i can't believe u put that fender& and took wind scoops off ! well i guess it's better in the wind?:eek1 each to there own
Yeah, there are a few things to look at, depending on your usage and how long you plan on keeping it. General maintenance first, though: air filter, fork oil, fork seals if they're bad, check the chain, rear suspension bushings need to be greased or can develop a lot of play, steering head bearings, engine oil/filter/screen, valve clearance. With that done, I would look into: plastic Clarke tank - if you ride off road, I consider this a must, because sooner or later you will dent or poke a hole through the stock steel tank. I got mine used pretty cheap, and get about 250 miles a tank, if not more. bark busters shorter turn signals, as the massive stock ones always seemed to catch branches If you need a new chain, look into the 520 chain conversion. I converted mine, and in 2k+ miles of hard riding it hasn't needed adjustment at all Drill out the pilot screw on the slide carb and adjust it properly. This will vary by bike, but mine likes somewhere around 2.5 turns out, and starts in the first 1 to 3 kicks almost every time. Shim the needle on the secondary slightly - improved my throttle response They tend to be jetted a little lean from the factory, so going up on the main jet can help a little. I think stock is 125, and you can get a 135 from an XT600. That was too rich for me, so I put the stock back in the main and I think I have a 122 in the secondary now, but it's been too long for me to remember. Starts getting too rich above about 7500 revs, but it has come in handy as a sort of rev limiter a few times now. 2 common engine failure points: plastic oil pump gears and the timing chain tensioner. There is a small bleed screw on the top of the oil filter cap - loosen that with the engine running. If oil comes out, you're good. It's a volume-oiled system rather than a pressure one, so if there is oil, that's all you need to worry about. Pressure spec is something like 1.9 psi, iirc. That's why there isn't a warning light. The oil pump only oils the top end, so in the event of a failure, the bottom end will still actually be properly lubed. I'm not sure why the tensioner fails, but it sounds like a bunch of marbles in the engine because the chain starts flopping around, and eventually stretches and needs replacement. This is probably the number 1 failure point, at least that I've seen. I spent the $50 on a manual adjuster for peace of mind and have no problems since (mine had a failed adjuster when I got it, as well as a severely stretched chain, with only 6300 miles on the clock). Otherwise, basically everything you need to know is in this thread somewhere. The XT is a good, solid bike, and the 6 speed and engine are great, but the suspension is pretty soft and there is no aftermarket, really. People have done some really cool mods to them, but there's not much off the shelf. They are cheap and easy to maintain and will go forever if you respect the suspension limitations. Not really sure who you're talking to?
i have a few scratches on the gray plastic crankcase above the shifter lever and needs striped and painted. so if anyone knows the color name # please let me know thanks
Thanks good info,not sure how long I'll be keeping it do to my short attention span. Where do you get the manual adjuster for the timing chain? I like the idea of Clark tank, my tank already has a few dents, when the light was just right when I got it home I noticed the whole left side of the tank is pushed in. having said that I don't have to worry about that first drop!
yeah, definitely true. I don't know that I could ever own a pristine offroad bike. I would be afraid to ride it. I got the tensioner on eBay, and I think it was $50 shipped. It will leak a little oil around the threads, but the peace of mind is worth it for me. For a while I was running a factory tensioner converted to manual, but it was very difficult to adjust and really ended up being more a pain than the money savings was worth, so i just bought the one on eBay.
You might be surprised at how much more ability you have on better suspension. I rode three Shenandoah 500's on my XT350 and could barely walk after each day. My knees would ache too badly and my thigh muscles would be too tired to move. Plus I was always THAT GUY everybody was waiting for at trail junctions. And that was a ten years younger me with fully functional ankles and knees. The same ride done four times on my LC4E has convinced me to never go back to lousy suspension. I felt good enough to ride into town for pizza after the last ride there despite riding much faster and harder. There really is that much difference between an XT and a bike with decent suspension. Suspension is the whole reason that I parted out my XT the last time it blew up and bought a KTM. I find that I can do most of my offroad riding sitting down on my KTM's. That makes all the difference to me. Even sitting down my KTM's suck up whoops, jumps and trail hack at speeds that would have me standing (and praying) while the XT bottomed the suspension at both ends and tried to spit me off. And it doesn't have to be an orange bike. Even my buddy's XR650L feels like a Cadillac compared to my old XT. There was a lot I liked about that XT. It is fairly light weight and low plus it has one of the sweetest motors I have ridden. But lack of suspension is what ultimately doomed it for me.
