What did you do with your XS today?

Last night i tried my hand at laying down some fiberglass over the stock front fender so that i can have a modified shorter version. I did two layers of fiberglass, and it seems okay... Its gonna need a bunch of sanding and some shaping obvs, and then i will spread on some bondo, sand and paint this week..

I also scrubbed and painted my battery box. Its now flat black, painted with Rust Check paint i picked up from Part Source.

I also finally bought some oil. I went with Castoral GTX 20W50 after reading on here how many people prefer the 20W50 to the alternatives. I plan on changing that oil maybe tonight or thursday, and then taking off the center stand.
 
Tossing around paint ideas to do on the cheap.

Preparing my soul for the financial ass kicking it'll take when I get up the courage to paint the case.

Anyone know of any builds with brushed aluminum tutorials in them?
 
Recreateme said:
... I also finally bought some oil. I went with Castoral GTX 20W50 ...
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Please forgive me if you have already thought of it and have acted accordingly, but did you confirm that the oil you bought does NOT have friction modifiers and DOES have the MA rating for motorcycle wet clutches? If not, don't open it, you will have to take it back.

I Googled Castrol GTX 20w50, but got so many confusing pics of labels that it is apparent to me that it would be easy to overlook looking for the MA rating.
 
I havent opened it yet, and I read the label and didn't see anything about fiction modifers or MA ratings. It does say it has something to prevent sludge buildup but that's it really...

I looked so hard for oil in this town and its about all I could find :( I'll check again I guess.
 
There are several good threads on here about which oils to use - 16VGTIDave provided some excellent technical data. I contributed a lot of paranoia about wrecking clutch plates but it's worth it if it saves one guy from having to invest in parts and unpleasant labours.
Given the time of year, you may want to consider the Rotella variety which has the MA rating. Lots of members use it and it's 15W40 - a little easier to turn over on a cold morning and the 40 rating seems more than adequate except maybe in the worst heat of summer.
Available at Home Building Centres, WalMart and places selling to diesel owners.
 
Thanks guys if it matters this is one that picked up
spin_prod_672714101


From the threads i searched on here i pretty much found a bunch on conflicting posts, but what i took away was that many people prefered 20w50 because it seemed smoother and quieter. I guess i failed to see that it needs to be rated MA or specific to wet clutches.. noob error i guess.

But if the rotella 15w40 is something that is good to go, i think i can probably rustle some up.

Thanks everyone
 
Just about everyone agrees on the need not to press their luck with the wet clutch. Some do take chances and others go so far as to use the one Rotella synthetic that carries the MA rating. It's over $40 a 5L jug south of the border in Canada (where you are) - almost double the regular (which sells for like $12/US gal in the States when on sale :wtf: ).

Failing all that, both Castrol and MotoMaster do make 4 stroke Motorcycle (MA) oils (10W40 I think) which will certainly do in a pinch.

Another issue, which I forgot initially is that our air-cooled engines can, under some conditions, run hotter than any car engine which isn't boiling over. So MA oils are built to take that too - though heat is apparently the main reason that we are asked to change our oil on shorter intervals than are car owners - by the very designers who made them run hot in the first place - those Japanese engineers in the 70's puking up sake on the bullet trains home each night ... (I just love the image that phrase conjures up .. :laugh: )
 
Scorpio1963 said:
willem you are still struggling with that exhaust leak sorry man,I feel your pain.I think I finaly have my exhaust problems solved.The new mufflers are working out great and love the sound of them.I just have to get some brackets to fasten them in the back.
Click to expand...

thanks man, yea I still haven't gotten around to fixing it. Just been really busy that's all, so my xs is just still loud. Runs fine though :) went at its top speed again yesterday, always a little strange when you feel like you're going 200 mph (when actually going around 85), everything vibrates and the wind is pounding on your chest and head, and some 70-year-old overtakes you while nearly being asleep in his Mercedes E200 or something :laugh:
 
I worked on the front brakes. Finally got the front brake reservoir open and the fluid had broken down with brown sludge settled to the bottom. I used a G clamp and a block of wood to free up the stuck caliper piston. Used clear tubing to bleed the brakes but had to stop as I didn't have any new fluid. Can anyone tell me if dot4 car brake fluid is ok to use? This is the first time i have worked on motorcycle brakes and i welcome any hints or recommendations?

Also, the rear brake pedal is hitting my muffler. Not sure how to fix that - need to do a bit more staring and thinking about that.
 
Pork Chop said:
.... Can anyone tell me if dot4 car brake fluid is ok to use? ...
Click to expand...
There was some discussion on this recently (http://www.xs400.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11396)

As I recall the only one to avoid (mainly because of potential for error) is DOT 5. 3, 4, and 5.1 are apparently interchangeable if the original spec is for 3.
 
Thats what i got out of my brake fluid thread too Lou. Sadly my PO decided he would 'upgrade' the bike to DOT5.

3,4,5.1 are all essentially interchangeable, where DOT 5 is not because its silicone based where the others are not, and so it will not mix. I don't think there is a difference between fluid for bikes or cars, i think they use similar technology in braking just through a larger size and hooked up to a bunch of electronic gadgets.
 
willem said:
... some 70-year-old overtakes you while nearly being asleep in his Mercedes E200 or something :laugh:
Click to expand...
Over here, a lot of the sleepy 70 year olds blow by you on 1,690 cc Harleys or 1832 cc GoldWings.
The odd crazy one will be on a V-Max or Vulcan 2000. :yikes:
 
Pork Chop said:
I worked on the front brakes. Finally got the front brake reservoir open and the ... recommendations?

Also, the rear brake pedal is hitting my muffler. Not sure how to fix that - need to do a bit more staring and thinking about that.
Click to expand...

Double check to see if the brake pedal is bent. other wise there is two stops. One on frame behind the frame with a spring wrapped up. The second is at the end of the long screw, on the back side of the brake, adjusting the brake as it wears out.
 
Took my bike out for a ride today something I haven't done in a quite a while.Since my bike is a lot more quieter Im getting more comfortable with hi revs.Its amazing what less sound can do.It doesn't sound like its going to blow apart at 6500 rpms anymore.The worst thing I did was putting on a set of punched out Harley mufflers,the best thing was removing them and replacing with a new set that hasn't been tamped with.
 
arfstrom said:
Double check to see if the brake pedal is bent. other wise there is two stops. One on frame behind the frame with a spring wrapped up. The second is at the end of the long screw, on the back side of the brake, adjusting the brake as it wears out.
Click to expand...
I think it could be the stubby reverse cones that i put on that are the issue.
 

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