xs250

Jim said:
Reachin' back through the cobwebs... :rolleyes:... but...

If it's like the 400, and I'm pretty sure it is, starter motor sits high on the crankcase in a dry bay... no oil. There's a chain that runs down to the crank to a sprag type clutch. It all runs dry... no oil involved.
'Course I've had a few tokes since the last time I worked on one, so....
Click to expand...

Always Oil on moving mechanical parts on a motorcycle more or less.
Or at least should be otherwise they wont last 40 years. That well
Seals also need some .lubrication .for best durability
If no oil Gary has it with grease inside .#16 . that may look like wax .
Needing a service. ( as in hand held drills and such )
But I get what you mean .its a different thing on the XS 650 Sitting low ..
 
Jan_P said:
Always Oil on moving mechanical parts on a motorcycle more or less.
Or at least should be otherwise they wont last 40 years. That well
Seals also need some .lubrication .for best durability
If no oil Gary has it with grease inside .#16 . that may look like wax .
Needing a service. ( as in hand held drills and such )
But I get what you mean .its a different thing on the XS 650 Sitting low ..
Click to expand...
Well, as I said it's been a few yrs. but I don't recall there being a seal on the starter motor. There's an o-ring where the starter mounts to the crankcase, but nothing on the shaft... kinda like a automotive starter... no shaft seal because there's no oil up there to keep out.
 
mmmm ..looks like might have to go looking for a parts manual .. luckily a workshop manual came with it ... may not have been a typo as far as the kick start only in specs ... for some strange reason yamahaha on their 250 / 360 and 400 (why the hell did they put out 2 models with such close sized engines .. ie.. 360 and 400 ) they made some with elect/kick start and some without .. those with must have be the delux models as they had self canceling indicators as well and another couple of minor things as well .. that idea of starter off the battery is a good one as will cut out a lot of possabilities .. cant wait to get it home as will be in the shop till at least tomorrow for the safety cert , if fails have 2 weeks to sort out the problems which also means i can take it on a lot of test rides and still be legal
 
Jim said:
Well, as I said it's been a few yrs. but I don't recall there being a seal on the starter motor. There's an o-ring where the starter mounts to the crankcase, but nothing on the shaft... kinda like a automotive starter... no shaft seal because there's no oil up there to keep out.
Click to expand...


I did try to google a bit ..could not find A clear parts list. and Jim seems to remember right it looks as a regular electric motor
--> If it is that one

https://www.ebay.com/itm/333891914919?hash=item4dbd824ca7:g:EJ0AAOSw2h5g5qzq

I know of people had problems on Car starters of that type .They took it to a shop for evaluation
Others here know more of this than myself :
I would connect it to 12 V and listen and evaluate. I am thinking bearings inside that needs Lubrication / Grease
ev Brushes
 
Last edited:
Jan_P said:
I did try to google a bit ..could not find A clear parts list. and Jim seems to remember right it looks as a regular electric motor
--> If it is that one

https://www.ebay.com/itm/333891914919?hash=item4dbd824ca7:g:EJ0AAOSw2h5g5qzq

I know of people had problems on Car starters of that type .They took it to a shop for evaluation
Others here know more of this than myself :
I would connect it to 12 V and listen and evaluate. I am thinking bearings inside that needs Lubrication / Grease
ev Brushes
Click to expand...
hopefully thats all it will be as its spinning ok just sluggish
 
FLEA said:
here any of the sr models cost a arm and a leg with not even a couple of toes in your change
Click to expand...
i think i got mine for like $300 around 2004. otoh an xs250 in the u.s. might be the only one in america. don't know how that would affect price. the diagrams at lexingtonmotorsports don't even show the xs250 existing as a motorcycle. i assume the same parts and diagrams code is distributed to all us dealers. aussie diagrams show the starter engaging a part in the cap that in turn takes a sprocket. The armature shaft itself doesn't go all the way though.
FLEA said:
LOL LOL.... just found out xs650.com has a sister/brother site xs400.com (xs250/360 also tolerated) just joined but will still welcome any info here as well i presumed its run by the same XS dedicated people to whom i say thanks
Click to expand...
]
 
I had an XS250 as a stand-by bike.
In fine order, being the PO was a decent mechanic, but it was a gutless heap on the motorway, topping out at about 80mph and barely able to leave trucks in its wake. It was actually bloody dangerous mixing it with fast-moving heavy traffic.
But, having said that, if I'd only been using it for weekend backroad bimbling around and /or commuting it would have been fine for that.
I was unaware mine was the deluxe version.
It had a starter, self-cancelling indicators and grease points on the swing arm (I suspect the PO put them on). In fact, I don't think any of the European market ones lacked an electric start, so yeah, market differences.
 
