crush1776
Injury Prone
I had to pluck mine...
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I had to pluck mine...
CadXS
XS400 Addict
nice legs. I've been thinking about doing that how hard was in and what did you use
Hey sicncrazy, I chopped the majority of the castings and tabs off with a hacksaw, ground them down a bit more with a flapper disc in the angle grinder and then chucked 'em in a lathe and finished them off.
The only problem with the lathe (apart from not many people having one
thanks Ross) is that it showed up how crap and off round the original casting was. It took a bit of work with a file and some emery cloth to get them looking right. There are still a couple of small holes left from the tappings for the mudguard.I'm sure you can make a great job of it without a lathe using a flapper disc and some strips of emery cloth
needs stockings on them
Yeah, they still need something, some black PC I think.
Ahale, I cut off the extra brake caliper mounting tabs on the left hand fork leg and the fender mounts and brake cable tabs on both forks.
Kinky.....
CadXS
XS400 Addict
Not much done this weekend as I spent most of it in bed with flu/hayfever/something...
Felt better this morning when these arrived
Four black LED Allycators for £20, happy with that. They are small and neat and hopefully should be pretty tough as they are made from solid aluminium.
Been sanding and filling some stuff as I've decided to go the cheap (and easier to repair) route of using rattle cans to spray my bike. Using some Rustoleum Combi Color paint which a mate of mine swears by. It's a kind of all in one coat kind of deal and can even be brushed or rollered to good effect, and is pretty popular with the VW camper crowd.
I had a little go sanding my bottom tripple tree and then 2hrs later I've filed and sanded out all the casting marks. All that effort for something only I will notice
Just need to figure out the rear light/reg plate/indicators set-up and then all the fab is finished and painting and assembly next...
Felt better this morning when these arrived
Four black LED Allycators for £20, happy with that. They are small and neat and hopefully should be pretty tough as they are made from solid aluminium.
Been sanding and filling some stuff as I've decided to go the cheap (and easier to repair) route of using rattle cans to spray my bike. Using some Rustoleum Combi Color paint which a mate of mine swears by. It's a kind of all in one coat kind of deal and can even be brushed or rollered to good effect, and is pretty popular with the VW camper crowd.
I had a little go sanding my bottom tripple tree and then 2hrs later I've filed and sanded out all the casting marks. All that effort for something only I will notice
Just need to figure out the rear light/reg plate/indicators set-up and then all the fab is finished and painting and assembly next...
hardtailed77
Never Finished
It's the things that only you notice that make your bike yours!!!
Looking good!
Looking good!
OliverB
XS400 Junkie
I like the LED blinkers. Where did you get those?
those indis were cheap @ £20
i saw a yamaha r-whatever over the weekend, and the light mount was really cool.
and the license plate was right behind the tire- with the indicaters on the side. looked wicked. it was barely visable except for the plate numbers. it was really neat, maybe something like that if you have the space?
the trees look killer btw. i gotta do that to mine. i hate casting marks! maybe thats why it takes so long for me to put together models?
and the license plate was right behind the tire- with the indicaters on the side. looked wicked. it was barely visable except for the plate numbers. it was really neat, maybe something like that if you have the space?
the trees look killer btw. i gotta do that to mine. i hate casting marks! maybe thats why it takes so long for me to put together models?
redratbike
XS400 Addict
Hey Cad,
chased this thread down after our chat..got any updates?
chased this thread down after our chat..got any updates?
CadXS
XS400 Addict
Great to speak to you earlier Mark
I've been pretty lazy with the bike recently to be honest as I've been stuck for a few parts. I did a bit of a dry build and ran into some problems with the back brake due to the extended swing arm and brace and swapping to a drum rear. The bracket for the pedal adjustment is wrong so the brake linkage sits at the wrong angle and fouls the brace on the swingarm. The torgue arm for the back plate would need moving as well and some other alignment issues. All this just because a fancied a rear drum as it looked neater
Instead I'm going the idiotic route of fitting an R1 rear blue spot caliper to match the front one and sorting out an adaptor plate to make it fit. This would require a disc rear wheel and I sold mine to a bloke on the forum
I've waited for another one to come up on ebay and I finally got one recently from Germany. I've also been trying to sort out some longer shocks to get the ride height correct and I not had much luck dropping on a deal I've prepped, undercoated and painted a few things...
Also done quite a lot of light buffing with my highly proffesional workshop set-up, just to get things clean really, I'm not a fan of shiney stuff a motorcycle (too lazy to polish shit
).
Just ticking over really until a few parts come in and I sort out the rear brake. I'm also really tempted by the Aprilia RS125 front fork modification which would throw things in the air once again
Cheers
redratbike
XS400 Addict
""I'm also really tempted by the Aprilia RS125 front fork modification which would throw things in the air once again ""
i take it you have seen mod this else where ? are the rs125 forks shorter???
i take it you have seen mod this else where ? are the rs125 forks shorter???
its about time you started updating this.
