Just watching this as I'm going to look at an '83 XS400 as a potential first bike tomorrow! I think your enthusiasm may have sold it to be before I've even seen it. Thanks for the video. Can't wait to start riding.
This was my first bike, bought for $500 and loved it as a starter bike. Rode it until my skill set outgrew the cc. Never left me stranded, as long as the battery turned on the ignition you could always kick it and go. Good memories for sure.
I owned one just like this when I was 20 years old I'm 55 now and I still miss that bike.i put many many miles on mine the odometer went out at 25000 miles and I rode it another summer or 2 then sold it to a buddy.lol I went on many an adventure on it lol.thanks for sharing it with us it's cool to see one still humming around
I had one of these in college. I loved it. Never gave me much trouble, although I did have reset the points every month or two. I rode it way too fast, but I was invincible then. I wish I still had it.
Wonderful to see an XS400 running again and in such good nick. Back in the late 1970s and early 80s I had a series of Honda CBs, culminating in the CB400 Superdream which was the height of cool back then!
37 yrs ago I used to ride a Xs 250very similar clocks to that one , it did around 75 , black with silver writing , was great fun cheers Dick Shane uk 🇬🇧
shaneweightman I had an XS250 for a while here in the UK. It had that great coffin tank. Mine was red with white stripes. Traded it for my Royal Enfield. Thanks for the comment.
Hey Mr.Whistles, I'm fairly certain the bike you're on in the video is an 80. I have an '81 xs400 Heritage Special, it has mags and a front disk. Otherwise the same. I love riding mine. Great video! Thank you!
Your video makes me want one of these bikes. I found one for less than 1k locally... May be able to snatch it up :P Edit: I got the bike, and it sounds as nice as I had hoped :)
Bought a new one in '81 for $1,700.00 brand new. The salesman told me not to take it over 1500 rpms for the first 500 miles. Half an hour later I was cruising to the lake with my buddies around 85 mph.....LOL. That bike ran like a raped ape for the whole time I had it and never burned a drop of oil.
Nice one Dick, you're right about the 70s/80s 400s much better than the weezy offerings of today, I think the Honda 400/4 was the first bike with a 6speed gearbox in 1976, gave the 400s more zip...
In San Jose? No idea. You can do most of the work yourself. Check the fork seals, chain sprockets, brake lines, pads, inside the tank for rust. You need new carbs? For $700 it’s probably worth the punt, as you’d have the rest of your budget for getting it ship shape.
Do you still keep an eye on this? Still have the bike? Just picked an 81 up. Barn find. Not going to restore. Going to keep it rough. Needs a lot of work. Runs. No brakes.
I had a 81 XS650 special as my everyday work bike, very reliable bike, sold it and later bought a 79 triumph T140D special which looks very similar and was made specifically for the American market and compete with the likes of the XS, but failed as the Yamaha was a better more reliable bike so the T140D was discontinued after 2 years and around 2700 made. Not long after in 83 Meriden Triumph closed its doors.
Just came home with one for 75$, surprised to hear you say it does well in dirt and gravel. Might've judged it too harshly as a street bike. So pumped to get her running
I have an '83 XS400 Maxim. My first bike. Had it for about a year now. Still learning how to maintain it. I'm 54 so I'm late to motorcycling. I'm in BC and here in Canada the insurance rates are crazy expensive above 400cc. So that's the most oomph at a reasonable price unless you can score a bike suitable for a classic plate.
Great video Dick. That looks like Watkins Glen going up the route 79 hill to Burdett. I used to crawl up that hill in my old VW back in the day. Its a beautiful area and you're a lucky man to be able to spend time there.
If it is back firing most likely you need to rebuild your carbs . NOT CLEAN THEM, but rebuild them . The carb kits are very cheap $30.00 per carb. I have 2 XS 1100's . One of them is the 1100 special and the other one is the midnight special . These are great bikes. My XS 1100 special has been rebuilt . I rebuilt all 4 carbs , I put a Dynojet jet kit, a MAC 4 into 1 exhaust , K&N air filter, rebuilt the brake calipers, New battery, New stator, new field coil, new voltage regulator, Dunlop 404 tires,a new starter clutch, and the engine was taken out of the bike and every gasket on the bike was replaced with a complete ATHENA Gasket kit. New handlebars, and a feature that I added that did not come standard with this bike is running lights. My XS has the 2 front directionals with a 2 filament bulb instead of a 1 filament . I like that I did that because I can be seen better at night . The midnight special is a complete restore. I even had all the gold redone on the midnight special
@@DickWhistles I bought it cheap not running. Planned on going the cafe route, but as I got it running I fell in love with the stock bike and have been working towards changing the mods that have been done to get her closer to stock.
