PopMac's XS400 Maxim Cleanup

[popmac]

Was going to go out for a ride, get to my bike and find that the extremely slow and only on prime petcock leak has gone to full blown beast mode. Emptied out the tank and will be calling around today to see if I can find new o-rings in hopes that that stops it. I've had a hard time figuring out exactly where the leak was coming from - I thought it was out the back of the petcock but looking at it yesterday it seems like its coming from the screw holes... so hopefully two new gaskets there and the problem is solved. But who knows. That'll be first step and see what happens from there.

Seeing as I couldn't ride anyway I decided to finally swap out all my screws for allen bolts. Its a small detail but I'm pretty pumped on it. All my screws were in various states of strippedness so now all the covers can be easily removed with a 5mm hex key instead of me needing to get to something and having to worry that I may totally strip a screw that is already on its last legs.

Also, more boring small stuff in the last week - I swapped out my grips and removed my passenger pegs.

All the pegs on the bike are pretty beat up and ratty looking. I'll want to replace them eventually but for now I just removed the ones not in use. I think it looks a bit better but learned that the peg is what keeps your helmet from resting on the pipes when using the lock, so I'll either need to relocate the lock or put the pegs back on. Damn.

The grips that were put on by the previous owner were either too long or he just didn't take the time to move the controls down the handle bars. The last inch of them was hanging off the bars and were kinda cut up and destroyed because of it. When I picked up my chain from my mechanics they had some grips for $20 so I grabbed them. Old on the left, new on the right.

My sprockets should be arriving today so I can get the chain installed soonish. My mechanics said I could go out on Sunday and put on the new sprockets and chain out there with them giving me guidance and a hand as needed but I can't get out there without a tank, so we'll have to hope for the best on the leak.

 

[popmac]

Wasn't able to find the gasket that goes between the petcock and the tank but I did find the fiber-type washers that go between the screws and the petcock. I've been burned before by something that seemed to be good only to fail shortly after letting it sit, but the tanks been full of gas since about 3:30 PM and hasn't leaked (7 hours). Even went for a quick whip around the block to get it vibrating and no leaks. Tomorrow is looking like rain all day but I'll check on it a couple times throughout the day. Fingers crossed!

I was reading the manual randomly today and came across the turn signals. According to the manual you should be able to push in the switch to cancel the lights - like on every other bike I've sat on. My bike doesn't do this. There really isn't anywhere to push in... theres maybe a little bit of give but nothing that feels like its really moving. When I mentioned not liking the turn signal control a few posts back thats what I was referring to - to turn off my signals I have to move to the middle position which is really a mm or two area to cancel before I start signaling in the opposite direction. Is this a common part failure and is it fixable? I've seen people complain about the turn signal control before but I believe what I was reading was about the self canceling failing, not the push in.

*edit* Holy crap, I'm a dummy. Looking at the bike today, messing with the turn signal switch when I realized it goes *down* - not in. It has to be just in the right spot and is kind of hard to use but still probably an improvement.

Also the new gaskets seem to have stopped the leak!

 

[popmac]

New sprockets and chain are on! Taking off the clutch cover was nasty. So much dirt and mud in there - I spent about an hour cleaning it out with a screwdriver scraping it all out. It was so hard packed I thought lots of it was just part of the bike until I scraped it off. Then take the chain off to find that both sprockets were pretty worn, and one of my teeth on the front sprocket was broken. So pretty glad i decided to change them out.

Now that the new chain and sprockets are on I was able to take the bike on the highway for the first time. Not the greatest call today but made it... insane wind today, by far the strongest wind I've rode in so far. Got blown around pretty hard and had to spend most of it leaning to the side just to go in a straight line. So since getting this bike I've been curious how it would do on the highway. I probably wouldn't do it again in high winds like this but even going head first into the wind I was still able to get it up to 100 km/h so I think on a calm day it'll be good. I took off the windshield because I thought it was pretty dorky looking but if my next highway drive isn't that much better maybe I'll put it back on.

 

[spectra]

Good to hear you got it all done !

 

[popmac]

Good to hear you got it all done !

Yeah! It feels damn good. This week I'll do an oil change then likely sock some money away until winter to do some cosmetic stuff. I don't want to mess with anything too much until then because this is my only bike so downtime sucks... but theres stuff I definitely want to change and finish cleaning up.

 

[popmac]

Woo! This was the last thing I thought was essential for me - got some saddle bags on my bike!
I use my bike for work and often get asked to drive across town to deliver documents, so I always have ride to work with a backpack and use it to deliver stuff. I just have a regular backpack so it doesn't get fully tight and is always blowing around, so this will be a great improvement. Plus driving around in 35C+ with a backpack that kills airflow though my jacket just plain sucks. So now thats sorted out and I can always keep a water bottle on me, which is another massive life quality improvement in the hot weather.

Popped over to my mechanic to say hey, mentioned I was looking for bags and he had these ones. He had bought them off eBay but didn't think they suited his bike. $40, in decent condition and I think they look great. They fit well and aren't in danger of rubbing up on the wheels or getting caught in them. Going 100km on the way home they were flapping in the wind like crazy but a couple of zip ties and its perfect.

