compCoder

I still need to check the valve gaps, but I think the timing is perfectly on, as the bike is running wonderfully after re-eyeing the balancing. While the right side still has more vacuum, the bike is running pretty much perfectly. I will get to the valves next chance I have, first need to get on painting the house To start now, I found when cold, it won't start with the choke all the way in, it will start with it half way out, but struggle a bit, takes a bunch of cranks from electric starter. I pull it all the way out, and it fires up in 2 cranks, maybe 3 sometimes, so just perfect. I let it run there for about 10 seconds, probably at ~2k rpms, then i push it half way in while i put on my helmet and get ready to ride. At half way, its right around 1600-1800rpm, and when ready to ride, about 2 mins later, i push it all the way in, idle drops to ~1200-1300rpm, and it runs perfect. I found if i start with it all the way out, and push it all the way in right off the bat, it dies, but giving it a minute or two, and it runs great (so using it for what its for ). Also, on the brake line leak, i don't think its leaking. I drove it on the 'real' road the other day, instead of just in the neighborhood, but stayed close, as I still have no license, even got it up to 70mph. Anyways, I have reinspected the brake lines, and there is no longer an fluid on outside of them anywhere, maybe the last person that filled it just spilled some all over it...

Alright, trying to sync them up now, and no matter where i set the sync screw (my visual sync is screwed now...lol) the right side always has more vacuum, where if i don't kill it just after starting it will suck in the fluid in my manometer. So, from reading the manual, I may need to adjust the mixture screws on one side or the other, any idea which? Also, which way to turn the sync screw to make it go one way or other once i got it closer? Since it always pulls on right side very hard, it makes ithard to tell which way I should go, any help is appreciated.

ITS ALIVE!!! Got it all put back together today, filled with gas, put on prime let carbs fill, and had to try to crank it like three times, but it started, and ran well. I was able to go for a nice ride around the neighborhood, never died on me once, everything running great, the engine runs very smooth now. I got it up to about 50 at one point and from 1500 to 8500 RPM it pulls very well. End all, all the work done it is still working and running very nicely. I will be able to do an oil change next weekend, once that is done, and i get my license, I will feel fine that its reliable enough to get me to work and back . Now, on to the question portion Whenever the bike was cold when i just fired it up, it would hesitate a bit getting up from idle, and even made a 'pop' sound coming out once or twice. From reading, i would guess this means its a slight bit lean at idle, which is fixable by turning out the mixture screw just a hair. They are currently at 3 turns out right after the build of the carbs, so if i back them out I should go a quarter turn at a time, and 'retest' after it gets cold. Is this all correct? Also, is this really needed in my case, as once its warm (like 5 mins) it completely goes away, no hesitation, no popping, just perfect running. Next question, during my ride, after a while the RPM would not drop below say 3500 at idle, it would stick there. If i dropped it into first gear and let the clutch out just a bit it would break it from high idle, though still stay around 1800. If i revved it while in idle, it would stay again around 3500. i drove it the rest of the way home with the high idle, and once I got home, i made it do the drop by letting the gear catch and it was sitting again around 1800. So i backed out the idle screw (i had removed it while cleaning) slowly until it got back down to around 1200, took about 6 turns and the screw appears to be about half way out. Once I did this I could rev it up again and it wouldn't get stuck at the high idle, i could rev up to 8k and it would drop right back down to 1200 perfectly, fast both up and down. Could backing it out fix the idle catching at the high point...is this now fixed by that? Is that the normal issue or could it possibly be something else? Also, I have only balanced the carbs so far by eye when putting them back together, I think i have it very close, but still need to hook up my manometer and get them perfectly balanced, though it will be tricky with having the tank off and the gas line still connected. Also, i was going to order the quarter inch gas line and was told it was too big, but its extremely hard to get the smaller line on there, and the clips from the old line do not fit on it, is the 3/8 line the right stuff, or do I need to pick up some wider stuff that goes on a bit easier? The petcock is workign perfectly, i filled tank with gas while it was on the on position, and nothing was going into the line at all, moved to prime, it pushed fuel in, once i started it and let it run for a minute i put it back to on and its driving perfectly with it in that position, was able to restart it a few times with it there too. Thanks for all the help I received in getting these small problems fixed and now it seems more reliable, just have to see if the push button will work again after it sits for a full 24 hours, works fine right after taking it of the float charger I got...

Alright, I know this seems basic, but I am having trouble figuring out where to measure from on setting the float hight. This is the image the book shows: And this is a pic of my carb in the same position as book: As you can see, the front edge they measure from, what I highlighted in green, is certainly not right, its way higher than the book, and there is no way I can get that to measure 27.3mm from there. So, there is the surfaces I highlighted in yellow and in red to choose from, or even right behind the yellow down inside where the parts actually meet, which of these is actually correct, as there is 1mm difference between yellow and red alone, and even moreso if i go for behind the yellow lip right by float...I am shooting for between 27 and 28mm (close to 27 as possible), as all I have is a ruler or a sewing tape, I don't have calipers or anything super accurate, I used to have a slide rule somewhere, but I cannot find it, and don't even remember if it actually had that type of measurement on it (we used it in geology back in college)... Thanks for the answer to this noob question, but I am stuck here until I get this part figured. EDIT: Did some research online, and most people say to measure from where the float bowl gasket seats, so would be 'over the ledge' of the yellow line right up next to the float, so that is what I am going to go with for now, hopefully can get carbs on bike and attempt a start sometime tomorrow, but may be going into work, so we will see...

I will be, but I am not made of money, so can only do one thing at a time, its the very next thing on the list. And its so slow I will just keep an eye on it. There wasn't any on any metal other than the caliper itself, which is missing a tiny bit of paint, but the leak is so slow, it was still just under the 'lower level' after being filled over a year ago when the father-in-law rebuilt it. Going to redo it with some steel braided line instead of the rubber line...and while I am at it, may as well rebuild the caliper itself too...was thinking of drilling out the rotors, but seems like its a TON of work for not much gain, so will probably just use as it is...

The rings are a little flattened, but will still seal, its easy to tell, and I also blowed into the hole and no air would pass. Unfortunately the chump of a UPS guy didn't show up with my parts today even though they were scheduled..I'm sure they will be here tomorrow. So an update on some things i did. I tightened up the chain a bit as it was too loose, just followed the directions here and have it nice and tight. And even though I oiled it the other day, I noticed it was quite dirty and caked in grease, so I just spun rear wheel and cleaned it off real good with a rag, and also the sprocket a bit, and went ahead and resprayed it. I then tightened the chain to where there is now about a 3/4 inch play in bottom portion in the middle of chain, just like book said. Had to move the tensioner back to just a tiny bit past the third alignment mark, like half a mm, much less than I thought I would have to, but its now tightened as per the manual. Also had to adjust the rear drum brake lever a bit from the movement, but got it adjusted, and even a little better, took out a tiny bit of the play so I don't have to push the pedal down as far. I then went on to clean up the front disc and caliper with some brake parts cleaner, just gave it a good spray down and a wipe off. I think I have a VERY SLOW leak somewhere in my front brake line, it was wet with brake fluid whenever I got the bike, and I refilled the reservoir yesterday, and now, there is one tiny spot about the size of a BB that is wet again. I will be safe and keep an eye on it, and eventually upgrade to the metal braided cables whenever i rebuild the caliper this winter during no ride time. i also plan to take of tires and repack the bearings with grease, do the forks w/ new fork oil and seals and whatnot, and also grease whatever other bearings it says in the steering. I was also able to build my manometer, and I feel quite proud of it, one of the few tools I have built and it came out very nice. Going to use some water w/ food coloring to do the balancing instead of ATF, as I don't have any and don't feel like buying just for that, as long as I keep an eye on it and watch closely I should stay safe on that part. Anyways, here is a picture of my manometer, let me know what you think!!! Also, how high would you recommend i do the fluid? I was thinking about 1/3 the way up the board, which is 4ft long. Should be able to get a nice balance with it I think, and I had everything other than the tubing, so it was very cheap, only $3 and some time to get it built, the hose was very cheap at lowes. Anyways, tomorrow should have the new float valve and seat and gasket, so can finish up the carbs w/ float high setting and new parts and get everything back installed, should be able to start it by then, and start with the carb setting. What is a good order for doing the carbs, will fire it up first to make sure it runs, then get the idle good and stable I am guessing, through use of the mixture screws (right now at exactly 3 turns out) and the idle stop screw. Once that is done I do the balancing by turning off bike, removing the one vacuum blocker, hooking up my awesome manometer, and start the bike with it connected (have the petcock set on prime, since the vacuum will be detached from petcock). Hopefully will be riding sometime this weekend!!!

I found some at Pep Boys that were made out of 'Viton' plastic by DuPont Elastomers, it says it withstands extended exposure to heat and fuel, so I think they will work fine, they are a reddish brown color, and a bit harder than your standard o-ring. Also, Ollie, on your ordering, I think mine may have been different unless I am misreading what you wrote, it was like this ____ |____| <-- screw head ..|| ^ ..|| Between these is the spring ..|| ..|| v ..|| <-- small washer and needle like point of screw So does the o-ring go under the head, or between the washer and spring at bottom of needle? I would guess right up under the head of screw. I also picked up 24ft of 1/4 inch clear vinyl tubing from lowes for my manometer, only like $3 too, so was a good price... Thanks all EDIT: After looking at the picture, it looks like things actually go like this Screw head Spring small Washer o-ring Well, after taking the screws back out this time, the o-rings actually DID come out, i guess they stayed at very bottom of hole last time, I even looked in there with light, just must have missed, and though it was the black hole into the carb as now i can see silver flanged area where they sit. Not only that they are in fine shape, flexible, whole, not nicks or holes in them at all, so now I can return this pack I bought and just use those for now, though on my next order of whatever, i will probably order the replacement kits for $4 each, i just don't want to pay 6.95 shipping for 8 dollars of parts...