I have appreciated your commentaries, even though it may be because I share some of your views, but thank you very much for your efforts in the Cause. I too loved the Enfield 500 but mine was from 2017 and soon developed a nasty noise at low mileage (big end? main bearing?) so it had to go back. It was replaced by CB300R which gives some of the same feelings + much livelier performance. Judging just from this video, the CB might blow the Heartbreaker into the weeds so please give it a try. You can't try everything but at the moment I can only guess that after all you might have to sell a member of your family!
This was my first Bike , I bought it in 1980 I just turned 16. I paid 16 hundred and change out the door. It was a nice solid bike It topped out at about a 105 mph. A lot of fun a lot of beer and weed and parties.😊
@DickWhistles 60 years old.Stil going strong From there I went to a 67 Sportster an 1100 ltd kaw, two zx9 r's , a zx636 . Two drz dual sport Currently on a 2024 drz400sm . All of these books were great. i'm really enjoying this drz super moto. Stay well keep riding.
I have this exact bike and I do not like the "buck-horn" original handlebars. What handlebars did you put on your beautiful bike. Actually, I don't know the proper name of handlebars or even the size to ask for. Thank you for a wonderful video.
I was really interested in the SR yamaha but cannot find any available in my price range. Im trying to work out what are the differences between the XS and SR as there are some XS available
Vintage SRs were preferred over the XS as it was a single and a larger capacity 500cc engine. The unique design of the oil stored in the frame was also quite innovative. The XS650 was really the pinnacle of Yamaha bikes back then and is a great platform for customising in any direction (chopper, cafe racer, tracker, etc.). The XS400 and 250 were cult bikes and mostly overlooked for the larger capacity versions. They are my preferred models though. I still have two 400s, but have owned five at one time and two 250. Great solid bikes.
The Suzuki TU250X is a similar bike. Thought I'd never part with it, but looks like I'll be replacing it with a Himalayan. Wish I could just "collect" bikes like you, but I just don't have the room.
Triumph should put 6 gears on their bikes. Saying that the enormous flat torque range the 900s and 1200s put out I guess means you could have ratios spaced quite a bit. Dunno if Triumph do that. My Dad, if he was still around, would probably say "6 or 5 gears, LUXURY , back in my day we had 4 gears " :)
Just recently back in.. afternoon sunny ride on my new himalayan it reminds me (why I bought it ) of my xl 250...first bike was yam xs250. .. fuuuuuuun back into motorcycling... sadly lacking in super fast high tec bikes atb cheers from dave
carol & dave congrats on the new bike! Sorry to hear the XL is gone, but good choice on the Himalayan. Good luck with it. Ride safe. Thanks again for the comments.
I knew that road looked familiar......Rt 414 up the right side of Seneca Lake. I live in Ovid and have a 1981 XS-400 Special with 2,800 miles on it. I know that road like the back of my hand and have been up and down it several thousand times! Watch out for deer!......I T-boned one comming out of Lodi doing 65 MPH.....yep, it left a mark.
Just bought one for cheap, 750 cad, and im fixing it up for my first bike. Tank is rusty, so treating that as well as i can. Cleaned the carb, doing the best i can with the filter on the petcock, previous owner did some general maintenance to it before selling it (oil change, brakes, put in an inline fuel filter, etc) its just not firing. Has compression, spark etc and i think the reason for that is because one of the wires for the coil wasnt in all the way. Should be fine now which is mint. Hoping it all starts up
I bought this bike and I'm new to motorcycles. How can I get it going? Is there a manual online with operating instructions? I could use some direction.
