1981xs400II

Awesome! Thanks!

I am wondering if anyone knows if the gold Yamaha tank badges on the XS400 (81 special II) are the same size as the XS650's? Mikes has some but they won't go into any detail as to if they will fit on my XS400. Do you think that particular badge would be a standard size? The holes look like they would line up and it looks exactly the same as mine. Thanks!

Thanks! I thought maybe I had to turn the cable to the left, then to the right...then do a little dance. LOL! I just didnt want to damage it by cranking on it.

OK, I am not a moron but I want to replace my current tach on my 81 XS400. All I want to do is remove the tach cable from my current tach but after I unscrew the cable holder? the cable doesnt seem to want to come out (of my current tach)? Whats the secret? Thanks!

There are working screws in there. I was told by the mechanic that there were two versions of the screws. Long and short..dont know if thats true or not but thats whats in there. He also said that the longer version of the screws were like $60 buck each! I have yet to go and check it out online but I am guessing if I needed them I could get them cheaper. Turning the screw clockwise or counterclockwise...what exactly does it do? Thanks

it sure is odd that both screws are missing (as pictured above)...and that it seems to be running quite well? I am going to a shop at lunch and have it looked at (I need some other parts anyways). I will let you know what they say. Thanks

But what about the idle mixture screws? They both seem to be missing? Should I go get a couple and put them in? Are they actually missing or not suppose to be there?

Apparently either I am missing parts or this isnt the original carb. I dont see an idle mixture screw anywhere? I think I can see the balancer adjuster screw. Sorry for the crappy pictures but I had to use my Blackberry.

Darn, I just want to get the glass off so I can put those two little buggers back in (screws). The tach works perfectly. I popped off the mirrors on my Miata side mirror..I wonder if it would be the same type of procedure? Oh, and btw, thanks to everyone and all their great repair ideas! Sherwin

I have to be honest here. I don't see any adjustment screws other than one that looks to be a throttle adjustment of some sort. I actually monkeyed with it last night and amazingly the bike ran good! No high idle, no stalling...I actually was confident to take a 5 kilometer ride! I definitely have to investigate the carbs further as I dont see adjust screws (at least from the sides) as I have had on previous bikes.

Sorry, for all the questions everybody but so far I have taken members advice for my brakelight and high idle problems..both which are now fixed. So I am going for question #3. Can the tach be taken apart? Why? Well, it seems that the two tiny screws,inside the front glass have shaken themselves loose. They are now sitting at the bottom of the tach and the face of the tach shakes. I know there are 4 panhead? screws in the back but I am not sure that taking these off will give me access to the face of the tach? Thanks!

Can I get at that with ease? Do I have to do any dismantling? Thanks

Mine is reving at 5,000 with the choke all the way in. It seems to go down when it feels like it...then it will idle too slowly and stall? So, it should be on the on or res position most of the time? Thanks

OK, here is the problem. The bike (81 XS 400) now starts up no problem, all the lights work properly and for the first few blocks is a pleasure to drive. 3 blocks later I hit a stop light and the thing is now going crazy! The RPM's are at 5,000 and they wont go down! Its the devil!!!!! Does it not want to leave my home? Does this bike hate me?? Where the heck does that petcock lever go? Left, right or the middle? Is it related to the RPM's? What the heck is going on? Also, sometime the bike feels VERY powerful, then the next time I go to ride it seems to be at 70%?? Any suggestions???

I did get a chance to check out the headlight bucket and disconnected the front brake light connections. It did solve the problem..now I have to check out the switch. Anything I should take caution while taking it apart? I have had springs pop out unknowingly and that was not fun. Thanks!

That makes perfect sense..I will check it out tomorrow. Thanks!

My brakelight on my 81 XS400 is stuck on. I have been mucking around with my rear brake switch with no success. Any suggestions? By the way, where is the brake switch for my front brakes? Thanks!

Just realized you have to be a contributing member to access the garage section.

What am I doing wrong? I cant seem to access the garage section? I get this error message. "An Error Occurred Sorry, an error occurred. If you are unsure on how to use a feature, or don't know why you got this error message, try looking through the help files for more information. Sorry, but you do not have permission to use this feature. If you are not logged in, you may do so using the form below if available. " Yes, I am signed in. Any help would be appreciated. Sherwin

That I havent checked. One more question, my exhaust is pretty bad and clamped in a few places..I noticed that there is some oil leaking out of the clamped spots..is it normal to have oil in the exhaust pipes? Could it be because of bad plugs? Thanks again for you help..I am somewhat of a newbie but hate to just take it to a shop and pay big bucks for something I might have been able to fix.

That's awesome! Now can you please help me with my charging problem? The bike has say for a few years now and had trouble starting. I replaced the battery and solonoid and it seemed to have worked for a few days. Yesterday I took out the bike, it stalled and when I tried to restart it there was no power whatsoever. With a charge it starts right up but if I dont keep the revs up as soon as I take off the charger it konks out and again its dead. Maybe regulator? stator? This is why today i took off the cover in the first place. Any suggestions?

I am guessing that a crank seal is not an easy thing to do? Probably out of my range of expertise. Any ideas on the cost so I dont get screwed?

OK, I dont think this is the way to drain your oil and I thought that behind the alternator/rotor cover was suppose to be dry? I basically drained the oil when I took this cover off. Am I wrong? Please help! Thanks

A little background...I just purchased a 81 XS 400 special II that had been basically unused for the past 5 years. It had starting problems so I replaced the battery as well as the starter solonoid. It worked fine for a few days but now the bike stalls and is completely dead. If you jump start it and remove the cables too quickly it again just dies. No power, no clicking..nothing. The battery is completely dead. If you keep up the revs you can keep it going until it stalls..and you start all over again. Is there something else in the charging system I should check? Thanks! Sherwin Am I too assume that this is a question that I can find in other threads? I did go through the other threads one by one. Regulator? Stator?

Thanks!I got the bike running today, but when I stopped a few times it would just konk out. What position is the petcock suppose to be at? It seems that when I have it on the "on" position it wants to stall. Reserve seems to be better. Here is a pic.