hebrew hammer

Alrighty guys sorry for the long wait but here are the parts that came The mirrors seem pretty damn solid, the clubman bars seem pretty cool but the rear sets are crap, they already have scratches on them even though they have a dull sheen and the mounting points (50mm distance) was suppose to mount without problems but the mounting holes on the rearsets have excess metal on them and they are spaced about 51mm or something. Now here is the seat any comments? The seat section was replaced with a cereal box since sanding the foam would take forever, also I got a friend who helped me out.

Ok guys I bought some foam stuff and its curing as we speak. Here is what I did... I have a dirty work area haha. anyways since the issue was getting a stable flat seat pan, I wrapped the seat section in aluminum foil and cut out a shape I want for the bump Now on to the foam part. It said to wear gloves..LISTEN TO THEM! I have sticky foamy fingers! Hump looks uneven but I can fill it out later with the floral blocks I put a floral block on the right side cause it did not cover that section. Now the hard part...wait 8 hours before it fully cures and I can sand to my hearts content.

Hey guys I thought I would like to show my progress of my xs400. Here is the hump I am struggling with. I was trying to cut small foam blocks and glue them together but they keep crumbling when I sand them. This is what it looks like so far. Excuse the tank it was a 5 min bomb job to see if the color scheme is good I think its too square? is the hump too far back?

hey guys, I have been searching far and low for some progressive front fork springs to make this beast handle better. I am looking high and low but cannot find anything specifically for the 81 xs400. Help please?

hmm I have a 79 cover that looks like that but it didn't fit. Also what should I look for when I take the head out? How do I know what looks good and what is crap? I feel like I should take it to the shop because I am afraid to mess the engine up.

also does anyone have a spare cover breaker for a 81 xs400? I tried previous links from my previous threads and all of them are sold out.

I bought a old xs and got it to start up. But with such a low price there tend to be quirks, the engine is blowing more smoke than hippies in woodstock. So drewpy and my buddy believes it is the valve seals and I am afraid to open an engine up since I have no experience. What would I need to do this? I am currently bidding on a complete gasket kit (with valve seals of course) and have a small set of wrenches. Can anyone direct me? or even come down and help me? I promise to buy you a case of beer!!

I removed the exhuast today to check the valve stems and the right one (the one that spews smoke) seems to be clean,but the top of the valve stem seems leaky, I can tell because the carbon deposits look wet. The left one however looks really gunky and leaky from the top, but that is the part that does not spew smoke. Does this mean the valve stem seals are leaky? It has been sitting in a hot dry garage for at least 10+ years.

nope, it gets dimmer when I rev it but that is the least of my problems right now. I started the bike today and a buch of whiteish smoke came out super thick for a good minute. I had to turn it off because it looked like the house was on fire instead! But I suspect it is because I put too much oil. So I removed the excess oil and it does seem to smoke a lot less, but it is still a bit smokey. I can't get it to idle without choke but I will take care of the jets needles and stuff later. Do you guys know what is the average compression for a xs400? I am getting 125 left and 127 psi, is that good?

WOOO I found the O-ring in the bin. and plugged it in. Now I am leaky free!!! yay!!! Thank you so much drewpy. Now I have another question, the headlights are dim should I be worried? its a new battery and I can kick start it in 3. Also I am missing exhaust flangers, do they help fit the headers to reduce noise? Because so far its super loud and think it is because of a small crack in the headers and no flangers.

I removed the contact breaker and all I see is the camshaft rod, there is suppose to be a seal there so the oil doesn't come out right? Would I have to open the head to put the seal in? or is it just a knock in job?

would it also leak out because there is too much oil? My buddy told me to put a half a quarter more oil in it since it hasn't been started since 94. Also if it is the seal do I have to tear the head down?

ok sorry guys for the late reply, I went to a wedding up in san fran so I have not been able to take the pics yet. Anyways the 77 point cover came but what is strange is that it has 2 small holes on the bottom. My problem is that there is oil leaking out (it didn't have a cover). Is it suppose to leak oil like that? Also drewpy I believe the camshaft seal is ok because the guy I bought it from got it professionally rebuilt and never put the engine in. edit: also I forgot to inform you guys that I aquired a 1977 xs400 tank which is more boxy and square than the usual cruiserish round tank. Which one should I mount on for a cafe racer? I am planning to have a round bullet hump shaped fiberglass seat (unless someone can convince me to a better looking seat) and a candy apple color scheme with ducati stripes on a standard flat black frame. I am also tossing around the thought of a regular ducati red color scheme. Does anyone know any good replacement rear shocks? I have been looking at progressive 412 shocks but they are a pretty penny. Oh yea also exhaust too, I have no idea which one is good.

thanks! I finally got a tank for 150, I'll take pics of the bike tomorrow to show you the condition of the bike. So does anyone know if the 77 point cover will work for a 81? The 81 does not have points though but what it does have is a contact breaker or ignition timing sort of deal. When I start up the bike there is a small hole that forces oil out which is a bit strange. Is this suppose to happen?

I got a 77 point cover which might seem to work, but can anyone confirm? drewpy I called Pasadena Yamaha and they said they discontinued almost all the parts that I was looking for! I am trying to find a nice looking gas tank still, the current one I have looks too cruiserish but its hell trying to find the 77 square gas tank without paying it through the wazoo. Also anyone know if those ebay "universal" rearsets work on the xs? I can't justify paying for those rassak rearsets that cost more than my bike.

Hey guys, I just got my 81 xs400 running YEAAAA. My friend helped me a great deal since he has a xs650 of his own. Anyways I come in need of help. I am trying to find out if the contact breaker cover sits on a gasket. I have a old haynes manual that covers xs 250's or whatnot to 400's so the general pictures looks like it needs a gasket. But when I look at bike bandit and drag up the parts, it does not show a gasket on it. So does it have it for my model or it does not? Also I need a engine bolt for the lower mount, does anyone know if earlier years can fit it? I bought some bolts off ebay and it seems a little short. Do latter years fit? and last but not least I am trying to find a new petcock for the tank, does a 650 petcock work?

Hey guys I have a question for you cafe racer dudes. I have read somewhere that the old fzr rearsets can easily bolt up to the xs400. can anyone confirm this? I hate the current pegs and set.

well the thing is the bike is not even running and i only have the bill of sale. The slip was lost way back in the late 80's. Can i register it as non op right now and re register it when it works?

oh sorry I forgot to update my info. I live in southern California.

Thanks for the reply. I remember you posted on some other thread about this seat, but like the other poster it does not really fit me. I was thinking about fiber glassing the seat myself. But I am more concerned about registering the thing than anything else. Anyone know if I will be slapped with late fees? The bill of sale said has the date july 3rd and the 20 day limit is coming soon i think?

Hey guys I have been lurking on this forum for a little bit and i noticed the search function is not all that great. So my situation is I aquired a old gem for 200 dollars with a rebuilt engine. It is currently not mounted onto the frame and I have to buy some electrical bits in order to get it running again. My question is will i get wacked with late registration fees since it is almost 20 days? The bike is not running but I believe they need to do a visual inspection in order to transfer the bike into my name. Also I have been searching for a cafe seat with no luck. I heard that the xs400 had a wide seat frame so it is especially hard to find a good seat for it. Also I would like to know what kind of tanks can I use with minimum mods? I would like something that is roundish and organic with knee cut outs. Kind of a commando tank or what not. My last question is what kind of mods should I do to it first? Thanks in advance!