The official XT225 thread!

[jspringator]

Pics of my Russell Day Long.



If it ever stops raining I'll give it a good test.

[J5k]

Originally Posted by GlennR

J5K,
Are you planning to ride on the streets or just ride trails with it? I have an 02 myself. They're the best ones and they pretty rarre, because they were only made one year.

3 turns out made mine start much easier.

It's a great bike on the trails. I run 50/50 dual sport type tires. They last a long time and I can go about 90 % of the trails that I could with a knobby.

Mostly trails with street in between. The trails here are mostly beat up atv trails. Lots of sand and roots. What tires are you running?

[TTRPaul]

@jspringator that seat looks like something off a Goldwing but very comfy. I didn't find the xt listed @ the russel site. Did you special order it? What was the $$$? Can't wait to hear your report.

[Speedo66]

Originally Posted by Drtyfun

Okay, thanks! I am ordering a new gasket in the morning, was already planning on that. Thanks again.

People talk about what a major PIA scraping the old gasket off is. I bought a 3M roloc abrasive bristle brush on advice, chucked it in a drill, and it worked amazingly well. I had the entire surface cleaned of gasket in literally 5 minutes. Easy as it gets. No chance of gouging the surface like with a metal or razor scraper. Different grits, yellow is the recommended one for aluminum. You'll need the holder for the drill, and the brush, both available on Amazon. 2" worked fine. Also excellent for rust removal.

Here's a video showing how it's done. Language NSFW. He uses an air die grinder, but it works just fine with an ordinary drill.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lM7IgqMAiA

[BlueLghtning]

I have had a Russel Day Long on all 5 of my Vstrom's and now has over 100k miles on that seat and I absolutely love it. No other seat comes close in comfort. I've never really thought of putting one on a DS although it certainly will be comfy! You even got the double Russell! Do you really go 2up that much on your XT?

Originally Posted by jspringator

Pics of my Russell Day Long.



If it ever stops raining I'll give it a good test.

[GlennR]

Originally Posted by J5k

Mostly trails with street in between. The trails here are mostly beat up atv trails. Lots of sand and roots. What tires are you running?

I have IRC GP-1's on it, but will probably replace them with the Shinko equivilant because the IRC is much more expensive now. I think I saw the Shinko comparison in this thread a few pages back.

I'm running a Pirelli MT-43 DOT trails tire on the rear of my WR450 now and it seems good. It's said to be as grippy as knobby in most conditions, except deep mud, and superior in rocks & roots. I mainly wanted something that would last longer on the street, and they're supposed to go 3000 miles +/-. Which is about what I'm getting from the IRC rear. For the XT225 I'll decide which to get between the Shinko & the Pirelli based on the tire's weight, if there's much difference (I'd want the lighter one on the XT). If they weigh about the same....I guess I'm choose based on price depending if I'm feeling poor or rich that day.

Knobbies are great when they're new, and I don't mind them on the street, but the road eats them quicker than I feel like changing them.

[TwinDuro]

Hey Everybody,

Had a great time this evening trail riding (at Evans Creek ORV near Mt. Rainer) and gravel road blasting:



It's ready to pounce!






Even though there are no photos to prove it (momentum was of upmost importance at the time!) I really rung the XT out on the trails today and went down into some holes and up a few rock gardens that were both a lot of fun and a challenge. The 16 tooth counter-shaft sprocket is definitely inappropriate for this kind of tight woods riding (but man, does it make the 25 mile, 55mph ride home nice!), and I never got out of 1st gear in most of it Poor clutch!

The Kenda K761s continue to amaze me with their versatility for an 80/20 tire. I aired both the front and rear down to 15 psi, and even going up the loose stuff, and being over geared, the tires gripped like velcro.

I think next spring, just for grins, I'll give the Trakmasters a try with a 14 tooth countershaft sprocket...

Oh yeah, the Wolfman bags are beasts! They didn't budge an inch, and believe you me, they got knocked around!

I love my XT!

[dav_dman]

looks like GREAT fun! pm sent.

[Wilder]

Originally Posted by TwinDuro

Hey Everybody,

Had a great time this evening trail riding (at Evans Creek ORV near Mt. Rainer) and gravel road blasting...

Looks like a blast! did the bags ever feel like they were in your way on the trails? I've never ridden out there, is there much single track?

[TwinDuro]

Originally Posted by Wilder

Looks like a blast! did the bags ever feel like they were in your way on the trails? I've never ridden out there, is there much single track?

It was a blast indeed! I'm going to order up a new 15 tooth countershaft sprocket (maybe a 14 tooth too for the heck of it) and try to get up there again before the weather turns. I'll also try to go earlier in the day next time around, as I only had about 2 hours before the sun went behind the trees on Wednesday. I'm pretty sure there's some good single track up at Evans Creek, here's a trail map:

http://www.pnw4wda.org/trails/washin...vansmaps1.html

I only had time to do the #1150 trail (motorcycle only) and the #311 trail (open to everything), but next time I'll do some of the longer ones. It looks like there's some more single track according to the map.

