New Rider - Old Bike

[JerseyBomber]

Ok so the bike is half apart but i have a few naggers. Should the stator housing contain any oil or is that a leaking crank/case seal? Im not charging at all and im used to good old auto alternators; open air and such. Is it shot if its all lubed up like that?

Id like to get cone filters for the carbs but where do i begin richening the cv's? If anyone has experience with the xs400 carbs your input would be highly appreciated.

Paint wise, what success have you guys had with rattle-can jobs and what brand did you use? Once again thank you all greatly

 

[TonUpSoldier]

On the stator, its not uncommon that there will be a lil oil in there. Your charging problem is probably not related to that, but i could be wrong. I'd start with checking the battery, then to the Regulator and Rectifier, THEN to the stator. On alot of these older bikes (especially my GS) the Recs and Regs were at fault fairly often..Alot of the Suzuki GS guys swap over to modern Honda sportbike Recs and Regs. pretty easy swap, and they work a hell of alot better than even a NOS stock part.

On pods for CV carbs, Those i believe are Mikuni BS32SS, tho they may be 34's, i cant remember, and i have an XS400 with those same carbs on it, but its just dumped a couple inches of snow here so im not going out there to pull em off..lol BUT anyway, You'll be in for a treat with jetting CV's. MY best advise is to check out Dynojet, and look into their stage 3 kit...if you are planning a pipe change in the future, might as well get the stage 3 now, or you'll have to get it later. They will have the best set up for jetting MiC Cvs, and you will have to drill the slides a bit, but that is all included with the kit, even the drill bit i believe. I havent put pods on my Yammie...yet... so i couldnt tell you where to start if you decide to just jet by hand, but i would suggest the Dyno kit simply because its a hell of alot simpler as they nearly pick the kit based on what you are doing to the bike.

Ive had pretty good success with rattlecan...provided you are persnikity about the details, and sand sand sand between coats if you want it to look pro. Then clear the living shite out of it, sanding all coats (id hit it with 10 or 12 coats honestly) then buff the crap out of it, and wax it and try to keep gas off the tank...thats the biggest downfall is it just doesnt stand up to gas well like real auto paints and clears do. Ive got some pics up in my project thread of what i pulled off with some rattle can. And the best part is, if you do mess it up with some petrol or just decide you wanna change it, it's cheap as hell to do so yanno? Best of luck, and lemme know if this helped. Ill be watching simply cos i have a 400 of my own to get to, so i'll be looking for ideas.

Peace and Grease
Josh

 

[rudy]

Both 400 engines that I have had oil in the bottom of the stator housing. It’s normal. As for charging systems, I haven’t checked mine yet. I think the 400 is the same as the 650. 3 phase with regulator and all that nice stuff. There’s an easy fix for the 650 using low cost parts found quite easily in the states. I can get you the information as I’ve already done this fix on my 650. As far as checking out the stator and rotor, I can get you a procedure to do it.

As for the carbs, they’re BS34’s. These are the same carbs as what came on the 79 – 8? 650’s. You can get jets, kits and any parts for them from Mike’s XS. You can go for the Dyno kits and all, but if you have custom things like I do (exhaust and huge pods) these kits may not be perfectly right either. Either way, invest in a colourtune spark plug. I’m gonna get one when I finally get everything back together and ready to run. It’s really the only way to make for sure that all is good inside.

It may be a little while before I get around to getting the information for you, but I’ll try to get it as soon as possible. I’m sure you know how life has it’s way of making us busy. If it’s been a while, just shoot me a reminder PM.

 

[JerseyBomber]

Thank you both very much for the info. I had quite the unhelpful response from Dynojet:

"Do not offer a jet kit that will work in your bike.

Michael Cory
Research & Development
Phone: 800-992-4993"

I even gave them a carb model. So it goes i guess. As insurance i will replace the regulator and/or rectifier before the bike goes back together. That carb info is gold to me right now i can begin expanding my search to the older 650 carbs.

Thanks once again!

Craig

 

[TonUpSoldier]

In my opinion Mikuni's best carbs were mechanicals or smoothbores. CV's are a PITA to work with when modding, as they were designed for efficiancy and smog reduction standards (thanks to the EPA, seriously how much smog does a bike put out??) But you may have a rough time finding some mechanicals. Check ebay for Yammie carbs used on bikes pre 1980. Secondly, when buying jets for your carbs, try your absolute best to buy MIKUNI jets...not just jets that will fit. They are often made of inferior brass, and also they tend to not be quite up to the flow standards of Mikuni. You'll be pissed the first time you go to screw one out or in and strip the slot cos its a crap jet. Most likely you will only need a Main jet, and if your needle is adjustable (which i dont think it is) you might have to play with that a bit. Again, with pods i went from a 115 stock main to a 127.5, its a bit of a jump. But you dont want to run lean up top or i can show you some pics of what happens to pistons when you do. Its not good. Running lean can lead to detonation, burnt valves and piston rings and holes or "diming" in the piston crowns. Expensive to fix, let alone the time invovled. Keep us informed...now that ive learned quite a bit about jetting processes im more than willing to help..lol