Bought a 1978 Yammaha XS400 (E)!

[arm]

Hi all! Ive been lingering this forum for a while as I planned to, and now have bought my 1978 Yamaha XS400! I belive its the E model?

It looks great, looks like the previous owner had some work done to it and its pretty close to looking like a cafe racer which is my goal.

There's a few things I wanted to do and could use some pointers on

• In the second pic, you can see that the right mirror bracket is broken so the mirror swings freely
• the seat is also sub-par and a brown leather seat would look a lot better
• change out the grips
• the clutch handle looks bent so I need to look into getting a new one because at the moment I need to extend my hand way too far out to use it.
• saddle bags and mounting options
• tips on cleaning carbs
• any other general performance/cosmetic upgrades you guys would recommend?

I think the mirrors aren't to bad, I can find them on Amazon so long as they hook up to my handlebars

the grips, seats, and saddle bags are a bit confusing cause I'm not sure what measurements or details to look for, I know on some bikes they have end caps on the grips but mine doesn't seem to have them

looking forward to your responses!

 

[CaptChrome]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on the new bike!

Recommendations to improve cosmetics and looks are different for everyone, so I will defer and recommend you try and do what you like in other bikes you might see.

With regards to the seat and saddlebag mounts, there is nothing that is a bolt on for this bike (other than a used rear rack you might find on marketplace or eBay), so you will probably have to have custom work done to address those. Personally, I think that reptile texturing on that seat is pretty sweet (see why you don't want my recommendations).

I think you will find that all of the other parts (grips, levers, mirrors and perches) are readily available from the OEM or on-line shops in a bewildering array of styles and colors.

Oh, and carb cleaning comes up on this forum more than any other topic. I would recommend you search the forum here and read up on the details. The XS650.com forum is also a good place to search and read (and I think that they had a carb guide that had some great info that covered both the Mikuni BS38s and BS34s - well worth reading).

Good luck, and let us know how you progress.

 

[avemachina]

Congrats, that's a handsome bike!

That seat cover kind of owns, but if you're feeling something else, you can get a roll of marine vinyl online with a texture/color you like and staple-gun your way to victory. I did a bit of accent sewing on mine using some interfacing foam after shaving the main seat foam with an electric turkey carver.

I've done a lot to make mine more accomodating to a gal with long legs/short hands, and my winning ticket with the levers was actually a generic adjustable set fitted for 7/8th diameter bars (I actually have two clutch levers, one is upside-down, because I've got cable-actuated drum brakes). Same for grips--I use Biltwell Thrusters, because they feel nice. The bars are like... Emgo LTD style, because the reach on the original ones went "in" too far, and I didn't want to be bent over the tank. Mirrors are no-name wide-angle ones that came with little mounting brackets, 10mm I believe.

Something to consider is swapping the lights for LED bulbs.

Luggage on mine is just threaded through the rear grab bar, which I see you don't have. You might have to fab something up or find something secondhand.

The little graphic on the air filter cover is just a waterslide decal I designed and printed (it's also my av!). My paint job isn't going to win any beauty contests, but I hated the original blue so much.

 

[arm]

Congrats, that's a handsome bike!

That seat cover kind of owns, but if you're feeling something else, you can get a roll of marine vinyl online with a texture/color you like and staple-gun your way to victory. I did a bit of accent sewing on mine using some interfacing foam after shaving the main seat foam with an electric turkey carver.

I've done a lot to make mine more accomodating to a gal with long legs/short hands, and my winning ticket with the levers was actually a generic adjustable set fitted for 7/8th diameter bars (I actually have two clutch levers, one is upside-down, because I've got cable-actuated drum brakes). Same for grips--I use Biltwell Thrusters, because they feel nice. The bars are like... Emgo LTD style, because the reach on the original ones went "in" too far, and I didn't want to be bent over the tank. Mirrors are no-name wide-angle ones that came with little mounting brackets, 10mm I believe.

Something to consider is swapping the lights for LED bulbs.

Luggage on mine is just threaded through the rear grab bar, which I see you don't have. You might have to fab something up or find something secondhand.

The little graphic on the air filter cover is just a waterslide decal I designed and printed (it's also my av!). My paint job isn't going to win any beauty contests, but I hated the original blue so much.

Oh my! That thing is a beauty!

 

[avemachina]

Something that occured to me as well is that you're going for cafe, and this is a really cool build that might inspire you! Really great photos of disassembled carburetors, too.

 

[OleDoc2]

Nice ride. Welcome to the nucking futhouse

 

[OleDoc2]

A quick fix for the mirror. Take the mirror out of the hole it mounts in. Mix up some JB weld and fill the hole with it. Place the mirror in the hole and adjust it to where you want it. Let the JB weld dry before you go out and ride.

 

[tstidham]

I really like our bikes in white for some reason. Welcome and great looking bike!