armyofda12mnkeys

So this part comes out of my engine and into the part of the air intake that 'meets' in the middle... What is the purpose of this? (disconnected from air intake in this pic)... thought air mixes with gas and goes into the cylinder via into intake valves straight from carb, but this seems to pull in extra air into the engine? So i dont see it listed on the intake for my bike, I'd like to know what 'system' this part is considered as in (i checked carbs and air intake to no avail) http://www.boats.net/parts/search/Yamaha/Motorcycle/1978/XS400E/INTAKE/parts.html Thanks!

k thanks

it just seems weird to me to ducttape around the outside tube coming out...sure it'll seal it so the chemical solutions dont leak out... but internally, id be worried the sealer will goop-up and dry over the holes and block them. will it overcoat a very very thin layer of the sealer so i dont need to be worried about that?, or does it goop up a decent amount, so i should be worried about breaking into those areas later or putting something into those holes like a thick wire so it plugs them up from being gooped... [i used the verb goop too much in this message ]

Yeh I'm going to try it too on my friend's 1985 Ninja tank when the kit arrives. Had some questions: What do you use to fill in the petcock and vent holes (I posted pic hereof the lil' vent tube at the top of friend's tank). I wouldn't want the sealant to clog up these holes. Also the gas cap area, do you just remove the cap and use duct tape to seal it after pouring in treatment(s)? You want to coat the entire tank, so i guess you are turning the tank every direction and even going upside down to get every square inch coated?

was going to use this highly recommended product with a friend next week on his old Ninja tank. His tank seems to have a vent tube on the back. How should these be covered? The instructions seem to indicate using duct tape on outside holes (gas filler hole (with cap removed), petcock tube hole?). Not sure what to do as i dont want the vent tube hole to get sealed shut with the sealer. was wondering if anyone had any experience with this. here is a pic of similar tank with that tube at the top you can see:

dunno maybe its like mine ... i would turn mine 1/4th counter-clockwise and hit major resistance (cable will move when you try to loosen it), just got to go through it. It will make a snap sound like something broke inside, but thats just the locknut snapping loose. if yours looks like isnt rusted, just apply more force than you think. I was messing with it 5 times last month and had no problems. PS you dont need the vise-grip to get it off with the socket... use the socket wrench, it'll give you a better grip/force... u only need the visegrip instructoins when you made the screw adjustment aftwerwards... You need to hold the screw inside stationary (with a screwdriver going through the socket) while you turn the locknut clockwise with the visegrip. PS having one of these box spanners is nice to have on hand. u can use the 12mm socket side on one of the spanners, and then use a 17mm wrench on the '13mm' side (13mm+extra steel) and tighten it without using a visegrip. (visegrip will work as good, but i hate it when it slips or scratches up my shiny socket hehe).

So is there no one here who is an admin and runs the site lol? Just assumed it would be someone like me, some kid who likes motorcycles and website development. I just thought it would have been standard for someone to fix it pretty quickly, after a moderator tells em. I can do this if the site doesnt have a technical moderator lol (but I would need hosting info ... from the technical moderator person lol [or person who owns the website]) [i'd probably just look for apache mod_rewrite rules for the forum used, im guessing they havent changed, but maybe the server its hosted on restarted and they forgot to enable that module so friendly URLS show up]... Kinda sucks for them cause you google something, and half the stuff that shows up in google has nice names like " that just redirect to the main page, losing potential users

Since the forums went down, the old SEO-Friendly url's don't work... For example: http://www.yamahaclub.com/forums/forum/33-yamaha-classics/ I believe this has to with the mod_rewrite rules being turned off. If you guys dont have a programmer who runs the site, might need to call yer host company and ask them to turn on the rewrite rules -Arian

My friend may need some of this rust remover for inside of his tank... I bought some POR-15 tonight thinking he could use it. Compared it to Kreem/Caswell gas tank sealer. Kreem reviews seem to indicate the sealer seems to flake. and the Caswell got good reviews but i see it overcoats over the rust, which people seem to rave that you dont need the rust remover step. plus it works on fiberglass, which i have ... buttttt bothers me that the rust is still under the coat. So I'll try POR-15 with him on his steel tank ... was reading the instructions for various steps of POR-15 tank kit ... "Pour the mixture into the tank, shake vigorously, and "roll" the tank around to ensure the cleaner gets to all inside surfaces for a minimum of 20 minutes."... When you roll around the tank to coat the walls with various liquids ... won't some make its way out of the gas tank cap (as they have vents, correct?). dont wanna get caustic liquids over me or my garage . EDIT: i guess after reading these: http://www.por15.com/Data%20Sheets/cycle%20tank%20repair%20kit.pdf http://www.mklsportster.com/Articles/mcn-por15.pdf That the hole is plugged with ducttape. guess the petcock is removed and bungs covered ... and not sure but any other special vent holes (think my friends 85 ninja has some vent tube holes in the back. not sure about this but thought id mention). Thanks for the post about POR-15. i learned some stuff tonight about cleaning rusty tanks

