BAZ Posted April 29, 2007 Share Posted April 29, 2007 Hey everyone, I just bought my first motorcycle yesterday. Its a 1980 xs400 special-II. I bought it from a really nice older guy on craigslist like ten minutes after he listed it. He has a bunch of scooters and a friend of his traded him this bike for one of his parts scooters. He never rides it and needs room in the garage so he gave it to me for the pricely sum of 100 bucks. Even helped me load it into the back of my truck. It has no rust, 11,000 miles, everything works, no dents. I havent ridden it yet (I've never actually ridden a real motorcycle) but he started it up no problem and rode it around the block when I was there. The bike has no title, but apparently my friends know ways to get around this and get tags for it. I had to set it on its side to get it into my truck, (I have a cap on it at the moment) and it leaked gas all over the place. I got it down and put it up on the kickstand. Put a gallon of gas in it and proceeded to figure out how to start it. I noticed the little valve under the tank has three settings: reserve, prime, and, run. What do these mean? The toggle switch on the right handlebar has "run" in the middle and "engine stop" to the left and right of "run". Why is there two "engine stop" settings? If I take the key out and leave in in the "run" setting will it kill my battery? There appears to be two choke settings also, which one do I use under what circumstances? I played around with it for a bit and kick started it, ran fine. I was excited. Went back a few hours later to start it again and when I turned the key to the "on" position, the oil and neutral lights were very dim and no matter how much I played with the choke, etc. I could not kick start it and the electric start sounded like it wanted to turn the motor over but didnt have enough juice. I'm assuming I need a new battery? How do I even access the existing one? I basically need an explanation on how to start the bike step-by-step and what settings to use under what conditions, etc. if you guys would be kind enough to give me your advice, input, helpful "getting started" links, etc. I would greatly appreciate it. I am very excited to get into the world of motorcycles but definately need some help learning the basics. Please bear with my noob-ness here, I'm completely clueless when it comes to bikes. Of course, from reading this post I assume you already know this. Haha. Thanks for reading through all this guys! :cheers: -Barry Kehoe. (Milwaukee, WI) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted April 30, 2007 Author Share Posted April 30, 2007 Here it is: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator YamaHead Posted April 30, 2007 Moderator Share Posted April 30, 2007 to the forum Barry Looks like you got yourself a pretty fair deal for only a 100 bux! I used to have a 400 just like that......same color & everything.......bought it from a former co-worker for $50 From your description of symptoms......I'd guess your battery is a bit flat.....you can access it from the right side panel under the seat. The emergency kill switch on the handlebar can be left in the "run" position all the time, whether the key is in the bike or not. Regarding the 2 positions of the choke lever on the carb.....the 2nd one is for those initial cold start-ups....then adjusted to the 1st position & then eventually off as it warms up. These little beasts make great learners bikes as well as good commuters. Quite reliable really & fairly comfortable as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted May 1, 2007 Author Share Posted May 1, 2007 to the forum Barry Looks like you got yourself a pretty fair deal for only a 100 bux! I used to have a 400 just like that......same color & everything.......bought it from a former co-worker for $50 From your description of symptoms......I'd guess your battery is a bit flat.....you can access it from the right side panel under the seat. The emergency kill switch on the handlebar can be left in the "run" position all the time, whether the key is in the bike or not. Regarding the 2 positions of the choke lever on the carb.....the 2nd one is for those initial cold start-ups....then adjusted to the 1st position & then eventually off as it warms up. These little beasts make great learners bikes as well as good commuters. Quite reliable really & fairly comfortable as well. Thanks for the response man, I appreciate your input. Regarding the battery; I am going to purchase a new one for it tomorrow hopefully. What am I looking for? Is it a maintanence free battery or a lead/acid type? Do I need a certain size, etc? The tires are a bit cracked and worn so I guess thats probably the next thing on my list of things to do. Any suggestions on brand, size, etc? Oh, and what is the fuel valve by the carb all about? it has three settings. Prime, Run, Reserve. :beer: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator