FIRST TIME OWNER

[GGGGZZ]

HEY YAMMIES...

I recently purchased my first bike a 77 XS400D for $300. I picked it up off a friend who learned to ride on it a few years back and has since moved her out of the garage [into the snow] and "upgraded" to a Honda Shadow 750.

The bike was not running when I got it to my garage so I drained what oil was in it, put new gasket seals in and some gas in the tank gave her an oil change and new battery... still no love. So I took the air cleaners off sprayed some ether in the carbs and she started up after a few tries of the electronic start and now kicks over in one.

It is my intention to turn this into a Cafe Racer and be road ready for Spring of 2009. My efforts thus far include removing the stock seat, rear fender and lighting to make way for a Cafe style seat. I plan on repositioning the battery box underneath the seats bubble so i can run a couple of K&N filters without the stock side covers. I'm pretty ambitious so i would like to strip this whole thing down and have the frame powder coated so I can polish the engine while the frame and swing arm are at the shop. The tank and seat will receive a new paint job most likely by way of rattle cans courtesy of myself.

MY DAD AND FRIENDS THINK I'M FOOLISH AND I SHOULD JUST GO BUY A NEW BIKE, I'D LOVE TO PROVE EM ALL WRONG!

Any tips for an ambitious guy with a winter to freeze his ass off in a garage???

Thanks in advance and Happy Holidays.

CHEERS... GGGGZZ

[mervin]

best of luck sounds like my kinda resto jobbie matey, ignore the doubters, you can do it, my 3rd Rd resto in pictures here,

done like you say frame and engine casings and a lot of black bits powdercoated and the tank etc rattle canned

right now i am off too europe with my truck, will leave yuo in the hands of the other guys here especially drewpy whoo knows more about XS,s than me and oldgit who is very knowledgeable on most bike matters

mervs rd 250

Merv

[GGGGZZ]

best of luck sounds like my kinda resto jobbie matey, ignore the doubters, you can do it, my 3rd Rd resto in pictures here,

done like you say frame and engine casings and a lot of black bits powdercoated and the tank etc rattle canned

right now i am off too europe with my truck, will leave yuo in the hands of the other guys here especially drewpy whoo knows more about XS,s than me and oldgit who is very knowledgeable on most bike matters

mervs rd 250

Merv

THANKS Merv... I really appreciate the vote of confidence. Also very nice work on the RD, I read a piece on the RD350 in Motorcyclist retro recently and love the look of those bikes, I'd love to find an old two stroker to work on for a future project. THANKS again and best of luck in your travels!

GGGGZZ... IAN

[drewpy]

to the forum

I love the xs400 sohc, there are only general tips i can give.

just don't throw anything away as it invariably is the the part you need 6 months down the line, or someone wants to buy it from you!!

the camshaft runs in the head with no bearing surface, so always keep the oil topped up and use the best 20/50 you can get.

you can use RD stuff as the bikes chassis are similar and can also use some engine parts (rd400 D shift shaft is one)

the bikes are simple beasts get a parts list ( or the online one from motogrid/yamahatopdog/bikebandit) and there are manuals links around the forum (yamagod is the one who has these at the mo')

if you get stuck, search the forum first as we have discussed lots of xs400 problems over the year or so. If your still stuck, post in here and you'll get lots of info (good and bad )

drewps

[GGGGZZ]

to the forum

I love the xs400 sohc, there are only general tips i can give.

just don't throw anything away as it invariably is the the part you need 6 months down the line, or someone wants to buy it from you!!

the camshaft runs in the head with no bearing surface, so always keep the oil topped up and use the best 20/50 you can get.

you can use RD stuff as the bikes chassis are similar and can also use some engine parts (rd400 D shift shaft is one)

the bikes are simple beasts get a parts list ( or the online one from motogrid/yamahatopdog/bikebandit) and there are manuals links around the forum (yamagod is the one who has these at the mo')

if you get stuck, search the forum first as we have discussed lots of xs400 problems over the year or so. If your still stuck, post in here and you'll get lots of info (good and bad )

drewps

Thanks Drewps!!

