Which bike is this?

[toddh9]

Hi all,
The bike in this photo was sold to me as a 1977 XS400 but now im not so sure. It has spoke wheels, drum brakes (cable, not hydraulic) but also electric start and self-cancelling turn signals. Oh and a fiberglass front fender. What the heck is it?
Need to know so i can find the correct wiring diagram. Thanks!

 

[JohnP]

There should have been an ID sticker on the frame neck with serial# and date of manufacture. The serial number will be there even if the sticker is gone or painted over.

 

[toddh9]

There should have been an ID sticker on the frame neck with serial# and date of manufacture. The serial number will be there even if the sticker is gone or painted over.

Thanks, will this sticker also have the model number?

 

[JohnP]

I have an 82 SJ, when I started trying to find out exactly what it was the first thing I found was SOHC stopped with the 81 and the 82 started 10/81 and was DOHC. When digging deeper some things didn't make sense. Mine has wire spoke wheels with drum brakes. After starting to restore it I got the original paper work from my father in law that confirmed what took me so long to find. The original paint was black with no stripes.

 

[CaptChrome]

Hi all,
The bike in this photo was sold to me as a 1977 XS400 but now im not so sure. It has spoke wheels, drum brakes (cable, not hydraulic) but also electric start and self-cancelling turn signals. Oh and a fiberglass front fender. What the heck is it?
Need to know so i can find the correct wiring diagram. Thanks!

The sticker or stamp on the frame head will have a VIN number that begins with a three digit model code. That code can be used to get the year and model of the bike. The engine will also be stamped with a shorter model code/serial number (on the top of the right side crankcase near the oil fill hole). The frame and engine numbers would match when they came from the factory, so you can work out if the engine has been swapped. Here is a short "decoder" for the US market SOHC bikes:

Model Code	Model	Model Year
2A2	XS400D	1977
2L0	XS400E	1978
2G5	XS400-2E	1978
2L0	XS400F	1979
2V6	XS400-2F	1979
3F8	XS400G Special II	1980
3F9	XS400SG Special	1980
4R5	XS400H Special II	1981
4R4	XS400SH Special	1981
14V	XS400SJ Heritage Special	1982

 

[toddh9]

Awesome - that's just what I needed. Thanks!