billfrombyron

I'm awaiting funding at the moment. I am also mid transit from exiting the Army, so my bike unfortunately it has to wait. Once I get settled in to my new location I will be ordering it and picking it up as JC Whitney is about a 3 hr drive from my house. BTW I see your in Chicago, I will be in Rockford, IL for about 2 months while I wait for my documents to process. Let me know if your interested in another XS as I am taking a mid-east contract for 2 years and it will sit dormant otherwise. [email protected] if interested in acquiring. I'm not too sure what its worth needing a new float and all, but we could defiantly work something out. -Bill

My XS360 for a 400, or anything that functions with electric start? I just re injured my ankle and am tried of kick starting the thing. All she needs is new a new float in the right carb, everything else is fairly well dialed in.(ish) I am still awaiting surgery on my ankle and I got the steroid shot in it, now I don't realize untill a few days later that I hurt my self. [email protected] and I will zip you some pics if interested in a trade. This is a title for title swap, no cash. -Bill

New Carb floats will be required unless you fellas have any suggestions on how I might save them. -Bill

Anyone ever do it? I have an old Kazuma ATV electric starter that sure looks like it would bolt right up..... What else beyond wiring issues and rigging a mount is required? I remember reading something about a starter chain or something to that effect once? Anybody either know the theory behind it, or better yet have an XS360/400 with electric start that would post up some pics of mounting of the starter and how it connects to the engine? -Bill

http://www.jcwhitney.com/55-WATT-H-4-HALOG...14762_10111.jcw Actually I just found this right after I posted the other link. I will be ordering a setup and testing it out. Not trying to jack someone else's thread, but if it works good on my bike I will be doing my VW with lights from the same manufacturer. -Bill

http://www.savannajones.com/products/97009_111.htm What about a conversion from sealed beam to H4 bulbs like this one shown? If it would work, then maybe someone wants to go in for half? They come 2 to a kit after all.. -Bill

OK, time for an AAR on this repair..... I took the carbs apart last night while on CQ duty(24hrs with nothing better to do) and started cleaning and about 9 hrs later I got board of that, but man what a difference. I thought I had been a bit of a perfectionist before, but I stole some of the wife's nail polish remover and went to town with some pipe cleaners and Q-tips and rags. I broke the carbs down to the housing and just cleaned the heck out of it. I took some dental picks to the float chamber to remove 31 years of crud and now its clean as a dinner plate. I sealed the carb boots with some make a gasket that Ive had good luck doing similar types of repairs with in the past on my VW, so what the heck if I can save a few bucks for next season they will be replaced then. I synced the carbs to perfection by eyeball and I am convinced that a vacuum gauge couldn't get them any closer than they are now. I also found that the float on the right side was "holy" so I sealed it with some epoxy. Next season I will have some spare cash to fix it properly, plus its not worth it for the month or so I have left before going back to IL where it will be cold again. That and a 4 week lead time on the parts from the dealer made me get creative. So I will update tomorrow if she runs smooth at long last or if I need to look elsewhere. -Bill

Welcome, I am also a XS360 new owner. This group has already helped me tons, and its defiantly worth participating. Thanks to yall I will be back on the road tomorrow. Pics of the bike please! -Bill

Hm, I will try that myself this evening or maybe tomorrow whilst on CQ duty at the barraks. 24 hrs of nothing but time, though no internet... And no its Byron, IL.....the communist state, the state that brought you barak hussane obama, may he loose the election. Im currently at Fort Campbell, Ky until I get my walking papers this month or early next month. -Bill

My 360 is damn near doing the same thing. I found that I need to replace the intake boots, your mileage may vary. I will watch this to see if someone has a better suggestion than that. -Bill

I think the air filters were a contributing factor, but not the complete answer. I found out I need the carb mounts for the engine to carb mounting as it seems to have cracked due to age. Any way to avoid spending a hundred bucks on parts at the dealer on this? -Bill

Well here she is in mostly fully running trim! It seems the oil did indeed work, now I just have a bit more tweaking to do and she will be perfected. OH yea here is some pics for yall of her cleaned up. I still have some work to do on the left side pipe, but there is chrome under all that rust! The pipes sound fantastic for such a small bike, not obnoxiously loud, but not so quiet as to be ignored either. -Bill

OK, talked with a friend of mine who is much better than I and he reminded me of the older lycoming aircraft engines that won't run right without the oil applied to the foam type filters due to it causing a lean out condition. That being said I have squirted K&N air filter oil on the filters and am letting it dry. I will test this tomorrow afternoon and see if that improves things or not by adding some restriction to the filters. There was oil applied to the filters when I cleaned them, so why not oil them up and try it? Any other ideas? -Bill

OK, with the exception of one bad float everything is clean as a whistle. I have temporarily mended the float with some double bubble solvent and fuel safe epoxy. Now I have a question, I was reading my manual again and it states "Don't run the carbs without the air filters in place. The manufacturer has designed and jetted the carb to take into account the restriction of the air filters installed." Now lets suppose the stock air filters were not present. They were instead replaced with some crappy foam lawn mower type pod filters mounted directly to the carbs with the balance tube removed and all air ducting removed. They were dirty as hell when I got it and she ran perfect. I just cleaned the air filters and now it won't stay running and does all of the above mentioned things. What are the chances that it was caused by the lack of stock type setup? Does anyone have a brand of pod filters that fit and work well? -Bill