Buy a Haynes manual for your model. It will tell you everything you need to know about the bike. Do you have a good set of tools? Do you know the history of the bike at all? What did the seller tell you about it? Where in the world are you located?
@@DickWhistles I have a great set of tools. I don’t know the history of the bike. The Seller knew nothing. The bike was on a property for about 15 years and it was given to him when the property was sold. That’s why it was so cheap. I want to use it to learn. I’m in Northern Virginia. I’ll pick up the Haynes manual and start on page one I guess. Thanks for the reply!
@@DickWhistles I was able to get it to turn over but never able to get it running. I’ve taken on other projects because I had a time finding parts and identifying compatible parts from other models. I’m rebuilding the carbs right now, but I wanted to just change them out for new ones. Again, the compatibility issue has plagued me.
I rode a 81 400 yesterday. I was scared as hell in highway speed... the bike felt wobbly as a fishing lure... It was about 900 dollars but I didn't buy it. I wasn't prepared for how old it would feel to ride.
How many people watching this stressed out while he was zooming around on back roads on reserve? Not many riders today have experienced drum brakes, do you have any thoughts on how well these worked?
Steve Miller there is no bite to the drum brakes, but they stop you well enough on a bike like this. You do have to plan ahead and look further ahead than normal, but that’s better biking anyway. Older bikes also encourage you to engine brake for speed management rather than relying on immediate stopping power of newer bikes. Thanks for the comment.
Nice. Older bikes are getting harder to find. New ones have computers, fuel injection , and even a catalytic converter. I just bought a new Yamaha Bolt 9 months ago. I hope it doesn't break. Cost big $$$ to fix.
@@DickWhistles They are very reliable. But I'm sure they are expensive to fix. But I don't know of any that have broken yet. They have computers, and sensors , fuel pump, fuel injectors and even a catalytic converter. Expensive parts to replace. Cars need those part replaced eventually so it is reasonable to assume bikes will be the same.
@@DickWhistles Mebbe the petcock wasn't fully open initially? Or was somehow gunked up, and a little jiggle cleared the line? Really seemed odd how that all played out.
kleinbottled79 it was odd. Something definitely worked its way out and then back on form. I thought maybe too much air from a cracked hose or something. But as you saw, As soon as it got switched to reserve, it sprang to life. Thanks for the comment.
@@DickWhistles the only reason I commented is I have an 81 xs 400 I've been working on fixing up mine and mine has a disk front drum rear and only 16,000 miles on it
Wicked Winter I currently have two. One ‘80 and one ‘81. One is drum and one is disc. I always forget which is which. I had an ‘81 in London which I converted from a disc to a front drum. Also had a ‘77 XS 250 which had dual disc brakes... so who knows. Ride safe.
I'm no expert but I am long in the tooth...I don't think Yamaha were still putting drum fronts on their bikes in 80? It's probably older? I would also say that these old carb bikes don't fair well with modern High Ethanol fuel, it ruins carbs. Good to see...a blast from my past.
1980 and 81 both offered a drum brake version as well as single front disc. I hear you about ethanol fuel. That is why I run and store it with ethanol free, high octane race gas. Thanks for the comment.
Just watching this as I'm going to look at an '83 XS400 as a potential first bike tomorrow! I think your enthusiasm may have sold it to be before I've even seen it. Thanks for the video. Can't wait to start riding.
Let me know if you get one! Thanks for watching. If you haven’t already, please consider subscribing.
This was my first bike, bought for $500 and loved it as a starter bike. Rode it until my skill set outgrew the cc. Never left me stranded, as long as the battery turned on the ignition you could always kick it and go. Good memories for sure.
My 79 xs400 has been in my shed for ten years or so. You've inspired me to drag it back out and ride again.
Peremalfait NICE! Send my a video or picture! dickwhistles @ gmail. com
I owned one just like this when I was 20 years old I'm 55 now and I still miss that bike.i put many many miles on mine the odometer went out at 25000 miles and I rode it another summer or 2 then sold it to a buddy.lol I went on many an adventure on it lol.thanks for sharing it with us it's cool to see one still humming around
I had one of these in college. I loved it. Never gave me much trouble, although I did have reset the points every month or two. I rode it way too fast, but I was invincible then. I wish I still had it.
