aaroncarver
XS400 Member
Hi y'all. I was here for awhile, then I wasn't. Some big life stuff that made me forget motorcycles for awhile. But I am back. Got a 1979 xs400 which I rode to work for two years. I'm a newbie mechanic who is really finding pleasure in learning. I decided to take the bike down to it's bits to learn (and inspect) every piece of my bike. As warned, the project has becoming more expensive than anticipated...
In the process of dismantling the bike I discovered that the swingarm pivot bolt and bush is rusty and pitted. Attached is a picture. Can anyone tell me if it's safe to reinstall or should I replace it? click here for flickr pic
My other question is regarding the forks. I want to dismantle them and replace the springs to increase handling. The oil drain screw on both forks were fairly stripped by previous owner and rusted tight. Tried pb blaster, WD-40, butter and every oil imaginable. Tried heatgun. Nothing works to loosen them. So I put one fork in a vice and drilled the screw out. Now I'm wondering if I drilled with too big of a bit. Is it cool just to use a tap and die set to make a new hole for a bigger screw? Or have I ruined it.
The other question is the top circlip and the bottom hex bolt. I'll be darned if I haven't tried everything to depress that top to loosen the circlip. What's the trick? The bottom hexbolt is tighter than anything too.
So in my dismay I am wondering if I need to buy new forks. I'm not the kind of guy to want to throw money at every problem, but alas my knowledge of bikes is scant. Will any 33 mm forks be suitable--fitting the oem steering head/triple tree? It'll be hard to afford so if anyone provide any tips on Fork refurb I'd be very grateful. I've done some searching but I couldn't find anything comprehensive. Thanks in advance.
In the process of dismantling the bike I discovered that the swingarm pivot bolt and bush is rusty and pitted. Attached is a picture. Can anyone tell me if it's safe to reinstall or should I replace it? click here for flickr pic
My other question is regarding the forks. I want to dismantle them and replace the springs to increase handling. The oil drain screw on both forks were fairly stripped by previous owner and rusted tight. Tried pb blaster, WD-40, butter and every oil imaginable. Tried heatgun. Nothing works to loosen them. So I put one fork in a vice and drilled the screw out. Now I'm wondering if I drilled with too big of a bit. Is it cool just to use a tap and die set to make a new hole for a bigger screw? Or have I ruined it.
The other question is the top circlip and the bottom hex bolt. I'll be darned if I haven't tried everything to depress that top to loosen the circlip. What's the trick? The bottom hexbolt is tighter than anything too.
So in my dismay I am wondering if I need to buy new forks. I'm not the kind of guy to want to throw money at every problem, but alas my knowledge of bikes is scant. Will any 33 mm forks be suitable--fitting the oem steering head/triple tree? It'll be hard to afford so if anyone provide any tips on Fork refurb I'd be very grateful. I've done some searching but I couldn't find anything comprehensive. Thanks in advance.