looks like a really solid score for 200. as long as you take off that abortion king/queen, it will look awesome. lol is this going to be your build thread?
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What am I getting into?
- Thread starter staycryptic
- Start date
staycryptic
Under there.
Oh, its coming off.
And, sure- Its either that or make a new one to waste space. So, I'll just keep everything in here.
hardtailed77
Never Finished
I'd a bought it!
From the pics, I would say get a master cylinder rebuild kit with that caliper rebuild kit you're ordering. Seems to maybe need a gasket set too, but mine leaks a little from the same place on the head too....No biggie, I'd say.
Nice score for the price though! Does the engine turn over freely?
From the pics, I would say get a master cylinder rebuild kit with that caliper rebuild kit you're ordering. Seems to maybe need a gasket set too, but mine leaks a little from the same place on the head too....No biggie, I'd say.
Nice score for the price though! Does the engine turn over freely?
hardtailed77
Never Finished
On second thought, I'd just buy some gasket maker and just pop the head cover off and throw some of that on there....doesn't seem to be leaking from anywhere else.
staycryptic
Under there.
Yep, it turns over like a champ. I never kick-started a bike, but when I did I felt the slight thump of it going through TDC, and it had no issues or noise.
Most of the "damage" looks superficial. Wires are cheap to fix and I am sure you can solder. The tires might need to be replaced even if they have adequate tread; they can rot.
Check your fuses, but I wouldn't bother replacing them until the exposed wires are fixed. 0000 steel wool and any light oil works wonders to remove surface rust. Tear of the carbs open and have a look, but I would not recommend shooting any solvents into them without asking questions first because the plastic/rubber bits will melt. On second thought you probably know this having experience with car engines, but I am just talking
The inside of the tank looks great.
Check your fuses, but I wouldn't bother replacing them until the exposed wires are fixed. 0000 steel wool and any light oil works wonders to remove surface rust. Tear of the carbs open and have a look, but I would not recommend shooting any solvents into them without asking questions first because the plastic/rubber bits will melt. On second thought you probably know this having experience with car engines, but I am just talking
The inside of the tank looks great.
hardtailed77
Never Finished
Yup....looks like normal wear and tear stuff to me
that lock you were looking at = a lock so you can keep stuff under your seat tray. when you unlock it, it should pivot from the right(opposite of lock). i found my title and some other tid-bits under mine. but you have a diff seat, so it shouldnt matter too much. and if you have to drill it outt, start small and work your way to something bigger. learned that from my dad. guess he did some shady stuff back in the day? lol
staycryptic
Under there.
Well, this is all great news! Thanks for checking it out, guys.
This week marks the beginning of the teardown, then. I'm excited that its not in too bad of shape.
In the trunk of my girlfriends car is the bag of parts the owner gave me. It's got the battery, the sides (that say XS400 on them) and other odds and ends.
So, let me get a list started here:
Wiring.
Fuses.
Seals.
Oil.
Oil filter.
Air filter.
Caliber rebuild.
Brake fluid.
Chain clean, lube.
Linkage adjustments.
What am I forgetting?
This week marks the beginning of the teardown, then. I'm excited that its not in too bad of shape.
In the trunk of my girlfriends car is the bag of parts the owner gave me. It's got the battery, the sides (that say XS400 on them) and other odds and ends.
So, let me get a list started here:
Wiring.
Fuses.
Seals.
Oil.
Oil filter.
Air filter.
Caliber rebuild.
Brake fluid.
Chain clean, lube.
Linkage adjustments.
What am I forgetting?
Fork seals. Pull the dust caps up on the front fork and push the front forks down a bit. You're looking for signs of oil leakage. Feel/inspect the front fork tubes in their travel range for bumps, burrs, or divets. Turn the steering from lock to lock; lift the front wheel off the ground if you can or push fairly hard on the front shocks and feel for play or problems with the steering bearings.
The calipers may not need a rebuild "kit"; sometimes they can just be cleaned up to restore proper movement. It is more likely that you need to rebuild the master cylinder like hardtailed mentioned
If you're charging your battery up make sure you use a smart charger or one made for a motorcycle. I guess the smaller batteries are more sensitive to being over charged.
Cable lube; even wd40/chain lube works in a pinch. You can shoot it into the cables from the top and watch for it to drip out the bottom side. Only nylon aftermarket cables require some special lube because they can swell up if you use the wrong stuff.
