bralkan

You can get coils from quite a few places. partsnmore.com oldbikebarn.com mikesxs.com ebay I am sure there are others. And ya, the 80 has a transistorized trigger. That thing is a "blind plug" and in the guide drewpy posted it tells you how to drill it out. They are not really supposed to break (the pickup coil), so there shouldn't be much a need to take it off (you'll probably have to take it off to take the cylinder head off for a gasket or valve seal before you need to look at the pickup coil)

I was thinking it might be that counter worm... I didn't have time to try putting it on again last night, so I will try again today. Any advice on making sure that gear sits on the camshaft right? =P

I posted a link to an ebay auction for carbs for 45.

http://cgi.ebay.com/80-YAMAHA-XS400-XS-400...1QQcmdZViewItem

Got the bolts.... But of course, something else is wrong... I put the cover back on and the kickstart would not turn over. With the cover off, the kickstart turns the engine / camshaft etc over. ? How would putting the cover on cause the engine not to turn over?

Specials had electric starts added; Also, depending on the year, the specials had electronic ignition instead of mechanical.

well, i'm almost done putting it back together. The 2nd valve I went to replace bent my compressor. My mechanic did the other 3 valves for me free of charge. I am down to putting the head cover back on - a bolt broke putting it in; everything is fine but I need a new bolt. Are the bolts standard or...? Any place to order new ones or should any hardware store provide them? I have another question: Taking out the cover bolts, I made the mistake of thinking all the 8mm bolts were the same length and did not note which hole they came out of exactly (some reason I noticed it on the 6mm bolts, but not the 8s...sigh). I have 5 of one "medium" length; 2 of longer length, and 1 of shorter length. Where do they go?

Well, I have the top end off the engine. I will have to compress the valve springs and replace the seals in the morning, replace the head gasket, and then refit everything. Anything else I should check? I will post pictures in a bit - the left side, the one burning oil, has black soot on the piston head. I will clean that. The other head has carbon on it as well, but it is brownish. I will clean that too. Drewpy - I left the engine on the frame! Woah! There were a few tight spots. I will wonder how I will get a bolt or two back on later. Should be interesting. Question on removing the engine, for future reference - on the sprocket that the chain goes to on the engine: how the hell do you get it off? The guide says "bend down washer and engage the transmission". How exactly does that work? Thanks.

As far as I know, as long as you get ~14.5 volts across the battery terminals at about 3k rpms you should be ok. If not, it could be the voltage reg (you should have a mechanical one you can try adjusting) or it is the stator / field coil. That is, from my limited experience. Someone more knowledgeable should respond.

double post =/

Well, when I put the spring mechanism in that the clutch cable connects to, how far out should it be to start with? I tried getting it in where it was already extended a bit and couldn't get the cover on. I put it in so it droped down all the way and got the cover on. I could then shift up, but I could not shift down into 1st. I also don't think it is shifting up through all the gears. If I shift up, it does shift back down. Should it have the full range of gears when it is off? I've looked at both Drewpy's guide and haynes - I can't adjust that screw on the plate either way. Is it supposed to move that ball bearing inside forwards or backwards? Le sigh. Any ideas? Am I just putting the spring mechanism in wrong? I didn't even notice the thing wasn't permanently attached to the damn cover

I started cleaning the engine before I start taking the head / cam cover off. I also didn't get my tools in today Anyways, I took the left chain cover off (the one with the clutch cable). I have a slight problem getting it back on - does the cover just slip back on over the rod for the gear change pedal with the spring mechanism slipping over the pushrod for the clutch? I slid the cover back on and what I thought was the pushrod, but the clutch doesn't seem to be engaging. Anything to look for? Also, should the stator / coil wiring be ok if brake cleaner got on it?

Alright, my torque wrench and valve compressor should be here today. I have the "top end kit" with all the gaskets and such. (the top-end kit at the top of the page - https://www.partsnmore.com/cat_index.php?mo...ategory=engine) I've already taken the gas tank and carbs off the bike and looked at it last night - It looks tight - is this really doable without removing the engine from the frame? I'd like to replace the head gasket, will this be made available by just removing the top-most part of the case? (My terminology blows - I am talking about the top part that must be un-bolted in a specific sequence). I have been reviewing both my Haynes and the manual Drewpy posted. I will have both with me. I also want to "de-coke" the pistons - does this just involve scrapping the top of the piston or are there other parts? Please put anything and everything down you would think of when rebuilding the top end like this. I'd like to replace as many gaskets / parts as possible while I have this thing open. I am a newbie when it comes to all this, so you can't put down to much information.

I was thinking about putting it in the starter as well (since mine doesn't work - btw, I had hooked it straight to a battery and it made some noise, sounded like it tried to move a bit and then it stopped).... Have you seen any 12v batts that are small enough to fit in there?

Drewpy, have you seen these? There are some XS on there.... Some cool looking stuff, for sure. http://www.bratstyle.com/custom/custom.htm I wish I could figure out what they do with the battery. http://www.bratstyle.com/custom/sr400%20br...400%20brat2.htm http://www.bratstyle.com/custom/xs650%20mi...650%20miura.htm http://www.bratstyle.com/custom/81%20xs650...50%20hikita.htm http://www.bratstyle.com/custom/45/45.htm Might be my favorite: http://www.bratstyle.com/custom/56/56.htm Once I get my bike running (should rebuild the top end this weekend and finally be done with it.....Oh ya, I have to fix my flashers... ugh), I'd like to try and get it to look like: http://www.bratstyle.com/photo%20709.jpg

Well, maybe they use USD? That is, what, like 400 USD now?

have you put the new reg in and seen if the bike has the 14.5 volts across the battery? I recently replaced my reg (solid-state) which had tested the same as the bad unit. When i replaced it with the NOS, the bike started charging again.

if you have a meteicr ruler, you can always use string and then measure your string.

I could use the measurement on xs400 shocks (outside diameter). I am looking to get gaiters for them and need to know what size to get (too lazy to go measure it / not there!).

I use one like this http://www.royalenfieldusa.com/fuel-filter-inline-p-341.html on my XS. Works great. I picked it up at a local bike shop for $6. Another one: http://www.parkeryamaha.com/index.asp?Page...mp;ProdID=24710

..

It is part #6 on the diagram below. Unfortunately, you will need a shop manual to figure out how to test it (what resistances it should have etc) unless someone here knows the values. http://parts.yamaha-motor.com/partimage.gifx?d=124262,4,0

I know very little, but the voltage regulator (which I assume your bike has) should keep the volts under 26. Do you have a manual you can use to check?

It does leak out when I pull the pipe off - I figured it was left over fuel in there. Now that I think about it though, it would keep coming - kinda sputtered out. I guess this means I need to replace / rebuild the petcock? As an aside, I am going to clean the tank and add an inline filter.

Well I assume it is something in the float bowls. I drained the float bowls hoping it would come out. I plug them up, opened the petcock to prime for a few seconds, and put it back to run. I cranked it and it gave me a "put put" once. I took out the plugs and one side is covered with suit and the other is ok. Why would one side be so rich? I am letting it air out and will try and crank it later. edit: I got it to turn on momentarly. I let the RPMs get low and it cut off. I went to crank it back up and it wouldn't. After a few no-starts I took the plugs out, they look ok other than the unburnt fuel. I'm letting it air out again. The carbs intimidate me a bit - looks like I am taking them to the mechanic to look at?