Cy Welch

I used JB Weld to fix a leaking oil pan on a 74 Vega that had impacted the road (did I mention the front springs were really sagging?) and it worked great for quite a while. It did start to leak again after doing the same thing (pan impacting tarmac) several times. But it was nearly as tough as the pan originally.

While I personally don't believe in helmut laws (but at the same time believe anyone who rides without one is a blithering idiot), California does indeed require a helmet when riding. I wish they required at least shoes as well as idiots ride in sandals around here.

We call those squids over here. Something to do with what the internal organs look like spread all over the road.

IIRC a dry charged battery when filled with electrolyte should be about 80% charge, so if your going to ride for a bit, just start it up and ride, if not then yes, put it on the charger. I recommend anyone with a bike that is not driven at least a couple of times a week should have a battery maintainer and hook it up when not riding the bike.

If it's running right it should be capable of it.

A lead acid battery discharges by a chemical process with the acid. Once it has run down you can't just replace the acid. Frankly I would check at Walmart, they carry a lot of MC batteries which come with acid and everything. I probably wouldn't cost any more than the cost of the dry battery plus shipping and having Napa prep it for you. Generally once a battery has gone completely dead there is nothing you can do to bring it back to life.

I am well aware of what English and European roads are like. I was there as a child and then again in the Army stationed in Germany. You have not lived till you have to drive a 2 1/2 ton large truck with trailer through small German towns. I swear that many german roads were laid out by following a wander goat, and they didn't bother to widen the track much from the goat trail when they paved it.

Regulator rectifier is going to get hot especially if the battery is dead and the charging system is working. Sitting for 3 weeks is likely to cause a dead battery all by itself in some cases. If it's going to sit more than a day or two you should get a battery maintainer to keep the battery fully charged. Make sure the battery is fully charged before checking the voltage running as it WILL be low otherwise in most cases, even if it's good.

If the diaphrams are not perfect you WILL have problems. With the age, it's likely they need replaced. You can get the piston with diaphram from MikesXS (1980 and later 400's and 650's use the same carbs) or you can you can get new diaphrams from siriusconinc on ebay for about 1/3 the price. However, it's tough to get them right, if I had to do it again I would get the ones from MikesXS. High throttle settings are right where you will get problems if the diaphrams are leaking as the slides won't be opening enough.

We have corners too! At every intersection just like you <GD&R>

Been to that track for auto races (rolex cup) but I would like to get down there for the moto races (it's just a couple of hours away). It would be a fun track to do a track day at.

Additionally the brakes should be bled anyways when the pads are changed because the system is not sealed and brake fluid collects water from the air over time. It's always best to just bleed them till the fluid is clear each time you service the brakes.

You can usually get those on ebay for around $30. IIRC the 360 uses the exact same boots as the 400.

It depends, many are interchangable and some are not. It really depends on the part your looking for. Frankly I have had very good luck getting parts for my "special" on ebay. Just because it doesn't say special doesn't mean it's not.

We call Veteranarians the same thing on this side of the pond too.

I saw one on a crotch rocket the other day with sandals. Such an idiot! Just having to put your foot down to catch your balance if you do something stupid (like I did the other day doing a u-turn and had to do the stomp and twist (stomp the inboard foot and twist the throttle to pull the bike upright)).

Vehicle models always start before the calendar year. They are closing out the 2008 models now and will be bringing out the 2009's soon if they haven't already. Not only that, but in many cases they are manufactured some time before they get shipped to the dealer and sold.

Even if you can find a halogen bulb, you may have trouble with the charging system as these things are marginal as it is. I am slowly replacing all my standard bulbs with LED bulbs to lower current levels. I found the bulbs for the turn signals but I'm going to need to modify some wiring to make them work right (gotta put diodes at the indicator to keep both sides from flashing together), but I will have gotten the drain down to the headlight and ignition with almost nothing for the other bulbs, that may let me get away with a brighter headlight and turning the fronts into running lights (assuming I can find the right sockets to convert them with).

Only if you sing in the ultrasonic range like a bat!

The XS400 doesn't have running lights. Those lights on the front are just turn signals. Look at the bulbs and sockets, just a single filiment and contact, also just a single hot wire as well. You will need to modify it for running lights, but I have not been able to find replacement sockets to do that with yet.

There is no safety switch on my U.S. XS400 either. I can start it in or out of gear, with or without the clutch pulled in. My 76 Honda however did have a safety switch both for neutral and the clutch, I was a little surprised when I found my Yamaha didn't.

Are you talking about the headlight and taillight or about the front signal lights? As far as I know the front lights are turn signals only. I'm looking for the hardware to convert my front signals to running lights, but so far have had no luck. Does the headlight come on when the engine runs? This is normal and as designed if it does, there is a relay under the front of the tank that turns on the headlight when the alternator starts charging.

Bigger on the back means lower gearing and higher RPM's at speed, bigger on the front means higher gearing and lower RPM's at speed. The inverse is true as well, smaller on the back means more speed, and smaller on the front means less speed. Frankly unless the DOHC has a lot more HP than the SOHC, I think it will bog with much higher gearing. Of course YMMV as I'm a big guy so I need the stock gearing to keep going well.

When mine did that it turned out that the mixture was actually very very lean, and the idle speed had been adjusted to compensate. After properly adjusting the idle mixture (under the plugs on the top of the carbs by the boot) it has never done that again.

Float height matches that for my 1980 BS34 MkIII's. From memory the rest match up as well, but those I don't keep in my head (float height I do though as I have played with it so much).