Inspect the exhaust system on the under side if you haven't already. When I got mine it didn't look bad from the top, but the underside of my mufflers had massive rust holes.
Oh, and pro tip; the throttle side rear view mirror is probably a left hand thread. I hit mine with a blow torch and a grinder before I figured that one out; lol yamaha Mikesxs sells adapters to make both sides right hand threads so you can use any mirrors.
The calipers may not need a rebuild "kit"; sometimes they can just be cleaned up to restore proper movement. It is more likely that you need to rebuild the master cylinder like hardtailed mentioned
If you're charging your battery up make sure you use a smart charger or one made for a motorcycle. I guess the smaller batteries are more sensitive to being over charged.
Cable lube; even wd40/chain lube works in a pinch. You can shoot it into the cables from the top and watch for it to drip out the bottom side. Only nylon aftermarket cables require some special lube because they can swell up if you use the wrong stuff.
Inspect the exhaust system on the under side if you haven't already. When I got mine it didn't look bad from the top, but the underside of my mufflers had massive rust holes.
Oh, and pro tip; the throttle side rear view mirror is probably a left hand thread. I hit mine with a blow torch and a grinder before I figured that one out; lol yamaha
Mikesxs sells adapters to make both sides right hand threads so you can use any mirrors.
Last edited:
staycryptic
Under there.
Cool, good info^
Thanks again!
Im off to order parts...
Thanks again!
Im off to order parts...
staycryptic
Under there.
Well, it runs!
After looking It over and just eye balling the wiring I came across a 20amp fuse that was toast. Threw a new one in and all of a sudden I had power!
However, I think I've got the wrong battery in it.
Pics up tomorrow...
After looking It over and just eye balling the wiring I came across a 20amp fuse that was toast. Threw a new one in and all of a sudden I had power!
However, I think I've got the wrong battery in it.
Pics up tomorrow...
staycryptic
Under there.
Its tomorrow!
Tuesday night I finally got a chance to take the bike from my home garage to the race garage. Yesterday, I went over and paid it a visit. I didnt really plan on tearing into it. I just wanted to wipe off the chrome, start soaking the heavier grease and wipe down the frame. After about two hours of cleaning - mostly talking and goofing around - I decided to look through the electrical so I could see where I was going once I did decide to tear it apart.
I remember the PO saying it was "maybe a bad fuse", which seemed easy enough. So, I through some power into the battery-which was TOAST. It didnt hold anything after two hours of charging.
So, I decided to leave the charger on the battery and install it in the frame.
Then I got to this-
Notice anything wrong? Well, the terminals are a little too far away from the cables. If you were to flip the battery around, they would line up perfectly...but, with the wrong polarity! So, this new battery the PO obtained for this bike may have caused the second issue: the blown fuse.
Now, once I did some fancy wiring with the charger in place and a few extra inches of thick gauge, I still had nothing turning on. No blinkers, headlight, horn.
So, I ran my eyes over the wiring to try to find an inline fuse.
And, it so happened that I did:
In that mess of wiring was a 20Amp wrapped up in UL tape. So, a quick unrap and replace.
Now, It works!
I went through all the lights- high/lows, left rights, horn, brake- Its all there!
I turned the bike over (by foot, still not quite enough juice for the electric start) and it sputtered! Then, a quick shot of ether in the carbs and it runs!
Today, Im off to Walmart to grab a new battery (one that was made for this bike), a new fuse (the one I used was stolen from another project), and a few gallons of high-test from the corner station.
Alright- things just got fun!
Tuesday night I finally got a chance to take the bike from my home garage to the race garage. Yesterday, I went over and paid it a visit. I didnt really plan on tearing into it. I just wanted to wipe off the chrome, start soaking the heavier grease and wipe down the frame. After about two hours of cleaning - mostly talking and goofing around - I decided to look through the electrical so I could see where I was going once I did decide to tear it apart.
I remember the PO saying it was "maybe a bad fuse", which seemed easy enough. So, I through some power into the battery-which was TOAST. It didnt hold anything after two hours of charging.
So, I decided to leave the charger on the battery and install it in the frame.
Then I got to this-
Notice anything wrong? Well, the terminals are a little too far away from the cables. If you were to flip the battery around, they would line up perfectly...but, with the wrong polarity! So, this new battery the PO obtained for this bike may have caused the second issue: the blown fuse.
Now, once I did some fancy wiring with the charger in place and a few extra inches of thick gauge, I still had nothing turning on. No blinkers, headlight, horn.