Thanks for your comment. If you haven’t already, please consider subscribing. All the best.
I ran one of these as a courier in the 1980's. Great little machine. Fast enough to use a motorway, nimble enough to filter. Good fuel economy too....
My XS400 is still sitting in my yard not running.
I want it running again, but i cant seem to find the parts anywhere.
Wonderful to see an XS400 running again and in such good nick. Back in the late 1970s and early 80s I had a series of Honda CBs, culminating in the CB400 Superdream which was the height of cool back then!
I remember the 400N as being as an unwelcome replacement for the lovely 400/4. It was a good bike but the "euro" Superdream look wasn't popular...
I usually start looking for the nearest gas station if I hit reserve. Great fun
37 yrs ago I used to ride a Xs 250very similar clocks to that one , it did around 75 , black with silver writing , was great fun cheers Dick Shane uk 🇬🇧
shaneweightman I had an XS250 for a while here in the UK. It had that great coffin tank. Mine was red with white stripes. Traded it for my Royal Enfield.
Thanks for the comment.
Hey Mr.Whistles, I'm fairly certain the bike you're on in the video is an 80. I have an '81 xs400 Heritage Special, it has mags and a front disk. Otherwise the same. I love riding mine. Great video! Thank you!
Just wanted to say what absolutely fantastic countryside you were riding in
Your video makes me want one of these bikes. I found one for less than 1k locally... May be able to snatch it up :P
Edit: I got the bike, and it sounds as nice as I had hoped :)
Nice! Congratulations! Send pics or video! dickwhistles at gmail dot com
Bought a new one in '81 for $1,700.00 brand new. The salesman told me not to take it over 1500 rpms for the first 500 miles. Half an hour later I was cruising to the lake with my buddies around 85 mph.....LOL. That bike ran like a raped ape for the whole time I had it and never burned a drop of oil.
Whatever happened to it? Still have it?
Nice one Dick, you're right about the 70s/80s 400s much better than the weezy offerings of today, I think the Honda 400/4 was the first bike with a 6speed gearbox in 1976, gave the 400s more zip...
I just found one for $700! Owner states it just needs a Tuneup. Your video definitely makes me want to pick it up tomorrow
Where is it?
@@DickWhistles it’s in San Jose. How much do you think a tuneup and carburetor will go for ?
In San Jose? No idea. You can do most of the work yourself. Check the fork seals, chain sprockets, brake lines, pads, inside the tank for rust. You need new carbs?
For $700 it’s probably worth the punt, as you’d have the rest of your budget for getting it ship shape.
@@DickWhistles they beat me to it 😅 by 1hr
Ah. Unlucky.
Favorite video so far Dick. Great bike.
kleinbottled79 Thanks!
Do you still keep an eye on this? Still have the bike? Just picked an 81 up. Barn find. Not going to restore. Going to keep it rough. Needs a lot of work. Runs. No brakes.
I still own two of these. Have fun with getting it back to life. You’ll enjoy it!
Pure enthusiasm, Dick. It's infectious.
I had a 81 XS650 special as my everyday work bike, very reliable bike, sold it and later bought a 79 triumph T140D special which looks very similar and was made specifically for the American market and compete with the likes of the XS, but failed as the Yamaha was a better more reliable bike so the T140D was discontinued after 2 years and around 2700 made. Not long after in 83 Meriden Triumph closed its doors.
Just came home with one for 75$, surprised to hear you say it does well in dirt and gravel. Might've judged it too harshly as a street bike. So pumped to get her running
$75!?! Holy sh*t! Enjoy!
I had a 650 1974, I loved too much
I have an '83 XS400 Maxim. My first bike. Had it for about a year now. Still learning how to maintain it. I'm 54 so I'm late to motorcycling. I'm in BC and here in Canada the insurance rates are crazy expensive above 400cc. So that's the most oomph at a reasonable price unless you can score a bike suitable for a classic plate.
I love old bikes 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Great video Dick. That looks like Watkins Glen going up the route 79 hill to Burdett. I used to crawl up that hill in my old VW back in the day. Its a beautiful area and you're a lucky man to be able to spend time there.
