living with a 400

[fossie]

400 bit for Gary..pdf

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Brief update on this article , the 400 went to new ownership in 2014,with 120,000 Kms on the clock, still the original untouched engine except for the frequent service at the intervals stated .
At 100,000 Kms the brakes were replaced complete as the piston chambers had become porous around the seal retaining lip, most likely due to the frequent cleaning(. But most 400,s will never have the usage this one did). The carburettors also failed at this mileage .....the chambers where the slide fits was worn though, allowing air in. A replacement 2nd hand set for £70 set sorted the issues.

The bike went to another club member for £1000 who used it for a few years as a daily rider and replaced the CDI With an aftermarket one.
After 2 years the bike moved on again , but the last we heard it was upto 150,000km and was now in need of the valve stems etc doing and maybe grumbling mains.

[Kiwipen]

I am over here in New Zealand,just brought a 400 Kat and LOVE it! As it is a jap domestic model there is basically no info here for it so I have already found this website really helpful

[fossie]

Thanks for taking the time kiwi pen to let us know we have some uses
If you need to know anything else feel free to ask, there are no daft questions, the answers however
Seriously I owned one for over 12 years , others for less. Some still do.
We have the parts diagrams and in time will get them uploaded.
There is no English manual .

[johnr]

agh, 400's, kill it with fire.......

[Uncle Bob]

agh, 400's, kill it with fire.......

The thanks (for the post) was for the laugh your 400 comments always give me

You love them really...

[Kiwipen]

Thanks for that,went for a summers ride today I f?cken LOVE this thing !!,I have a late model Triumph plus quads and farm bikes (I am after all from New Zealand) but this Katana makes me smile after a ride,isn’t that what a bike is supposed to do after all?
I run a fuel additive as I am getting the vibe that these 400s have carb issues? Can anyone enlighten me.
Cheers guys

[fossie]

Carb issues; basically the jets are small espically the choke/pilot jets, so if left unrun they block as modern unleaded evoporates and leaves residue. ( if you're using additives this negates this to a point.)
The issue is common to all Suzuki carbs of this genre that is the slide wears through on the runner as it is a plastic piece that sits in a groove and goes up a down quickly many times a second....
Make sure the air blanking cap on the balance outlet is tight and held , with the wire , the rubber perishes and draws air , this alters th balance and let's that carb run lean. ( more a time period issue)

[Kiwipen]

Thanks fossie,I will make sure i keep a fuel additive in as it’s been mid 30s c for most of summer I guess that also makes the fuel evaporate?
No matter what this is an awesome machine and I love it!!! It’s big brothers are pretty rare here ,the biggest sellers of classics are mid70s two strokes but the Katana and mid 80s in-line 4s are now starting to show some price increase but they have a long way to go to catch a gt750 water bus which can easily get 17k-20k!
My 400 is a jap import which wasn’t sold new in NZ so it’s good value to buy ,I paid 6 k nz for it,it’s an extremely original immaculate bike complete with original exhausts.25000 ks.Just thought I would give you an over view of these bikes value on the other side of the globe
Cheers mate.

[johnr]

its not that the fuel evaporates, because all fuel does that, but its what is left behind when it does. modern ethanol fortified fuels are a bit of a nightmare for the tiny fuelways and drillings on these small carbs, so any evaporation of the ethanol content tends to leave behind a rather smelly and toxic (for the carbs) residue, the heat wont help, but using a fuel with as low an ethanol content as possible will aid in keeping it running. as fossie says, adding a fuel stabiliser will help prevent the evaporation, as will always keepng the tank full (a full tank has less air above the fuel and so theres less space for the ethanol to evaporate into), and the higher the fuel level, the less surface area of fuel is exposed to the air thus the lower level of evaporation. stabiliser can usually be bought at garden centres or diy stores because its added to fuel in lawnmowers and chainsaws etc that are going to be laid up for long periods.

[Kiwipen]

Thanks Johnr that makes good sense.I will make sure I use non ethanol fuel from now on,we use ethanol in 98 octane in Mobil and I think BP. I will use 95 which has no ethanol.Cheers for your advice.