What did you do with your XS today?

[xschris]

Made an aluminum carb bracket for the 80. It's is 4oz lighter than the stock steel one That's not a lot but every bit will help

 

[Lou Ranger]

The last 3 days actually - rode 220 kms - around 40 in the cold sun on Thurs, 60 in warmer sun on Friday and 120 yesterday.
Today is even warmer but has been and is to be wet any time. So, now I wait for the sun to return on Wed.

 

[Spad]

xschris, Pretty nice looking...Gives one ideas for winter time work..How is the crankcase vent working out? I like the little rubber elbow you've made, neat....Does the vent drip much? Spad

 

[xschris]

xschris, Pretty nice looking...Gives one ideas for winter time work..How is the crankcase vent working out? I like the little rubber elbow you've made, neat....Does the vent drip much? Spad

I have run the bike with the crankcase vent breather before with no issues. But never with the H-pipe and these style of air filters. I won't know till spring but I think it should work just fine. By removing the vent pipe to the engine and plugging it I should have a colder air charge to make a bit more power.

 

[16VGTIDave]

The vent will, as expected, have fumes being vented. When the bike is run hard, there will be some oil vapors as well as moisture. It will eventually drip, and the oil will splatter everywhere. Been there, done that.

Chris, keep an eye on your plugs. Without those combustible fumes, your bike will run slightly leaner now. Oh, and your carb slides will no longer be lubricated by the oil vapors. The small volume of warm fumes is insignificant performance wise, and the fact that the fumes are combustible off-sets any performance loss.

I got tired of my bike smelling like an oil refinery and being randomly lubricated close to the rear tire, so I fabricated a vent that mimics the SOHC H-pipe for my DOHC. Much happier and cleaner now. The bike runs just as strong as before, and may even be getting slightly better fuel mileage, though that is difficult to determine considering how I like to twist the throttle.

 

[xschris]

I ran it with it before for 1500 miles and never had any oil spraying/dripping out of the filter, maybe that's a dohc thing As for running leaner I can fix that easy Also not worried about fuel economy as I already get 60+ mpg. If I don't like it I will put the tube back on It's the only setup I have not tried with my bike. I have to see what it does because you never know till you do it

 

[16VGTIDave]

I ran a filter on my crankcase vent for about 10,000 km (6,200 mi) before finally getting fed up with it. It was the worst in cold weather as the moisture in the crankcase fumes would condense in the filter and then drip. High RPM operation would have oil vapors dripping from the filter. And those drips would go everywhere making a mess of the back of the bike and around the rear tire. It doesn't take much oil to make a big mess, especially when riding on dusty roads.

Now, maybe the rings on your bike are tighter than mine, or the oil separator on SOHC's is more effective, but even just the smell of the fumes annoyed me. I was forever thinking I had an oil leak. Just saying...

 

[newbbuilder]

I scored an old cl350 tank for my ratbike $20 and a set of bars for another $5 so double win

 

[MrStubb]

Just got the new rear brake shoes in the mail. Has anyone found when you take your rear tire off that the friction material had separated from the shoe? I've never seen this before but on this bike both ends were separated.

 

[Spad]

xschris, what size and where did you get the little filter and the "L" shaped hose? I may fabricate some sort of hose in to a can, but that filter is worth a try..Spad

 

[xschris]

Dave, I don't have a sense of smell so that wont bother me Spad the filter came from mikesxs and the elbow is a 90 degree spark plug cap. I did drill a hole in the filter tube so when it's all the way in it will still vent.

 

[xschris]

There is a lot of baffling for the on the sohc bikes.

 

[Recreateme]

That is a great idea Chris! I bought the same breather filter and was a bit bummed when i realized the filter and the opening are not the same size and just kinda set it aside, i think next time i am at Canadian tire i will pick up an extra cheap cap and install the 'xschris crankcase filter mod'

Is this an easy fit for both sides or will one side be to loose or tight?

 

[Spad]

xschris, was looking at that same filter on Mikes, thankee for the hole drill tip and love the spark plug rubber. The "xschris filter mod" qualifies as de rigueur on all true xs400's.........Spad

 

[xschris]

It fits tight at both ends, a little more at the engine but the rubber expands well.

 

[xschris]

Got my renthal bars today They weigh almost half of what my others where, weighing only 1lb 3oz And for $30 shipped I felt it was a good deal.

 

[Recreateme]

Nice bars, i really like the dark grey colour, it contrasts nicely with the tank grey and the steel lines.

Digging the headlamp and turn signals too..

 

[MrStubb]

Dave I'm wondering if your oil vapor issue has something to do with the throws on your crank. On the sohc engines the pistons alternate while on most others they move together. I'm not sure of the crank on a dohc engine but with both pistons moving in the same direction the crank case pulses would be exaggerated. On my sohc engine they would almost balance each other out.

 

[xschris]

From the looks of the dohc case the vent has very little separation from the oil in the case. The dohc bikes are 180 cranks like the sohc bikes.

 

[Sesty]

the SOHC 400's are 180 deg crank? i feel like i read somewhere they weren't. but maybe it was the 650's

or maybe wrong all together