Stepping backwards
Edit: July 2nd 2010: Disabling commenting on this post because owners of Chinese spam sites like to post links here...If you want to talk motorcycles, use the mail form on the side bar, or comment on another post. If you want to post Chinese a spam link, then please 其他地方去
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Quick update...
My family was down to one car, I started grad school, and my full-time job was going through a very frantic period...So my XS400 was seeing *a lot* of commuting duty. Luckily, it has been a very warm winter, so I was pretty happy on my XS400, even on chilly 25-degree mornings (if I wore my thermal bicycle tights under my jeans).
Then, the bulb in my cafe seat's tail light burned out. Since I was doing a lot of commuting at night, and since my XS's new commuting role made it nice to sometimes take passengers, I put the stock seat and giant, super-bright, and silly looking stock tail light back on.
Today, we finally got our first heavy snowfall here in Colorado...so I won't be riding the XS for a while. Luckily, we recently got a second car, so at least I have transportation for the winter! Unluckily, the second car will have to be the focus of my mechanical creative energy for a while. I don't really mind as long as I can get grease under my fingernails for something cool...I just don't expect any major XS mods any time soon.
posted by veloandy at 10:29 AM
9 Comments:
Hey Andy,
I picked up my XS400 over the summer and have been working to get it back on the road since. problems included (bike came without a title, carbs looked like someone had sprayed some type of adhesive inside them then put a layer of dirt over that, fork seals were - let’s just say needed replacement, and the bike just needed a good bath.) I took the bike apart to the frame (didn't take the engine apart though) took the tabs and extra pieces on the frame off with the grinder and had it powder coated. Put the old girl back together, made a custom seat cowl out of fiberglass and just got her on the road (also went through the process of filing for a bonded title – BTW not a bad way to pick up a cheap title-less bike and get it legal again).
I wanted to thank you for the blog as it was instrumental in getting my bike to a point where I could ride and enjoy it.
My last issue (working on now) is the hanging idle that you seem to have fixed by richening the mixture.
Anyway, Thanks for all the help though the blog!
Thanks CJ! That's an awesome story! I'm so glad to hear from someone else who enjoys this blog and has also fixed up an xs400.
I'd love to see pictures of your bike! I re-enabled the email submission form at the bottom of http://xs400.blogspot.com (I had been getting WAY too many spam comments from this form...I'll turn it off again if spammers start submitting data via the form again)
Feel free to use the form to send me an email if you want to share pics or talk more.
Best Regards!
-Andy
hello, i am felix and i am from germany. i have an xs 360 (which is very similar to the xs 400 as you may know)and i search wire wheels for my bike! here in germany, there are only xs with cast wheels! but i don't know how to find the wheels in america! so i need help
i thank you, felix
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Hi Andy, I am the owner of a 1981 xs 400s and have a couple questions for you. What handlebars are you using on the bike and where did you get the fork gaiters? I am ready to buy the superbike bars and gaiters from mike's xs but wanted to see where you got yours first. Thanks, Brendan
Hi Brendan,
I'm using the euro XS650 bars from Mike's XS.
I think I got the fork gaiters from there too.
Good Luck and have fun!
-Andy
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