JimR

Hi, I havent found them (the pictures) yet .... I guess I'll have to study the blog further, but when I uncrated the first XS400SE we had (late 79/early 80) I didnt like the change and perfered the older square design & another (unanswerable?) question why was the 250 left square ? Perhaps it was merely identification as the bikes otherwise were the same at a quick glance ? It was possible to sell a 400 by showing someone a 250, in the showroom we used to have a black of one size and a maroon of the other (250/400) and there were times people thought they were looking at the bike with the correct size motor even after they were told "This is a 250 in Black, but the 400 is very close to this in most respects". The one that I remember well was a girl who bought a 400 after looking at a 250, and on collection felt the bike was heavier and would not believe she had sat on the 250 ! even tho she was told at onset. good job an SR250 & SR500 where not simular as people may have wondered where the electric start had gone from their purchase Regards Jim

Hi, OIC like our 12 month tax disc the registration thing was foxing me ...as here registration is seperate issue to the taxation, to a degree. It could be argued as you pay the DVLA (Driver & Vehicle License Authority) the fee for the disc, the people in charge of registration also. but you can change the title (registration) without cost (with the correct documents)... so we could say you say TAG we say TAX, I guess does sound a bit better than TAX, but the DVLA describe it as 'Road Fund Licence' ! Do you require a mandatory roadworthiness test also ? In the UK you need one for a bike 3 years old or older renewable every year, without the certificate a Tax disc/Tag will not be issued. Regards Jim

Hi, from the link 1L9 is shown as an XS360 '76' but in the UK 1L9 was the code for the XS250 (either cast or spoke wheel) 2H7 = XS1100 from onset of the modal introduction in to the UK so I would guess the list should be taken with errors & emmissions taken into account and does not cover the full set of I.D codes .... what happend to the Bl125,MA50M,CA50M,T50,T80 to name a few ... so I guess the list only covers the modals found & no xref to Known modals & codes. Regards Jim

Hi, so doing the translation the bike is rich at low RPM & weak at high rpm ? which may indicate a few problems .. I guess you adjusted all service items to the spec and found the bike did not perform ? (XS360's would do about 90 uk mph). If you have not done the setup it would be good to start with a wet & dry compression test (in order to work out if the engine internals are fine), then check that the timming & dwell angle are correct then move to the carbs .. UK XS400/360's had awful carbs ... the mix screws could be broken with them being screwed in too hard, the rubber bungs covering the jets falling out or just falling to bits causing all sorts of mid range/high speed problems. i repaired a brand new bike back in 79 (with low milage) with a brand new set of carbs, which after looking at the old set it would appear the above problems. To dyno a bike of this age may not give a correct picture (I guess you used an up to date Dyno) as the old fashioned carbs will give different results to modern FI bikes. So the bike may supply a very rich result under certain conditions but bear in mind that this may not be an error condition and you may need to wind back from modern tech. Regards Jim

Hi drewp, I guess the XS400 cylinder/cylinder head (US custom version, rounded, what is wrong with the good old squared off version ?) could be classed as tasty the rest as my jap is not good (crap) the links dont make too much sense. Regards Jim

Hi drewp, I did find it, the top paragraph in the quote, but I guess this just mirrors previous posts Regards Jim

Hi, so what is the reply ?

Hi Mark, is the valve connected up or just pegged open ? with exhaust gas & oil comming from the power valve cases it may be worth a check on the exhaust port for carbon build up What MPG ru getting Regards Jim

Hi Ned, with it now .. 'in english' you could say 'always live' but I would guess an on/off switch could be breached by jumping the connections in the switch rather than attacking the loom/harness. As the Switch just earths out the brown I guess the previous owner had a track to earth on the positive side of the switch (and/or no earth to the handle bar, dependant on which way the switch failed) and just made a bad repair/fix rather than looking at the correct answer (perhaps a new r/h switch ?) and preserve the loom.. but I now now what a short hot means ! So could you explain the tag thing and why u need to pay if you have the correct documents on hand? Regards Jim

Hi, The bike is good ... with one exception ... that silly after market seat ... ok the wind jammer is after market but suits the bike the seat (from my point of view) needs removing and the original fitted which will then give some colour to the rear end of the bike and some smoother lines. Regards Jim

Hi Drewps the email notification came to me as a philsing email have you added some nasty bits ? Regards Jim

Hi, a Tiger X being better ? I beg to differ .... The Tiger & Rekord suffered from the flywheel/mag throwing itself down the road after the points were replaced as the factory ordered the wrong taper to either the mag or crankshaft, as I remember the bosch mags were at fault. The dam pedals used to get in the way ... with those well low slung footrests, for some odd reason, with l/h gear change being the norm Tiger/Rekord were reversed ... then add that to the quirky electrical problems they suffered from (poxy CEV switches) the FS1E or FS1EA (& DX variants) was a better bet but did not go as well ... In those days I got better feedback from the Fantic's ... the Chopper was awsome (why they added ornate gate sections to the h/bars and the seat I'll never now) it did 60 ish had the gear change in the right place and the pedals did not get in the way of the riding position and the mag didn't drop off at the drop of a hat ! My remaining Tigers/Rekords were registered in 1977 .. in order to comply with the law but the last was 'sold' in 1980 a good 2 years after the FS1's & Fantics Regards Jim

