'80 XS400 whiteout

[rshutchinson]

Cool! What fork gaiters are those?

I'm not positive as I don't remember the measurements of the forks but I got the closest fitting ones and I believe those are the ones. That is the seller I bought from and those are the only gaiter's he sells so....
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Motorcycle-F...617409?hash=item28176b9181:g:8bEAAOSwPhdVUXBT

Hutch are you an upholsterer?? You so non-challantly reported about the seat you made (long while back I know) and it looks bloody awesome!

Awe inspiring man, you've got your hands in every single pot Bike looks amazing by the way. Great colour choices! Hilarious that you forgot the wrist-pin. I haven't done anything funny like that, just stripping important bolts left right and center.

I am not an upholsterer but I understand why it costs what it does. That is a lot of work for just a little bit of fabric. I used an electric turkey carver and an angle grinder with sanding disc to shape the foam.

Yes, the wrist pin, very important part of the engine, haha.

Took it for another ride today, on the way to doing a roof the volts were above 14.8 but bike seemed fine. Was back around 14.6-14.7 on the way back though. I have noticed the engine has a smell but I can't really describe it and some smoke coming out of the crankcase breather and the oil fill hole when I removed the dipstick. I measured the head temp on exhaust side of plug and it was 320 degrees. That's a bit warm it seems. Oil temp through fill hole with the IR was about 180*.

I will take out the plugs when it cools to see how they look. I am running 45 pilots with 145 mains with needles in middle. Thinking of raising the needle a notch to richen it up and see it that lowers the temps.

 

[dgoodsy]

Thanks, I will look into those. I bought some Royal Enfield gaiters but they are a bit too long and are already cracking where they are mildly stretched/stressed.Not happy with them but they were cheap.

 

[rshutchinson]

These have held up so far. Buy a few sets as they're dirt cheap and you'll be good for years to come.

 

[xschris]

As for head temps I get around 265-285 at the exhaust side of the plug. Even on hot days and 100 mile non stop runs. I do run xs360 carbs on three of the bikes but even the all stock 79 does the same. I would see how the plugs look.

 

[rshutchinson]

I did pull the plugs. 145 mains, 45 pilots, Middle clip setting and I set the floats to 2 mm I believe. The bike runs fine, starts and idles well, no flat spots.

Wonder if it's just the engine paint? I did not sand down the edges of the fins on the head or barrels.

 

[xschris]

Don't look bad. How many turns out on mix screws. What type oil are you using?

 

[rshutchinson]

I want to say 2-1/4 but can't recall exactly. I'd have to check them.

I am using white jug Shell Rotella T 15-40 non-synthetic.

 

[xs400newbie0584]

Got the rest of the powder so I was able to finish up the carbs. Everything is powder coated on them, no paint. It's called Strawberry red, looks a little more pink than that to me but my wife loves them.

Also got the steel I need to modify the backbone for the new tank.

That looks amazing! Thanks for the idea... not like I need anymore though! LOL!! I'm a newbie and this site is an awesome help thus far!

 

[rshutchinson]

Thanks. Start a thread for your build so we can all follow it.

 

[rshutchinson]

After some more riding I'm going to say the battery issue is fixed so that makes me very happy. Over winter I think I'll have to take the motor apart as it seems to be burning a fair amount of oil. No smoke out the exhaust but the level is going down and there are no leaks on the floor. Despite this the engine runs great and yesterday got 57 mpg.

To do list for over winter:

Engine rebuild to see what is going on
Make a 2-1 exhaust and quieter muffler
Trail Tech gauge
New clutch and springs
Do something about mirrors

 

[WelderDave]

how did you get the extra tubing into the backbone? did you heat up and bend the bottom to separate it, or did you slide it in from the opening just under the beginning of the seat?

 

[rshutchinson]

how did you get the extra tubing into the backbone? did you heat up and bend the bottom to separate it, or did you slide it in from the opening just under the beginning of the seat?

Hey Dave, I'm not entirely sure which piece you're asking about? That is not the original backbone, I cut it off about halfway I believe and made a new one.

For the single backbone I cut off the large tube of the original backbone where I wanted to start the new one. I then slid a 8-10" long or so (can't recall anymore) slug into the original backbone 4-5", leaving the other 4-5" sticking out. Then I bent up my new backbone and slid that onto the slug. Then welded it all. Don't forget to add rosettes in both old and new backbones into the slug. After that I cut out the old sidetubes and did the same thing, slugged as well. Lastly I bent a whole new rear tube/hoop section for the seat and shock mounts that tied into the sidetubes.

That what you're after?

 

[WelderDave]

Ohhh, see I thought you just added some tubing in the middle of the original somehow to give it some more rigidity and and added gussets, lol. I was just trying to figure out what you did because I was either gonna do that or weld up a new tank around the 3 backbones. That might take me longer to do than the gas tank I think, so I’ll probably just make the gas tank then but you did a great job. For the sake of time and all the other stuff I have going on I think I’ll stick with just making a tank, hah. Thanks for the reply!