Hi all, I have mentioned before that i am working on a 1978 Yamaha xs400. I have done everything i could to get this motorcycle running but to no avail. I have decided that i am going to tear it all down and rebuild it from scratch. Before i get started i would like to ask a question that has been on my mind and would appreciate any responses.

First of all I am planning to rebuild the engine. This motorcycle has only a kickstarter so i was wondering if it is possible to add an electric starter to it and would anyone have a manual to show me how to add one? If it is not possible to add one, could i buy a whole engine that comes with an electric start for this cycle and would it mount properly to the frame or would i have to modify the frame to mount an engine with an electric starter on it?

Any help would be appreciated.

never heard of a '79 with kck only, has it wire wheels and drum brakes?

if you want to have electric start ( got rid of mine for the tracker and it lost 10 lbs in weight) there should be a silver cover on top of the engine under the carbs. have a squidge in there and see if there are the mount holes (2) to fit one. failing that, buy a duff xs250 engine and you can use the bottom end of that and put on the 400 barrells and carbs!

don;t forget you will need to wire in the solinoid and switch etc.

head over to www.xs400.com its about xs400's ya know!

thanks for the link and advise. this bike is a 78 model so sorry if there was confusion there. I think the engine is locked up on this as when i tried to kickstart it the other day it would take all my body weight to get the kick starter to move all the way down. Yes it was in neutral and the tires did not try to rotate when kicking it over. But there was no fire and it felt like it was siezed up inside. Anyways i will check out the link and keep ya'll updated on my progress with this project.

wonder if you have hydraulic lock from petrol leaking past your carb floats?

take out the sparks and see if you can turn the bike over now!

thanks will try that tomorrow.

wonder if you have hydraulic lock from petrol leaking past your carb floats?

take out the sparks and see if you can turn the bike over now!

I tried this tonight and you are right. it turned over with ease. So now that i know it's a hydraulic lock and the petrol leaking past the carb floats i will probably need to rebuild the carbs, correct?

If your taking the carbs off, might as well do the whole thing properly.

Saves doing it again!

well i will be taking the carbs off today and rebuilding them, i will also check the timing, get new plugs, wires, ignition coils and give it an oil change as well. See if that gets her started.