PopMac's XS400 Maxim Cleanup

Going through the part lookup on the motion pro website they don't list the XS400 Maxim, though. I had looked previously which is why I asked about compatibility with other models. They list XS 400, XS400R (Seca) and XS 400S (Special). Will one of these work, does MP not make one, or is their website just not showing everything?
 
I don't understand the issue. :umm:

Go to www.fortnine.ca when the page loads enter the Motion Pro number I provided earlier (05-0027) in the search box at the top and press return. There are 2 results returned, one for the exact cable and a generic Motion Pro clutch cable listing. Click the exact cable listed and you will be taken to this page. Then you can add it to your cart and buy it.

It really is that simple... :confused:
 
Not a bad idea. There is one replaced with a hex screw, was quite nice. Do you use them for everything?

Went to fire up the bike today and that same fuse had popped out. Went to put it back in and the damn clip broke. Not sure if I should replace that / where to get a replacement or if I should just replace the fuse box altogether.
Yep everything...even the internal screws on the engine that held oil baffles and whatnot...
 
Well, I feel like a dummy but just got my bike running great!

I've been extremely busy the last while and have just been working on cosmetics when I had 20 minutes here and there, ignoring the issues with the bike barely running because I haven't had time. Today I had a couple hours so I went to take a look for vacuum leaks and try to diagnose a bit.

Upon closer inspection I noticed that the vacuum hose was disconnected. Was hard to see so I hadn't noticed and didn't really look for it. Connected it and the bike runs like a champ.

Really good timing too. I take the safety course in just under a month to get my license, and with storage insurance I can drive it for 15 days so that pretty well brings me to snow where I am. In the next week I'll drop it off to get a safety and as long as it passes (it should) I am good to go!
 
I haven't posted any photos in a bit, so here's where the bike currently is. Most of the paint that's going to be coming off is now off, just need to finish up some finicky bits and polish it. A buddy of mine had some pads used for polishing chrome, he thought it was called K-Bright or something but Googling that comes up blank so he was going to search where he got it from and let me know because I tried a little test patch and it works phenomenally.

Still haven't decided if I want to leave it as is or paint everything black again (doing a good job this time), but either way I'm going to leave the engine black. It's the only thing that looked like it was painted properly and I kinda like the way it looks right now.

Next up, has anybody replaced their clutch lever with something that has less travel? Since me getting the bike my mum has decided she is going to go get her license with me - she was the one who got me into bikes. She never rode but always wanted to, when I was a kid we would go to the Harley store very frequently and drool over bikes but she never actually pulled the trigger. I live on the same street as my parents so I told her once we get the licenses she is free to drive it any time that I'm not using it until she gets a feel and decides if she wants to buy her own or not. On Monday I took her to my shop and she drove around the parking lot for about an hour but it was a rough go for her. She has arthritis as well as tendinitis, and after riding around was in hand pain from the clutch. This is new for her and very likely could be something that she builds up strength with so that's not a big deal but on top of this she also has tiny hands and has to stretch to grab the clutch lever when it is fully released. So I'm wondering if there's a different clutch lever that has less play and is closer to the handle for her.

The clutch may be a non-issue though... after one hour of parking lot riding she is now kinda set on buying her own, she absolutely loved it-despite the hand pains. I know somebody who might be selling a V Star 650 for a good price. The clutch lever is fine for me so if she gets her own I'm not going to change it out but I want to be able to let her know if I have a backup plan in case she can't get it.
 

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Haven't posted for a while. I felt like the bike was going decently but it's my first bike, what do I know, so I brought it to a mechanic I know and trust on recommendation from a few different people. Budget was limited so I asked him to just bring it up to safety level and ignore actual running issues for now as I can give the carbs a clean and we can look at that more over winter. The bike was running alright so I just wanted to get it on the road for the last couple days of the season if possible (oh yeah - got my license earlier in the month!).

The bike had more issues than I had known about it so heres all the mechanic did:

- Took apart headlight bracket and bucket, straightened everything out and repaired (don't know if it showed in photos but the bucket was all messed up and had big gaps)
- New signal relay
- Disassemble breaks and rebuild caliper with new seals, clean master cylinder
- Rebuild front forks, new seals and dust boots. Apparently the forks were leaking pretty badly
- New clutch cable, remove literally about a pound of dirt from the clutch cover. Photo below on this one. When I asked how the hell that would even happen he told me there's a hole in the bottom of my clutch cover
- Remove all the horribly stripped screws and replace them with hex bolts. Super happy about this because I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to get them out. I'll be replacing all the good ones with hex as well when I've got time.
- Compression test - this was good

He says the brakes are still a bit soft and he wants to do a new line and master cylinder seals. I had already gone over budget so I couldn't do more parts right now but he said when I'm ready over winter or early spring he'll do that for just parts cost for me.

Now unfortunately I've run into a new problem. They fired up the bike and it was only running on one cylinder. They drained the carbs and there was bad gas in there but again, I was over budget so that's as far as they went. He says it's likely a clogged up jet and just needs cleaning but there's also a (slim) chance that she'll go with new gas. So last night I drained everything and put in fresh gas. Went to start it aaaaand.... damn battery was dead. So as soon as I finish this post I'll be heading to the shop to take the battery off the charger and hope she runs. If so I can get maybe a few hours of riding in today. This is unfortunately very likely the last weekend I can ride here and even then it's a bit iffy. It's supposed to go up to +2C today but its cloudy and has snowed. If the sun doesn't come out and heat up the roads I'm probably SOL.

