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I bought a 1981 Yamaha XS400 as a starter bike a few months ago. It always idled a bit high (around 2,500 rpms) but that was the only thing wrong with it. A few weeks ago I got on it (it had only been a week since my last ride) and it wouldn't start. When pushing the start button, there was a loud clicking noise and the dashboard lights would dim down when pushing the button. I learned this was from the battery being close to dead (which was weird b/c it was a relatively new battery that I bought this spring). I re-charged the battery, put it back in, and the bike started right up. A few minutes into my ride the bike seemed like it was going to die, like either the battery was dying or the gas was blocked b/c the bike would get kinda shaky and when I switched to neutral and let off the gas the bike crashed rapidly from 500 rpms and then died completely. Luckily I was able to pull over into a gas station to check things out. The bike wouldn't start up again, I got the same clicking noise as before when the battery was close to dead which I think it weird b/c I only rode 6 blocks from my building. I kick started it but it only ran for like 30 seconds before dying again. Any suggestions on what's going on would be much appreciated!
My hypotheses:
1- an issue with the regulator not charging the battery correctly? Would the battery die after just a few blocks if the regulator wasn't working? If this is the problem, is it something that me and a friend could replace together?
2- an issue with the carbs not getting enough gas? I pulled off the gas line from the tank and gas seems to be flowing down that smoothly.
3- a spark plug issue? It's a 2-valve bike and I pulled off the cables that run to the spark plugs on each side of the bike. I was able to confirm that at least one of the two cables gives a spark when I push the start button. I wasn't able to unscrew the spark plugs so I don't know if they might need to be replaced?
4- could be something else??
My hypotheses:
1- an issue with the regulator not charging the battery correctly? Would the battery die after just a few blocks if the regulator wasn't working? If this is the problem, is it something that me and a friend could replace together?
2- an issue with the carbs not getting enough gas? I pulled off the gas line from the tank and gas seems to be flowing down that smoothly.
3- a spark plug issue? It's a 2-valve bike and I pulled off the cables that run to the spark plugs on each side of the bike. I was able to confirm that at least one of the two cables gives a spark when I push the start button. I wasn't able to unscrew the spark plugs so I don't know if they might need to be replaced?
4- could be something else??