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79 xs400 starting project


underceije
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The Story: Got the bike for a steal at the cost of FREE. The bike has not run since 1987, so has sat for 21 years, but has been in a climate controlled basement and as a result there is no rust anywhere on the bike. It only has 6900 miles on it, and yes that is accurate. I want to know from those of you who have started from something like this, whether I should just plan on replacing everything that is rubber on the bike now, or would anything be able to be saved after 20+ years? Already planned upfront on replacing the fuel line and adding an inline filter, and obviously the carb is the first thing to come off but from there....

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys, will put up some pics when I get time.

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The Story: Got the bike for a steal at the cost of FREE. The bike has not run since 1987, so has sat for 21 years, but has been in a climate controlled basement and as a result there is no rust anywhere on the bike. It only has 6900 miles on it, and yes that is accurate. I want to know from those of you who have started from something like this, whether I should just plan on replacing everything that is rubber on the bike now, or would anything be able to be saved after 20+ years? Already planned upfront on replacing the fuel line and adding an inline filter, and obviously the carb is the first thing to come off but from there....

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys, will put up some pics when I get time.

Hard to say. From what I have seen on the forum rubber that had oil on it tends to be ok. But, if you plan on taking something a part it may not be a bad idea to go ahead and replace it anyway.

Valve seals aren't real bad to replace if you have a valve compressor. The cam seal tends to go bad on some bikes. Electronics tend to be dicey as well.

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Hard to say. From what I have seen on the forum rubber that had oil on it tends to be ok. But, if you plan on taking something a part it may not be a bad idea to go ahead and replace it anyway.

Valve seals aren't real bad to replace if you have a valve compressor. The cam seal tends to go bad on some bikes. Electronics tend to be dicey as well.

Had planned on replacing all of the rubber on the carb, due to the fact that it sat with gas in the tank, the lines, and the carb, so I imagine, that it ate alot of the rubber, but not sure until I get it apart.

Really hope that since the bike has never been stored outside, that the electrical is in good shape, really hate dealing with electric

Thanks for the suggestion on the Cam seals I will take a look at them. I only have access to a full garage for about 10 days, then I have to take the bike home to NC, which means my goal is to get it up and running in about 10 days. We will see.

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Nothing to do with rubber, but here's a motor tip. I'm new to old bikes, but I just started on an 81 Honda CM400C. The bike has been standing indoors for 10 years. I was told to do this with the motor. Pour some diesel or spray a shitload of wd40 in cylinders (spark plug holes) and let it sit overnight. Then rock the bike back and forth in gear or pull the bike behind a truck to lube up the rings before starting it up. This makes sense to me, but how would I get the Diesel out of there when I'm ready to start it? Don't slam the messenger, if this sounds hoaky. I was just told this. If this sounds proper, I will do it to my Honda.

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Nothing to do with rubber, but here's a motor tip. I'm new to old bikes, but I just started on an 81 Honda CM400C. The bike has been standing indoors for 10 years. I was told to do this with the motor. Pour some diesel or spray a shitload of wd40 in cylinders (spark plug holes) and let it sit overnight. Then rock the bike back and forth in gear or pull the bike behind a truck to lube up the rings before starting it up. This makes sense to me, but how would I get the Diesel out of there when I'm ready to start it? Don't slam the messenger, if this sounds hoaky. I was just told this. If this sounds proper, I will do it to my Honda.

Asked around, and this did not make much sense to anyone that I talked to. Only because there is really no way to clean it out of the system, it would run/start, but would be very harsh, especially on an old bike that has not run in a while. as long as the piston's will move now, then just make sure you have oil, and do not run it hard at first and give the oil time to soften and expand all of your seals and rubber and you should be good

I retract the above, I talked to a couple of guys (my father and grandfather) who says that you can definitely use diesel in the cylinders to lube it, you just need to blow it out real good before you go to start it. And with WD-40, you just need to be careful due to the fact that wd-40 attracts water and thus potential problem down the road.

