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Yamaha XS400

motorcycle

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 30, 2025
Entity authorityQ1565065
Source-derived summary

The Yamaha XS400 was produced by Yamaha from 1976 to 1983. The XS250 & XS360 are nearly identical variations of the same XS400 platform. Special, Special II, and Heritage badges denoted "factory custom" trim lines.

The XS400 had a four-stroke, air-cooled, overhead-cam straight-twin engine with a 180° crank angle, which reduces linear vibration at the cost of some axial vibration. The 392 cc (23.9 cu in) engine produced 36 bhp (27 kW) @ 8100 rpm.

A dual overhead-cam variant (XS400k) was also produced in 1982 and 1983 with a rear mono-shock and updated styling.

The XS400 came equipped with a 6-speed transmission, wet plate, 6 friction disk clutch, chain drive, tachometer, self-canceling turn signals, both electric and kick starters, adjustable rear shock absorbers, center stand, and an automatic fuel petcock. Early and economy models came with spoked wheels and drum brakes, while later and upgraded models received cast alloy wheels and hydraulic disc brakes. Later models also upgraded the early mechanical points ignition system to a modern solid state electronic system.

The number in the model name indicates the engine displacement.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Yamaha XS400” is motorcycle. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Yamaha, XS400 and motorcycle, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1976, 1983, 1982—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Yamaha, XS400 and motorcycle is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “motorcycle” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 30, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q1565065. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1976, 1983 and 1982.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Yamaha XS400”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Yamaha XS400 primary sources, Yamaha XS400 archive and Yamaha research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Yamaha XS400”?
  2. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Yamaha XS400” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.