Mark Young indeed it is WG! I’d love to barrel these roads in a Classic VeeDub!
Thanks for the comment.
If it is back firing most likely you need to rebuild your carbs . NOT CLEAN THEM, but rebuild them . The carb kits are very cheap $30.00 per carb. I have 2 XS 1100's . One of them is the 1100 special and the other one is the midnight special . These are great bikes. My XS 1100 special has been rebuilt . I rebuilt all 4 carbs , I put a Dynojet jet kit, a MAC 4 into 1 exhaust , K&N air filter, rebuilt the brake calipers, New battery, New stator, new field coil, new voltage regulator, Dunlop 404 tires,a new starter clutch, and the engine was taken out of the bike and every gasket on the bike was replaced with a complete ATHENA Gasket kit. New handlebars, and a feature that I added that did not come standard with this bike is running lights. My XS has the 2 front directionals with a 2 filament bulb instead of a 1 filament . I like that I did that because I can be seen better at night . The midnight special is a complete restore. I even had all the gold redone on the midnight special
I have an xs850. It's a really fun bike.
TokenMcFlapjack I had an 850! Triple. Shaft drive! Awesome. Was sad to sell it. Never let it go.
Thanks for the comment.
@@DickWhistles I bought it cheap not running. Planned on going the cafe route, but as I got it running I fell in love with the stock bike and have been working towards changing the mods that have been done to get her closer to stock.
I have appreciated your commentaries, even though it may be because I share some of your views, but thank you very much for your efforts in the Cause. I too loved the Enfield 500 but mine was from 2017 and soon developed a nasty noise at low mileage (big end? main bearing?) so it had to go back. It was replaced by CB300R which gives some of the same feelings + much livelier performance. Judging just from this video, the CB might blow the Heartbreaker into the weeds so please give it a try. You can't try everything but at the moment I can only guess that after all you might have to sell a member of your family!
42gentian too bad to hear about your 500! I’ll check out the CB! Thanks for the comment.
This was my first Bike , I bought it in 1980 I just turned 16. I paid 16 hundred and change out the door. It was a nice solid bike It topped out at about a 105 mph. A lot of fun a lot of beer and weed and parties.😊
Nice. Still riding? What is your bike now?
@DickWhistles 60 years old.Stil going strong From there I went to a 67 Sportster an 1100 ltd kaw, two zx9 r's , a zx636 . Two drz dual sport
Currently on a 2024 drz400sm . All of these books were great. i'm really enjoying this drz super moto. Stay well keep riding.
I have a 79 CM400A Hondamatic and I love it but it’s not slow that’s for sure
I have this exact bike and I do not like the "buck-horn" original handlebars. What handlebars did you put on your beautiful bike. Actually, I don't know the proper name of handlebars or even the size to ask for. Thank you for a wonderful video.
These Yamahas use 7/8 bars. These are powder coated “tracker” or “flat tracker” bars. Hope that helps.
I was really interested in the SR yamaha but cannot find any available in my price range. Im trying to work out what are the differences between the XS and SR as there are some XS available
Vintage SRs were preferred over the XS as it was a single and a larger capacity 500cc engine. The unique design of the oil stored in the frame was also quite innovative. The XS650 was really the pinnacle of Yamaha bikes back then and is a great platform for customising in any direction (chopper, cafe racer, tracker, etc.). The XS400 and 250 were cult bikes and mostly overlooked for the larger capacity versions. They are my preferred models though. I still have two 400s, but have owned five at one time and two 250. Great solid bikes.
The Suzuki TU250X is a similar bike. Thought I'd never part with it, but looks like I'll be replacing it with a Himalayan. Wish I could just "collect" bikes like you, but I just don't have the room.
Triumph should put 6 gears on their bikes. Saying that the enormous flat torque range the 900s and 1200s put out I guess means you could have ratios spaced quite a bit. Dunno if Triumph do that.
My Dad, if he was still around, would probably say "6 or 5 gears, LUXURY , back in my day we had 4 gears " :)
Yep carbs might need synchronized cleand a bit if one cylinder takes a while to catch.mine did the same thing popping and powered going up and down
Just recently back in.. afternoon sunny ride on my new himalayan it reminds me (why I bought it ) of my xl 250...first bike was yam xs250. .. fuuuuuuun back into motorcycling... sadly lacking in super fast high tec bikes atb cheers from dave
carol & dave congrats on the new bike! Sorry to hear the XL is gone, but good choice on the Himalayan.
