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My XS is so messed up that I am about ready to give up on it and give it away. I am looking for any advice that I can get. I got the bike about a year and a half ago and I have been working on it ever since. I have been through the engine 3 times, rebored it, replaced the pistons, rings...

I have my engine torn apart now, and now I am waiting for a rebore to occur. While the engine is apart, I would like to assess some issues that I have been having that I am not sure are normal. 1. I can move the rods connected to the piston a little bit (parallel to the crankshaft), is this...

I am exactly at the point where you are right now. I just took my cyclinder to the shop today to get bored. Really good thread, and yes, a good quality ratchet set can save you so much time and frustration. People who make bad ones should end up in jail.

I have a question for some of you guys. I took a bunch of permatex silicone gasket sealant and coated my carb boots. The bike ran. However, I took it to the motorcycle shop today and the guy there said that I needed to buy new carb boots or it would screw up my engine. I don't really understand...

I am also in the process of rebuilding an xs400 engine. Have any of you guys done this before. If so, what are the standard rates for a rebore?

Oh my, I wish I could have saved you all that trouble. If your carb boots are cracked your machine will only run on full choke. Take some permatex gasket sealant and completely coat your carb boots. Your machine will run like a charm.

So this is the deal. I bought an old XS400 for 250 bucks. The bike was not running. I tore the carbs apart and rebuilt them. The bike started fine, but it was leaking and burning oil out of one of the exhaust pipes. I went through a 1/4 quart of oil in just about 10 miles, and the bike would...

It does sound like piston rings, but I am not an expert or anything.

I will order new valve seals today from www.bikebandit.com . Does anyone know of anyplace to get them cheaper.

Hmnn, I had never heard this before. On my project bike, I routinely use starter fluid to get the carbs running. Thank you for the info.

I have a similar problem. There are a few things you could try. #1. Don't forget to make sure the choke is pulled out. #2. Make sure the battery is fully charged and try starting it while on the charger. #3. Make sure the spark plugs are set at .032 of an inch. Mine were not today and it...

All right, I am getting this bike figured out. I went out for a ride on the bike and took it up to 60 mph no problem. Anyways, I did the compression check and the readings are Cylinder 1: Dry=140, Wet 250 Cylinder 2: Dry=138, Wet 230 I guess the actual numbers are not as important as the...

I am not entirely sure about this, but I have one question? What part regulates gas from the gas tank? Is it the needle valve. It could be that there is a bad gasket in the carbs somewhere or that they are flooding. Find out the exact location where the gas is leaking from?

I did a compression test on the engine, and to do the test I squirted a bunch of oil in the spark plug hole. I did the test wrong so I decided to run the bike a little while in order to get the oil out. I ran the bike at least ten minutes with absolutely no problems. I am not really sure what is...

My bike has the same problem, but I am not sure why. I believe I have the idle screw way too high. The bike will go 20 mph in first gear in idle. My bike is a definite fixer upper.

It is interesting to note though that the bike has way more power than it did when only one cylinder was firing. It is way more fun to ride. By the way, do you think riding the bike around as is has the potential to damage the engine?

Yeah the bike has been sitting for a while. I am a little new to working on motorcycles. What will the compression test rule out?:)

I was running the bike one day and I noticed that one cylinder was not firing. So I STRIPPED the carburetors and replaced the needle valve and etc. Both cylinders are now running just fine. It feels great to have fixed that problem. However, now that the second cylinder is running, there...

I will give it a try at least.

Thank you everybody, I will try cleaning out my carbs with a fine tooth comb. During my initial cleaning I did not know that the jets unscrewed so I will give that a try. Hopefully, I won't break anything. I will let you know how it goes.