hopefully im lucky as the po is a marine engineer and really did love / like this bike having owned it 5 yrs with a major engine rebuild so hopefully wont run into any surprises , find out today when i pick it up from the shop and ride it home , with yours grimly toping out at 80mph thats close to the official max so its good to hear as normally top speed is generally overstated on bike specs , im in mt country with LOTS AND LOTS of cnrs and our state rds limit is also 60mph (100 kls) so it does allow for overtaking leeway (thought the traffic cops dont) and fun on the cnrs BUT have been having idle thoughts about maybe a hotter cam and a set of mukuni carbs .. mmm ...cant help myself .. lol ..or even maybe a xs400 top end swap over ... do have a bikini fairing and a set of clubman bars laying around in the shed mmm,,, AHHHH.... it started again new bike MANIA
 
mikes with its expanded stock doesnt even list the xs250 or 360 just the 400 though does have a few parts in stock common to all bikes
xjwmx said:
i think i got mine for like $300 around 2004. otoh an xs250 in the u.s. might be the only one in america. don't know how that would affect price. the diagrams at lexingtonmotorsports don't even show the xs250 existing as a motorcycle. i assume the same parts and diagrams code is distributed to all us dealers. aussie diagrams show the starter engaging a part in the cap that in turn takes a sprocket. The armature shaft itself doesn't go all the way though.

]
Click to expand...
RC4MAN said:
Wasn't it a sleeved and destroked 400
Click to expand...
dont know as still looking into it , my guess is same bottem end , bigger bore BUT dont know if cam and heads interchange , a question will be asking the other forum as well , though good chance someone here might know ... might also be the 400 is a bored out 250 .. all this having a bearing on the size of the hole into the casings .. eg .. xs650 will take the 750 kit but any larger eg 810 / 1000 and you have to increase the size if the casing hole to suit
 
FLEA said:
hopefully im lucky as the po is a marine engineer and really did love / like this bike having owned it 5 yrs with a major engine rebuild so hopefully wont run into any surprises , find out today when i pick it up from the shop and ride it home , with yours grimly toping out at 80mph thats close to the official max so its good to hear as normally top speed is generally overstated on bike specs , im in mt country with LOTS AND LOTS of cnrs and our state rds limit is also 60mph (100 kls) so it does allow for overtaking leeway (thought the traffic cops dont) and fun on the cnrs BUT have been having idle thoughts about maybe a hotter cam and a set of mukuni carbs .. mmm ...cant help myself .. lol ..or even maybe a xs400 top end swap over ... do have a bikini fairing and a set of clubman bars laying around in the shed mmm,,, AHHHH.... it started again new bike MANIA
Click to expand...
Just enjoy the bike for what it is. A small easy twin to ride and twiddle the spanner’s with.
Back road twisties will be fun on a low powered twin. Happy days :bike:
 
I'm fairly sure that it was an under-bored 400. So sure that I bought a pair of 400 pistons from Fowler's at massive discount because they were getting rid of old stock. Never did get around to fitting them, though.
They would have made all the difference on the motorway, that's for sure.
 
Reaching back through the years of fog again....
Iirc, the head and jugs will swap between the 250 and 400, but....
The bigger (heavier) pistons will throw the crank balance way out... vibes out the ying yang.
You'll also need to swap out the crank for a 400 one.
I think you'd be money ahead just to find a good 400 motor and swap it in.
 
Jim said:
Reaching back through the years of fog again....
Iirc, the head and jugs will swap between the 250 and 400, but....
The bigger (heavier) pistons will throw the crank balance way out... vibes out the ying yang.
You'll also need to swap out the crank for a 400 one.
I think you'd be money ahead just to find a good 400 motor and swap it in.
Click to expand...
been doing a bit of reading , seems easy / common swap for 400 top end but need barrels /heads / cam / carbs etc pistons go straight on to the 250 conrods but as you said crank and vibration could be a problem but cant find any mention pf it , a good 400 motor if it could be found may be easier and cheaper but starting to spend a lot on something that will never be worth much
 
UP DATE ...road it home from the shop and BIG disapointment ... way way under powered even for what it is , managed to touch 60mph / 100kph twice and downing gears at the sight of a hill ,motor is quiet and seems to be plenty of compression even without putting gauges on it , a lot of vibration through the bars , a lot more than would have expected and at its higher speeds , still has its original cv carbs which is what im thinking could be the cause of its sluggishness under load , it does rev out well in neutral ... its test run before buying was just up and down the street on flat ground , .. will have to go looking for causes , if po was telling the truth its whole life since rebuild 5 yrs ag has been a 10 kl trip to work and back in town traffic and no where else / no h/way use
 
FLEA said:
a lot of vibration through the bars , a lot more than would have expected and at its higher speeds
Click to expand...
The 400('s) I had were pretty buzzy in the bars and pegs, but it was the buzz you get from a 180° twin... wasn't bad at all. A good carb sync might clean some of that up?
 

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