My new money pit

1982 Yamaha Seca XS400

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Picked it up from my brother-in-law yesterday way out in Pittsburg, Tx. He used to ride it regularly a few years ago and it supposedly was running fine last year when he says he cranked it up and it poured oil all over the driveway. He couldn't figure out where it was coming from but thought he cracked the head or something like that. It's sat in his shed for the last year.

He says he now thinks the oil pan gasket is bad it might be the only thing wrong with it, and talking to him I think he did a terrible job on a home-made gasket so I might be lucky...

I'm going to try to slowly fix it up over the summer break, maybe i'll get it road worthy, maybe not, we'll see. Im not really sure where to start, but my dad has worked on motorcycles his whole life and he thinks we could get it started in one evening, we'll see.

Other than that it needs mostly maintenence and cosmetic items, and new tires. The carb needs to be cleaned and adjusted. The brakes are new though. No idea what condition the suspension is in.

The instrument cluster doesn't work, he took it all apart to install that goofy-ass headlight, and never plugged it all back in...I have no idea what kind of PITA that's going to cause. When it was running he says it would overheat in traffic, but it's air cooled, so I don't know how bad that is.

Best part is...it was FREE!! I offered him a couple hundred bucks a few times, he just says just get it out of my shed and it's yours so I borrowed my friends truck and picked it up...can't beat that.

I have zero experience with motorcycles, so if anyone has a good source for parts or want's to offer any expertise on older Japanese bikes I wouldn't refuse it ;)

They are nice bikes, hopefully someday I can get it looking as good as it should.

http://www.geocities.com/xs400/xs400.jpg

Cool bike!

If you can catch him, VFR750 always has a few bikes and lots of parts hanging around.

very nice, sir... look forward to seeing it shiny someday!

Should be a fun project. Ride safe.

Haven't seen one of those in a long time.....Your brother-in-law looks to be pretty creative, besides the headlight I like the highway pegs he created by using a handlebar bolted to the front of the motor.
I have a friend with a bike shop that is using my ultra sonic parts cleaner, its about the only way to get the carbs clean. PM me if you want and I will give you his name and number.
I don't have any parts for your Seca, I do have a Seca 650 Turbo sitting in the garage.....its not free but if you get tired of your 400 project I will make you a deal on it....good luck.

Thanks, I will definitely be in touch.

Any idea if the headlight buckets/instrument clusters are interchangable between the Maxim and Seca? They look to be almost the same bike with minor differences.

Basically I like the idea of the round headlight, the square headlight looks horrible, but I would like a solution that's more friendly on the eyes. Im sure I could rig up some kind of custom bracket like he did, but using a proper light bucket instead of using just the bulb, not sure where to start. though.
Also I will likely be having to replace the entire gauge cluster, and if possible, get rid of again the square gauges. That's not too important, if I have to I can live with square gauges. I probably want at least the tach operating for when I start tinkering with the motor, with the possible overheating issue.

I know I should be concerned with getting the motor running strong first, but that light bugs me.

Also, how do I know if the suspension is blown, and what king of $$ am I lookign at for that one? It seems like a lot of suspension movement when just pulling the brake getting it down the ramp, particularly in the forks for such a small bike...but since I haven't riddin a bike since I was a kid this might be normal.

One more thing, he says the overheating issue might just be from something plugging the exhaust, and if I could get the pipes cleaned out it might help. Any ideas on that one?? That seems like an odd scenario to me, but again, I don't know bikes. Is it difficult to just replace the exhaust? He said replacing exhaust would be tough since there would be some welding involved...but seems like it should just be bolt on like a car exhaust, right?

Washed off a bunch of the road dirt and grime off this weekend. Didn't have a chance to try to crank it, but i'll see what I can do next weekend.

After a good scrubbing with some seafoam and simple green she's looking somewhat shiny and not so junky. Maybe she'll actually be a nice bike soon.

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We're getting ready for a trip to Mexico in two weeks, so I don't have alot of freetime on the weekends, but i'll do what I can. Im goign to try to flush out the tank and change the oil this weekend. Anyone know where the dipstick is on these things? The fill plug is just a cap, no dipstick.

Im looking online for a service manual, but everything is turning into a dead end with what looks like a scam. Can anyone point me in the right (free) direction?

No dipstick... should be a sight glass on the side of the motor bottom passenger side.

BTW... if it's been sitting for as long as it looked... Don't ride anywhere on those tires... Dry rot will bite you in the ass at VERY inopportune times.

^ Don't worry, it's got a long way to go before anyone rides it, and tires are at the top of the to do list after I get the engine running semi smooth...they are in terrible shape.

Thanks, I remember seeing that glass, but it's solid black. I guess it needs an oil change before anything...

Finally getting some time to work on this project, I found the bike is plagued with some bad electrical problems. Enough that it's looking slim that it will reliably hit the road any time soon, without extensive work.

I did however find an identical one on craigslist. It's in piss poor shape as well, actually looks worse than mine, but it runs and has less rust than mine, so I bought it for $300.

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Runs strong and shifts smooth. All mechanics and electronics works well, save for the front brake which I can swap over from my other bike. Tires look new. It has a fresh coat of primer gray on the tank, plastics, frame, some of the engine, wiring, exhaust, front tire...etc. The haldlebars were installed upside down by this moron of an owner, rendering it almost unridable. We switched them upright immediately when we got home and went for a ride.

Only thing that bugs me with it is first, the ignition is busted, so instead of a key, you use a screwdriver. Not a problem I thought as I can swap the one from my bike over pretty easily. Then I find out he 'lost' the title... I don't trust the guy, he was full of shit, but I doubt an old POS bike like this would be stolen...just bugs me a little. For only $300 I wouldn't have waisted too much cash if that were the case though, and I have all his info.

