XS400 Whizzer

jbwpg

jbwpg

New Member
I've aquired a couple xs400's over the last year, a 1980 and a 79. So far I only have a few plans as to what I am going to build out of the two but I like the 21" front wheel and motochop face of Swapmeet Louies 400 and I'm a big fan of bratstyle and other japanese chopper buliders, so I'll be kinda going in that direction but we'll see where it goes. Either way I'm gonna try to take a few pics and do a bit of a build thread.

the tear down...
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Besides one being previously molested and one all original the only noticable big diff. between the two years is the 79 has a 18" rear wheel and disc brake and the 80 has a 16" w/ drum.
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cant wait to start chopping!
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Re: XS400 "Something or other" Build

Right on, yea I like what your doing with yours, im probably going with the mx bars and possibly the frame loop as well... Im going the clean and simple route with this bike. The thing that really is gonna set the bike off for me tho is a 21" up front with the 18" in the back. I'm going to see if I can swap the front end with some mx triple trees, forks and wheel tonight....
 
Re: XS400 "Something or other" Build

Im going to be using the 1980 XS frame and motor in this build, its pretty much untouched as apposed to the 79 and a "clean" slate is always nice.

Last night I threw on an XL100 front end with a 21" spoked wheel... was not a direct fit sadly, going to have to swap the slightly wider stem from an XS triple somewhere down the road.. Also installed the swingarm and 18" wheel from the 79 XS and messed around with some tank, fender and bar set-ups.

**Will be using a street tire not the knobby tire fyi..
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Not a big fan of the 5 gallon tank... too long, too wide and seems to really dwarf everything
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Im liking the drag bars, not as comfy as the MX tho
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Going to look for a different tank.. Really need to be sure on one Before I can really envision anything and move forward. The frame of this bike is extremely akward tho, finding one that sits comfortably on its triple backbone might not be easy.
 
Re: XS400 "Something or other" Build

Tried out another tank, painted this one in the winter, really like the shape and size. It just doesnt really sit on the frame right....

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Re: XS400 "Something or other" Build

Never noticed the XS400s has the triangulated top tube. Could you do away with those an reinforce the frame in other ways?
 
Re: XS400 "Something or other" Build

yes I think Swapmeet Louie did that in his build, I dont think Im going to tho. I considered making a custom tank out of fiberglass but building one strong enough and fuel resistant enough for an everyday bike would be more trouble than its worth.... I think what im going to do is use a small 1.5 - 2 gallon tank and make a cover/shell out of fiberglass that covers it and blends in with the frame.
 
Re: XS400 "Something or other" Build

Build is going a little slow, waiting on some parts and what not... bought this new 1.8 gal knock off whizzer tank from china on ebay, wish it wasnt painted but I like the shape and it sits on the frame alright....
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Cant wait to get that street tire for the front and finish the mock up so i can paint!
 
Re: XS400 "Something or other" Build

Got some painting done on the frame and engine, cleaned and cut the exhaust. Sorry about the crappy pics.

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I still dont really know what category to throw this bike into, dont really care. main goal is just clean and balanced....

Also decided im going to stick with the stock cast rear and front 18's... both have good tires and are ready to go, just dont want to spend any more cash on this project.
 
Re: XS400 "Something or other" Build

Put alot of hours into this bike lately, its finally starting to come together. Heres a couple teaser shots of the front end...

Tried to clean things up by ditching the tach and putting the ignition in the lamp.

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Just decided to keep the whizzer tank as is and just call it just that "The Whizzer" haha, anyways tho I rolled the bike out of my poorly lit garage ad took a few photos. Seat, wiring and firing is all thats left now.

C&C is always welcome, Thanks.

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Liken this one too. Narrow profile, looks lean and mean, What are the plans for the seat? I would keep it narrow too. Maybe a slim tuck and roll finished style?

Cheers

Maritime
 
I'm gonna try something new with this seat. I plan on incorporating the license plate and tail light into the seat while at the same time having the seat flow with the bike and not be a bulky mess, should be interesting.
 
The tank looks really good,not bad at all,coming along nice.Gives me some ideas for my 400 build.Of course after my 650 build,thats next. Way too many projects. Really nice work
 
I understand what you were wanting with the smaller tank, but I thought the big tank looked gooood.
 
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