Good luck with it. Ride safe.
Thanks again for the comments.
Nice ride through Watkins Glen!
I knew that road looked familiar......Rt 414 up the right side of Seneca Lake. I live in Ovid and have a 1981 XS-400 Special with 2,800 miles on it. I know that road like the back of my hand and have been up and down it several thousand times! Watch out for deer!......I T-boned one comming out of Lodi doing 65 MPH.....yep, it left a mark.
David C Ha! I’ll let ya know when I’m coming out again. We can do a ride of the Valkyries!
What a great motorcycle! Dude you are a bird magnet! Awesome video!
Bought a 81 new in 82 ,and sure miss it.
Just bought one for cheap, 750 cad, and im fixing it up for my first bike. Tank is rusty, so treating that as well as i can. Cleaned the carb, doing the best i can with the filter on the petcock, previous owner did some general maintenance to it before selling it (oil change, brakes, put in an inline fuel filter, etc) its just not firing. Has compression, spark etc and i think the reason for that is because one of the wires for the coil wasnt in all the way. Should be fine now which is mint. Hoping it all starts up
Wingstar congratulations. Let me know when you get it going!
@@DickWhistles got it going. Sometimes dies while idling, but it runs nice, sounds nice, and i cant complain at all
Wingstar congrats! Perhaps adjust the idle screw on he carb to have it rev a little higher at
Idle.
@@DickWhistles yeah ive been playing around with it. Going to take a little finessing
A squirrel probably nested in the exhaust system..needed to blow out the crap.
I bought this bike and I'm new to motorcycles. How can I get it going? Is there a manual online with operating instructions? I could use some direction.
Buy a Haynes manual for your model. It will tell you everything you need to know about the bike.
Do you have a good set of tools?
Do you know the history of the bike at all? What did the seller tell you about it?
Where in the world are you located?
@@DickWhistles I have a great set of tools. I don’t know the history of the bike. The Seller knew nothing. The bike was on a property for about 15 years and it was given to him when the property was sold. That’s why it was so cheap. I want to use it to learn. I’m in Northern Virginia.
I’ll pick up the Haynes manual and start on page one I guess. Thanks for the reply!
@@PurveyorOfCuriositiesany luck?
@@DickWhistles I was able to get it to turn over but never able to get it running. I’ve taken on other projects because I had a time finding parts and identifying compatible parts from other models. I’m rebuilding the carbs right now, but I wanted to just change them out for new ones. Again, the compatibility issue has plagued me.
Awesome !
I FFW this video so I may have missed something, but what HP this put out? 27?,36?
45.5HP stock but sticks closer to 40 now
My yamaha xs 400 1979 is in garage the last 15 years, in waiting to rebuild 😁 substituted by suzuki katana 750
I rode a 81 400 yesterday. I was scared as hell in highway speed... the bike felt wobbly as a fishing lure...
It was about 900 dollars but I didn't buy it. I wasn't prepared for how old it would feel to ride.
I'd really like to find one of those to go along with my XS400K Maxim.
I was originally thinking something wrong with gas or something Bc your bike should have way more power than it first did lol 😂
How many people watching this stressed out while he was zooming around on back roads on reserve? Not many riders today have experienced drum brakes, do you have any thoughts on how well these worked?
Steve Miller there is no bite to the drum brakes, but they stop you well enough on a bike like this. You do have to plan ahead and look further ahead than normal, but that’s better biking anyway. Older bikes also encourage you to engine brake for speed management rather than relying on immediate stopping power of newer bikes.
Thanks for the comment.
Nice. Older bikes are getting harder to find. New ones have computers, fuel injection , and even a catalytic converter. I just bought a new Yamaha Bolt 9 months ago. I hope it doesn't break. Cost big $$$ to fix.
The bolt is big money to fix/maintain? I wouldn’t have thought. Great engine that.
Thanks for the comment.
