Hello, I am planning a trans african trip starting next summer. To keep the costs down I want to do it on a 2nd. hand tenere. I have yet to buy the bike and am therfore asking advice on how to go about buying the bike, ie. what to look for, what prices should I expect etc. My mechanical skills are not at an expert level, but I have a basic understanding of how things work.

Thanx in advance

John,buying a secound hand Tenere is not as easy as it would seem,I am speaking from experiance,your best bet(possibly your only option)is to buy a bike imported from Italy,they are available,costs from 750.00 sterling up to 2500.00 sterling,I bought a bike needing work & rebuilt the engine etc,(still expensive but you know it is right)you can buy a 1986 Tenere in good running order for around 1600.00,through my work we have handled a few Tenere in the last year or so I know they are available,Just be careful what you buy,if your not an expert get the engine checked out.good luck.

You can pick up an old Tenere in a private sale for around £1400, but unless you know what you're looking at I suggest giving David Lambeth Engineering (01829 668280) a ring, advertises in back of TBM, based in Kent, UK. Dave's an authority on XT's (esp. for Africa overland trips) and built the bike I'm taking to South America. I paid quite a bit for my '89 model (around £2500), but it has been TOTALLY rebuilt (new engine, new wheels, new CDI, new exhaust, new chain and sprockets etc.) and runs like a dream. I didn't know enough to do all the work myself so I took a gamble and got it built for me. I know everyone says you should do it yourself, but that sounds great until you've got an engine in bits on your kitchen floor and you've caused more harm than good. Just make sure you learn how to fix it before you go! And don't worry, if mine packs up halfway round Argentina I'll let you know!

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Has anyone else used or heard of David Lambeth? Would I have to order a bike in advance, if so how long in advance? Any info is of interest.
Thanx
-John


[This message has been edited by john-l (edited 01 November 2000).]

Dave Lambeth is a top XT man, based in the south of the UK. This guy knows a great deal about the bikes, and whenever I've spoken to him on the phone he's been helpfull and informative. He advertises in the back of TBM magazine.

Iain.

i built my bike from scratch for a trip to mongolia and didn't realy have any probs with the bike or the engine, only the crap racks i built for my panniers, the only problem i had was the threads where a bit week and the teath were worn on the gear lever shaft, apart from that the bike was good. oh apart from the gear selecter folk skiping off when i hit a big hole and bent the fron wheel. john, one of the lads on the trip had his bike built by dave lambeth and she rode like a dream, no problems, i think there the best bike on a budget, you can get them in the uk, you just have to wait till one pops up on auto trader. i bought mine from this site £1000. manuals are hard to come by. i bought a 1vj manual on ebay which is the same engine but is kick start in stead of electric, i re-built mine using this manual ok.

www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstoreis/patrick

I've had mine over 10 yrs and rebuilt it twice. They are like lawn mowers. Even when they are mechanically shot, they keep going and often sound OK. I totally stripped mine prior to a Sahara trip at 19k miles to check all was Ok and also to familiarise myself with the mechanics of the whole bike. Small end was oval, top gear worn out, various gearbox bearings on the way out. I ended up reboring to 640 with a Wiseco kit, crank rebuilt and balanced and replaced most bearings, seals clutch plates etc. It has done over 20k miles since and still going strong. Being a big single, choice of oil is critical. Big air cooled singles mash oils. Use a good 20/50 semi synthetic oil and it will last for ever provided you warm motor up gently before thrashing. I use Miller 20/50 Transverse 'M' oil which has an additive to reduce gearbox wear. As for the rest of it, pay close attention to suspension. Get rear wheel off ground and check for wear in monshock linkages. Front and rear suspension should have a long smooth progressive action. Check wheels true (and frame/wheel allignment) and spokes not lose. Once you have one, clean carb and check twin choke (YDIS) throttle linkage is adjusted correctly (Clymer XT/TT 600 manual) and change fork oil before a trip. Fit in-line filters, a centre stand (Riki Products) take spare cables, coil, CDI unit, chain + usual service parts and you won't go far wrong. Take care of it, and it will take care of you...

One thing (not specific to XT) that I stupidly forgot to check is that the drive sprocket is not welded to the shaft. It still pains me to think about it.

to to add to cexley bit. do not add semi synthetic oil to an xt. it will make your clutch slip, you may not notice it on flats or in the desert but if you tackling hills or in high wind you dont stand a chance. i put semi into my 3aj in the uk and only figured it out at the end of the ukraine, as i built the engine myself and thought i'd not put her back together right. silly boy!!

www.horizonsunlimited/tstories/patrick

[oil before a trip. Fit in-line filters, a centre stand (Riki Products) take spare cables, coil, CDI unit, chain + usual service parts and you won't go far wrong. Take care of it, and it will take care of you...[/QUOTE]

Hi Cexley,

Do you have any contact details about Riki Products, its the center stand I'm interested in for my 34L. I looked in google but couldn't find them mentioned.

Cheers
Stephen

Here's one
I bought mine from ebay.de with no problems.

http://cgi.ebay.de/FIVE-STARS-Haupts...QQcmdZViewItem

Hello John,

I just came home to France from New Zealand, at the exit of the airport I firstly felt disgusted at the thought of going by train until the Pyrenees, so I took my laptop and went thru the internet during one day and found an interesting one for only 700€ with 50 000 K's on clock, photo looked ok so I called the guy who lived a little village near Swiss border and gave him appointement to buy it for 500 €, he said ok !
Once arrived and next day I went looking at his bike and I realised that the bike looked great on the photo, not as great in real but still very good with only a rusty looking exhaust, few scratches on tank etc.
I told the guy I was a bit disappointed by the looks, next day I called back saying I would buy it quickly for the price of a train ticket...220€, he said ok come back and lets get it overwith !
One hour later I stood with my luggage and my new 3AJ almost ready to cross France!
One visit to the local dealer to top up the oil level, tention of chain and fasten a loosened exhaust bolt, there I am ready to ride off !
What a ride...no problems at all, no oil consumption at all.. I travel thru France with my heavy backpack tigthtened to the backseat.
I didn't have time to subscribe insurance, so I stick to safe and big roads, I only came upon one police control.. ouuff keep driving and smile I told myself !
Arrived in the Pyrenees, the sun is shining and I realise that I made the right
choice buying the bike.. the engine seems to pull better than my old 3AJ.
I think it was a great deal, I've added a WR front plastic, an aluminium handlebar.
I'm happy with it, I show you a photo if you guys want to see what a 220€ bike looks like!


Matt

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