I found the Wolfmans on the Happy-Trail OSRS to be completly unobtrusive while trail riding. I didn't notice they were there at all; I only had about 10lbs. of stuff in them though.

After riding with them for 1,500 miles on and off road now, I can't think of any other luggage setup I'd rather have

[J5k]

Originally Posted by GlennR

I have IRC GP-1's on it, but will probably replace them with the Shinko equivilant because the IRC is much more expensive now. I think I saw the Shinko comparison in this thread a few pages back.

I'm running a Pirelli MT-43 DOT trails tire on the rear of my WR450 now and it seems good. It's said to be as grippy as knobby in most conditions, except deep mud, and superior in rocks & roots. I mainly wanted something that would last longer on the street, and they're supposed to go 3000 miles +/-. Which is about what I'm getting from the IRC rear. For the XT225 I'll decide which to get between the Shinko & the Pirelli based on the tire's weight, if there's much difference (I'd want the lighter one on the XT). If they weigh about the same....I guess I'm choose based on price depending if I'm feeling poor or rich that day.

Knobbies are great when they're new, and I don't mind them on the street, but the road eats them quicker than I feel like changing them.

Awesome, thanks for the info! I've had pirelli's on my cars for years, gonna take a look at the MT-43.

[airborndad]

Originally Posted by GlennR

I have IRC GP-1's on it, but will probably replace them with the Shinko equivilant because the IRC is much more expensive now. I think I saw the Shinko comparison in this thread a few pages back.

I'm running a Pirelli MT-43 DOT trails tire on the rear of my WR450 now and it seems good. It's said to be as grippy as knobby in most conditions, except deep mud, and superior in rocks & roots. I mainly wanted something that would last longer on the street, and they're supposed to go 3000 miles +/-. Which is about what I'm getting from the IRC rear. For the XT225 I'll decide which to get between the Shinko & the Pirelli based on the tire's weight, if there's much difference (I'd want the lighter one on the XT). If they weigh about the same....I guess I'm choose based on price depending if I'm feeling poor or rich that day.

Knobbies are great when they're new, and I don't mind them on the street, but the road eats them quicker than I feel like changing them.

I got the Pirelli MT 43 & LOVE IT
that being said I will try out the Shinko next
WHY because I just do things like that
I believe the shinko is a smaller diameter than the Pirelli and since the Pirelli has effected my MPG negatively and also top speed has (slightly) decreased I will try the shinko just to see the difference
again I LOVE the Pirelli MT 43
I'm just not convinced its the final go to tire( for me)or for the horsepower limited XT
but its my top pick SO FAR

[JerryH]

After taking me everywhere I wanted to go and bringing me back for over 5 years and 30,000+ miles, I decided that my trusty '94 XT needed freshening up. I already have a Clarke tank, Cigar Mike centerstand, BryanSwens rack, and a kickstarter. I have also bought 2 more XT225s, a '99 and an '01. All are titled. I decided to take the best parts from all 3, plus some new aftermarket and oem parts, and build a really nice XT that should last me many more years. Plus I will have a ton of spare parts. I have a near new condition 2200 mile engine and 6 good wheels. I also have a brand new carb enrichener cover.

[gbacque]

Not sure what it's actually called but the seal around the drive shaft (behind the front sprocket) fell out yesterday. There has been a slight oil leek for the past week or so. But yesterday it became a steady drip. Pulled over twice on the way home to make sure it still had oil. When I removed the sprocket to see what was going on the seal behind it was just hanging on the shaft instead of snugly in the hole. I can see gears!

Question: Where can I get a replacement? It doesn't show up on finches so short of pulling it of and taking it to a MC shop I'm not sure what to order.

[Maliwal]

Originally Posted by gbacque

Not sure what it's actually called but the seal around the drive shaft (behind the front sprocket) fell out yesterday. There has been a slight oil leek for the past week or so. But yesterday it became a steady drip. Pulled over twice on the way home to make sure it still had oil. When I removed the sprocket to see what was going on the seal behind it was just hanging on the shaft instead of snugly in the hole. I can see gears!

Question: Where can I get a replacement? It doesn't show up on finches so short of pulling it of and taking it to a MC shop I'm not sure what to order.

I had the exact same problem myself, but when my seal failed I was five hundred miles from home! Lots of oil added between here and there! I went to KAMAN Industrial Technologies out here in Southern California and had a sales rep mic it up. Twenty minutes later I walked out of the warehouse ten dollars poorer and two seals richer. You could try to look around for a similar company in your area, that specializes in the like. Hell, KAMAN is global, they may have a branch out your way.

If you have too much difficulty finding one, I'm sure I could be convinced to part with my spare seal pretty easily.

Oh, and as a techno-term, if you talk to a MC shop, it's the counter-shaft oil seal.