? Or is that look achieved only after massive alteration to the frame itself? im asking because i want to see what I can get my xs400 to look like by only cutting the frame here and there (if thats possible with having a good outcome) with minimal welding. Im just trying to see how i can alter the bike without having to spends loads of money especially in the frame nor do i have the "know how" to do it myself. Any one have any suggestions for quick alterations with minimal cost? thanks