Cool I shall... Someone passed me some nice pics to show where the idle mixture screws generally sit against in the carb. The 2nd picture he said someone broke off the tip on left side (as its just stuck in the hole), (and the right side, he did some major damage and tried fixing with JB Weld)

hmmm so i may know why it started chugging along... one of the spark plugs wasn't getting a white/blue spark like the other one was. i tried it in different sides and same result. however it did start working alright after a while. Both are gapped to .030. Still couldnt get her to start. Im just going to buy new plugs tomorrow and try them out. otherwise it may be the coils or something but i doubt it. Think the gas/carbon from the bad idle mixture setting fouled up one of the plugs.

Cool, I kinda get the jist but its hard to imagine without a drawing or pic of the parts it is going against (not really sure what ya mean by 'seat the tips'). Getting an extra carb tomorrow to play around and rebuild. Maybe I'll open it up and understand better. Yeh, oil level is at upper end. It has a little head gasket leak but thats a fix in the future. k, I'll check the valves at some point soon since you both seem to agree it may be valve noise. I wonder if Noah means the product Sea'Foam' (i guess he means something else though as SeaFoam seems to be a more longterm liquid treatment you do via fuel coming into engine and treating it... or put in the crankcase as some peeps say it cleans up junk)? Where would you spray it 'into the carbs' (like should you spray it into the airbox or fuel intake?). Nah, just messed with the clutch adjustment and idle mixture adjustment that day. Maybe the plugs are still not clean enough. I'll clean them off and see whats up (can i just use solvent or rubbing alcohol on a paper towel to take off some of the black, so i can diagnose mixture better?).

sweet, Yamaha forums is back... So i thought id give a shot at messing with my idle mixture screws a few days ago. The right cylinder seemed to be weak, Think i just rotated the right carb screw out a few turns as to see what would happen and it idled better than before ... so i was satisfied... but i went riding today and it seems to chug along (felt like bike was going 'up and down', like it was getting gas then less gas)... so i was going to set the screws the right way. aka go all the way down on both screws till hit some resistance then pull it back out 3.5 turns as peeps recommend here... I did that and i think it ran worse heh. like engine was not getting enough power at idle, and would turn off. then i was thinking the springs underneith the idle screws might be making me think it has hit resistance when it hasnt... so i took the springs off... and screwed it in to see how far i can go without the spring giving me extra resistance.... counted how many turns it took to get to the 'bottom' and then i would turn it out 3.5 turns... then count turns it takes to unscrew it off again... then put the spring back on and go that many turns down... doesnt even start up now heh. EDIT: i took out my spark plugs and saw were a lil wet from gas from one of the settings no doubt. I must have made it too rich? before... it starts up now and idles well. I took it out for a spin and when i give it throttle uphill in 3rd gear, it chugged along and bike turned off. Does that mean i need to enrich it, or maybe its too rich now and i should lean it? Doesnt make much sense cause its at 1/4th-1/2 throttle which is not responsibility of idle mixture screw heh. I'll ride it a lil' more tomorrow in case needs to get some hiccups that the initial idle setting screwed up maybe. I still had my original questions of 1. how many turns in theoretically should it take till it hits resistance. Im asking as its hard to tell with the spring on as it gets a lil hard to turn at 8-9 turns in (but without the spring it'll go 11-12 turns in easily i think)... I kinda got scared and just turned both screws in 9 turns, versus going all the way down and pulling back 3.5 turns... 2. what happens if you go too far... will the screw break off as it gets close to a flat metal part inside ... or is the tapered sharp end going inside a hole and eventually hits resistance of the outside edge of the hole its going into (and hence shaving off the screw/tapering it more at some point) Here are my screws, the left one seems a lil more tapered, yes no?: Here is my bike at idle if anyone is interested, Im not sure if its normal for the bike to sound like it does (esp sounds coming out of the contact points area) so thought Id ask peeps to listen (this is unrelated to idle mixture problem above, it has always sounded like this):

Thanks oldgitonabike, I actually just tried that and worked . so i can lube my cable now with lube/lube tool i just bought, sweet.

