Hi Everybody,

I just wanted to introduce myself here. I'm approaching 30 years old, I live in South Dakota, and I've been riding an older Yamaha XJ550 cruiser for a couple years. I've never ridden a dirt bike before, so I'm really excited about getting this one.

I found this forum after I bought a used 1989 XT600 with about 10,000 miles on it on ebay last weekend, and I was looking for information about them. I have to say, I really appreciate all the knowledge here, it's a great resource. I was able to download manuals and other documentation, and found links to a lot of great websites that will definitely come in handy while I'm working on this bike over the winter.

I've got a couple things to work on to get this bike ready for spring. I need to replace the rear turn signals, the speedometer gear, choke cable, fork seals, and a few rear spokes, otherwise I just need to clean it up and get it ready for the road. It starts cold on the second kick, so I'm expecting it to be an easy winter project. I'm glad there aren't too many serious problems with it, since I'm not exactly an expert at fixing these things, but the service manual I found here will really help with anything that comes up. It's a little beat up, and has a few dings and a little rust on it, but it's in good shape overall.

I made my first mistake yesterday though. It's kick-start only, and after running it a few times throughout the day, it suddenly wouldn't start anymore. I must have kicked a hundred times before I gave up. There was a bit of fuel sloshing around inside the tank, so I figured it wasn't that. Went back to it today and pulled the tank off, intending to see if anything was strange about the carb and clean underneath it. Before I put it back on a while later, I noticed how divided the tank is where it fits over the frame, so I tipped it so that all the fuel was on the left side. Put the tank back on, ran some fuel into carb, and it sputtered on the second kick and started on the third. I felt like an idiot, but at least I won't make that mistake again.

A couple questions: There's a bit of rust on the inside of the tank. Nothing too bad, just flecks of rust. Is there an easy way to fix that? Also, it idles fine, shifts fine, and starts from a stop like it should. I can push by hand if it's in neutral, but sometimes I can't move it when it's in gear even with the clutch lever pulled. What could be causing this? Do I need to adjust the clutch, or is it a more serious problem with the clutch? Or is it something else entirely? Like I said, it idles OK, even when in gear with the clutch lever pulled, so I'm not sure what it is. I did notice once when I was moving through gears at an idle that it lurched forward. Is this an indication of a bad clutch, or something else clutch-related?

I've got about 5 months before I can really ride it, but can any of you offer me some advice about riding this bike, or things to look out for while I'm fixing it up? Any good sources for parts and accessories (in the US). I know it's not the most serious dirt bike, but I'm not intending to ride it too hard. I'll be riding it around town most of the time, occasionally on the highway, and out in the woods or hills every once in a while. I'm looking forward to going places I couldn't go with my other bike, and apparently this XT will actually be better on the highway than my XJ is.

Anyway, thanks again for all the information here, I'm sure I'll be spending a lot of time on this forum. I included a couple of low-res photos from ebay, just so you can see what I've got, if you're interested.

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