So, I ran my eyes over the wiring to try to find an inline fuse.
And, it so happened that I did:
In that mess of wiring was a 20Amp wrapped up in UL tape. So, a quick unrap and replace.
Now, It works!
I went through all the lights- high/lows, left rights, horn, brake- Its all there!
I turned the bike over (by foot, still not quite enough juice for the electric start) and it sputtered! Then, a quick shot of ether in the carbs and it runs!
Today, Im off to Walmart to grab a new battery (one that was made for this bike), a new fuse (the one I used was stolen from another project), and a few gallons of high-test from the corner station.
Alright- things just got fun!
cturek
XS400 Addict
........check the rear brakes for signs of delamination or better yet, just replace the pads. If the pads let go of the shoe and your rear tire locks up, well, you know the rest.
OliverB
XS400 Junkie
Yep, you have discovered a weak point on this bike! The original fuse box, gone in your case, often deteriorated because the vent hose off the rear side of the battery became disconnected or lost entirely. This allowed battery acid gases to hit the fuse box and the metal tabs which keep the fuses in place. Someone removed the box and wired in (hopefully) 4 new fuse holders. This is a good solution as long as the better type of fuse holders are used that keep the weather and fumes off the fuses - no open fuse holders! Does not matter which type fuse you use - older glass or newer blade-type ones - just be certain to use the correct amp fuse in each circuit and that wires are soldered where new holders connect to existing wiring. Vent the battery with a hose that runs all the way down to the bottom of the frame. As stated in a previous post, check wiring carefully for bare wires and good grounds. I like to clean all connectors and grounds on old wiring and lube with dielectric grease to reduce chance of future corrosion.
Your new battery needs to be charged with a 1 or 2 amp charger for the number of amp hours the battery is rated for. Ex: 12 amp hour battery charged for 6 hours on a 2 amp charge or 12 hours on 1 amp charger - but you may already know this. New batteries may show a charge immediately after adding acid but should still be charged for appropriate time.
Your new battery needs to be charged with a 1 or 2 amp charger for the number of amp hours the battery is rated for. Ex: 12 amp hour battery charged for 6 hours on a 2 amp charge or 12 hours on 1 amp charger - but you may already know this. New batteries may show a charge immediately after adding acid but should still be charged for appropriate time.
staycryptic
Under there.
Oh yeah! This isnt hitting the road just yet. Today's project is to get it started and at least warm it up to operating temps. So, a little bit of fuel and sea-foam through it to see where we stand. Then, maintenance items. But, dont worry- it's not getting taken for a ride until I KNOW it's safe.
The fuses and wirings look newer. So, Id imagine they were re-touched. Now, where should I stuff all these relays and fuses? Can I just wrap them in UL tape and attach them to the chassis around the battery box area?
Battery- Ive never dealt with adding acid to a battery, however I do have the charger ready to go for it. I'll have it on the battery as I do all the work today to give it some juice.
Yeah, there werent really and severe problems. Kind of just picking up where someone left off.
Im excited to get back there and fire it up after I post this. I was thinking some Sea-Foam and 93 octane ought to be good for it's initial run since it's rebirth, right?
People seem to say mid grade or higher octane fuel works best and I just bought some sea foam myself. It cannot hurt to clean the hell out of the internals and that product has quite a following.
The battery I bought has the simplest acid-filling apparatus I have ever seen; you cannot mess it up unless you kick the battery down the stairs while it's filling.
The battery I bought has the simplest acid-filling apparatus I have ever seen; you cannot mess it up unless you kick the battery down the stairs while it's filling.
staycryptic
Under there.
Ha! Nah, the battery was easy...
Now, I'm just trying to get it to keep an idle. With a spray of ether it runs about ten seconds then stops. I'm not really sure what the gas tank valve should be set to or where the choke should be...
Now, I'm just trying to get it to keep an idle. With a spray of ether it runs about ten seconds then stops. I'm not really sure what the gas tank valve should be set to or where the choke should be...
staycryptic
Under there.
Okay. This may sound reaaallly stupid, but what's the starting procedure for this thing?
Set the petcock to what?
Choke to what?
Prime it somehow?
I know Im missing something. See, Im SUPER-new to motorcycles and I could use an owners manual!
Set the petcock to what?
Choke to what?
Prime it somehow?
I know Im missing something. See, Im SUPER-new to motorcycles and I could use an owners manual!
