Rich xs250 Posted March 31, 2013 Posted March 31, 2013 Hi all, I have an XS250 when I bought it it was a just runner! I have done some work on it and now it is a runner but when I try to pull off in 1st it seems slugish as though I am in 2nd not 1st. Any help would be much appreciated.
Tommy xs Posted March 31, 2013 Posted March 31, 2013 I had XS250 from new in 1980 and always had problems with the points pitting then aching, try checking the gaps
Moderator drewpy Posted April 1, 2013 Moderator Posted April 1, 2013 I'd do a service first, check ignition, points gap, timing and valves. check the front brake isn't binding as they can on these bikes (as all 70's calipers do) then let us know how you get on
JoeSene Posted March 13, 2014 Posted March 13, 2014 Hello all, I came across this forum whilst searching for some help with my '81 XS250. Having ridden scooters for the past few years I thought it was time to make use of my full licence and finally get on to something with gears. I bought the XS just last Friday. The previous owner seemed very knowledgeable, had three old gleaming bikes sitting on his drive and a stack of paperwork relating to the XS. I meanwhile must have been displaying waterfalls behind my ears as I've had nothing but problems (in just six days!). Sadly I'm not very mechanically minded but the seller spent a lot of time talking me through various bits and pieces. He warned me, for example, that I would notice some "chugging" when the petrol was starting to run low. On the ride home on Friday night (30 minute ride from cold), as I got to within five minutes of home, the bike suddenly lost a lot of power, it could barely pull away from idle. This did not please the other road users round Hammersmith Broadway during Friday evening rush hour! I thought this was the "chugging." We limped slowly home where I then left the bike until needing to go out on Tuesday (thinking it was running low on fuel I wanted to get it filled up along the way). It wouldn't start on Tuesday. Called the RAC out who discovered the plugs were completely gunked up. A quick clean up later and it was running again. I have subsequently bought new plugs to fit (a job for tomorrow after this afternoon...). I headed out on the bike today, a 20/25 minute journey, it ran like absolute clock work. Basking in the London sun this afternoon I thought that perhaps this was the bike for me after all. However, after leaving the bike for a couple of hours and then jumping back on to head home, I encountered the same problem again. Not immediately but after a while, ie: once the bike had really warmed up, much like my journey home last Friday evening. I have asked the previous owner if there is absolutely anything I should know about the seemingly lemon coloured thing now parked outside my house and he swears there isn't. So here I am, looking for clues online. It seems a number of XS owners on here have experienced the same problem but it seems nobody has an exact answer as to what caused it (or have I missed it?). So I limped home on the bike again today. I've since been out to move it after a neighbour had gone out in their car and it's back to not starting again. Clearly I need to get those plugs fitted first thing. My dad is a biker (Honda Gold Wing) and is very knowledgeable but sadly lives a couple of hours away. Seeing as I don't seem to be able to go any further than a 25/30 minute radius from home I fear I'll never get it all the way down to him. I am loathe to chuck it in the local shop and ask them to investigate in case they see that as an open ended invitation to hammer my credit card! I truly would appreciate any help or suggestions. I am insanely keen that my first foray in to geared bike ownership doesn't end in complete embarrassment in the space of a week, particularly as my wife felt that I should just continue to enjoy the relatively hassle free ownership of scooters! At the same time my dad appears to have gone from a state of pride that I've finally moved up the biking ladder to now being convinced I bought a complete dud! More history on the bike itself, the previous owner said he bought it for his son (who owns a 400/4) as he wanted to encourage him to not use his Honda through the winter. Said son decided he didn't want the XS so it has hardly been used for the past few months. It was MoT'd in January and passed with a couple of advisories, all of which have been sorted out. One other thing I have noticed is that a small amount of oil keeps appearing on the top of one of the engine fins (after the extended usage - or should I say the only usage the bike has had in my ownership!). Is this related? (Please remember I am an absolute newbie, I apologise, but we've all got to start somewhere right!?). Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to read this and post a reply (I know it's a long winded post but many of you seem to appreciate intros etc - as do I!). Joe
slice Posted March 13, 2014 Posted March 13, 2014 Joe, just a suggestion but the oil on the top of the engine might point to a loose head bolt, try torqueing the head down to the correct tolerance and see if that makes a difference, it might also mean that your other woes go away as a loose or incorrectly tightened head will leak gasses out and explain your present problem. Just a thought mind not saying it is this but what's to loose ? PS if your a real newbie at this biking game ask someone BEFORE you attack the head with a spanner as you could do more damage than you cure. If you don't have a torque wrench then you can hire them from some places, phone around and see what's out there, also make sure you know how to use one as it's easy to get it wrong and make a mess of it. PPS this is an old thread by the way so it might be an idea to start a new one with your problem in the workshop section.
Moderator drewpy Posted March 13, 2014 Moderator Posted March 13, 2014 first get a manual. head over to xs400.com for the "paperwork" an '81 could either be the rare dohc bike or the last of the sohc bikes so you need to let me know the first 3 letters/number of the engine. you should have electronic ignition, so everything sounds fine there. Make sure you have the right grade plugs in, then as airhead said, check compression is 155 psi, warm with throttle fully open. could indicate either sticky piston rings or worn bore. another thing is these bikes don't like standing, modern fuel gums up in a month. I'd give it an "italian service" ie give it some beans to clear the engine out!
JoeSene Posted March 13, 2014 Posted March 13, 2014 Thanks for all the advice - I'm getting on to it!!
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