CadXS

Pepperami, I have a front end and rear wheel from a XS250C that has a twin leading shoe front and drum rear spoked wheels. I bought them for my XS400 project but I've since had a change of heart (I think?)and I'm going with the mags. If you are interested let me know... All the best Caddy

Where do you live mate? In the UK the XS250 came with spoked wheels (drum rear and tls front) and they come up on ebay from time to time. There is also a huge market for XS's in Germany and there is normally something on German ebay as well. A lot of the time you will want to replace the spokes and maybe the rims, so save weight in postage by getting the seller to chop out the hubs and send those only. Caddy Ps All these ideas are stolen from Drewpy !!!

Thanks for the replies... Looking through the photobucket link that Hebrew Hammer attached (amazing restoration/custom work in there), I noticed that the upper bearing cup was proud of the frame as well and I cannot see how it can ever be any other way. My other issue now is whether to fit the cups before spraying/powder coating the frame or waiting till after. I think not putting in the cups could make the dry build more difficult than it needs to be, what do you think? Caddy

Here is what I'm trying to explain... The lip inside the steering neck (a bit blurred) The difference between the new (on the left) and the old bearing cups.

There is a lip about 5mm inside the neck of the frame that the old cup seated on. If I tap in the new cup (which is about 10mm deep to accommodate the larger taper bearing) it will also seat on this lip and about half of it will be proud above the edge of the neck part of the frame. If this is normal then ok...but I don't want to press in the new cup if this is wrong in case I need to return the bearing. Caddy

Has anybody replaced the XS400 steering head bearings with the taper ones? If so is it normal for the new top bearing cup to stick up above the level of the frame? Comparing the old cup I drifted out that fitted flush to the frame and the new one there is a marked difference in depth. Thanks Caddy

Search for a company called "Wirth". I think they are a german company and they manufacture progressive springs for most bikes including the XS400. If you have no luck finding a company who imports them to the US there are quite a few on German ebay for around £75 (so around $120 mark). http://cgi.ebay.de/WIRTH-progr-Gabelfedern-YAMAHA-XS-400-77-82_W0QQitemZ390065388760QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotorrad_Kraftradteile?hash=item5ad1b57cd8 Caddy

Would there be much difference between a XS400 and XS250 full gasket set? I'm after a set for my XS400 and there is someboby on eBay selling the XS400 for about £40 and the XS250 for £20 (both 1978-81). All the best Caddy

Thanks for the reply Drewpy. The problem doesn't seem to be the individual openings for the fork legs but the distance between them. When I align the 2 yokes (bottom) face to face they don't quite match up and there is about an 1/8 of an inch difference. Maybe I will just use the original one and just not have the steering lock fitted, I don't want to damage the fork tubes by forcing on the yoke. Caddy

After having to grind part of the steering stem away to dismantle the front end as mentioned in the post above, I bought a replacement bottom yoke from the same type and year bike from evil bay. When I've tried to fit it there seems to be about 1/8 of an inch difference in size. The old yoke fits over the fork tubes really easily and slides into position with hardly any resistance. With the "new" one I have to pull on the fork legs to make it fit and it seems to bind tightly. Are there any differences in the measurement between the fork legs for the different model bikes or from year to year? Caddy

Hi there. I'm trying to replace my rear disc brake brake with a drum set-up instead. I think I have all the components I need but I don't have a clear picture of how the spindle/pedal/brake switch area is set-up. If anyone with a XS400 has a picture of that area and could post it up I would be very grateful. All the best Caddy

Thanks for the reply Drewpy, it did involve the steering head lock inadvertently. The steering head lock is missing after it got broken when somebody tried to steal the bike. In trying to break the lock the area around the hole in the steering stem the lock barrel enters must have been deformed. This was stopping the stem passing through the bearing cups. A bit of grinding with a Dremel down the lock aperture has sorted it finally!!! Caddy

Hi all I was finally finishing dismantling my XS400 last night and was a removing the front end from the frame. I removed the headset and top yoke with no problems but the bottom yoke with the steering stem will only withdraw about halfway when it seems to get stuck. It feels like there is something on the steering stem that is hitting the inside of the bottom aperture of the neck. Should there be something on the steering stem that would prevent its removal? Is there a cup for the bearings that needs removing? Any help with this would be much appreciated. Caddy

Hey Drewpy Thanks for sorting out the picture, has the method of posting pictures changed with the new format to the forum? Or am I just stupid....better not answer that one... Does the combination you mention require a new mounting for the caliper for alignment? I'm not sure what "dural mounts" are. The caliper looks like its from an early GSXR400. Thanks for your help with this, Caddy.

Just wondering if anybody had seen or found a replacement for the stock disc brake calipers of the XS400? I don't like the huge stoke calipers as they hide a lot of the wheel and look pretty ugly. Was wondering if any of the smaller Brembo's or such like match up? This isn't a question of performance, just cosmetic really...sad I know... Caddy