Bike has been running fantastic for the last while and I'm loving it. Just hit my first 1000 miles in the last couple days. Looks like I need a new signal blinker relay though, so I'll have to look into that. Sometimes they flash, other times they flash crazy fast, but most of the time the light just turns on and doesn't blink. I don't mind if it's flashing super fast but I feel like just solid on probably isn't all that noticeable for people in cars behind me, so I want to get that fixed sooner than later.

 

[popmac]

Does anybody know if these bars would work on the Maxim? https://fortnine.ca/en/emgo-7-8in-universal-street-sport-handlebar

I wanted to try out some different bars just for the sake of trying, and to see if a bit more forward of a position would help out on the highway a bit. I bought some used off Kijiji but they didn't fit when I got back home. Truth be told, I was pretty sure they wouldn't fit. The guy said they were 7/8" (which I'm pretty sure is what I needed) but when I got there the centre part was much thicker. They were cheap and I figure I can resell them for the same as I bought them so I grabbed them anyway. Turns out they were much to thick in the centre but also on the outer edge. Just ever so slightly thick to get the throttle on.

I clamped them in place anyway just to get a feel for it and I think I like the riding position. I prefer the look of the original bars, but if its a bit more comfortable I'd take that over looks.

 

[spectra]

Those should fit. Both the DOHC and SOHC models use the 7/8s bars.

 

[Petew]

I have 2 bikes that have them, love 'em!

Those should fit. Both the DOHC and SOHC models use the 7/8s bars.

 

[popmac]

Those should fit. Both the DOHC and SOHC models use the 7/8s bars.

Beautiful, thanks. I'll order them as soon as I get rid of the bars I bought.

I have 2 bikes that have them, love 'em!

Great! Are they the bars on this one? http://www.xs400.com/attachments/20180510_124423-jpg.31575/ Either way, thats a great looking bike.

 

[Petew]

Beautiful, thanks. I'll order them as soon as I get rid of the bars I bought.


Great! Are they the bars on this one? http://www.xs400.com/attachments/20180510_124423-jpg.31575/ Either way, thats a great looking bike.

Yes, but that bike has a different paint job now, the tank fell of a saw horse it was on and took a gouge out of the paint so repainted it. It is a little different. The bottom edge of the tank is bare metal polished and clear coated.

 

[popmac]

Put my new bars on! I ended up not ordering those ones off Fortnine, I picked some out of a catalog and got my mechanics to order them. Happy to say that it doesn't seem like I need to get shorter cables, everything works fine. I like the look of them much more than I thought I was going to but I think the mirrors look even more out of place now so I'll think on that.

Not sure if I like them or not yet. I put them on after work and had stuff to do so I just went for a quick five minute ride. They were a bit wonky so I adjusted them back after getting home but only sat on the bike for feel, I didn't go out again. So we'll see what I tomorrow. Cornering feels much more response now. I think I like the riding position but don't know if I'll prefer it.

Old bars went in the closet and after doing this three times now its only about a twenty minute thing to swap them so its not a big deal if I decide to go back.

First photo is the old bars, other two are the new ones. Hard to really photograph them in a way that makes sense but you get the idea.

I also think the turn signals look a bit goofy but I'm torn on that. I think I would like to put on some smaller ones that are closer in but it may take away from the 80s look too much.

 

[xschris]

Looking at your top tree on the forks, it looks like the tube sits way down in. It should stick out a little. You may want to look at that as it's a safety concern.

 

[popmac]

Looking at your top tree on the forks, it looks like the tube sits way down in. It should stick out a little. You may want to look at that as it's a safety concern.

Is this what you're talking about? If so, is this as simple as just loosening the bolts, pushing down a bit and tightening back up?

 

[xschris]

Looks like your missing the top cap. You may want to find one. It keeps dirt and water out of there. The tube looks close to where it should be.

 

[popmac]

Looks like your missing the top cap. You may want to find one. It keeps dirt and water out of there. The tube looks close to where it should be.

Thanks for the heads up! I had no idea. I just checked bike bandit and I'm not seeing the part anywhere. Any idea if this is a generic part or if the XS400 ones fit the Maxim? Theres a Maxim pair on eBay for $5 but shipping to me is $25 so I'd like to see if I can get them cheaper - or at least cheaper shipping.

 

[spectra]

Thanks for the heads up! I had no idea. I just checked bike bandit and I'm not seeing the part anywhere. Any idea if this is a generic part or if the XS400 ones fit the Maxim? Theres a Maxim pair on eBay for $5 but shipping to me is $25 so I'd like to see if I can get them cheaper - or at least cheaper shipping.

No the SOHC forks are smaller so the DOHC forks are there own monster.........

 

[popmac]

No the SOHC forks are smaller so the DOHC forks are there own monster.........

Of course they are!

Ill call the Yamaha dealer by my house tomorrow and see if they can get these in and what the price is. If it's no good I may just bite the bullet and pay the high shipping.

 

[JJJAADD]

 

[JJJAADD]

May be a little late to this post but hope this helps