jmj166

alright, decided to skip eating during my lunch break and went to the local yamaha place to see if they had any advice as far as if they've dealt with stuff like this before. Mechanic used an impact driver and got the screws out, took'm less than 2 minutes. I only brought one of the carb slides with me, but i figured i know i should get an impact driver for sure now. Plus i'm sure i can use it along the way of finishing my cafe build. thanks for all the help fellas, i really appreciate helping a new guy like me find his way

what is ATF

I forgot about using heat, but i'm not quite sure how i could use it without disturbing that rubber diaphragm. And i've learned my lesson in buying lesser quality tools before...the hard way of course

by plus gas do you mean, like the 89 octane plus gas you get at a gas station, or a product called plus gas.

Ok, i know this is normally a simple fix with a screw extractor. but what about when you cant get to it with a screw extractor. i'm currently taking my carbs apart from my 81 XS400 and so far about 95% of the screws it it i've had to drill out and use a screw extractor to get out because their all stripped out. I finally get to my carb slide to replace the slide needle with one that has adjustable grove things. but then as i try to take the top part thats hold the top down...they won't come out, i don't wanna just start poking down there with a drill cause i don't want to mess the diaphragm up and put me back 100 bucks ( 50 for each). I've looked at the haynes manual and it isn't very helpful since it lists parts to take out that aren't there. I'd really hate to have to buy a new carb slide and diaphragm just because of two small screws. so I was wondering if any one knew of any other way to remove screws or if i could soak the bottom area in something to help the screws to not be so stubborn. below is an image of the current hair pulling situation. Uploaded with ImageShack.us as always, much appreciation for any advice.

probably the best illustration for something mechanical i've seen in a while. I will check it when i get home and if i remember take pictures if theres any more confusion. appreciate the help.

the caps on the spark plugs currently on the bike just pop off if you pull them, they dont screw on/screw off. I'm not sure if these sparkplugs were stock (as many things on the bike seem to be) or if they were later replaced with the caps. This is causing the confusion, i know this shouldn't be that big of a deal though, just wanna match the right plug (that i should be using) with the correct cap to get.

hello, As I ordered new spark plugs for my 81 xs400 i used what was listed in the Haynes manual, BP7ES spark plug, and used Z1's spark plug guide to find the right spark plug cap to use, used this to get 2 LBO5F caps. here lies the problems...when i got these in, the spark plug caps wouldn't fit on the spark plug ends, then when i went to look at the bike i realized the spark plugs on the bike are BR7ES. So i was wondering if the Haynes manual is incorrect (since from what I've read through on other forums is that it sometimes is incorrect) and i should use BR7ES spark plugs instead of BP7ES. also, doesn't anyone know how to match spark plugs to spark plug caps so they fit correctly. thanks.

i think i've read about someone that was building a cafe from an xs400 on the dothetun forum site. I remember him having some trouble with replacing his forks and made up some tools from his work shop. I dont have the exact link for his build, but maybe it'll help? good luck though

ahh, just curious. I'm from MS, so seeing how your that close to the water i'm assuming the humidity factor isn't a problem. good to know, one less thing to knock off the list of things to do

my turn signals had that problem, i just took the bulbs out and put them back in more securely, if one is not blinking the other one will stay on(rear not blinking=front stays on). Sorry if i'm pointing obvious stuff out but i didn't think of it while i was on my bike and noticed it.

do you ride in a very dusty environment, this is interesting and i suppose this isn't as big of a concern as i thought. thanks for the info

Hello, I was wondering if i could get so much needed help. I'm pretty new to working on bikes but have a few basics down. I Currently have an 81 xs400 that i got a couple months ago (i made a previous about starting issues). Anyways, after i installed a new battery i decided i'd clean the air filters to help the bike run better. Apon taking the air filters off the bike and opening up i found that they basically disintegrated and were very patchy in spots(they also had a smell of petrol and felt moist). I went ahead and cleaned them and ordered some bulk uni filter foam to replace it, I only wanted to use this solution as something more temporary because i want to eventually put pods on the bike. Anyway, while waiting one weekend (i work two jobs M-F, so i have all weekend to stare at my bike just sitting...i gotta do SOMETHING) i decided i'd go ahead and take the carbs off to clean them since from what i've been able to tell so far, the PO did very little...to nothing to keep the bike in good shape. I was thinking about going ahead and ordering some pods to install on the bike.... So my question(s) is/are 1. i'm assuming the jets on the bike are all stock, so what sizes would i need to go to if going to pods, such as main jet, air jet, pilot jet. The owners manual i have says the xs400 has main jet=142.5, air jet=45, pilot jet=42.5. But the manual covers more years than just the 81, so are all xs400's stock with these(this makes sense, but just want to make sure) I've read mixed opinions about only increasing the main jet and not the pilot, and some that say to increase both. I'm assuming its been running rich(haven't checked the spark plugs yet), since the filter smelled of gas, but is that because theres less air flow feeding the stock settings so naturally it would richen the mixture because of this. and 2. Where do most people relocate the breather hose to, i've seen a valve on mikesXS that i'm assuming you can put, can you just put a smaller filter there as well? i know thats a lot, but any info on the matter would be very helpful. thanks

alright, sorry it took so long to update, I received the battery a couple days ago and put it on charge then put it on the bike. I was a little discouraged when i hooked it up and pressed the start button and nothing happened. I proceeded to attempt to kickstart it a few times. I then put the choke on full and kick started it another 3 times. On the third time i gave it a little throttle and it started up, let it run for about a minute. Turned it off and restarted it with the push button, Came on but the idle is kinda rough and would die out if i didn't keep revving a little bit. I decided i'd take a look at the air filters at this time since I thought maybe they needed cleaning (and cause i was tired of coming home from work and not being able to ride it, i had to do SOMETHING) ....after taking them off the bike and removing them from the casing and inspecting them i realized that they were in (really) bad condition and fell apart as i took them out of the casing. One thing i did notice is that they smelled somewhat of petrol and were somewhat moist with i'm assuming gas. Is there any major reason(s) for this. it can also be noted that it was about a week where the bike just sat until my battery arrived. Any info is much appreciated as always I ordered new foam (UNI bulk air filter foam) to refabricate the air filters which should get here in a week or so. I didn't want to buy new OEM air filters (35 bucks each) because i want to(eventually) replace the air filters with nicer pod air filters. I can hopefully get some pictures up this weekend of the bike and its current progress and for more detail of what i'm looking at. and as always, thanks for the advice.

alright, I'll try and get a new battery soon, payday isn't till the 30th so I'll have to wait five days or so, but I'll update as soon as it happens with what happens. Thanks for the help so far, its very much appreciated.