Hello all, I needed to take off my clutch lever off my 1978 XS400E so I can get the clutch cable out of it ... so I used my ratchet wrench to screw off the nut underneith and then worked on the top bolt which holds the lever in place, but it just kept on spinning no matter which way i turned ... Think the threads are probably messed up (bleh, it came off fine a week ago)... Anyway, whats the best way to remove that bolt ... I have a screw extractor set and a metric tap/die set, just never used them hehe ... I assume I drill a hole in the bolt and then use the extractor to take it out. Then use the appropriate tap to re-thread it? and then use the appropriate die on the bolt to re-do its threads. I kinda summarized the above from reading things off the internet... I wasnt sure if there was something else i could also try... like using a vise-grip to apply some force upwards and try to pull/twist the bolt out as one person recommended.

Thanks guys, just got back home from weekend... Friend has an air compressor but thought it would be hassle to get it so I tried a lil' WD 40 right now like suggested and used 2 screwdrivers of opposite sides to peel it off a bit, and then it came off with tiny bit of force. Looks like the end of my throttle tube (ribbed part) was broken off at the end (so you can see the end of handlebar at the edge), but never affected my riding so no need to replace the throttle assembly part. Used a lil AQUANET hairspray as i seen suggested online and new grip slid right on (and hairspray should get all dry/sticky by tomorrow so its sticks on). Thanks guys!

so i was messing with installing some new Gran Tourisimo style grips i bought a while back from mikesxs. I got the left/brake side grip off with a screwdriver going around the handlebar while putting a lil wd40/oil in with a straw. the right side throttle tube i see isnt 'smooth', there are little 'ribs' in there and seems like i can't just put in a screwdriver it seems like the left side to get it off... 1. How can i take off the right-side/throttle grip? Also when installing them, i don't want to use anything fancy/$$$ like grip glue... I was gonna just heat up the left side for now in hot water and slide it on, but i heard peeps use alcohol or hairspray or gasoline applied to it before sliding it on (not sure which one is best) so it doesnt slide around in the heat. 2. Which would you use? 3. Once someone answers question 1 (how to take throttle grip off), i then have a question how to get the new right side grip to stick on... Would i even use hairspray on the throttle side grip? Seems like those ribs will hold the grip... maybe, i dunno. Thanks for any advice!, I'm pretty pumped doing small things on my bike during the riding season

heh, checked that area and i tried my hardest for 30m to see what was problem. the rod looked fine. the screws on the rod area looked fine... I tried pulling the left side carb part that the rod 'pulls' to see if that was causing the rod itself to jam and hence not pulling both sides open, (couldnt reach the right side to test that side out)... anyway couldnt pull it out, thought maybe it was the right side jamming up the whole thing. was gonna pull off seat/tank tomorrow to look around there/pull carbs off... Decided maybe while Im lookin round that area that i'd just set the idle mixture screws while i figure it out what the problem with choke is tomorrow lol... Tried pulling the choke on a whim right after that and bam it came out lol. weird. rub the rod with a lil' oil just in case. Thanks drewps!

Saw these kits on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Yamaha-XS400-XS-400-SH-Special-Carburetor-Carb-Jet-Kit-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem4cef8844b9QQitemZ330436199609QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories versus these: http://www.siriusconinc.com/pro-detail.php?pid=&product_id=712 Which one would you get? Wonder if you get more bang for the buck from the ebay kit.

hmmm, does seem like the same carb from the markings/MK label. Are you missing Idle Mixture screws lol? Can someone else confirm

Here ya go if not sure of where to find the adjustment screws (correct me if Im wrong hehe): Show the carb from the Left side of bike, Lower Left side, Right side, Someone else's right side with the 'limiter cap' on idle mixture screw(s)

Isnt there another to clean old rusty tanks with a bunch of bolts/screws/nails inside a tank and gas (or acetone, i forget) and shake the tank so nails remove the rust?

Pulled the choke out, warmed up my bike, put it back in and rode to the store 20m away. Then started her up there and noticed my choke is stuck. Tried pulling relatively hard to no avail. guess its alright for now, bike doesnt really need choke in warm weather but would be nice to figure out whats goin' on in there be4 <60 degrees rolls around? Bike is a 1978 XS400E

One more tool question... I was looking to buy a 3/8" Dr. "Split Beam" Torque Wrench w/Flex head (20-100 Ft./Lbs) based on a recommendation for a good torque wrench (had issues with another one not working well and my friend overtightened and broke a screw)... Will 20-100ft/lbs cover alot of ranges or would i need something for other measurements below/above 20-100ft/lbs? (think they also sell an inches/lbs version of this wrench, but I assume all things are in ft/lbs... will confirm with my manual later hehe). -Arian

I was asking as the old stock ones seem like they are part of the upper fork system with those mounting pieces to kinda permanently attached the cylindrical part that goes over the upper fork. I can just remove the whole thing entirely when putting front-end back on? That would be nice as then I can just screw in the aftermarket ones even after i put the forks back on.