Dan43
XS400 Member
Hi I have an 81 xs400 special I got about 3 years ago as my first bike I love it and this site has been amazing for all kinds of help and tips. Thank you so much all of you. I moved from Austin, Texas to Cincinnati, Ohio about a year ago I’ve had all kinds of trouble since I got here including my bike being towed and since I didn’t have a title or registration my only choice was to buy it back in auction but I did so for less than it would’ve cost to get a title so it worked out. Upon getting it back the bike was not running right at all I found out I had some electrical problems after solving that and upgrading my electronics and doing some cosmetic stuff I’m having a hard time getting the carbs dialed. I’ve read a lot on here about jets needles and everything. When I first got the bike I took my carbs to a local shop to get cleaned as I was completely new and wanted to get it done right and not be second guessing my work well it ran perfectly I told the guy I ran pod filters and open exhaust so he said he would jet it appropriately but now I’m not sure if it’s the elevation or what but the bike bogs down pretty hard somewhat randomly mostly when taking off at light or whatever sometimes and sometimes not at all I’ve tried all kinds of things riding wise as I thought this was a me problem and it seems to ride better the easier I go on the throttle. Someone had mentioned I need to adjust float height maybe there was enough gas in the float bowl. So I pulled the carbs cleaned them and checked float height it was set at 30mm I read on here it should be 26mm so I made the adjustment and set my mixture screws for 3 turns out. Got it all back together and try to start it and after a few kicks it started but not running good I figured the air mixture needed adjustment but seeing as how they are hard to get to and I don’t have a shop it’s kinda hard to adjust mixture on the bike while it’s running. So I turned them out to 6 turns which I feel is insane compared to what most people post on here anyway it rode much better but still bogs down a bit on take off I do plan on putting on some type of slip on muffler eventually just haven’t figured out what I want. Current carb jetting is as follows:
145 main
45 pilot
Needles are the kind without notches
6.5 turns out on air mixture
Floats set at 26mm
Open exhaust
Cheap pod filters
I know pods and open pipes aren’t ideal but I didn’t have this problem at all before moving. Anyway if you’ve made it this far thanks and I appreciate any advice sorry if I’m annoying.
145 main
45 pilot
Needles are the kind without notches
6.5 turns out on air mixture
Floats set at 26mm
Open exhaust
Cheap pod filters
I know pods and open pipes aren’t ideal but I didn’t have this problem at all before moving. Anyway if you’ve made it this far thanks and I appreciate any advice sorry if I’m annoying.