So my mechanic gave me a bit of a small list to work on.

- Drain everything, fresh gas, see if that works
- If not, drain out the tank again, fill with vinegar and get the rust out. As I said, seasons over now so time is on my side. Not sure if it needs this or not but it doesn't hurt.
- Give carbs a very good clean, make sure jets don't need to be replaced. As the carbs are out bring them down to the mechanic to look over
- Give clutch cover a very good clean
- Clean chain and possibly replace, but likely just clean and grease
- Put on fuel filer (he gave me one, just have to install)

And I think that's it. Once that's done I should have a solid bike for next season! Plus finishing up on the cosmetic stuff.

The downside now is a lack of time. I have at least six months to get everything done before riding season but as of a couple weeks ago I'm being sent out of town for work. I leave Monday morning, get back Thursday night then work at the office Friday. In my free Saturday and Sunday I want to spend my time with the wife so until this job finishes up in mid March I don't really have much free time to spend on the bike. She sleeps in on weekends but my internal body alarm doesn't let me sleep in bast 630 or 7, so Saturday and Sundays I'll have a few hours in the mornings where I can boot over to the shop and work until she gets up. Hopefully the bike runs now and I'll pop a two day permit on it but if not I'll drain out the gas again, pop off the tank and start the de-rust process.

Wish me luck!
 

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Dang you must be younger as after 20 plus years of marriage my wife encourages me to go out ion the garage and work on the motorcycles :D

Vinegar does wonders to the tank also. I filled one and let it sit for almost a week then after draining almost all of it added a few bolts and shook it really good to get any loos stuff out of there.
 
Hah yeah, 28, married five years. There was much encouragement earlier but it's kinda shitty only being home a couple days a week.

Vinegar is the plan, I'll fill it up either today or tomorrow and let it sit until I'm back next weekend. Removing the petcock and plugging the holr is nescessary or can I leave it in? People say remove but there's many different meathods. Don't know if that's for stronger chemicals, when you're bashing stuff around in the tank or if I need to with just vinegar as well. Can't find anything to plug it with around the shop so I'll have to go out and buy a rubber stopper or something.

Damn bike won't start at all right now. No idea what's wrong, it turns over but won't catch and go. Same as yesterday but my battery is pretty weak so I assumed that was it. I've checked all the dumb stuff so I guess I'll have to shelf the idea of getting on the road today. I'll get the tank going and attack the carbs when I've got time.
 
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I just used a piece of flat bar and drilled two holes to match the hole pattern. Also a chunk of inner tube for a gasket and all was good. If it leaks a little I didn't care as I set it outside on the side of the garage for a week.

Getting spark? And yes a weak battery may be an issue.
 
Great, thanks!

Didn't check for spark but I will before getting the tank off. Word from the mechanic earlier in the week was good compresson and strong spark. But I haven't checked myself today. The battery has been an ongoing issue for me and should probably be replaced. I took it off and popped in on a recondition cycle on the charger. Tomorrow morning I'll go back and test again then start the tank.
 
Remember...carbs must be cleaned...and cleaned again...
Most bikes that i bought for cheap from someone who didn't know better and said:
- it only runs on one cylinder..
...were actually the victims of poorly maintained carbs.
After a good cleanup, benchsynch and...fuel filter....ALL of them worked flawlessly.
Maybe dumb luck but...
 
Whats the go-to carb cleaner? This stuff? https://fortnine.ca/en/permatex-gumout-carb-choke-cleaner

Also how realistic is it to clean the carbs an hour or so here and there? I've watched a couple videos and it seems like it should be fine to pop out the carbs and do the cleaning in little bits here and there as I have time. Or would it be better to just set aside a day and do it all in one go?
 
Stripped bolts are going to be the death of me on this bike.

Not sure the part name - intake boots? One side came out fine, other side both bolts are decently stripped. None of my keys will grip.

My keys are all used so I'm going to hold up and buy a new set to see if fresh ones grip.

*Edit* Was able to sneak back to the shop for a little bit and eded up getting the carbs out. Using a heat gun to (carefully) warm up the intake boots I was able to wiggle it free. Man, there really isn't lots of clearance there though, is there? Took off all the bolts to pull back the air box but if it was able to move even 1/8" back more that would have been significantly easier. Not sure how I'll get them back in but my mechanic told me he'd give me a hand with that if I had trouble.

Now that the carbs are gone and there's more room to work with I should be able to get the stripped bolts out and replace them. I've got vinegar soaking in the tank so when I get back to town I'll start going to town cleaning the carbs, provided I can find some cleaner locally... I haven't looked but I imagine it's doable.
 

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Started cleaning my carbs this morning. Happy to say they aren't as horrible in there as I was expecting. I haven't done this before but so I didnt know what to expect, but watching lots of videos and reading I've seen lots of carbs that look horrific compared to mine.

Going is slow with carb cleaner and a toothbrush, though. Didn't have much time but I'll be back at it tomorrow.
 

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Remove any rubber parts as carb cleaner will damage rubber
Je especially careful with the diaphragms
 
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