1984 WR400 help

new top end?? i thought the compression test of 165 meant it was good.... along with the crosshatching still in the cylinder and horizontal lines on the piston.... a few people multiple pages back said the top end looked great...
im not arguing your opinion, just inquiring. please correct me if im wrong

No one had seen the ring until earlier. If it were me, for peace of mind I would replace it. Rings are cheap ! While the barrel is off, do as advised and get the shop to check the bore. More so that you know the state of play and can check to make sure it is not all going to end in tears. Get them to lightly hone it as they will make a better job with the right equipment. Then when you button it back up you will know your motor is healthy. The piston looks good from what I can see. It all wants a good clean in there.

As for the cables .... ditch them ! Buy (or make) new ones. Trust me, there is nothing worse than one breaking out on the trail, and sods law says it will do it when you are furthest from home. Pop the clutch cover off and adjust the screw in the centre of the clutch as mentioned earlier. It does not take long, as you can leave the gear lever and kicker in place. Fit a new clutch gasket while you are there too.

The shoes may need replacing as they may be damaged from oil getting in there after the PO sprayed it around after washing. Or they may just need adjusting correctly. There are a few threads on here detailing the TLS set up. When adjusted right they are as good as a disc brake !

Once it is mechanically as close to 100% as you can get, then the cosmetic bits can follow when you feel like it.

look on the side of the engine case clutch cover under the filler cap you will see the level lines..had me fooled as well. otherwise its about just having the primary gear and clutch ring gear intersection covered. unless your planning to ride it every weekend you can probably get away with the motor as is for the odd ride. but..Big but ...if it does fail, it can do damage far beyond the cost of a ring change. if you whip the motor out of the frame, you can leave the cyl head bolted up and just undo the studs holding the cylinder on. thus no need for a new head gasket if you decide to whip a new ring into it. until you whip the cylinder off, you cant tell if its on std or 1 oversize etc so you cant order a ring in to do the job on a weekend. you will have to tear it down, suss out the current size and then order from phil or wherever. then button it back up. be carefull making sure the ring ends go nicely around the piston ring pins and the ring is the right way up. (if you decide to tear it down)

great bike, I just love my old 400

Hey guys, so I'm with the bike for the weekend again. Sneaking time in for the bike despite being here to build a rock wall.

I put the front brakes in tonight. So with brand new pads and the handlebar adjuster all the way in, and the one on the forks as shown in the pic, this is how loose my cable is. Is the cable stretched?? When I pulled it for the pic I wasn't engaging the pad either. Still almost an inch to engage it

Swap holes on the cable holder where the brake stay is.

yup the holder is in wrong hole

Good call guys!! Brakes are nice n firm with bar adjuster all the way in


Trying to remove clutch cover.... does something else need to come off? Or is it just the Honda bond I have holding it on?? Need to hit it or pry it but don't want to crack the cover...

Already tried pulling kicker and prying and tapping.... note the razor blade at the top

I hadn't heard Sod's Law before, so I had to look it up...

...Sod's Law, similar to Murphy's Law of ""If anything can go wrong, it will".
But, Murphy was an optimist.

Sod's Law is:
"Anything that can go wrong will do so at the worst possible moment."

A good rule to remember in bike restoring.

Nevermind got the cover off. The center nut on the clutch is just loose. I can spin it but it doesn't seem to do anything

did you get the bolt behind the kick lever? how about behind the coolant hose? looks like theres still a screw at the bottom. dont pry with the razor, if you need leverage put your finger in the oil fill. should come right off. careful with that magnesium

the center nut is the adjustment for the clutch...it is the pushrod we keep telling you about. have you downloaded the manual from this site yet???

Nevermind got the cover off. The center nut on the clutch is just loose. I can spin it but it doesn't seem to do anything

I got the manual but wasn't able to find the clutch thread that was talked about nor any other specific threads. I'm in nh and running off cell phone now. Sorry for all the ?s I can prob youtube push rod adjustment n figure it out. But just in case someone asks....

you will have to disconnect the cable from the lower arm so you can feel the arm with your finger. you will need a box wrench to fit the nut, an allen to fit the shaft, and something to stick in the hole. i use an allen for this also. rotate everything until the allen key or whatever can be inserted into the hole to lock things together. turning the inner allen shaft in or out will adjust freeplay at the actuator arm. you will want very little here, i run 3mm at the end of the arm..
this will keep a good engagement and help with the adjustment at the lever on the bars

Thanks!
My current push rod is the one on top. I have the other from when I last put plates on it

Squished in...... I think the spare on bottom is the one I removed a few years back because I thought it was squished. But it's less squished!....

Both Allen heads are in there real good!

Got one apart... trying shortly

Those clutch plates look like they are fitted incorrectly ! Or is it just my old eyes.
If your clutch has alloy plates, throw them away and replace with steel ones. You will have a much better clutch feel and it will stop the oil from going black !
I would never use Honda Bond, Yamabond or any James Bond on that gasket. Usually a smear of normal grease on either side of the gasket will do. Or use Golden Hermetite on the cover side, and a smear of grease on the engine side. That way it all comes off easy. Use a NEW gasket.

Use a screw driver to hold the clutch rod, undo the nut a little. With the cable adjuster wound nearly all the way in on the bars, adjust the push rod to take up the slack. Make sure there is a little free play, and that the clutch fully "relaxes" when you release the lever. A new push rod may be in order too.

I can't even get close to touching the slack.
New push rod I assume