Runningdog

Received mine on November 25......post mark said it was sent from Manchester On November 22.....3 days to go from Britain to rural Canada...unbelievable. Looks great, will have a proud spot on my old leather jacket.

Nice bike...I just sold one. Lots of common parts with the '77 and '78 DT400, but not so much with other bikes. Many parts are still available from Yamaha or aftermarket suppliers. Oldgitonabike is very knowledgable about these, hopefully, for your sake, he'll chime in. Easy bike to work on, at least you can yank the motor out of the frame by yourself....

Thanks, Drewps, yeah, I was thinking along that line, but needed a kick in the butt to get me moving in that direction. I have other bikes that require more immediate attention, but one afternoon I will sit down beside the mighty 400 and become one with the ignition....I'll let you know the results, eventually...add to the community knowledge....

This issue has likely been already answered somewhere in here, but I couldn't find anything using several search terms...nonetheless, I apologize in advance... My '78 XS 400E starts easily on the kick-start (starter not working...winter project), idles fine at around 1300rpm, carburates smoothly during normal acceleration in all gears, except at around 5500 and above, and going up hills in top or 5th gear. Then it hesitates a bit, and won't give any more than about 6000rpm. Battery is fully charged, new gas, carbs have not been rebuilt, but were dismantled and blown out with carb cleaner and compressed air. No crap noted in float bowl when taken apart. No rip/pin holes in diaphragms. Carbs visually bench synced. Petcock screen clean, petcock rebuilt, new vacuum and fuel lines, as well as carb boots. Stumped.....

The alternator cover is on the left side of the engine, as you sit on the bike. If it was full of oil, yikes, crank seal, I'd imagine. Ah, the joys of learning all about a new bike, the head-scratching, the oil stains on the shed floor, the cursing, the apologizing to #1.....

I got my kit from Keyster.....easy job to refurbish the petcock, only about 7 parts to worry about....

I just replaced my old balls (does that sound right?) with tapered bearings....bought them from the local Yamaha dealer, they supplied an aftermarket kit with top and bottom sets and both seals through a supplier called "All Balls. They slipped right in properly (with the right gentle tapping with a small drift), and the whole job took less than an hour...was finished by coffee time this Tuesday AM. Take your time thinking the install through before you put the new ones in, and it will go smoothly.....cheers

Recheck the intake boots, as even small cracks in an older, dried out one can change the mixture....spray WD-40 around the intakes while it is idling...if the RPM cganges, you still have air leaks. The boots are available on ebay, or from Yamaha with more money, and change the intake gaskets as well. Good luck.

You can get the boots on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/INTAKE-MANIFOLDS-1978-YAMAHA-XS650-78-XS-650-79-/380161301756?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5883611cfc Cheaper than buying from Yamaha, but you'll still need the intake gaskets...they are still available from Yamaha.

Personally, I like the idea of painting the rims without removing the tire...no masking, quick and dirty change of appearance, you know that one day you'll find the time to do it right...yah, right.....

Houghmade, Very nice clean-up, there, that bike looks nicer than new...I like the mufflers. Congrats on a sensitive "rizn-frm-thded"....

Drewps, thanks for fixing my photo problem...I've never been able to post piccies, now I know the problem. The seat is basically a stock XS400E seat, reshaped stock foam, and a custom cover, so it still maintains the stock seat pan and mounting hardware. One of the guys in our local British Columbia Collector Motorcycle Club ()is an upholstery wizard, does the seats for some of the local Harley custom builders. I just told him kinda what I would like, and left it with him....pretty cool...

"Say Runningdog, what are some of personal treatments for the xs? " Sorry I took so long to reply to this query....must have been working on the bike.... Over the winter, aside from doing the usual maintenance/repairs required to bring an older bike kicking and screaming into the 21st century, I got the tank and side covers painted (silver tank, black side covers), got the rather bulbous stock seat shaved and shaped into a soft bum-stop, installed clubmans, cropped the rear fender, installed a small round tail-light from a '65 CA200 (with home-made bracket), swapped the old fuse block for a new type, shortened the stock signal shafts, and dreamt about what to change next. I know that this post is really about leaving a xs 400 stock, but I've already done that a few times...time to change a bike that still has lots of very nice examples rolling around.

Sometimes I think that Bikez is put together by non-bikers......the '78 XS400 has both rear discs (400E, mag wheels) and rear drums (4002E, spoke wheels). Photo on Bikez is of 400E, and you can see rear disc.

Look closer...Bikez says tire size, not rim size. A 110/90 is about the biggest you'll get on the front (clearance), and maybe 120/90 on the stock rim on the rear...go for the 16" XS650 special rim on the rear, will make the bobber look right.