MarkRoberto

Perfect! That's the answer I was hoping for. Thanks drewpy!

Hello all, I need to remove the left side covers so I can remove the starter clutch from my '81 XS400. Do I need to drain the engine oil first? Thank you! Mark

I just had a look at the "tensioner" - a piece of black plastic that just pops into place, right? It has wear marks on it, but I wouldn't say that they're excessive. I also don't recall noticing that the chain was loose before I took it apart and the chain itself looks like it's in pretty good shape. I'm hoping that with the new rollers in the clutch, my issues will be solved.

Thanks Drewpy! That does help. I'll get it pushed back in and hopefully it'll work come spring. The only other thing I need to investigate once the bike is out of storage is why the starter chain has worn a groove in a couple of the ribs on the engine forward of the crankshaft. I'm hoping it's because of the bushing being pushed out but I'll have to look at it more closely once it's apart again. Here's hoping it's a short winter in Ontario this year! Cheers! Mark

I didn't try Yamaha. I guess I just assumed the bike was too old. Called them up and ordered the parts I need. Thanks for the tip! Now, I have another question regarding the sprocket that the clutch grips on. As you can see in the photo below, the inner bushing is proud of the hub on the sprocket. You can also see the wear marks on the outer diameter of the hub which do not go down to the bottom of the hub. My question is, should that bushing be flush with the surface of the hub so that the sprocket is fully engaged by the clutch pins/rollers? Thanks for the help everyone!

I'm trying to find a starter clutch rebuild kit for my '81 XS400. This would be the three rollers, springs and caps. Does anyone know where to find one in either Canada or the US? Ebay would work for me. Thanks all! Mark

I ended up getting the stator off with a three-jaw puller and a hammer. I loosened the center screw that retains the stator and used that to apply pressure with the puller. The hammer helped loosen things up with some gentle-turned-rougher tapping. Once off, I found that I only had 2 of the 3 bearings required. I had a friend machine a new bearing for me to the same size as the other 2. Unfortunately, this didn't fix my problem. It helped for the first few days, and when the bike is warm, but when it's cold, all I can do is kick start. Now that I'm thinking about it again, does anyone know what the correct dimensions for these bearings are (outer diameter and length)?

Thanks for the reply drewpy. I tried to find a "mike xs" in the list of members but to no avail. Do you know his exact username? Does he also sell the puller tool, or do you know where I can get one?

Hello all, I just picked my first bike a week ago - a 1981 XS400 Special II. I knew the starter didn't work well when I bought it but I figured it might give me something to tinker with. The starter turns every time I press the starter button; there's no problem with the electrical wiring or solenoid. The starter doesn't, however, always engage and actually start the engine. Sometimes it just spins, other times it'll start to engage then drop out. But again, occasionally it engages and the engine fires right up, especially when the engine is warm. Since I'm not familiar with the interface between the starter and the rotor, I'd like to get in there and see what's wrong. How do I go about removing the starter? Is there a cover over the rotor that I can remove to see what happens when I try starting the engine? Ideally I'd like to see the engagement and whether or not it's a worn gear or something. Any help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Mark