New Rider Restoring First Bike | GTAMotorcycle.com

New Rider Restoring First Bike

Josh222

Josh222

Member
Just picked up my first bike off a friend for free, it's a 1979 Yamaha XS400F. The bike has been sitting since the 80's, hasn't ran in over 20 years and has been sitting under a bbq cover outside in the bushes for the last 5 or 6. I am have been a truck & coach mechanic(big rig) for about 5 years now so working on this old bike has been a piece of cake, I have learned a lot taking this old thing apart.

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I have started taking it apart to strip it to the frame. I am going to send the frame and a few other parts powder coated and go from there.

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Thats just STOOPID!

hehe see ya around josh (check the profile youll understand :) )
 
Welcome...

Man that seems like a big job considering the degradation of that bike and how it was stored. I've seen running bikes of that year/model on kijiji for around a thousand bucks. I just saw an '82 on there that is in excellent shape for $750. Is the restore going to cost less than that? Looking at those pics for certain you'll need a new seat and 2 tires, and probably shocks, a lot of other parts, that alone will run around 500-$700 at least. Even with doing your own work it's going to be a lengthy and costly fixer upper methinks..
 
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Johnny5 said:
Welcome...

Man that seems like a big job considering the degradation of that bike and how it was stored. I've seen running bikes of that year/model on kijiji for around a thousand bucks. I just saw an '82 on there that is in excellent shape for $750. Is the restore going to cost less than that? Looking at those pics for certain you'll need a new seat and 2 tires, and probably shocks, a lot of other parts, that alone will run around 500-$700 at least. Even with doing your own work it's going to be a lengthy and costly fixer upper methinks..
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The guy likes taking apart and rebuilding stuff :)
 
Love to see a restoration, and anyone who has done one knows it's a labor of love. You sure as hell don't get your money back unless you're restoring Cyclones or Vincents.
 
LePhillou said:
The guy likes taking apart and rebuilding stuff :)
Click to expand...

That is very true....

I striped and rebuilt my old 92 turbo legacy...
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Same with my 99 Outback...
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even did a 5spd swap on the outback..
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The plan is to Cafe racer this bike so I need a new seat and tires etc for the look so I am going to save by not paying for the bike:)
 
There's a lot more to restoring a vehicle to running condition than the pure dollars and cents of it.
It's a creative process. I've restored cars, guitars, bicycles and antique furniture.
Not once did I ever get my investment in time or money back. But that's not what it was about.
I enjoy the challenge of taking something that everyone else thinks is beyond hope, and making it useful and beautiful again.
It's a tremendous satisfaction when you succeed.
 
Been slowly tearing it down getting ready for some cafe action...
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Welcome. I wish I was as handy as you lol!
 
Impressive!

Welcome :)
 
With being out of a job and having some free time I got around to pulling out the motor. Going to tear it down and clean up the case, plus change all the seals and gaskets.
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