First bike, could I get some tune-up help? 1977 Yamaha XS360

[MacLeody]

Hey guys,

So I recently picked up my first motorcycle. I'm 17 and I bought one that needs a little work done on it, which is fine since my parents won't let me ride until I'm 18 in October. Which by then the season will be over, so I figure I've got all winter. Anyways, onto the bike!

So these are the things I need to do on it:
1. New headlight with blinkers and high/low beam function
- No clue how to wire this one, any help is appreciated
2. New brake light with blinkers
- No clue how to wire this one, any help is appreciated
3. Install horn
- Not really sure how to wire this one. I'm guessing you just run you're ground and hot through a switch from the battery to the horn? Again, any help is appreciated
4. Connect a cable to the choke so it functions
- Any help on this is appreciated, I'll post a picture of what I think the choke is. That way I know I'm not hooking up to the wrong thing.
5. Figure out why the carburetors keep flooding
- Could there possibly be holes in the brass floats? I don't really know what causes carburetor flooding.
6. Solve the oil leak problem
- I'm guessing just some new gaskets on the housing
7. Figure out why I'm getting backfires
- It happens when I roll of the throttle, usually under 3000 RPMs. I tried new fuel with Sea Foam to see if that would help clean it out but no luck. What're some possibilities causing this? I've considered improper air-fuel mixture or that the timing is off, but I'd like to get some input before I tear into these.
8. Figure out the idle problem.
- It idles around 1000 RPMs, I'm assuming it should be higher. Somewhere around 1500 RPMs? It dies if I left off the throttle all the way, no matter what gear I'm in.
9. Boost up the rear suspension
- I weigh more than the guy I bought it from so if I hit a bump the bezel the brake lights are on will hit the rear tire. I'm guessing this one is as simple as taking the springs to a bike shop and having them adjust the setting switches on them.

So again, any help is appreciated! I'm pretty stoked to finally have a bike, but I know nothing about them so I'm reading everything I can online. If anyone would like further clarification on a topic, I'd be more than happy to comply. I can post pictures and videos and everything I know about the particular topic.

Thanks a lot!

 

[plagrone]

My advice would be to do some reading before you start working on any individual system. Carb leak (if it's from the overflow) could be leaky floats, dirty needle seat, cracked overflow tube. New gasket will probably fix your oil leak. A thorough carb cleaning and a full tune up will probably fix your idle and backfire issues

 

[plagrone]

I would do a full tune-up before anything else. You'de be amazed. I've bought bikes that didn't run but after wrenching for 45 minutes run fine.

Points, timing, valves, compression test, spark plug gap, etc.

 

[TheCoffeeGuy]

typically the choke as at the intake end of a carb and on twins, connected between them.

 

[TheCoffeeGuy]

http://www.cmsnl.com/yamaha-xs360c-19761977_model8587/partslist/B-01.html#results

 

[xb33bsa]

yep tuneup is in order get some mufflers on those pipes ,and you need to have the pipes and mufflers out as long as the rear axle
you will have to redesign the horribly concieved rear of the bike the tire must not hit anything at full travel, stiffer springs are the wrong way to fix that you simply must have the clearance
get rid of those awful clbman handlebars they are the worst thing you could do to any motorcycle and actually make it a hazard to ride for a novice
put some standard type handlebars on there
get some fenders and find a stock airbox it will never run right with pods
you have a shitload of work ahead of you, best thing would be to sell that turd and buy something that is not hacked up so badly or just be prepared for a thousand hedaches

 

[MacLeody]

yep tuneup is in order get some mufflers on those pipes ,and you need to have the pipes and mufflers out as long as the rear axle
you will have to redesign the horribly concieved rear of the bike the tire must not hit anything at full travel, stiffer springs are the wrong way to fix that you simply must have the clearance
get rid of those awful clbman handlebars they are the worst thing you could do to any motorcycle and actually make it a hazard to ride for a novice
put some standard type handlebars on there
get some fenders and find a stock airbox it will never run right with pods
you have a shitload of work ahead of you, best thing would be to sell that turd and buy something that is not hacked up so badly or just be prepared for a thousand hedaches

Yeah I forgot to mention that, I'm planning on getting some clip-ons and I'm already looking for an air box to put on it. I've looked online and I'm pretty sure I can pick some up for about $30, I'm just not sure if they're the right part I'm looking for. Why do the mufflers have to come out as far as the rear axle?

 

[xb33bsa]

clip ons are no good for a novice street rider either, they are for racing and posers, just get some superbike bend bars or low mx type bars so you can actually ride and control the bike in traffic ,please
the way the streets are these days the last thing you need as a beggining street rider is to have your arms locked straight reaching down to clipons
or to be hunched forward in a position that is only useful at high speeds on a track
and does not allow you very good control or vision in and around traffic
as far as the muffler length it is to make the engine run right short pipes don't work with the design , you can make it run with short pipes but not as good as it should

 

[SONICJK]

Welcome amigo.
The very first thing you're going to want to do is buy a manual.
Clymer, or the factory shop manual are both good. Clymer is easier for a new guy to follow.
With nothin but that book and a socket set you should be able to fix all of the issues you posted about pretty quickly (full tune up)
Xs are great bikes and easy to work on.
Xb comes off strong but he's usually got a point haha. Superbike bars are much more comfortable than clubmans or clips. But people run them every day, to each his own I say.

Grab the clymer and follow the full tune up procedure step by step and you'll be good to go!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/311069737021?lpid=82