Mega progress on my xs400! cant wait till Spring!

Juju400 · Jan 11, 2015

Hi guys : ) ! If you have seen my previous posts or know me on here, you know that I was having trouble getting a spark plug thread out of the engine. Super headache : (. Im happy to say that I finally got it out!!

Before, I was frustrated that I couldn't figure out some stuff and I said some some. In the past. With some careful research, patience and prayer, I was able to make a lot of progress on my bike. I still have a lot to do, but I know how to address the bikes problems better.

I have done some basic things to get the bike running but I still need to clean the carbs, change the oil, and connect the battery. I put a new filter in her but I lost the drain bolt so I'll buy one from the parts store. I'm trying to build a low budget cafe racer so I need to buy some cafe style handle bars and fabricate a cafe seat. I've seen some great threads on making a cafe seat on here. I wont be modding the frame or putting pod filters on the carbs, tho. I like the frame how it is and I've read that pod filters don't really improve performance.

I'm praying I don't have to rebuild the engine. The odometer says 5,136 miles so I hope that's close to what it has on it. I do want to change the tires, brakes, and shocks eventually. Other than that, I'll have this bike running in no time.

:bike:

spyro235 · Jan 13, 2015

Nice! Glad to hear, progress is always good. I'm having trouble getting mine started right now, but theres a multitude of problems it has. Starting to diagnose the no start issue, I hope it's just a vacuum leak but I need to sync the carbs and check the float heights too to even begin to try to start figuring it out.

Juju400 · Jan 13, 2015

thanks man for the reply! speaking of carbs, i'm having trouble getting mine off . do you use an offset screwdriver?

xschris · Jan 14, 2015

Loosen the clamps that are on the rubber boots. Then pop them out. The screws are a straight shot

spyro235 · Jan 14, 2015

What xschris said, all I had to do was loosen the clamps, take out the airbox-side rubber, and then it was a straight shot.

Juju400 · Jan 25, 2015

thanks for the reply..I pulled the airboxes and the rubber boots but there are 2 screws that are hard to get to at the bottom of the manifold. is there an easier way to get them out than to just unscrew the bottoms of the carbs and then go ahead and unscrew the hard ones?

xschris · Jan 25, 2015

Undo the clamps slide out the carbs then unscrew the bolts

Unkle Crusty · Jan 25, 2015

Chris: It is good of you to post all the pics, and help the guys.

Unkle Crusty*

rugbywarrior89 · Jan 26, 2015

I guess now is a good time to put in a plug about screw drivers. You want to pick up a set of JIS screwdrivers online somewhere. They stand for Japanese Industrial Standard and they look just like regular philips but they are notched a little differently. All the screws on the xs models are JIS. They really come in handy on the carbs where the screws are made of soft metals that will easily strip out using standard philips head. The worst offender being your butterfly valve screws (bronze).

Strangley they also work well putting crap from Wal-mart and Ikea together. Go Figure

Juju400 · Jan 30, 2015

I got the carbs off. I used an allen wrench. Now, I'm having trouble getting the screw off the top off. I read on here that it's good to let them soak so I'm soaking them now and will attempt tho take them apart in the AM. I also sprayed the screw with PB. Maybe that will help. Thanks.

xschris · Jan 31, 2015

Be careful putting the carbs in any dip if they still have the rubber diaphragms in them. A vise gripe will help remove screws with stripped slots.

Juju400 · Feb 1, 2015

Thanks a lot Chris. I got to admit you've been the most helpful user on here. I really appreciate it.

xschris · Feb 2, 2015

Thank you

But it's everyone's help that make this a great place :thumbsup:

Juju400 · Feb 4, 2015

anyone know the size of 4 bolts at the underneath the frame close to the oil filter cap?

xschris · Feb 5, 2015

Do you mean these? If so they are M8 bolts and 25mm long. The stock ones use a special head and a lock tab on one side and a self locking nut on the other.

Juju400 · Feb 5, 2015

Thanks again, but not those. You know the ones at underneath the frame? It's four of them and they are in the corners of a square?

xschris · Feb 5, 2015

Post a pic of what you are talking about. The only other sort of square thing under the bike is the sump cover and that has six bolts in it.

Juju400 · Mar 1, 2015

Haven't posted on here in a minute but they are 8mm bolts underneath the engine. I think they have something to do with the oil pan? idk I changed the one I originally took out but now a second one I pulled is acting stubborn and is hard to screw back on.

I have a can of rust oleum thats been sitting for a while and I wanted to know if I could use it to coat my tank and if so, how so?

Also, I was able to take the cabs apart and clean them (i hope thoroughly) but the intake manifolds are all ripped up so I decided to scrap them and on Tuesday I'm going to the part store to buy new ones. Other crappy/broken parts include the ignition coil boots, seized up rear shocks, and rear/front pegs. No big deal. Hopefully, I can get the bike running soon. I can feel it! : )

Mega progress on my xs400! cant wait till Spring!

Juju400

XS400 Enthusiast

spyro235

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Juju400

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xschris

XS400 Guru

spyro235

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Juju400

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xschris

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Unkle Crusty

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rugbywarrior89

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xschris

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xschris

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