No way! So you are the one that bought that Maxim with the white decals off Kijiji ?
Congrats. I was considering going to look at that one - so I could have a red one and a black one - for different moods.
There are way more Ontario riders too. They are bound to chime in eventually, I hope.
If by '82 pdf files you mean the manual on this Forum, then yes, virtually nothing changed for the 3 years this model was exported to N.America. The pdfs on here are for the Seca but all key mechanicals, except the tranny are the same. All the maintenance specs, intervals, checks etc. are the same.
The in-line filter is easy to do:
http://www.xs400.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7574
Since the filter has length, you may need to remove a chunk of hose of similar length. If your fuel line is getting frayed on the ends, cut a half piece off each end, then cut the line about 30% from one end so there is enough length after the filter to make a smooth 90 degree curve without kinking. It takes 5 minutes tops the 2nd time - longer the 1st time because you'll measure 3 times and worry some before making the cut. But it's easy.
I'm not sure about your PO's oil comment. He may mean that they designed the bike to perform with the oils available to them in 1981 so it will have a long healthy life on regular "inexpensive" motorcycle oil ("dino" in some parlance). By "fine" he may mean full synthetic oil and many on here agree that, while it won't do the bike any harm (
IF it says
MA), it is money unnecessarily spent since the bike was built before synthetic was invented. The choice is yours.
If you are a beginner, you should definitely leave everything alone if it is running well, at least through your first season. Unless you hate to be riding and would rather be "wrenching" instead, there is nothing worse than a shut-down on riding because of an an owner-induced maintenance requirement. In my opinion, from reading the forum for over a year, this almost always happens from something like "podding" - which is ripping out a perfectly good airbox and filter and substituting those cool looking pod air filters.
They do look cool, but they let in more air so you have to take the carbs out and install new jets so it will run properly again. Several newbies have complained that in the course of doing these mods, they break tiny little fragile brass needles and internal parts. Then there is the long wait for more new parts. Sometimes they don't fit properly or have slightly different characteristcs thus initiating another round of re-jetting and rebalancing then re-synching (which requires you to manufacture a home-made manometer - and on and on it goes.
Similarly, this can happen when you install modified exhaust pipes that sound cooler. If they don't have the same back pressure then it initiates another round of re-jetting and rebalancing then re-synching (which requires you to manufacture a home-made manometer - and on and on it goes. You get the idea.
Now, don't get me wrong, I can see where all of the above would be fun on rainy days on a second bike. And, I may even start doing it one day. But, like I said in my "
First Letter to the xs400ians", I spent $3 to preserve it's perfect running, and have gone now over 13,000 kms without adjusting or repairing a single thing on the motor. This is the path I recommend you follow for your first season.
And, if you read my old threads, you will avoid all the pot holes on this path that I fell into.
I hope you enjoy your Maxim as much as I have mine. Not sure where you'd be coming from, but if you ever plan an excursion to the Forks of the Credit, let me know and I'll show you the hill where I did my sprocket road tests
