XS360 Café Racer Woes

[Piledriver]

Hey guys, I'm a new guy around here so I'll give a quick intro. I bought and built this xs360 (not sure the year) last summer and life was pretty swell. It was my first bike and it was perfect to fulfill my needs to tinker with something. However, all good things must come to an end eventually and the bike has taken a turn for the worst.

It all started back in September when on my way to school, the exhaust valve adjusting screw for cylinder 1 came loose and dropped into the crankcase. I was going uphill and doing 50 mph in a high traffic area when it happened, so long story short, it was a pretty scary predicament. I got the bike home with the help from a friend and started tearing into the motor.

I tried to find the missing screw but it wasn't anywhere to be found. I figured the motor devoured it, idk. Regardless, I ordered a new screw and reassembled the motor. Once I put it back into the frame, I tried kicking it over (it's kickstart only) and found out there was no compression. My gut was telling me the valves weren't seating right, so I tore the head back off and sure enough they weren't.

I got 3 valves out rather easily, but the 4th seemed funky. There was a lot of resistance and the stem would stick at a certain point in the guide. I put some oil in the guide and let it sit for a day but that did nothing. So I got brave, found a screwdriver that fit in the guide and I tried to punch it out gently. But I don't know my own strength and ripped the guide out of the head!

I couldn't find anybody who could rebuild the head without costing a fortune, so I found a used one off eBay for a decent price. But, as my luck would have it, the usps lost the package! Thankfully paypal reimbursed me and I found another head on eBay. This one made it to my place, thankfully, and I immediately tore it down. But, of course, once I got the springs out I found 2 cracked valve guides!

Not wanting to take my chances with a 4th head, I found a listing on ebay for a complete head rebuild for a good price. The seller said it would take about a month for the whole process, so I waited. That was in the middle of January.

Well, the head finally came in earlier this week and it looks brand spanking new. I slapped the head onto the bike, buttoned everything up, went to kick it over, but of course something wasn't right. Now the pistons won't budge. With the cam cover off, the motor turns freely, but as soon as the cover is torqued down, nothing moves. I have no idea what to do anymore. I don't know if it's slapping a valve, I've installed the cam multiple times and each time has the result. I noticed that with the clutch in while in neutral, the kicker will move but the pistons don't budge. When I shift into 1st and press the clutch in, the bike moves forward but I could have sworn it's not supposed to do that.

Sorry for the long ass rant, I look forward to tossing around ideas with you guys!

 

[Wolfe_11B]

With the cam cover off, the motor turns freely, but as soon as the cover is torqued down, nothing moves.

Well, could be a few things based on this statement.

-Are you using the valve cover that came with the head you had rebuilt? They are machined at the same time, so if you swap valve covers on a different head, you run the risk of things not lining up. Could be 'clamping' down the cam so to speak.

If you are using the correct cover, then lets move on.

-Timing set wrong. With the cover off, all the valves will be shut as you rotate the motor, so the cam timing being wrong won't show up. If it's wrong, and you have the cover on, the valves could be pressing against the piston(s) keeping the motor from turning. The valves will hit the pistons if you are off on the cam timing.

What procedure did you use to time the cam? It's straight forward in the book, and if you do it exactly as written you can't go wrong.

 

[Wolfe_11B]

And the kickstart- with the clutch in you can try kicking it over all you want, it wont work. Needs to be in neutral with clutch out

If you have it in first, and you have the clutch in, it will roll as well. That's the point of the clutch

 

[xschris]

http://www.xs400.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12669&highlight=matching+head+cover About matching covers.

 

[Piledriver]

I didn't know about the valve cover but it makes perfect sense. None of the heads I ordered came with the matching cover but I did some back tracking and the seller still has it. It's on the way now and hopefully that'll solve my dilemma.

About the cam timing, I used a Haynes manual I got off ebay and followed it word for word. I thought a valve was stopping the piston, which was why I questioned it, but we'll see after I get the proper valve cover.

Thanks for the input guys!