xtonyx

All of my stupid idle / sputtering at higher RPMS or under load problems were caused by a dead battery.. from my limited experience with my XS. It wouldn't hurt to do a few checks on the battery voltage.

For old chrome I use some chrome polish (i've got some crappy turtle wax brand chrome polish).. Oh and don't forget #00 STEEL WOOL. Put some chrome polish on the steel wool and start rubbing away. It takes off alot of the rust and burnt on crap on your pipes. Pretty much takes the rust off of anything (light pitting, surface rust of course).. no idea on the aluminum, i still haven't tried to polish mine.

Check your battery, make sure you're getting proper charge.. when my battery starts to die I slowly start to lose power in lower and lower in my power band.

theres a few threads on here about it if you search.. yes, $100 sounds reasonable. time costs money. yes, you can do it yourself. most people use a solvent (toluene, thinner, acetone, kerosene, etc..) mixed with an abrasive (bb's, ball bearings, various nuts and bolts). you need a liquid and something to knock the rust loose. put it all in the tank and shake it up for a while (5, 10, 30 minutes?) until its clean to your liking. after that it's a matter of using your choice of paint. i've seen the word "kreem" or something like that slung around. You can also try another method, which requires less shaking but a little more prep work. POR-15 sells a fuel tank kit which includes por15, a metal prep solution, and some other things. Shake or vac out any loose debris. pour in the metal prep, let sit for a bit, rinse it out with like a cup of water, let dry, pour in por15 and shake it around until you think you have a nice even coat.. drain any excess.. let dry.

hellfire!

so if it's loose, the bushings could be degraded i guess? i'll have to tear it apart. woohoo!

So I've heard a knocking noise coming from the rear on decel sometimes and the last few rides it's gotten worse. I looked back and saw my rear sprocket wobbling about!! I got to my garage asap and took a close look at it and it seems like the rear sprocket is held in place with bolts mounted into threaded sleeves.. But the sleeves are mounted in the wheel with rubber?? This was just a quick glance, I haven't pulled the wheel yet. What am I to do about this?! I didn't see anything in the service manual about it.

hrrmm.. vacuum leak? are your vacuum ports capped on your intake boots, intake boots snug, etc, etc.. clean the carbs and run it around the block a few times? is your throttle cable getting hung up and pulling the butteryfly open a little? if it's routed through the fork wrong it will do it.

DAMNIT! I have the 18" rear wheel. That's been my problem finding a rear whitewall.

yeah, just give me the brand and stuff. those look like those maxxis tires, and the only ones that fit were FRONT tires. i don't know if it's taboo to run two front tires or not.

is your fuel tank venting? my bike smoked when i first got it. it had been sitting a while. i changed the oil, ran it a bit as i worked on things, changed the oil again, and now i'm riding it daily. no more smoke since the motor has 'woken up' again. if the bike has been sitting a while just check over things, make sure everything is up to par (tires, lights, etc..) and just RIDE. after you ride it a bit see if there is still something goofy going on and then start to diagnose problems.

the tank is a stock xs360 tank.. saw one go on ebay a month or two ago for like 40 bucks. im actually thinking about pulling the front fender after seeing a few bikes that aren't running them.. no rear fender, im too lazy to make one at the moment and i never ride in the wet (and half the time i have a backpack on anyway). as far as the electricals.. i dont really have any. two wires to the taillight, four to the headlight, one to the ignition, then the weird little charging circuit. it's super simple. all ran into a fuse panel and put onto a couple of toggle switches. i have the main power wire on a bullet connector so i can disconnect it if i park it somewhere shady. it's kickstart only anyway, so i think that would deter most kids. which tires are those? i was totally unsure what size tire i can truly fit on the rear. it's got a 110/90/18 right now and its close to the swingarm. the front wont matter if i toss the fender. i was looking around the garage today, and i think i lost my points cover.. it either fell off while riding (forgot to snug the bolts maybe?) or i just misplaced it. poo.

must be nice to have a key! mine was drilled by the PO so i just use whatevers in my pocket to turn it.

If it won't crank, even bumping it while rolling down a hill, it's something other than the clutch or kicker. Check the timing, check that your carbs are in spec, check your points (if you have them), check if you have full charge, Did you disconnect your coils? It's possible accidently swap them. The little orange/white wires can be a little hard to tell apart when they are faded and dirty like mine were. It will cause a weird backfire situation after several kicks that makes you think it's starting, but will never run. I kick start my bike first kick almost every time now.

i think you meant to quote the guy above my post. i think $800 is a little steep for the bike is all. It doesn't have a seat.. it looks like the guy chopped the frame and gave up on it. I paid $300 for mine plus a few bucks for parts. It ran and was in fairly decent shape. Keep looking, you'll find a better deal. Thats just MY opinion.