79' Yamaha XS400

M

Merrickx

New Member
First project. Anyone know of a good manx-style tank that will fit a 79' XS400? With/without some modification.

The ugly stock pegs were easily replaced with bicycle pegs my friend found in his garage.
 
Hi welcome to the madness.
Well assuming that you don’t want to buy a custom $1000.00 alloy tank (but it would look sweet) your best bet is to get a tank off of a XS750. This is the way I am leaning toward on my 81 XS400. Apparently it is a direct bolt on or at least pretty close. Check out this you tube video to see how it looks. The low seat helps make it look more beefy too.I think the XS1100 tanks will also fit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owwd19VDbpg
 
I think an XS 11 tank might be a bit big for these little guys, though. You are talking almost 4x the capacity tank. Find a standard tank for an XS360/ 400. The lines are a lot better than the special tank.
This is the standard tank for the XS360, and you could liven it up a lot with some knee dents:
tyandmel039.jpg


I have a special tank on my XS1100, and it will never look the racer part until it is removed. The standard tanks are all a lot more square and flat topped.
 
Thanks for the input guys. Earlier today I was looking at 77+ Yamaha RD400 tanks. They've definitely got the lines I want but I'm not sure if they're quite the length I want. They do look good for something that seems very compatible. The frames are similar. Does anyone have any experience with RD model Yamahas?
 
i've got a 76' rd400 tank on my cb350 and it is significantly longer than the stock tank, and i'm quite happy with it.
 
Weezy said:
Hi welcome to the madness.
Well assuming that you don’t want to buy a custom $1000.00 alloy tank (but it would look sweet) your best bet is to get a tank off of a XS750. This is the way I am leaning toward on my 81 XS400. Apparently it is a direct bolt on or at least pretty close. Check out this you tube video to see how it looks. The low seat helps make it look more beefy too.I think the XS1100 tanks will also fit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owwd19VDbpg
Click to expand...

I like the tank in that video. Would you happen to know what year XS750 that tank came from??? I reaaally appreciate the input. I dented my tank, filling, and painting today but it's all temporary until I find a tank that I like. This helps narrow the search.
 
The tank in the video is the same as I and a few others have adapted onto their XS650's they came from XS750's I think the 77 thru 79 I believe. But not all the XS750's had them, you can search for them on ebay but they are a worth a pretty penny.
Here is a photo of mine which is red.
IMG_0740.jpg
 
xulf13 said:
The tank in the video is the same as I and a few others have adapted onto their XS650's they came from XS750's I think the 77 thru 79 I believe. But not all the XS750's had them, you can search for them on ebay but they are a worth a pretty penny.
Here is a photo of mine which is red.
Click to expand...

I could use a tank like that. I think I'd prefer the RD tank over the XS for the look I'm going for. btw Is that swingarm completely stock or did you weld on that reinforcement?
 
Nice looking bike ... I had the same exact idea for the foot pegs. How do you have them mounted, on the original bracket or something else?
 
Looking good!
Looks like you dropped the forks up through the triple tree a couple of inches. Makes the front tire look bigger.
What did you do to the rear suspension? Did you add shorter shocks? The bike looks pretty level.
 
FYI
I recently got a XS750 tank for my XS400. It is not quite a direct replacement as I was lead to believe. The puck/cup mounting system is backwards. So now I have a cup on the frame and tank. It can be fixed but I just thought you’d like to know if you do decide to go that route.
 
kingofthenuggets said:
Nice looking bike ... I had the same exact idea for the foot pegs. How do you have them mounted, on the original bracket or something else?
Click to expand...


The pegs mount right onto the frame where the originals mounted. The peg ends however, had to be bored out slightly to fit over the mount like a sleeve. I used a stiff rubber grommet so that I could even use the original hardware. There are a couple of concerns, though. The position of the pegs put the rear brake lever and pedal at a strange angle. Also, the pegs are only mounted in with a single screw. With enough force and or weight, I'm sure it could break. I gave them a good weight test, though. They should be alright. If anything I'll weld in some reinforcement.
 
Any updates?
Where did you get the 33mm clipons? Do you have any problems with them contacting the tank?
Keep up the good work.
 
Weezy said:
Any updates?
Where did you get the 33mm clipons? Do you have any problems with them contacting the tank?
Keep up the good work.
Click to expand...

No new updates for now. Things have been really busy as of late. I got the clip-ons from a guy in Van Nuys. They are a pretty common set. He also makes side-mounted license plate brackets that seem very sturdy. Some of those come with a brake light as well. There's not a great amount of clearance for the clip-ons especially with that tank but it's enough. I may put dents in the front. I'm looking for a new tank, though. The clip-ons are actually slightly too big for the forks but I've used a strongly secured PVC pipe tape/insulation as a bushing. Very rigid. I think I'll have it running within 2 weeks of getting back to work on it. Electronics are going to be a bitch, though, as I need a new stator :(
 
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