Im going to go get the title switched ASAP to get it all cleared up. If anything I can use it as a parts bike for my other bike. If all works out well, i'll swap all the pretty parts from my other one on to this one and it'll be a little easier on the eyes.

This one needs the carbs cleaned as well. My dad noticed one side of the engine runs slightly cold. There's still plenty of power, just that one side is a little cold, and a slight backfire every now and then. I'll swap out the plugs for starters, and maybe run some seafoam through it, but I know it needs the carbs cleaned. That'll have to wait till I get a new top and stuff for my car. The bike should get around just fine the way it is.

Bitchin' Neon. ;)

Hah it's one of my mexican neighbors 10+ cars, and it is bitchin! We fit in very well with my F-ed up front bumper on the Miata and 2 POS bikes haha.

Not to offend anyone...I love my Mexican neighbors, they're great people. Lots of shitty cars, hah. If you google street view my street you can see them sitting on thier lawn drinking beer like they do every single day, when they're not having a huge fiesta in their back yard, complete with a mariachi band and a bounce house ::Banana::

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Originally Posted by Jiggerachi

If you google street view my street you can see them sitting on thier lawn drinking beer like they do every single day, when they're not having a huge fiesta in their back yard, complete with a mariachi band and a bounce house

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If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

^ Good idea ::Banana::


Ok now for a serious motorcycle question.

Sometime if you barely touch the grip throttle, the engine revs WAY high all by itself. When I was on the bike it did this and since im barely learning to ride, it made me lose control and I hopped a curb and laid it down in the grass...(felt like an idiot)

My dad thinks one of the carbs floats are sticking, possibly causing the cold side of the engine too. Basically the engine runs strong, but it's lunging like this makes it difficult for a novice rider. Is there an easy way to try to clean the carbs without pulling them from the bike? I have a can of seafoam and im not afraid to use it!

Basically when I get the cash and time i'll get it to a professional shop for a clean and tune, but i'd like to try to get it more ridable without messing with the carbs too much and possibly rendering it dead in the garage.

Would running a can of seafoam through it do anything to clean the carbs, or would I be wasting time and a can of seafoam? Is there anything else I can do with the carbs still on the engine?

Do the jetsuck technique. Rev the motor to 5 or 6 grand and clamp your hand over the air inlet to create a big vacuum through the carbs that can only pull through the jets. It will kill and flood the motor but it will suck the crap out of the jets. If it doesn't kill the motor instantly it probably has an intake manifold leak. A very common problem with the rubber manifolds. The revving on it's own issue sounds a lot like a manifold leak. It may also have a CV diaphragm leak. Pull the top dome off the carbs and make sure the diaphragms aren't torn if you don't find the manifold problem.

Don't mean to discourage you but nothin you can do to make those carbs better other than taking them off, having them cleaned, installing them and have them synched...........

Yea, that's what I was pretty much expecting. I'm going to concentrating on learning to ride it right now. When I get it all registered, road worthy and pretty, i'll take it to a shop and make it nice and fast...well as fast as a 400 gets anyway ;)

I might try the jetsuck technique tonight. I'll look around on Ebay for the rubber manifolds, im sure they're crap anyway. What exactly are they called? Ive seen plenty of 'intake boots', but I think they're the boot that goes to the intake box, not the manifolds themselves.

New question.

I am trying to get the title of the grey bike I just bought in my name. I will have to file for lost title however, the guy lost it. For this reason I want to get this taken care of pretty quickly to counter any possible shadyness with this title (ignition was busted, no key. I doubt anyone would steal such a crappy bike, but if it was a nice bike it would be a BIG red flag).

Now to my question. I googled and read that you have to have insurance on the bike before they will let you transfer the title. Only problem is the bike isn't road worthy and I probably won't start riding it untill next spring. It's ridable currently but probably wont pass inspection. I want it in my name, but I don't want to have to pay insurance without it being roadworthy and riding it regularly. Plus I need to take a riders course (planning on this anyway) which will bring insurance down, but currently I can't afford the class/license, it might be a few months off.

What do people do when they buy a project bike that needs work? Wait a year or two getting the bike road worthy before transfering the title? Or is there another way around this?


And how does inspection work on a bike anyway? I cringe when I have to let some yahoo drive my car around the building a few times, I can't imagine people would let them try to ride their bikes around to test them.

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Originally Posted by Jiggerachi

And how does inspection work on a bike anyway? I cringe when I have to let some yahoo drive my car around the building a few times, I can't imagine people would let them try to ride their bikes around to test them.

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First choice...go to a motorcycle dealer service dept. and let them do the inspection.

There was a guy getting his bike inspected last time I took my wife's car in (quickie oil-change place) for inspection. They never rode it. The owner pulled the bike in the garage and pulled it back out.

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Originally Posted by creek

Do the jetsuck technique. Rev the motor to 5 or 6 grand and clamp your hand over the air inlet to create a big vacuum through the carbs that can only pull through the jets. It will kill and flood the motor but it will suck the crap out of the jets. If it doesn't kill the motor instantly it probably has an intake manifold leak. A very common problem with the rubber manifolds. The revving on it's own issue sounds a lot like a manifold leak. It may also have a CV diaphragm leak. Pull the top dome off the carbs and make sure the diaphragms aren't torn if you don't find the manifold problem.

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Oh yea, I tried the jetsuck technique the other day and I couldn't get my hand completely over the airbox, but with 80% covered it still ran and revved smooth. Im sure there is a leak somewhere but it might be the intake boots.

The engine runs better now though. Still is difficult to start, but both sides of the engine are running the same temp, haven't noticed any lunging or backfiring. I think just starting it every now and then is helping it. I tried to seafoam it but for some reason couldn't get the seafoam sucked into the carps, it just leaked out the bottom of the bike.:confused: