JowWeL

Howdy, I have an 81 XS 400. Picked it up for free from a friend who couldn't get it running. I stripped and cleaned the carbs, replaced the spark plugs, installed a new battery, and changed the oil. All of these measures together got the bike running and I've been putting some miles on it over the past week. There are some pretty obvious issues with the bike that I would love your insight for. 1) Literally every time I turn the bike off after I ride, the engine back fires very loudly. I suspect that the timing is way off and have a timing light, but don't really know how to use it on this new bike. 2) The idle is super high. It was hanging out between 6000-8000 before the needle broke off (yes, I am serious, it just broke off and the stub of it is now stuck pointing at 8000 rpms). That's it for now. I'd really appreciate your help. Thank you.