@@DickWhistles They are very reliable. But I'm sure they are expensive to fix. But I don't know of any that have broken yet. They have computers, and sensors , fuel pump, fuel injectors and even a catalytic converter. Expensive parts to replace. Cars need those part replaced eventually so it is reasonable to assume bikes will be the same.
Just bought one of these engines for a cross kart project I'm building
What style handlebar is that
Think it was a 250 but could have been a 400 , had the rds also but they were 2 stroke all the Xs were 4 stroke cheers Shane uk 🇬🇧
But mine only has 5500 original miles in amazing condition so maybe that’s why it’s still fast ish !
mike eger Ha!
need a good long fast run by the sound of it
Yeah it's not happy about something. Should have been able to accelerate up that hill easily.
Watch to the end! She came alive. Had to work out some sh*t!
Thanks for the comments.
@@DickWhistles Mebbe the petcock wasn't fully open initially? Or was somehow gunked up, and a little jiggle cleared the line? Really seemed odd how that all played out.
kleinbottled79 it was odd. Something definitely worked its way out and then back on form. I thought maybe too much air from a cracked hose or something. But as you saw,
As soon as it got switched to reserve, it sprang to life.
Thanks for the comment.
It was choking the whole time... You could feel it from here...
Tiago Ruivo not the whole time...
@@DickWhistles I mean, after the reserve it stopped...
Tiago Ruivo after the reserve I went for a ride on dirt roads for 20 minutes!
that's why you where getting the exhaust pops in the beginning. you had to much fuel going in... at least it looks like...
I like it
Definitely torque y
I have the same bike. 1980 someone gave it to me!
Nice! Ride safe.
@@DickWhistles thanks! I enjoyed the video. Have a good one.
I believe that is the 80 because the 81 I believe has a front disk brake
Wicked Winter I think your right.
Thanks for the comment.
@@DickWhistles the only reason I commented is I have an 81 xs 400 I've been working on fixing up mine and mine has a disk front drum rear and only 16,000 miles on it
Wicked Winter I currently have two. One ‘80 and one ‘81. One is drum and one is disc. I always forget which is which. I had an ‘81 in London which I converted from a disc to a front drum. Also had a ‘77 XS 250 which had dual disc brakes... so who knows.
Ride safe.
@@DickWhistles nice and you too
How do you even think of going out riding without checking if you've got enough gas?
DCShoes “Enthusiasms”
666 baby! Hahahahahaha!
I love bikes with a reserve.
Yet good carma
The carb may need cleaning
My women 💙 ♥️
It was designed for real petrol not for whisky mixture of today.
Agreed, but this is stored with race gas.
I thought the DOHC was 82 and up ? ....
Have 2 of these ... Both 1982, both 400's, both maxims and both are DOHC
It was probably low on gas all along lol 😂
8:09 Squirrel !
That is a 81. I have the 80 xs400sg special.
What makes you think it’s an ‘81?
bought mine brand new in 1980. ended up getting stolen.
Heart breaking!
I rode mine as if making love, 55 was just fine, if you need 110mph, I feel sorry for your lover
I'm no expert but I am long in the tooth...I don't think Yamaha were still putting drum fronts on their bikes in 80? It's probably older? I would also say that these old carb bikes don't fair well with modern High Ethanol fuel, it ruins carbs. Good to see...a blast from my past.
1980 and 81 both offered a drum brake version as well as single front disc.
I hear you about ethanol fuel. That is why I run and store it with ethanol free, high octane race gas.
Thanks for the comment.
Can you run it on premium gas?
You are clearly not an expert.
My bike holds the reserve gas in bottom of air box I’m guess your bike is the same
Wrong.
Punchy?, Find an RD350
1
1st gear up hill climbing lol
Norwich New York Screen Repair why do you think? Please share your wisdom.
I also need a screen repaired, do you happen to know anyone who could help?
@@DickWhistles the bike doesnt make much power at 3k rpm, you could if easily down shifted and climbed the hill quickly.
Norwich New York Screen Repair I was in first! The carbs were choked. If you watch to the end they get flushed out and it comes to life!
@@DickWhistles damn that's crazy haha I thought u were just lugging up the hill, didnt make sense at all since you own so many bikes.