History of the Yamaha XS400

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houghmade i think your mufflers are aftermarket.

Actually, you are correct now that I think of it. My point was simply that the bike has not been chopped, cafe'd or otherwise modified extensively. I will, however, be putting lower bars on it soon.
 
Actually, you are correct now that I think of it. My point was simply that the bike has not been chopped, cafe'd or otherwise modified extensively. I will, however, be putting lower bars on it soon.

it still looks awesome! i wish there where more people restoring these bikes than cutting them up. oh well it just makes mine more rare.:thumbsup:
 
it still looks awesome! i wish there where more people restoring these bikes than cutting them up. oh well it just makes mine more rare.:thumbsup:
I'd keep mine stock as it's all good except for the tank.I got what I thought was the same tank,but it was an xs 500 tank,I think.It's wider and shorter[front to back]and has a hole for a gas gauge,so I have to change the seat,etc.I'll have to go semi-brat or something. lha
 
I forgot to ask,what do the letters meaqn on my xs400 rj seca DOHC? I know that the DOHC is double overhead cam,but the rj,what does that signify? lha
 
I forgot to ask,what do the letters meaqn on my xs400 rj seca DOHC? I know that the DOHC is double overhead cam,but the rj,what does that signify? lha

r = race?

I know the X yamaha use means 4 stroke (the 4 points of the X)

RD = race developed :D
 
rdz-greece asked what the description was for his "my vin is 3W5-002139 so what model is mine ? "
Did anyone answer his query?
One of mine is also a 3W5 - 000974 and I would appreciate knowing the features and model description.
Thanks
Shep
PS: If it is posted somewhere and I have missed it, please accept my apologies.
 
I'm adding that 14W-xxxxxx is also an SJ. For some reason the SJ trim had both 14V and 14W vin codes. I am assuming that it differed based on the country of origin.
Shepen: what model year does your ownership indicate?
 
The complete XS 400 SG I have was purchased from a local lad in B.C. in 1997. There were no papers and I was told he had received it from a relative of his living in Alberta. When I checked the Alberta vehicle registry I was informed that they had no record for the bike meaning it had not been registered in Alberta for the previous ten years.
The lad told me it was a 1980 XS 400 Special and I registered it in B.C. as such. All the checking I have done has shown that the alpha-numeric prefix “3W5” is a XS400, 1980 (signified by the suffix “G”), special (signified by the “S”).
As told by others and after reading a few notes, the ”J” signifies the year 1982 (1981 is “H” as they skipped the letter “I”) and “S” is for special. I can find on one of the research lists the prefix “14V” described as a XS400SJ, a 1982 XS400S Heritage. However, so far I can’t find a listing for prefix "14W".
In the case of the suffix RJ, ”J “signifies 1982 and “R” says it is the Seca model.
Shep
 
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the 14W, similar to the 3W5, for some reason was not listed. The only reason I can come up for it is because it's a country variation rather and an equipment variation.
That's actually a great observation on the letters though. I can't believe I didn't make the connection that the alphabetized model suffix indicated years. Go figure!
Also trying to figure out why the engine codes start with 1 from 1976 and 4 from 1981, but jumps to 14 on the 1982 (or back to 1).
Shepen, your bike would then be an XS400H or SH. If it has 2 drums and no starter then it would likely be an XS400H. Of course, this shouldn't be relied on indefinitely as a PO may have modified it to their liking. I believe that because there is evidence of only OEM replacements on my own bike, all equipment presently on my bike came stock, leading me to believe that the 14W vin code on my headstock is the same as the 14V listed.
 
On one website called “johnnystoybox.com” in the parts reference section I found the 14V and 14W listed as :
14V ---is a XS400SL
14W—is a XS400S
In some other literature I found the model year codes as follows:
A = 1974
B = 1975
C = 1976
D = 1977
E = 1978
F = 1979
G = 1980
H = 1981
J = 1982
K = 1983
L = 1984
N = 1985
S = 1986
So from what I can determine 14V is an XS400 1984 special and the 14W is a XS 400 1986 basic. This contradicts my previous reply but I would believe the johnnystoybox.com information more than the wrecker's information that I used in the first reply.
Now the 3F9 owned by sgrudier (further up in this thread) is listed as XS 400 SG which is a 1980 XS400 Special, the same as mine which has the different VIN prefix of 3W5.

Shep
 
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Yuppers, I have the 79 sales brochure as well, the 2-F is the "poor-man" model..and I love mine!
 
For what it cost me to restore I don't think it is the poor mans model:laugh: I also have all the books that came with it as well as the crate assembly book.
 
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It has taken first place in a bunch of shows, even over $20k bikes:)
 
Drewpy as per your list stating 2LO as a 79 xs250 where did you find this info?, Because I have a 78 xs400 with a vin starting with 2LO. BUMMMM BUMMMM BUMMMMMMMMM!!!!

1L9 XS360C '76
1M0 XS250C '76
1T6 XS360
1U4 XS360 '77 EUR.
1U5 XS250 '77 EUR.
2A2 XS400D '77
2G5 XS400SE '78
2J0 XS400 '78 EUR.
2L0 XS250F '79
2N1 XS400-2E '78
2V6 XS400-2F '79
2W2 XS400 '78
2Y2 XS250F '79[/QUOTE]
 
dropbears website.

Its not a definitive list as there will be variations so don't lose too much sleep over it.
 
I won't lol my tag says my bike was built in dec of 77. But she's an E I wonder if it will be worth more as a early modle she only has 1600 miles on her. I feel like that's really low. Does any one else have simaler milage???
 
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