Ubber Newbie in Desperate Need of Know-How

[tshisuaka]

SO my 1980 xs400-my first bike I've owned for a few weeks will no longer run. That is, I can get her to fire up now that I've added oil, gasoline, spark plugs, and a new battery, and last week I even got to ride around town but now, when she WILL start it last for a few seconds tops! No matter if I'm jamming on the gas, pumping the choke in and out or just keeping her out, the bike wont stay running. I'm about to try taking a hair dryer to the engine for half an hour, other then that I have no idea what a carburator looks like, I just learned it's where the fuel and air mix? Appearently if the hair dryier doesnt work that will be the next avenue to explore.
I'm really to rookie to be able to formulate much better a question then that but just about EVERY aspect of my life is hinged on having transportation. Oh, and I have almost two dollars to my name... but it's yours if you'll help me!!

Bikers

 

[JPaganel]

Howdy, neighbor.

You might want to check the petcock first. It's what makes gas flow from the tank to the carbs. There are two hoses going to it. One is a vacuum line, it hooks to a nipple on the rubber holder that holds carb to engine. The other is the actual fuel line. Check to make sure both are attached and not broken or twisted.

Then, try setting the selector lever to PRI.

 

[drewpy]

you really need to read the bike manual top top to bottom.

my friend bought an fz600 off a guy who said it had a fault and wouldn't start. friend put in the van and started it straight away!

that's the best advice I can give you at this stage

 

[Lou Ranger]

Welcome to the forum. If the bike has no in-line fuel filter and sat for a long time before you got and then you dumped in gas and ran it, detritus in the gas tank could have become dislodged, flowed through the fuel line into the carbs, clogging them up.

If JPaganel's idea doesn't work then you will likely have to clean out the carbs. There are lots of threads on here to help you to do it.

Make sure you install an in-line filter before you try to start it again. It will catch any more detritus and ensure it doesn't get through to the carbs.

http://www.xs400.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7574

 

[Drewcifer]

Dear Newbie:

We all started exactly where you did. Relying on a bike and having it fail.

Then we came to this forum. Hopefully after the superhelpful write ups by Drewpy and others.

I lost a stator and had no clue what to do to fix my bike until I wagered it might have a failed wire where I couldn't see it. So my first repair took me all the way into the stator to rewire. After that, most things that went wrong were simple compared to the rewire.

I recommend a few youtube resources. They're a lot like a free motorcycle university.

Mrmaxstorey has a channel devoted entirely to bikes and diagnosing issues on old motorcycles. He's a selfless, helpful Jedi of a guy. Very mellow, very nice.

Dawino is an old florida redneck who conceals his encyclopedia like knowledge and high IQ behind a zz top redneck beard. But if you watch his videos you'll hear the clear thinking of a very smart, funny, intuitive old mechanic. Great sense of humor there too! His youtube channel is fantastic for bike knowledge.

You can pickup "Motorcycles: Fundamentals, Service, and Repair" from the library. Have it shipped to your local branch and read up on what you need to learn. After a few weeks you'll have most of it memorized. The old edition has a ton of info on vintage bikes.


Good luck. One metric socket set, a few books and patience will get your bike running again.

Oh, you may need to solder....but again, learn on youtube. All is easy, nothing new under the sun, after all.

Regards,

Drewcifer

 

[Liamthedevastator]

Hiya and welcome! Perhaps you have flooded the engine? What do you plan to do with the hairdryer? I'm easily confused haha

This forum is fantastic for info. I also found that if you have a question like "What is a carburator?" then just google it and read the wikipedia. It'll really help with your knowledge, and I promise that you will start understanding very quickly!

Good luck,

Liam

 

[xschris]

I agree with all the above Download the manual from this site, its a great start for understanding how these bikes work. How about some pics of what you got. We love pics.

 

[tshisuaka]

It banks a lot brother,. Going to check the petcock now!

 

[tshisuaka]

YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! I did however just realize I don't know how to use these message boards either!

 

[Drewcifer]

posting pics requires the following

upload them to your album,

cut and paste the BB code below your pics into a thread for them to show up as a clickable thumbnail

good luck

Drewcifer

 

[Tombo]

Did you clean the tank and/or drain the old gas before you put new gas in? Sometimes a bike will run fine does bit then inexplicably stop working because of a tiny fragment in the fuel line that clogs jet and stops the motor from running. WHEN you clean the carbs, go ahead and install an inline fuel filter, takes a lot of the guesswork out. granted, it could be many things.

Sound like you are of to the right start though. Just out of curiosity what type of oil did you put in it?

 

[JPaganel]

Re-reading this a bit.

Don't pump the choke.

These bikes do not have a choke in the classic sense. What they have is an enrichment valve. When you pull on the knob the valve opens and sprays extra gas into the carburetor. This is really a valve, just like a faucet, so you are really just opening and closing it. It's not a pump.

The knob has a couple of stops. Pull it out a little, crank, then pull out more and repeat if it doesn't start.