New grunt with xs400 special

[Darznieks]

Hello Friends,

I recently moved to the uk and decided I need a new hobby so I bought a bike. With 0 experience in bikes. been lurking the forums for a bit and decided to join you.

If you see me asking silly questions about general maintenance or "how does this turn on" be gentle.

My first question is can you decipher from vim exactly what bike it is, sohc year and all that?


Kind regards the new guy

 

[BBS360]

Welcome to the forum.
The history thread should have your vin info: http://www.xs400.com/threads/history-of-the-yamaha-xs400.4458/
Make sure to download the Yamaha and Haynes manuals from the threads at the top of the Garage.

 

[Darznieks]

I have a special 2 then 4R5 , anything specific about those models I should know?

Can I follow this http://www.xs400.com/threads/how-to-what-to-do-first-with-your-new-xs400.10595/

The sohc part of it.

How do i decipher what model carbs I got? And is carb cleaning and tuning something one can do or should i seek an expert?

 

[BBS360]

The special 2 wasn't a UK model but if you have one it'll have drum brakes front and rear, TCI ignition, and BS34 carbs.
That's a good thread to start from but there is a ton of information elsewhere on the forum.
Here's another good place to start: http://www.xs400.com/threads/a-bunch-of-how-tos-in-a-thread.10715/

You can certainly clean and tune the carbs yourself. If you are running stock intake/filters and exhaust there shouldn't be too much tuning to do.
There's a good carb writeup by drewcifer in this thread: http://www.xs400.com/threads/bike-will-not-stay-running.8438/
And: http://www.xs400.com/threads/mikuni-bs34-carb-rebuild-tutorial.11794/#post-122005

 

[Darznieks]

http://www.nrp-carbs.co.uk/shop/index.php?route=product/product&path=35&product_id=235

Just a question would this kit do? Do i need 2 of them and is the keyster brand any good?

and for parts for XS400SE same as xs400sh ?

 

[BBS360]

You'd need two sets but there are some differences between the bikes. The '75-'84 Haynes manual has a pretty good chart comparing differences between years.
Even though the numbers are close I'm not familar enough with the UK models to say whether the jets are the same style. Could be less obvious differences. For example between the xs360 and 400s the pilot jet has different designs that make them incompatible.

Keyster parts are of decent quality but apparently the parts don't necessarily match stock even when they claim to.

 

[Darznieks]

Well I ordered that one, I will update you when i have disected the carbs and see whats up, the more I read manuals and information the more problems I suspect.

When do you change the clutch?