I'm glad to hear that I can access the RD for parts if the XS form is not readily available, also the fact that you call it a simple beast puts my mind at ease. And no worries nothing will be tossed as I snapped a banjo bolt that connects the fuel line to the carbs and it went right into the factory bag that the new one came in. I hope there's not too much getting stuck [ i love trying to avoid the inevitable] but when I'm stopped dead in my tracks I'll know where to go!!!!

Thanks again,as I really appreciate the time a complete stranger will spend to help me out!!!

Peace and Grease... GGGGZZ..Ian

[bralkan]

Thanks Drewps!!

I'm glad to hear that I can access the RD for parts if the XS form is not readily available, also the fact that you call it a simple beast puts my mind at ease. And no worries nothing will be tossed as I snapped a banjo bolt that connects the fuel line to the carbs and it went right into the factory bag that the new one came in. I hope there's not too much getting stuck [ i love trying to avoid the inevitable] but when I'm stopped dead in my tracks I'll know where to go!!!!

Thanks again,as I really appreciate the time a complete stranger will spend to help me out!!!

Peace and Grease... GGGGZZ..Ian

This is the place to be, for sure. Over a year drewps and others helped me get my $200 rat bike running. Its turning into a cafe racer this winter as well. Doing similar things - dropping the bat box, new bars and a fairing. I am going to try the 12v car alarm bat in the elec. starter housing to drop the full battery.

We'll see how it goes!

[mtnmason]

congrats on your new bike GZ! I just bought a '77 xs400 (my first bike), same color as yours back in July. First off, these are GREAT little bikes, take good care of them and you can ride it to the moon and back with no problems. This will allow for a well placed "I-told-you-so" for all your dads buddies! I bought mine with a little less than 6K on the odo- it had sat in storage for about 15 or so years. All I had to do was take the carbs off and clean them, replace bat. and air filters (check yours as these things corrode over time into tiny little flakes) and since then I have put about 1500 trouble free miles of fun on mine. I intend to keep mine completely original BUT - there isnt a more perfect bike for a cafe project than the '77, mainly due to the shape of the tank. Only the 77 and 78 had that squared shape for the tank before they switched to more of a teardrop shape. Check out this example <www.bikepics.com/yamaha/xs400/77/pics.asp> Keep us posted on your project.

[GGGGZZ]

balkan...

i never thought of using the car alarm battery, sounds like an idea. best of luck on your project.

my motor comes out new years day and frame goes to powder coat shortly there after.

we'll see where the winter takes me.

cheers...GGGGZZ

[GGGGZZ]

I intend to keep mine completely original BUT - there isnt a more perfect bike for a cafe project than the '77, mainly due to the shape of the tank. Only the 77 and 78 had that squared shape for the tank before they switched to more of a teardrop shape. Check out this example <www.bikepics.com/yamaha/xs400/77/pics.asp> Keep us posted on your project.

THANKS!!!

You're absolutley right about the shape of the tank, as that was one of the key deciding factors in buying this bike[ the odometer read 24648] yikes!.

i have seen the tanks on the later years and i'm glad i don't have one, also don't understand why they got away from the style of the 77-78. i'm hoping that the tear down goes quickly so i can begin to concentrate on polishing the motor and get the frame and swingarm into the shop for powder.

CHEERS...GGGGZ

[XSwheels]

If I were you I would spend more time on getting to know your engine before you start buying cafe bits and interviewing powder coaters. Your engine starts easily, but does it idle smoothly and rev to redline perfectly? Any strange noises? Did you do a compression test? Was it at least 140 and equal? Does the transmission shift smoothly? Does your charging system work? Are you getting about 14.5v at 3000RPM? What is it charging at idle? Have you checked the valve and ignition timing? I'm just suggesting you should first spend money on your engine so you know you have a solid motor to build around.