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Just bought a bike

Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 12:49 am
by Mexican Kerry
Last week I saw a dude rolling through the town I'm working in with a trailer full of junk. This beauty was strapped to the side, I was stopping at the same convenience store so I asked him what he wanted for it. A deal was struck for the princely sum of a pack of cigarettes, and I was the new owner of a 79 Yamaha XS400.

Took the carbs apart this weekend, freshened up and everything works like it should. The tank is minty inside, cleaned the petcock and put fuel in it.

Bought a battery today, waiting for it to charge. Plugs look fresh, oil is clear and clean as a whistle. I have to go back to work tomorrow or I'd be getting the thing running.

Its a small bike but I like the old Jap twins and the price was right. If it runs I'll dig into it deeper, who knows. Maybe a heavy as hell scrambler/trail bike.

When I try kicking it over I'll find out. Electrical is my weak point, might be the deal breaker. If it does run I am thinking of going battery delete with a homemade pma conversion.

Image

Re: Just bought a bike

Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 12:53 am
by Marcus
Can't get the pic to work for me but it sounds like a cool project at the right price

Re: Just bought a bike

Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 1:28 am
by Mexican Kerry
No pic? Think flat black yamaha twin that looks like it went over a cliff, with weather checked tires, seat missing, misc lights missing, and angle iron struts in place of rear shocks. Then you'll have a pretty good idea of what it looks like.

Re: Just bought a bike

Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 4:59 am
by rustynuts
See if this one works. Going to be a lot of work MK, but for what you have invested how can you go wrong, right?

Re: Just bought a bike

Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 8:22 am
by Dave1965
MK got nothing else to do right?

Re: Just bought a bike

Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 10:04 am
by jackalo626
Sweet

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Re: Just bought a bike

Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 10:33 am
by PDM
Nice

Re: Just bought a bike

Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 2:19 pm
by Whootsinator
I think that's the same bike my buddy just bought (albeit in much, much nicer condition) for $200. Sounds like a good project.

Re: Just bought a bike

Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 3:12 pm
by Niceguy
There's a HUGE vintage bike scene around here. Lots of parts available still the best I can tell.

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Re: Just bought a bike

Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 3:38 pm
by SSGBPowell
This bike has a following. You can get all kinds of pieces for it. I would make it a bobber. Strip it down to just the bare essentials. Looks like a fun project.

Re: Just bought a bike

Posted: Mon Jun 19, 2017 9:38 pm
by Mexican Kerry
Yeah I'm not too worried about finding parts, I can scrounge and make things work. I sold off most of my junk a few years ago but I still have my xs650/xl350 bastard I can rob if I need to.

Re: Just bought a bike

Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2017 8:06 pm
by Mexican Kerry
Got power to it, starter works and it turns over. No spark, looking into the coils now. Suggestions are welcome, I'm no wiz at electrical.

Re: Just bought a bike

Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2017 8:33 pm
by Marcus
Thats a party