YamaHead Posted May 1, 2007 Moderator Share Posted May 1, 2007 Regarding the battery; I am going to purchase a new one for it tomorrow hopefully. What am I looking for? Is it a maintanence free battery or a lead/acid type? Do I need a certain size, etc? The tires are a bit cracked and worn so I guess thats probably the next thing on my list of things to do. Any suggestions on brand, size, etc? Oh, and what is the fuel valve by the carb all about? it has three settings. Prime, Run, Reserve. The battery is located under one of the side panels under the seat......can't recall which side though There should be a part number right on it in plain view......that with the make. model & year should get you what you need. I wouldn't think a battery for XS would run much more than 30-35 bux As far as tires go......maybe look into some of these.... Good Cruiser tires! 491 Dunlops have great feedback & last pretty long for the money you'll pay The Petcock (fuel valve) you'll leave on the Run position most of the time.....it works with a vacuum hose from 1 of the intake boots so it really only works when the motor is running.....hence no OFF position. Prime position is for when you've pulled & cleaned the carbs.....then after reinstallation, this allows you refill the fuel bowls before starting. Reserve position is a warning that you'll soon be in need of some petrol.......usually with @ least a half a gallon left. It'll feel like it's losing power & not carburetting very well, just flip the lever to where it's pointing @ RES.....& you'll have around 20 miles to find a station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted May 1, 2007 Author Share Posted May 1, 2007 The battery is located under one of the side panels under the seat......can't recall which side though There should be a part number right on it in plain view......that with the make. model & year should get you what you need. I wouldn't think a battery for XS would run much more than 30-35 bux As far as tires go......maybe look into some of these.... Good Cruiser tires! 491 Dunlops have great feedback & last pretty long for the money you'll pay The Petcock (fuel valve) you'll leave on the Run position most of the time.....it works with a vacuum hose from 1 of the intake boots so it really only works when the motor is running.....hence no OFF position. Prime position is for when you've pulled & cleaned the carbs.....then after reinstallation, this allows you refill the fuel bowls before starting. Reserve position is a warning that you'll soon be in need of some petrol.......usually with @ least a half a gallon left. It'll feel like it's losing power & not carburetting very well, just flip the lever to where it's pointing @ RES.....& you'll have around 20 miles to find a station. Awesome, thanks again. I guess I should mention that I'd like to buy tires on the cheap since this will be a city commuter and not see much freeway use. I'm not really feeling the raised white letters on the 491's. I know it sounds stupid. Any other good bang for the buck tires available? Best place to buy online? I'd really like to change out the handlebars eventually also to something a little more "cafe". Any experience with practicality and how comfortable the riding position is with clubmans, drag bars, or clip ons? Lastly, before the battery completely died when i turned the key to the lock position the tail light came on and stayed on after the key was taken out. Is this a sign of potential electrical problems or is it due to the fact that the battery needed replacement anyway? Oh, and does it need a charged battery to run or should it fire up with the kick starter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator YamaHead Posted May 2, 2007 Moderator Share Posted May 2, 2007 Awesome, thanks again. I guess I should mention that I'd like to buy tires on the cheap since this will be a city commuter and not see much freeway use. I'm not really feeling the raised white letters on the 491's. I know it sounds stupid. Any other good bang for the buck tires available? Best place to buy online? I'd really like to change out the handlebars eventually also to something a little more "cafe". Any experience with practicality and how comfortable the riding position is with clubmans, drag bars, or clip ons? Lastly, before the battery completely died when i turned the key to the lock position the tail light came on and stayed on after the key was taken out. Is this a sign of potential electrical problems or is it due to the fact that the battery needed replacement anyway? Oh, and does it need a charged battery to run or should it fire up with the kick starter? 