Hi check Compression - a compression guage A vaccum guage (or set of) would not be needed until you have a correct compression reading, Correct valve timing and the ignition correct. with these correct you could look at other 600 divi points. but as ur bike has been not looked after there is a chance that one of the above will cure it To check valve timming you will just need general tools, spanners allen keys etc and a bit of time Ignition - a multi meter would be a help Carbs - general tools to strip them and when everything else is done & the motor running vaccum gauges to check the balance but I would guess you would have a compression/valve time problem, when you post a bit more there is a chance the correct problem could be found. Regards Jim

Hi, thats well down on power ! a ton will be no problem for the 600. I will state the obvious but there maybe something you over looked ! 1) Valve Clearance correct ? 2) Air cleaner clear ? 3) Compression good ? 4) Carbs clean & adjusted correctly ? 5) Ignition circut & boxes working correctly ? 6) Valve timing correct ? perhaps check some of these out in order to eliminate them from the problem Regards Jim

hmm I guess so but my other ½'s Tag cost loadsa money and doesn't even tick, you would think a 4 figure watch would have a tick tock sound .... even if run by a battery ! Regards Jim

Hi Andy, Thats some money on education are you paying that or the supplier and for whom ? When I did an expensive school it was only about £170 PT but that was back in the early 70's So can you answer where this is comming from Regards Jim

Hi Scagg a slipper is obtained from a shoe shop or alike do you mean the clutch (if so I'm suprised you need the whole of it) or are you talking of something else under a slang name ? Regards Jim

Hi Ned, I guess it was not electrical then and the problem lied with some duff plugs. Can you tell me which tag you need (or is this an english thing) and the tag you require is the registration of the bike ? Regards Jim

Hi Ned I guess we have the start of 2 different languages (heaven help English speakers in the future !) I dont quite work out what 'shorted hot' means .... is this the fuse blows or not ? "loop of the kill switch" what does that mean not sure but perhaps it means the wires from the r/h switch are connected together and loops within its functions ... i.e the starter motor running the whole time & and the ignition is grounded/earthed the whole time ? sorry I cannot be more help until I manage to translate what you are saying. Regards Jim

Whatever, This topic is titled DT50MX engine problems so I guess Jawa talk is but as a last reply (as I wont do ). Ok 0 budget means that the £50 ish is not obtainable for the RD forks .. you have a pair of forks, wheel etc that could be refinished and reinstalled to the bike, you may feel that Yamaha forks may be better but in a real case of things the 0 budget may be better spent on restoring the originals as you have most parts 'built in' adding other factors may produce extra expenditure , which with a zero balance it is not 'perhaps' an option. I do feel for you only earning £15 pw and this is against our government setup ( you guys are sold short ?) There should not be anyone only earning £15 pw unless your parents are in a position to provide for you a deciede not to and the Government will take that into account. In my day, if you were out of work you ended with the dole Regards Jim

Hi KDiDP, what do you mean by a custom control box ? .. a non standard part doing a standard function without that info it is difficult to work out 'where you are' Regards Jim

Hi Ned, I guess you have copulated up but can you explain the short/misconnection between the main switch & kill switch as if either are connected together you will not get a spark, and how did you work out the kill switch worked without a spark somewhere ? Perhaps some good old fault finding is in order. I guess the bike to be a DOHC XS400 if not disregard the post. 1) Check the pickup coil resistance 2) Check the readouts for each wire from the TCI/CDI unit from the manual 3) Insure the plug caps have not gone O/S 4) Check the saftey switches & wiring are in good order Without more info it will be difficult to help you Regards Jim

To be honest .. the piston manufacturer is sound but bear in mind the rebore man may not wish to bore to a supplied piston as he will have lost the proffit on the piston that he may have supplied and in the 'current climate' who can blame him. Regards Jim

Hi Foamy, I still guess keeping the Slovak original will give you less problems than grafting RD forks in ... sorry but I guess we are RegardsJimb

Oh OK, I have a full set of TX sockets & am not within the trade, any more, so I would guess that using that system to secure items as a main switch would comprimise the security of that bike (or top yoke if the bike was dismantled). The snap bolts came in in the mid 80's and would be the only way to restore the bikes integrity for the main switch or as the manufacturer intended. Using TX bolts is no longer a deterent manufacturers now use these bolts add hoc through production and are generally availible 'off the shelf'. There is no way past the snap bolt, bar a drill and the yoke removed in order to get a straight drive on it. To be honest you appear to have a certain amount of 'modern knowledge' and very little classic knowledge with what you said to me I have some problems with you dont remember any Mitsui employees within the 70's/80's the period you worked there nor show little understanding of the machines built by Yamaha during that period. Sorry to be a bit forward but you tend to be wrong a bit .... so if you want a Yamaha classic course let me know & I'll help you out. Regards Jim