If they need to be there, why weren't there any to begin with? It had never been opened, as those caps were never tampered with, and even in the back of the Haynes manual it says for my model (xs400sg) that there is no recommended setting at all, as its 'factory set' and should not be tampered with...lol. Anyways, just seems odd its necessary but wasn't equipped with one from the factory, and it wasn't fallen off in the hole or anything, i looked in there, sprayed in cleaner and compressed air...its nice and clean!! Does it go on bottom or top of screw? there is the screw, then a spring, then a metal washer on the bottom of spring, at what point does this o-ring go? I will try to hunt one down locally tomorrow once I know where it goes, just a tiny one, as long as its gas stable then I guess I should be good to go... Thanks again for all the help, I guess I will have to order one, but may be a while, I am ready to ride and only thing holding me back so far was the float bowl gasket and new float needle/seat coming in, which is tomorrow, and I was going to build my manometer and get everything sync'd as well...

Alright, was able to get some more work done today. I went ahead and installed the new plugs, wires, and caps, and they look much better not being all brittle: Also, I went ahead and removed the cover for the pilot/mixture screw. I removed the screw (after screwing in and seeing it was ~1.5 turns out) and noticed that it does NOT have an o-ring on them, neither of them did, is this normal? The passages were completely clear so i just cleaned the screw real quick, reinstalled it, and backed it out a total of 2 turns, is this a good amount for now, or should I leave it set at 1.5 turns, more turns?? I also filled up the brake fluid reservoir as it was a bit short, and the book talked of a back one, but I don't have one as I have a drum brake in back, which i found a bit odd since it mostly discusses the 1977 model. I also lubed up the chain real good with some spray grease, its multipurpose, but one of them being chains, so I am sure it will work well. I did notice the chain is too lose as it drags on the top of the frame under the chain guard by just a tiny bit, so i will look in the manual how to tighten it properly. I also finished rebuilding the air filters into their boxes. Now just waiting for that carb part kit to come in and I can finish those up right quick. Though one question on that too, in my manual it says to set the floats at 27.3mm +/- 0.5, is this the correct amount? As I have seen some other numbers thrown around in other posts and its confusing what the 'true' value is. i doubt I will be able to hit tenths of millimeters, but I figure if i get it between 27 and 28 it should be good. I also need to just go pick up some clear tubing to make my manometer, but already have everything else. i also am using a mixture of Hex bolts and allen bolts, as its all I could find, you can see the carb top bolts in my last pic, and I think they work and look great. Though I was able to find most sizes in the allen heads. Anyways, once I finish up these carbs, i will post a before/after pic of the carburetors so you can see the awesome cleanliness in all its glory!! Any help on the above questions is appreciated as always.

Yeah, I looked at the lawnmower filters, none would go into the air filter boxes for sure, and other than that they woudl just be pods. Some did have the foam, but had to buy a whole filter I didn't need just for a bit of foam, and would need like 4 for enough to cover it Cool, i think i will just get a self tapping screw and drill it in a bit, then pull it right out, thanks again!!

Well, its raining like crazy here due to Tropical Strom Hermine, so I figured I would work on some stuff since its not so hot out. Anyways, I went to a few places looking for 'filter foam' to rebuild my air filters, but couldn't find anything at any auto places. I went to the hobby store and found some foam made by poly-fil, but it was WAY too dense, there is no way any air was able to get through, so I thought about using the regular polyfil stranded stuff, the same stuff I use in my fine fish tank filter (much much cheaper than buying the precut stuff, and its just as good...lol). Anyways, I found this and decided to give it a try, if it doesn't work out for me then I will probably just order some UNI brand filter foam online and replace it, but I think this will work fine, let me know if you think of any problems. What I found was some 'dual layer' filter material, that had some fiberous stuff for catching the larger dust particles, and a smaller area for catching finer stuff under that, though it also has carbon in that 'fine zone' to freshen the air, its actually some furnace filter, but this stuff seems like it will do the job great as air actually flows through it, but not freely, seems to flow just like it should, and over the surface area, i think it will work great...here is what I got: What i did was cut it out into 2 1/8th inch strips, so an 1/8 inch too wide for the holder. Then i cut it long enough to just wrap around. I then took the filter and scrubbed it really good with a harsh wire brush, to clean both layers of mesh, and all the filter material off the sides that I could get. I then glued one end down onto the metal flange by the hole, stuffed it in all the way around, and glued it on the other side of the hole on the flange as well. I then ran hot glue down both sides all the way around. Hopefully this won't be too restrictive and will also filter enough stuff out. Only downside I see for it is that I may have to replace it often, but when i can buy that whole sheet of it for $8, its no big deal, considering I only used a little over 4 inches of it cut off the short side...I will probably run it for about 50 miles, check it, inside the carbs, and anywhere i think there could be any dust, though I know the ones I buy for our home filter, catches very fine stuff, though this is a bit cheaper...anyways, enough blabbering, here is what I came up with: Let me know if you think its good/bad and if it will work alright, or if I need to do something else, either way, it has to be better than how they were originally :s. After taking apart the carbs however, I think I will eventually be upgrading to pod style filters and a breather, as re-jetting isn't going to be as bad as I was thinking EDIT: Also, I have one more question before I try to drill into this thing. I just want to make sure what I have circled below is where the idle mixture screw is, and that what is there actually is a plug. Its made of brass as well, so will have to try to drill it out to get it out, maybe just use a self tapping metal screw and put it partway in, then pull it out. One other question, is this 'plug' screwed into the threads in the hole, or is it just pushed in so I can just pull it out? Thanks again for everyones help, this is coming along great, and I wouldn't have gotten this far without all of you, nor had the guts to do half of it!!!

