1984 XS400 SE - Caliper

[Bigbreakfast]

Sorry probebly first of many questions as I try to get a 1984 XS400 SE back on the road after 15 years. I bought a Haynes manual so figured stripping the front caliper would be easy. Unfortunately while the caliper looked very similar to the one in the manual it is not the same. Were there more than one type of caliper used?

 

[Shaun Chandler]

I would take a picture and post it up. Picture is worth a thousand words!

You may want to do a brief intro so everyone knows who you are.

Welcome to the site.

Shaun

 

[Bigbreakfast]

Thanks Shaun - will grab a shot it the morning and post.

And you are right - very rude of me.

I'm originally from the Emerald Isle but live on the south coast of England with my wife and three boys. I ride a Fazer 600 to work and back every day and have learned to service it over the past couple of winters. I decided to get an older bike to get my knuckles greasy over winter and learn from the experience.

A friends wife had put away this XS400 SE in 1997 and forgotten it. When I said I wanted a project he sold it to me for £200 so here we are. I have seen the 'list' of what to expect and reckon I have my work cut out. The shed it was in was dry so the rust is only surface deep but the original petrol is still in it so the carbs will be a lovely mess. I am considering having those professionally refurbed - but that feels like a cop out (£170 inc postage quoted - does that sound high?) . Thanks for the welcome

 

[Shaun Chandler]

Well you will find this site to be a great place. I started my cafe build on a 78 xs back in march and this place has been great. Everyone is friendly which if you have been on some other sites you will know isn't always the case.

I'm a think ultrasonic is the best for carbs. I did the same as you and looked into having them built (I was scared). Instead I bought my own small ultrasonic for about the price of the rebuild. It's come in handy a hundred times. My wife hates the sound it makes, she does however like how she can use it to clean her diamond ring.

There is some good websites like cmsnl.com that you can use to view the fiche for your bike. You may just find the caliper is off a different year. The fiche also shows the part numbers if you need to order parts from yamaha.

Shaun

 

[bcware]

Carbs are very easy to work on and clean; do it yourself and learn more about motorcycles If you don't want to buy any expensive equipment they can be cleaned by hand, but it will just require a little more effort.

 

[Bigbreakfast]

This is the one on my bike

Looking at this view the flat head screw in the haynes manual is nowhere to be seen

Any ideas where I would find a guide to stripping this caliper?

Thanks in advance

 

[drewpy]

welcome BB, you'll find the rd400 daytona has the same swinging caliper. these were fitted to the later for some strange reason as they weren't particulary better at stoping!

 

[Bigbreakfast]

welcome BB, you'll find the rd400 daytona has the same swinging caliper. these were fitted to the later for some strange reason as they weren't particulary better at stoping!

Thanks Drewpy - I'll try to find a manual for an rd400 instead - much obliged.

I spent 6 hours polishing the hell out of it today and was pleasantly surprised how much chrome I can save. The mirrow stems were encrusted and I couldn't shift that but the rest of the front end - after a tube of autosol and a polishing attachment for a drill looks surprisingly presentable. I also cleaned and polished the tank and I've taken off and repainted the yamaha plastic tank signs and they came up okay so I am reasonable satisfied with my days work. Wheels next........ Once the brakes work again

 

[Bigbreakfast]

Maybe I spoke too soon - I can't find a manual anywhere. Anyone got a link they could share?

 

[Shaun Chandler]

I jsut did a quick look on google and didn't see anything posted regarding other people rebuilding it.

What is your concern with the rebuild? Have you looked into the rebuild kits? Make sure you can find one for the model that Drewpy mentioned. They really are quite easy to rebuild.

If you have trouble getting the piston out there are a couple ways to do it. The easy way to me is to disconnect the caliper with it still connected to the master and pump the brakes till it pops out.

The other method is use abit of compressed air through the bango bolt hole. Make sure you secure a piece of wood so your piston dosen't go flying across the room and be ready for a loud bang.

Now I'm not sure the actual make up of your caliper but it looks atleast half like mine. Your best friend when working on these things is a digital camera, you can take it apart and photograph your progress. That and plenty of ziplock bags and a sharpie.

If you find your piston has ANY corrosion on it you need to rectify it by either replacing it, or some people polish the pits so they don't tear away at the new seal. This is a temporary fix as they will likely corrode again in the pits where the chrome was damaged. I had a friend machine me new ones (he owed me a favour)

Shaun

 

[Shaun Chandler]

just checked out the cmsnl website looked under the 79 rd400. It shows your caliper. Gives you a better picture of how it goes together although it dosen't show the actual caliper exploded just the mount bracket. Once it is removed from the caliper body it looks very much like my caliper off my 78 xs400. So the manual you have will likely give you a good guide line for the rebuild.

If you have a caliper measure the bore of your caliper inside and the piston dimensions and I will tell you if they match mine. If they do you can just order the seals for a 78

Shaun

 

[Bigbreakfast]

Thanks Shaun - to the garage!