roscoe_bass

I'm the one that posted a week and a half ago about my bike running for a short distance and then dying. It wouldn't want to start back up after that. Here's what I've done/checked and what I've found out. I checked the voltage at 3000 rpms. It read 14.6 volts. I cleaned the fuel tank out w/ KBS coatings. The tank completely looks brand new. The petcock was full of crud. I cleaned it out. Then I cleaned out the carburetors. They were only dirty where the fuel lines run in. They were also full of crud. I cleaned them completely out. I can't put the fuel tank back on for two more days (it has to cure for a total of 4 days). Before I pulled the tank, I let the bike run for several minutes. Then I pulled the spark plugs. One was extremely hot and black. The other one was just warm, and it was also semi-wet. It was an off-white color. The side w/ the black plug seemed alot hotter than the other side. I don't know what's up w/ that. this Thursday I will get to put the tank back on and see what happens. Thanks for all the suggestions!!

Where can I get an in-line fuel filter?

I just bought a 1978 Yamaha XS400. I'm completely new to motorcycles. It only has 4400 miles on it, but it's running a little rough. The guy I bought it off of said it was running a little rough when he brought it to me. (He actually rode it down to our meeting). It had been sitting awhile because he had bought a new bike. It sometimes dies while idling. I took it out the other day for my first ride beyond a mile. It seemed fine for a while. When I got on the highway, after about 1/2 mile at 60 mph it started to lose power. It seemed doggish. When I was able to pull off in a parking lot, as soon as I got off the throttle it died. It didn't want to start up again. I sat there for about 5 minutes, and then it took off again. I rode it straight home, and it died as soon as I pulled into the driveway. Again, it didn't want to start up. So I parked it. Tried it the next night. This time I just drove on country road at about 40-50 mph. Everytime I would go to stop at an intersection, if I would let off of the throttle it would die and not want to restart. There's a strong smell of gas, too. Also, the tank has a little rust in it. Any advice? I thought I would start w/ cleaning the tank out, and then cleaning the carb, but I'm a beginner so any advice would be welcome.