491's do come in Blackwall as well Baz Flat Drag-style bars would would work good.....also a SuperBike bar (2" rise & mild pullback) works well...had those on my 750 Maxim, quite comfortable. The Tail-light might just have a sticky switch? ...which is located near the right foot peg. A Fully charged battery will help it run using either forms of starting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted May 3, 2007 Author Share Posted May 3, 2007 491's do come in Blackwall as well Baz Flat Drag-style bars would would work good.....also a SuperBike bar (2" rise & mild pullback) works well...had those on my 750 Maxim, quite comfortable. The Tail-light might just have a sticky switch? ...which is located near the right foot peg. A Fully charged battery will help it run using either forms of starting. Awesome. I just realized I have a leak around the petcock somewhere that I'll need to address sometime. This cant be a very hard fix can it? Are motorcycle tires something that can be installed yourself or is this best left to a professional? As far as the bars go, I think these look prety good and are probably more comfortable than clubmans or clip ons. Do these resemble the drag or superbike bars you mentioned? Oh, and the tires this guy is running look pretty nice I think. Any ideas what they are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator YamaHead Posted May 3, 2007 Moderator Share Posted May 3, 2007 Those bars are thee ticket there BAZ I had a set like 'em on my 750 Maxim........worked great! Those tires tread pattern do look familiar.....just can't recall the brand right now. Possibly IRC's? .....which actually is another good Bang for the Buck tire. I do all my own tire work....have for years, but you'll need a set of tire irons to mount 'em up with. Then maybe take the tire/wheel combo to a shop to have them properly balanced before putting 'em back on the bike. Here's a good source for factory parts which are noticably cheaper than ANY dealer I've found......MotoGrid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted May 4, 2007 Author Share Posted May 4, 2007 Those bars are thee ticket there BAZ I had a set like 'em on my 750 Maxim........worked great! Those tires tread pattern do look familiar.....just can't recall the brand right now. Possibly IRC's? .....which actually is another good Bang for the Buck tire. I do all my own tire work....have for years, but you'll need a set of tire irons to mount 'em up with. Then maybe take the tire/wheel combo to a shop to have them properly balanced before putting 'em back on the bike. Here's a good source for factory parts which are noticably cheaper than ANY dealer I've found......MotoGrid Upon further research, I've found out that these are actually called "European bars". They're very similar to the superbike bars except that they have a little more pullback and maybe a slightly lower rise. I'm thinking these will be my next purchase after I address the battery and tires. I'll be replacing the grips, and maybe some other misc. controls stuff when I'm at it. I found this website that seems to deal with xs650's primarily. Will most of the non-motor/driveline parts cross reference with the 400? Any input on grips as far as comfort/style points? I think I'll be taking the tank off and spraying it, along with some misc. items flat black because I am in love with flat black spray paint and I think it makes anything look super badass. Even my little 400 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator YamaHead Posted May 4, 2007 Moderator Share Posted May 4, 2007 I am in love with flat black spray paint and I think it makes anything look super badass. Even my little 400 The Stealth look eh?.....Well, we oughta get along just fine then Here's my daily hack for the past 2.5 years..... Grips?.......Look into some OURY's......they're killer!....Like having a sticky pair of tires in your hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted May 11, 2007 Author Share Posted May 11, 2007 Wow, your bike looks tits in flat black. I'm definately gonna do the tank/sidecovers soon. It will go well with my new Bell Mag-8 in flat black: So, is changing out the bars a complicated procedure on these bikes? Any writeups on the forum or on other forums? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
journeybike Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 dude, I've gone through heaps of these xs400's in milwaukee. must have been some top notch salesman in the day. if you lock your bars...there's a second notch which leaves the rear tail light on. make sure you only turn the key to the LOCK position and not the one after it which I dont remember the label. so thats prolly how your battery went dead. its probably not dead yet. just tired. The Shop down on Greeley on the S Side is a good place. Tim has helped me with these bikes a few times. I just got a Duro front tire for $50. Even though they're tube tires, its much much easier to do this tire on a machine than by hand. hey, if you have more ?'s email me [email protected] I might be at rockerbox next weekend. andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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