1977 Yamaha XS360........ I know this is one of those stupid simple fixes, and I will probably kick myself for not knowing, but I will ask away as there is no such thing as a stupid question when it comes to 2 wheels in my book. OK, I have adjusted and adjusted and adjusted my idle speed until the bike will stay running on its own. -+ 1300-1500 depending upon its mood. Oh by the way I cannot use the choke to warm up the bike as it dies every time. Bike runs great, power is smooth until I stop at stop sign at which it promptly dies every time unless I roll the throttle a bit. On another topic, I am still trying to find the magic spot on the clutch, but even in neutral it does this, so its not me. or the clutch, unless its got some wired interconnection that I am unaware of. Any ideas? BTW there are no vacuum leaks that I can find so far. Last week I warmed it up just fine and dandy with the choke and then turned it off and adjusted my idle speed and the bike ran flawlessly. Now I'm wondering if maybe I should lock tight the idle speed screw? If not that than I am out of ideas and am open to suggestions. -Bill

So the oil I purchased I should now drain out and fill it with the special oil, MA grade at $30 per quart? Or am I ok as is? -Bill

Well gents, It needs a bit more road testing tomorrow, but it seems as though the problem is now cured! I will let y'all know how the straight grade motor oil fares. BTW the oil I drained out was GREEN, followed by what smelled like chain saw bar oil. Suffice to say I flushed it real good. If the manual says that straight grade 20 motor oil is OK, then it must be OK right? I went with 30, but I was looking to stiffen it up just a smidgen. It worked wonderfully for me at my height/weight range. -Bill

Well I have been advised by the Yamaha service shop here in town of a few things on the fork oil issue. 1)SAE30 will help with the problem I have been experiencing. 2)Nobody in my area sells 20W fork oil and I have been unable to locate a place online for it. I can find the heck out of some 10W or they advised me to use ATF fluid. I will NOT use ATF as it is the wrong grade. Its rated at 10W for what its worth. So I will try SAE 30W and see what it does. I went with a synthetic as it has anti foaming additives. Learned something else that is probably BS, but I will ask anyway.... Will using motor oil for a car harm the clutch in these bikes? According to the place I was at today if it doesn't have the MA grade rating on it its bad. He said that anything marked other than MA grade will supposedly have anti friction additives that will kill the clutch. Is this just an excuse for him to try to sell me some 30 buck quart of oil, or is it true? As to the front end after I do the XS400 swap it will not be for sale as I want to be able to have a spare should the unlikley occur. -Bill

OK, I read through the service manual, thank you to original poster of the manual! It says to use SAE 20 oil, it also says that 10W30 can be used. It further states that other types of oil could be used to stiffen up the forks. Would 20W50 work? I am hoping to stiffen the forks on my XS360 up a bit. I don't like the sudden compression that they seem to have with me at the helm, my friend however doesn't experience this problem as he weighs about 50lbs less than me. They also rebound pretty damn quick too, I am positive its not a spring issue(well mostly) My weight is now a trim 203lbs and I am 6'4. Am I chasing a dead end in hopes that just a oil swap would cure my ills? The bike has 6,345 miles on it, and the manual says every 10K miles to replace the oil. I'm thinking the oil is 31 years old, so maybe its a bit overdue? And yet another question.....Can I swap the forks for some XS400 forks with front disc brakes? What would be involved beyond the forks, and a rim and the hydraulics? Thanks -Bill

Oil changed, and BOY is this thing fun to ride! thanks for all the help guys! I went with just plain old 20W50 wal-mart 5 qt for 7.98 bottle oil. It meets the standards set forth in the Haynes manual, but then again it is a Haynes..... Anyone got a scanned copy of the actual owners manual for the XS 360? -Bill

ITS ALIVE!!!!!!!!!! Charged the battery up, and re gapped the points. Runs beautifuly now! I wasn't sure if it had a magneto style ignition or if it required a voltage source to start. Thank you for the clarification. Now to change the oil and then I can ride her to work on Monday! Any recommendations on grade of oil? Its hot over her and I was thinking 10W40 or 15W50. Which do you think would be better? -Bill

OK dumb question here, but if the battery is dead will it still start? I just put new plugs in, and can't get a spark. For reference I just picked up the bike and it hasn't ran in 3 years. I drained the tank(NO RUST!!), cleaned out the carbs, cleaned up some green fuzzys on the electrical connectors and fuse block and I am just wondering if I will be kicking in vain without the battery? Yes I put about a shot glass full of oil down each cylinder to ensure proper lubrication before start up BTW. -Bill

This is my new to me 1977 XS360. With 6,653 miles on it, its been in storage for the last 3 years. So I have a few questions to ask now. 1 Is there any precautions that I should take before starting the motor? 2 It is not locked up, and I think that by turning it with out sparkplugs in place, with a few squirts of oil down the cylinders it should pre lube it to be ready to start. 3 Anyone know of a Disk Brake upgrade to these? Any other info you know that you wish to share to a new owner? Story of the bike is pretty cool. My buddy moved and left me his ATV. I was too lazy to fix ATV so I put it up on Craigslist for sale or trade. The rest is history. Any advice you have about the quirks these bikes may be known for would be appreciated. I have been riding for 7 years in the past, but due to multiple deployments overseas, I haven't had the time to ride and my Ex just let the last one go. I'm looking for something cheap(FREE ROCKS!!!!) that I can put around town on and back and forth to work until I get out of the Army. Also got any tips for getting rust off of the pipes and various springs. All shocks are good, nothing leaks and no rust in the tank. All In all I think I came off pretty damn good. The rear seat is perfect as I am 6'4 and can stretch out when I need to on it. Thanks in advance for the help! Oh yea, anyone know if it will fit in a dodge grand caravan with seats folded? The dimensions are 40"W X 40" Tall X 89" with luggage rack on the back. Anyone got a tape measure that wouldn't mind measuring their grocery getter? Or better yet anyone near Clarksville, TN that wants to help a brother out? -Bill