heylawnguy

Thanks drewpy. I checked that website out but they did not have the carb holders listed for the xs400. I then found them on ebay being sold by that same company. So I bought them on ebay from sirusconinc.

Thanks for your input. So is the bs34cv the carb model you ordered parts for?

Hi I need to get some new carb holders for my 1981 XS 400 Special II and I read on this forum somewhere that you can get carb parts for this model from mikes XS, and I just wanted to confirm that if I order them from mikes XS that the carb model BS34CV for the XS 650 is the same carb that was used on the XS 400. So then will all parts listed for that carb work on my xs 400 like carb rebuild kits, pod filters, carb holders, clamps, screws, etc. Thanks for the clarification.

ok so Being new to carbon cleaning I decided to take them apart and clean them again and sure enough I found some other jets I Missed. So I gave it a good cleaning and sure enough the bike started up on the first try. As a bonus the dead cylinder I reported on is now alive and running strong with the exhuast getting hot instantly. Wow this feels like a different bike now. It has so much torque and the power is amazing. I thoght I was gonna fly off the seat after the first post carbon cleaning test ride. Now I noticed the idle will go to about 4000rpm sometimes and will not go back to normal untill you release the clutch or turn the bike off and start again. I checked the throttle cable and it semms fine and does not stick at all, any ideas.

I took the carbs off and sprayed them with carb cleaner and compressed air, put it back together and checked for spark again. All seems good but it still wont start. I put a new battery in as well. it dosent seem like gas is getting to the cylinder. I am too much of a newbie to know what to look for in the carb or what to clean, so maybe its a dirty carb? Any more suggestions?

ok so I checked the drain at the carb bowl and there is gas in them. I drained them then put the petcock to pri and the gas started flowing out of the drain. So now I have gas to the carbs and spark to the plugs but it wont start. Any ideas? Should I take the carbs off and blow them out with compressed air?

even with the dead battery it was starting before when I kick started it. the battery has enough power to make the ignition lights come on but not enough to power the starter. when I tried jumper cables the starter worked fine and the engine turned over but will not start. ichecked the plugs and they are getting a easily visible spark.

Hi again everyone. Maybe you guys might have some ideas for me on my latest problem. I rode my new 81 xs 400 for a few hours yesterday and everything seemed good. So today I wanted to take it out again. The battery needs replacing as it does not hold a charge so I have been kickstarting it. So I rolled it out of the garage, pulled the choke to wide open and gave it a kickstart. The bike started right away and after about 30 seconds I turned the choke off. The bike continued to idle nicely. I went over to talk to my kids while the bike warmed up, and after about 3 minutes the bike died. So I went to try and kickstart it again and nothing, it wont start now. I hooked up some jumper cables to make it easier and the bike turns over fine but wont start. I checked the gas level and it was fine but I topped it off anyway. I pulled the spark plugs and put them back on the cable and held the tip close to the heads while cranking and i could see the spark from each plug. I then put my thumb over the plug hole while cranking each side and felt the suction but noticed that my thumb was dry when i remeoved them, I expected there to be gas residue on my finger. I also thought I would see the gas mist out of the spark plug hole while the engine was cranking but nothing. What would cause the bike to run fine then just die and not restart again? Seems like its not getting gas, how should I check this?

Hi everyone I am new to the forum. Looks like a great place to learn. I live in Vancouver BC Canada and I just bought a 1981 XS 400 Special II, this will be my first official motorcycle although I also own a 2003 yamaha BWS (zuma) 49cc scooter. I posted some questions about the motorcycle last week after I went to see it and one of the cylinders was dead. The previous owner took it to a shop where they determined that the spark plug wire was all corroded, so they replaced it and when I went back to see it again it was running nice and smooth with lots of exhuast comming out of the tailpipe. I decided to buy it. The next day I started playing around with the bike and I noticed that the exhuast pipe on the suspect side was still cold after running for a long time. I pulled the plug and it was covered in oil residue. I noticed a small puddle of oil had collected on the inner lip of the muffler so I cleaned it all up. I took the bike for a 15 min spin and when i got back I noticed that their was more oil in the muffler lip. I am assuming now that the cylinder not running strong is from oil getting in to the combustion chamber. My question is where is the oil possibly comming from? Is it a huge task and expense to rubuild these motors? When I drove the bike around it seemed to have lots of power and idled nice. Any help would be great. Thanks

Thanks for the info guys. Do you think the fact that it looked like the muffler on the dead cylinder side was wet and had a little oil puddle on the inside would be a serious concern? I offered the owner about half of what he was asking for it to take it as is and he declined. So we agreed that he would take it to a mechanic and get it running properly first and then I will go back and buy the bike for closer to the asking price. Hopefully he will stick to our agreement and call me when the bike is fixed and not just try and sell it to someone else without fixing it. It was a pretty nice bike with a vintage flair to it., and it seems to be hard to find one with the wire wheels like this one has. It does show some wear and tear with a little bit of rust on the frame and a dinged up rear fender, but overall not bad for a 28 year old bike for the price. Looks it it would be a great first motorcycle to get my license with. Anything else I should look for on these bikes? How much compression should it have in each cylinder minimum? Well until I get some sort of xs I will just have to dream about it and play around with my 2003 yamaha 49cc BWS (Zuma) scooter.

Hey their guys. I am new to motorcyles, In fact I dont even have a bike license yet, and I am looking for an old xs 400 or xs 650 for a starter bike. Anyways I went to go look at a nice 81 xs 400 special today, and the bike was in pretty decent condition for its age. However the owner said that he rode it all last season and it ran fine, but after he took it out of winter storage it starting fine but was running really rough. He said it has a serious lack of power compared to last year and now it keeps stalling. Anyways I started it up and it sounded like it was idling fine, when I reved the motor it sounded strong, but then when I put my hand on the exhuast pipes, you could feel one side getting warmer but the other side stayed cold. After about ten minutes the one side was so hot you could no longer touch it, but the other side was still pretty cold. I could still wrap my bare hand around the pipe near the top by the cylinder. I also noticed that the exhuast opening on the end of the pipe on side that was warm had a nice brown color and was dry. The side that stayed cold looked wet and had oil around the outside including a little puddle on the inside lip. You could feel exhuast comming out of the pipe but nothing compared to the good side. Any ideas or suggestions on what the problem could be? The bike is exactly what I have been looking for, but being new to motorcycles I dont want to take a chance on it without some research. As the saying goes "A fool and his money are soon parted" THANKS