Outlaw
XS400 Member
Hi guys!
I'm new here, or i have been around a week or 2 but have spend my time here reading and reading
Soooo much data and insperation.
My short story: I'm a 35 year old guy from Denmark (so sorry for shitty english in advance) and i recently bought my first XS. Its a 1980 XS400 2A2 (maybe german restricted, but i cant really tell. hope you can help with that) I havent owned a bike for a while, so it was time to get riding again. But after getting married and a kid and all, it would have to be on a budget
My original plan was to make a classic bobber, then i turned a little towards cafe racer, and now i have looked at to many custom builds that i dont know anything anymore
Untill last night. i was surfing the web for cool XS custom bikes, when it hit me. I have always liked the Harley Davidson 883 IRON sportster. It got the looks and style that i love. So i downloaded a sideview picture of the original 1980 XS400 and the new sportster, and flicked back and forth between them. The frame dimensions arnt that diffrent. So i think that it will be my rough sketch for my build
So as my untrained novice eyes can tell, i need to lower the back with shorter springs, get a sportster tank, find a XS400 Special drum rearwheel (16") chop front fender, find a chopped rearfender or modify my own. And find a similar seat. And then ofcoarse mix it all together with some matt black paint and some hard work
Dont you think my goal is realistic?
If you have any tip and tricks that could help me with the conversion, please tell.
But so far i can tell that when i picked the bike up, it had been sitting a good while. Couldnt start, couldnt move (front brake was stuck) and looked a little sad in general.
So i fixed the brakes and lubricated the mechanism, cleaned the carbs, changed the oil and sparkplugs (old oil looked healthy) and gave it a quick checkup and charged the battery. The eletric starter didnt work ( i knew that) so i gave it a few kicks, and it fired up. And after some more fiddling, i went for a short test drive. It went pretty good. Got back, adjusted tyrepressure, checked for leaks and stuff and went for a longer and harder test drive. Check video
It went pretty well, besides from annoying handlebar vibrations at high RPM. Maybe the carbs need adjustment? And it got the good old charging problem. That concerns me a bit, because my wiring skills suck!
Anyhow, the next thing is getting it charging, legal and a MOT. Then the fun can really begin
Pics of the "beast"
I'm new here, or i have been around a week or 2 but have spend my time here reading and reading
Soooo much data and insperation.My short story: I'm a 35 year old guy from Denmark (so sorry for shitty english in advance) and i recently bought my first XS. Its a 1980 XS400 2A2 (maybe german restricted, but i cant really tell. hope you can help with that) I havent owned a bike for a while, so it was time to get riding again. But after getting married and a kid and all, it would have to be on a budget
My original plan was to make a classic bobber, then i turned a little towards cafe racer, and now i have looked at to many custom builds that i dont know anything anymore
Untill last night. i was surfing the web for cool XS custom bikes, when it hit me. I have always liked the Harley Davidson 883 IRON sportster. It got the looks and style that i love. So i downloaded a sideview picture of the original 1980 XS400 and the new sportster, and flicked back and forth between them. The frame dimensions arnt that diffrent. So i think that it will be my rough sketch for my build
So as my untrained novice eyes can tell, i need to lower the back with shorter springs, get a sportster tank, find a XS400 Special drum rearwheel (16") chop front fender, find a chopped rearfender or modify my own. And find a similar seat. And then ofcoarse mix it all together with some matt black paint and some hard work
Dont you think my goal is realistic?
If you have any tip and tricks that could help me with the conversion, please tell.
But so far i can tell that when i picked the bike up, it had been sitting a good while. Couldnt start, couldnt move (front brake was stuck) and looked a little sad in general.
So i fixed the brakes and lubricated the mechanism, cleaned the carbs, changed the oil and sparkplugs (old oil looked healthy) and gave it a quick checkup and charged the battery. The eletric starter didnt work ( i knew that) so i gave it a few kicks, and it fired up. And after some more fiddling, i went for a short test drive. It went pretty good. Got back, adjusted tyrepressure, checked for leaks and stuff and went for a longer and harder test drive. Check video
It went pretty well, besides from annoying handlebar vibrations at high RPM. Maybe the carbs need adjustment? And it got the good old charging problem. That concerns me a bit, because my wiring skills suck!
Anyhow, the next thing is getting it charging, legal and a MOT. Then the fun can really begin
Pics of the "beast"