CadXS
XS400 Addict
Thought I better update this thread as once again I've kinda changed direction a little bit with what I'm doing with the bike. With the usual lack of planning or thought I've got all excited about seeing XS400's with Aprilia RS125 forks. So just when I've finished spending a lot of time, effort and money tarting up my stock forks I've gone and bought some different ones off another bike 
Finally got around the fitting the new bronze swingarm bushes I've had for about 2 years...
Obviously the best place to do this is in the living room while watching the MotoGP. The bushes were a very tight fit and I knackered 2 sets of nuts and washes with my homebrew press.
Finally fitted, with sore hands but some great racing in the GP
New bearings and seals for the disc rear wheel and unbelievably I've managed to find the spindle and spacers in the attic.
These were waiting for me when I arrived home from work on Friday.
I got giddy unwrapping the parts like a small child on his birthday (I may have some psychological issues)
Very happy with the results
Just waiting (very impatiently) on some new bearings for the front wheel and headset and I can try fitting all this stuff together.
Finally got around the fitting the new bronze swingarm bushes I've had for about 2 years...
Obviously the best place to do this is in the living room while watching the MotoGP. The bushes were a very tight fit and I knackered 2 sets of nuts and washes with my homebrew press.
Finally fitted, with sore hands but some great racing in the GP
New bearings and seals for the disc rear wheel and unbelievably I've managed to find the spindle and spacers in the attic.
These were waiting for me when I arrived home from work on Friday.
I got giddy unwrapping the parts like a small child on his birthday (I may have some psychological issues
)
Very happy with the results
Just waiting (very impatiently) on some new bearings for the front wheel and headset and I can try fitting all this stuff together.
redratbike
XS400 Addict
nice one Cad, getting my forks posted today so will be here at the end of the week ..going to be cheeky and watch with anticipation and follow your lead
what are you going to do for a front mudguard or you going without and shaving all the mountings off?
what are you going to do for a front mudguard or you going without and shaving all the mountings off?
CadXS
XS400 Addict
Not sure about the mudguard yet Mark. I think I need to dry fit it together and have a look and then come to some decision. Might have to check MOT regs about mudguards on these age bikes. The bearings came this morning and they have sent the wrong ones...how annoying was that They are sending replacements out today so I might get them tomorrow or the day after.
They are sending replacements out today so I might get them tomorrow or the day after.
redratbike
XS400 Addict
need to order a top yoke but seen a full a set with all the fasteners we discussed on the phone so will go for them i think
damn dude, those forks are sick. i havent seen any 400's with those forks before, so im looking forward to your being mounted
looking good CAd, how much did you pay for those forks?
CadXS
XS400 Addict
Check out this thread from a new UK member to the forum...
http://www.xs400.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5726
also post #6 on this thread for some tracker inspiration...
http://www.xs400.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5536
They are a particular look that suits tracker/sport bike styling more maybe but are relatively cheap here in the UK and really easy to fit.
When are we going to see more of your chop??? It must be nearly done now, still on the electrics?
Caddy
CadXS
XS400 Addict
PM sent mate
CadXS
XS400 Addict
I seem to have put a lot of effort into my build recently with not much to show for it Every little job that should take a few minutes seems to be taking hours or even days and I seem to be having shitty luck with everything I'm trying
So after another wasted day trying to assemble my rear wheel (should be easy right...) I decided to throw a few bits of the bike together to see how it's looking. I've got a few parts in recently and not seen how they look on the bike.
I cut and folded a piece of 3mm aluminium sheet to make a number plate and rear light/indicator mount...
Test fitting the new shocks and the Aprilia RS125 front forks...
Carved up a bit of foam to try and get some seat ideas. A little more angular to match the tank more maybe...
Pretty happy with how the stance looks with the new stuff fitted, I think the heavier forks on the front balance out all the extended/braced swingarm at the rear better.
Starting to fall back in love again after the hassle of the previous weeks
Every little job that should take a few minutes seems to be taking hours or even days and I seem to be having shitty luck with everything I'm trying So after another wasted day trying to assemble my rear wheel (should be easy right...) I decided to throw a few bits of the bike together to see how it's looking. I've got a few parts in recently and not seen how they look on the bike.
I cut and folded a piece of 3mm aluminium sheet to make a number plate and rear light/indicator mount...
Test fitting the new shocks and the Aprilia RS125 front forks...
Carved up a bit of foam to try and get some seat ideas. A little more angular to match the tank more maybe...
Pretty happy with how the stance looks with the new stuff fitted, I think the heavier forks on the front balance out all the extended/braced swingarm at the rear better.
Starting to fall back in love again after the hassle of the previous weeks
