sandmanred
XS400 Addict
Just picked up a 78 XS400. Wasn't running when I got but but has been inside most of its life so everything is pretty clean for a 40 year old machine. The carb rebuild section in tech was extremely helpful getting through the carbs. It took a few tries but I finally got them cleaned up and mostly dialed in. Points were badly worn so at first only the left cylinder fired. I ordered new ones but cleaned up the old ones good enough to get back into to time.
The PO thought the clutch cable was shot. After popping the cover off it just appeared to badly out of adjustment. So I adjusted and went for test ride. 3 minutes into the ride the clutch started slipping so bad I barely made it home. I'd changed oil due to all the gas from the bad carbs and I first blamed the slip on modern oil so i decided to change to the Rotella T6 (thanks again for the tip forum) and figure as long as the oil was out I take a peek at the clutch.
About 1/5 of all the friction pads have fallen off. Looks like it sat dry for a long time and blew up when the bike got moved for the first time in a long time. Once all the flakes the cleared I was able to adjust the clutch cable back to where it started. I cleaned the flakes out of the areas I can see from right cover off and in the sump. I also removed and checked the oil pump inlet. One chip had actually made it through the sump and was lodged in the inlet to the oil pump due to the sump screen sagging over time enough to let one pass. According to dash oil pressure light I never lost pressure. I just hope I found them all. I've reassembled the sump with the screen in the correct position and will check it for position after the clutch is re-assembled but before I refill with oil. The screen had lost it's shape a bit and created a gap that allowed a chip to pass.
Anyone ever see the same sag in the sump screen? Or figure out where to find a replacement? I got a feeling the rubber in the rim of the screen didn't agree with all the gas in the oil from the leaky carb so I'm hoping as the gas dries out that it will hold it's shape better.
The steel clutch plates clean up pretty good by lapping on a plate of glass with mineral oil and sheet of 600 grit sandpaper. The friction plates are on order from MikesXS. The bike had only 11,000 miles clocked and I had some doubts about that but where the friction pads are still intact the caliper is exactly 3.0 mm so I'm more inclined to believe the odometer.
Anyways once it's all running good I plan to make a cafe racer. Plan is to put a loop on the end of the frame and fab a new tank, seat, side covers and tail cone.
The PO thought the clutch cable was shot. After popping the cover off it just appeared to badly out of adjustment. So I adjusted and went for test ride. 3 minutes into the ride the clutch started slipping so bad I barely made it home. I'd changed oil due to all the gas from the bad carbs and I first blamed the slip on modern oil so i decided to change to the Rotella T6 (thanks again for the tip forum) and figure as long as the oil was out I take a peek at the clutch.
About 1/5 of all the friction pads have fallen off. Looks like it sat dry for a long time and blew up when the bike got moved for the first time in a long time. Once all the flakes the cleared I was able to adjust the clutch cable back to where it started. I cleaned the flakes out of the areas I can see from right cover off and in the sump. I also removed and checked the oil pump inlet. One chip had actually made it through the sump and was lodged in the inlet to the oil pump due to the sump screen sagging over time enough to let one pass. According to dash oil pressure light I never lost pressure. I just hope I found them all. I've reassembled the sump with the screen in the correct position and will check it for position after the clutch is re-assembled but before I refill with oil. The screen had lost it's shape a bit and created a gap that allowed a chip to pass.
Anyone ever see the same sag in the sump screen? Or figure out where to find a replacement? I got a feeling the rubber in the rim of the screen didn't agree with all the gas in the oil from the leaky carb so I'm hoping as the gas dries out that it will hold it's shape better.
The steel clutch plates clean up pretty good by lapping on a plate of glass with mineral oil and sheet of 600 grit sandpaper. The friction plates are on order from MikesXS. The bike had only 11,000 miles clocked and I had some doubts about that but where the friction pads are still intact the caliper is exactly 3.0 mm so I'm more inclined to believe the odometer.
Anyways once it's all running good I plan to make a cafe racer. Plan is to put a loop on the end of the frame and fab a new tank, seat, side covers and tail cone.
