... I got an email from a gentleman yesterday who wants to trade me his maxim 400 for my bike and am thinking about doing it cuz I loved working on my lil yammy and riding it. Can you all clue me in as to what the main differences are going to be between the 82 maxim and the 80 xs400? ...
Just curious, what is the bike you will be trading?
I have never actually seen a sohc xs400 in person so, apart from admiring it's wonderful classic looks, I can only talk about the Maxim.
It has a 19" front and 16" rear wheel, and a 5 spd tranny - vs - a 6 speed - but you will not want for power in any gear (they are spaced out enough so that 1st gear still screams).
Unless you drop below 2500 rpm in any of them. On the flat it will recover from 2300 or 2400 without chugging but until it gets to 3000 it won't give you much. On any kind of inclined grade, you will want to be at 3000 or above. They make 5 spds work partially with a smaller rear sprocket (35T), so there is not as much leeway if you want to change ratios. The 16T front can be increased to 17T (a number of us have done so) and it takes 400 rpm off at 60 mph in top gear - without sacrificing anything down low (5600, down from 6000). That 7 hp does the trick.
The valves are adjusted using shims instead of adjusting nuts (but there are still just 4 in total) and the carbs apparently can be problematic if they are not clean. But the good news is, once they are set up and clean (and if you keep them so with an in-line filter) they seem to stay perfect. I inherited perfect carbs from my PO in April and have put nearly 6000 miles on the bike without a single problem or the need for any adjustment whatsoever.
Some people make fun of the slightly "affected" styling. I'll admit that it isn't as cool as the sohc but it drives wonderfully and cruises any 2 lane highway with ease. And I think you will be surprised how many people remember it from when they were young or who had one and wished they'd kept it.
Unless you are trading something cooler, I think you should go for it. You won't be disappointed in how it performs.