http://www.z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=2635 I bought these for my '80 xs400, and they are very good quality and Z1 ships amazingly fast, i ordered them on thursday evening, and they were here on saturday afternoon, mikesXS took until the following tuesday, but he uses UPS ground vs. Z1 who used 2 day fedex...i was amazed it came in so fast. If you are ordering other stuff, its a good price, the one on ebay w/ shipping is going to run you close to 37 dollars if you use buy it now, but if I was buying just the one part, i would save, if not, order whatever else you need and save on combined shipping

One more thing, it appears that the idle mixture screws are blocked on my carbs (didn't know what exactly it was until today). However, mine seem to be blocked with a brass plug, not plastic like I have heard many of them are...there is a hole in it a bit larger than a needle hole, and I can see where it goes down into the throat in front of the butterfly. I have seen people talk of removing the plastic ones, but how do I get this brass plug out? I am not even positive that mine needs adjustment, as the bike ran well before I cleaned them, idled right at 1200 RPM, and pulled from idle through 9000 without hesitation (other than my crappy shifting...lol). Anyways, tips here would also be great, and thanks for the links drewpy, I will read them and have my own manometer in no time (i love the name, sounds like a 'man' meter...lol)

I don't know about compatibility or anything like that, but the starter switch isn't that complicated of a part it would seem. Just what is called a momentary button, one that is 'on' while pressed and held, and 'off' while released. You should be able to pick out just about any button and wire it in place...I would investigate a bit further and see if this is the truth first, and if so, see what you can fabricate up...a standard button at radio shack is only a couple bucks, then add on a new cover, solder up the right points on it, and away you go.

Well, was hoping to get some work done on it today, but the screws are again gorilla glued into every single hole. I had to use impact driver again to remove every screw for the top bracket, and now am on removing the bottom bracket, and the effort is futile, been out there banging on it for over an hour, and can't get one screw out...its madness... EDIT: Alright, got it apart and all the jets out except the burried on u have to use a wire to extract, got the first carb boiling in lemon juice now, will get it out, rinse it with water and then with carb cleaner real good and reassemble, really, all internal parts looked fine and quite clean...so don't know how much benefit i get from this, but at least the outside parts are clean...and I will need some new screws for the brackets now as well, that was just ridiculous...again. EDIT2: I should have ordered the basic rebuild kit already from mikesXS, as its the only part that need replacing by looking at it. Though I do have a question, on this rebuild kit: http://www.mikesxs.net/products-36.html#products - Part #48-1408 On the float valve seat assembly that comes in this kit, mine looks a bit different, as it has a filter screen on it and the one pictured doesnt. Should I just use the one I have already or should I go ahead and replace it with the new one? Also, my float valve is in perfect shape, would it again be a good idea to use the new one over the old, even though mine is perfect? Also, does anyone have a link to the carb synchronizing method using the clear tube and ATF? Does it have to be ATF as well, as I don't ahve any, though i have a lot of brake fluid and other fluids I could use. It seems weird as both the vacuum rods coming out of the carb holders point towards each other facing up, so I guess i hook hose onto these, put a loop going downwards, put about 2" of fluid into the hose, fire it up (Petcock on prime so it gets gas) and move synchronization screw until the fluid sits in middle? I have the basic idea...but a link with detailed explanation or even pics would be great... EDIT3: Question needing a quick answer, am I supposed to grease up/lubricate the slide that is connected to the black plastic thing? I think its called the slide? or do i let it touch metal to metal? Thanks all