The PO installed Xt600 rear shock, and TT350 front end on mine, and I love it for what it is. Feels much better than a stock xt350.
Yeah, it must vary a lot by bike then. The (older) XR I rode awhile back had even worse suspension than my XT as far as I could tell. I also rode a CR125, KX125, and a CR250 that day (we were all swapping bikes and having a grand old time) and the 125s wore me out more in a half hour than my XT did in 2, because they were so stiff. The 250 was better, but was still required more technique to hold a line where the XT would go where I wanted with no problem, even on crappy tires. Even the guy who owned the 250 wanted to take the XT home that day, not because it was a better bike by any means, but he said it was more fun and more relaxing to ride. That said, suspension is intensely subjective, and I have no idea what the other guys' bikes were set up for. of course an MX setup would suck on the trails, which is what we were riding. Interesting that you bring up KTM...the suspension on my LC8 is a dream, though the front is a tad soft. Maybe that's how modern trail bikes are too? I guess I've been living with old bikes for so long that getting a new one just blew me away where suspension is concerned.
hello, this is my first day on this website ! the xt is a hard lil bike to dress up i've found out,so if anyones in the know where i could find xt350 decals/stickers and add-ons please help me out. i've found red & older ones and tt decals but no 2000 xt350. and a gas tank scoops & f.fender
Got my 89 XT350 legal , took a ride to a washed out dirt road up Soap Stone MT I used to ride and mountain bike on and it was chained off so I rode on the paved road till the end of the road and the sign saying unimproved road. Geat! just what I need to check out the bike, in 200' the road went uphill, was washed out with a surface of small rocks, baby heads ,rock ledges, just a mess, I was worry how the Pirelli Scorpion would do since they are more street then dirt, no worries till I hit the mud and water holes, then not so good. The bike did fine at my snails pace, great motor, only stalled it once and it restarted first kick, though when I got gas it took about 10 kicks to start. SO I think this bike will work for me, I just want something to mess around with I don't care about going fast, I don't bounce very well anymore, I just lie there and moan. I do need wider foot pegs standing up on these pegs hurt after a while. I did pick up some 15w oil for the forks so I'll give that a shot.
Tw200 footpegs from ebay will fit, you only need to drill a little hole for the spring in one of the pegs. They cost around 20$ ish. Best picture I had laying around:
The starting difficulties can be significantly reduced by turning the fuel tap off before the bike is leaned over onto the side stand. This stops the engine getting an excessive gulp of fuel ie flooding.
dr650 foot pegs fit with no modification at all, you just take the stock spring off and put it on the new peg. Ebay sells them for $14 Have em on my '86 xt350 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Suzuki-DR-250-350-650-DR250-DR350-DR650-Black-Foot-Pegs-/160908104466
I went to change the oil I removed the skid plate and removed a large bolt with screen in it and really crudely oil came out, should have changed it when I first got it, I have since learned the oil drain is on the left side, so what is the big drain on the case bottom? Do I need to change my oil again since I did not use the proper drain and maybe I did not get oil the oil? Also on the screen from the big plug was cover in crude I take it is the screen before the oil pump and filter. So good thing I made the mistake I guess and was able to clean it.
Theres a drainbolt on the side. You did however, seem to have cleaned the oilstrainer, which people almost never do. When you removed the oilstrainer, you did actualle drain the oil, so you shouldnt worry :) Its just easier to drain the oil normally, and then remove the strainer.
