Figured I'd start a thread about my new-to-me bike. Just got it this weekend, and I'm in the process of going through it and taking note of condition, what parts it's got, adding a few things, etc.

It's a 1996, came from Ohio and was plated in Ohio. I am going to attempt to plate it here in NY as well.

Here's a couple pics, last one is the most current. I'll add more here, including a list of all the non-stock parts, over the next few days as I clean, upgrade, and add parts.

I can't tell by the pic for sure, but it looks like your headlight is blocking your oil cooler. You might wanna slide it up so it's out of the way of the cooler and not casting a fender shadow when you use it.

Edited by michigan400, 08 March 2012 - 05:52 AM.

The cobbled setup you see there is a couple foglights attached to a stock headlight shell, minus the headlight. Oil cooler is fully in the breeze. I'm looking to replace that setup with something more tidy.

So the goodie list, as of today, reads like this:

96 XR400R
- Ohio street title(hoping to have NYS street title soon!)
- valved forks
- new Trackmaster 2 tires
- big bore kit + cam (unsure which exactly at this point)
- Keihin FCR from a WR400 (+ WR throttle tube)
- XR's Only stainless slip on
- UNI air filter
- Amsoil synthetic oil
- MX fenders, currently YZ front / Polisport XR400 mx rear, also have a CRF front to try
- Baja Designs dual sport kit (harness only, battery system)
- all LED lighting
- chinese/ebay oversize footpegs
- Works skidplate and frame covers
- Devol aluminum front rotor guard
- gold chain
- Renthal bar

I'll edit this list with dates as things progress...

Edited by SEBSPEED, 10 March 2012 - 06:11 PM.

Today I spent some time un-effing the wiring. I removed the Yamaha YZF-R1 led taillight, and a bunch of other unrelated useless wiring. The bike has a BD harness kit in it, but at some point this was partially bastardized with the addition of the other taillight, brake switch wires, different headlight, etc. I'm removing all the junk, and all the insufficient wiring (headphone wires... really?!?), and I'll be replacing all that with tidy, beefy wiring.

I have some nice bright LED strips from Radiantz on the way, and also have some super bright marker lights.

Pretty sure I'm going to replace the BD "AA" 10 cell pack with an 8 cell lithium battery since it will last longer for commuting, but that may come later.

Not sure yet what kind of headlight to get, but I'd like it to be cheap, bright, and good looking... lol (don't we all!). I'd like to use something I can put an LED bulb into. Not sure what the stock stator can power yet.

Here's how the bike looks after pulling some of the wiring apart...



And a short list of parts I need to shop for as of today:

- headlight
- rear tank rubber mount + strap
- banjo switch for rear brake

I'd like to find a nice deal on some aluminum hand guards too.

A small sealed lead acid holds up really well and they come small enough that you can mount them under the tank in the same spot as the coil.

Got a part number?

The lithium battery I was thinking of using is sitting on the tail of the bike in the last pic. It weighs about 1lb.

Check out Tusk aluminum handgaurds. Cheap and look good.

Thanks for the tip

I just ran my lighting circuit coming off the stator into the battery via the v. regulator.  It tends to wear batteries out pretty quick running that way - my NIMH was toast in a few months.  The lead acids seem to handle that kinda abuse a lot better.  Not sure how well yet but its been on for almost a year now and still works.  If I actually knew anything about this kinda stuff I'd figure out a way to step down the amperage to slow charge the batt.

Do you have a part number & price? The BD kit harness is set up to charge a battery, so I should be ok there.

You said you have your battery under the tank, any problems with water or mud getting on it?

Made my own harness, but basically my battery is just tied in with my 'pretty similar to stock' lighting circuit.  My Trailtech NIMH was a bust, but it did have a really nice nylon bag to put it in.  I'm using that for the lead acid along with some neoprene foam normally used to protect model airplane batteries.  Not much mud around here but that area is clean after I ride in the rain.  Its a sealed battery and its right next to the coil so I figure it can take at least as much abuse as the coil.

Thanks buddy. Any pics or links to products would be most helpful. I'm glad to have you all as a resource. I'm pretty consumed by my street bikes and custom projects where I'm usually the guy doling out the good info and links (and telling people to search)

Edited by SEBSPEED, 13 March 2012 - 10:14 AM.

wallrat,  I didn't read where you installed a rectifier,,,  Maybe that was just assumed, but it is a requirement to convert to DC circuit and tie in a battery.

Perc

Yeah I put in a Ricky Stator rectalfire so not that.  This was actually my second DC conversion - did it to a Banshee a few years back which is why I decided to just redo most of the wiring.

I'll pull the tank off when I get a chance since I can't actually remember the exact battery I've got.

Hope this helps:

1st pic is how it normally sits under the tank.  It's just kinda wedged in there.  The bag and neoprene 'flight protector' keep it from bouncing around much.

Edited by wallrat, 16 March 2012 - 06:36 PM.

Thanks very much! I'll look into this later today!

I am the king of back burner projects... I just ordered one of those batteries today. Thanks again for the tip.

so what is the bike up on the stand in the background ?  looks like a mid-80's Honda Interceptor ?

Emgo makes some inexpensive hand guards.  they come in all colors, are plastic with a metal "rib" running through the middle.  I have them on all my dirt bikes and through MANY crashes, they are still going strong.

Check Ebay for some of these.

Edited by scott_01_xr400, 29 May 2012 - 05:30 PM.