Sorry for the above

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Asked around, and this did not make much sense to anyone that I talked to. Only because there is really no way to clean it out of the system, it would run/start, but would be very harsh, especially on an old bike that has not run in a while. as long as the piston's will move now, then just make sure you have oil, and do not run it hard at first and give the oil time to soften and expand all of your seals and rubber and you should be good

I retract the above, I talked to a couple of guys (my father and grandfather) who says that you can definitely use diesel in the cylinders to lube it, you just need to blow it out real good before you go to start it. And with WD-40, you just need to be careful due to the fact that wd-40 attracts water and thus potential problem down the road.

Sorry for the above

wd40 and diesel are oils therfore do not "attract" water!! both are light oils and work the same way, should not need to blow them out as they will burn or are sent through the exhaust, therefore coating the inside of your expensive silensers stopping them rotting from the inside!!

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wd40 and diesel are oils therfore do not "attract" water!! both are light oils and work the same way, should not need to blow them out as they will burn or are sent through the exhaust, therefore coating the inside of your expensive silensers stopping them rotting from the inside!!

You may be right, but I generally take the word of my father and grandfather. When they tell me that WD-40 draws moisture, and they have been rebuilding cars, bike, and building race cars from the ground up with more than 85+ years of exp. between them, I will not be using WD-40. But, on the other hand they may be getting old and senile as well... Not really arguing with you Drewpy, but when wd-40 begins to dry out, and because it does so at a very quick rate (due to the fact that it is to be used as a temporary lubricant) as it dries out at that quick rate it attracts moisture to the very dry area that it was just at. This is the way that it was explained to me...

So don't shoot the messenger.

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You may be right, but I generally take the word of my father and grandfather. When they tell me that WD-40 draws moisture, and they have been rebuilding cars, bike, and building race cars from the ground up with more than 85+ years of exp. between them, I will not be using WD-40. But, on the other hand they may be getting old and senile as well... Not really arguing with you Drewpy, but when wd-40 begins to dry out, and because it does so at a very quick rate (due to the fact that it is to be used as a temporary lubricant) as it dries out at that quick rate it attracts moisture to the very dry area that it was just at. This is the way that it was explained to me...

So don't shoot the messenger.

no problem mate, just don't understand the logic in it, all oils will deteriorate/rub/wash off in time and expose the metal underneath. If I apply wd40 would i have a permenate cloud following me as its attracted to the fluid?

I personnaly use ACF50

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no problem mate, just don't understand the logic in it, all oils will deteriorate/rub/wash off in time and expose the metal underneath. If I apply wd40 would i have a permenate cloud following me as its attracted to the fluid?

I personnaly use ACF50

hey guys i have heard the same about wd-40 it does attact moisture and should only be used as a peitating oil not a lube a good example is if you se it on lug nuts on your car the next time you try to pull the wheels off the lugs are rusty ive done it myself have a good one guys and happy biking!!!!

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hey guys i have heard the same about wd-40 it does attact moisture and should only be used as a peitating oil not a lube a good example is if you se it on lug nuts on your car the next time you try to pull the wheels off the lugs are rusty ive done it myself have a good one guys and happy biking!!!!

That's interesting since the name says the opposite. WD stands for Water Displacement and it was designed initially to displace water off of parts. We used to use it in ROTC as one of the final steps in cleaning M1 Garrand rifles (used hot water for part of the cleaning and WD40 to get the water out). As for that, as soon as you start the motor you get oil onto the cylinder walls from the oiling system which replaces the WD40.

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That's interesting since the name says the opposite. WD stands for Water Displacement and it was designed initially to displace water off of parts. We used to use it in ROTC as one of the final steps in cleaning M1 Garrand rifles (used hot water for part of the cleaning and WD40 to get the water out). As for that, as soon as you start the motor you get oil onto the cylinder walls from the oiling system which replaces the WD40.

methinks its one of those urban ledgends!!

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