> Klaus I own a 34L model, 1983 XT 600 Tenere, What modifications would
you
> suggest for this model, to make it more reliable. stronger etc for long
distance and off-road.
> Much appreciated.
> Cheers Doug.

hi doug,
although the 34L is known as a very reliable and strong bike, there are some points to mention:

first and main: oilpump!
the oilpump (to be correct: there are two pumps in one housing, one to bring back the oil from the dry sump to the oiltank and one to lubricate camshaft, piston,
crankshaft etc.) is a bit weak, there are reports about piston-problems (overheating) because of that.
recommondation: change against the actual pump (first used in tenere 3AJ, '88 model until today in every xt/tt600 model). the haul capacity is double compared to the
old one. here is a pic of the pump:http://www.xt600.de/xt_schraubertips...e_1vj_expl.jpg. you can identify the actual pump by the two grooves to be found on the outside end of the drive axle (pic shows 86-87 model's pump:
one groove, haul: 50% more). important: you have to change also the plastic sprocket against the new one since the drive axle is longer! don't forget paper-gasket and
two o-rings.

then:
rims: there are reports about small cracks in the rims of '83 and '84 model. check that. starting from tenere 55W ('85 model) the rims are different and better.

suspension: if you ride offroad and/or with heavy luggage, different suspension is very recommended. front: use white power or technoflex progressive springs. rear:
use öhlins (from sweden, this is the best available) or white power or technoflex. a suspension unit with external compensation tank is expensive, but worth of its
money. unfortunatly such things are difficult to find second hand, even in germany.

chain-kit: very recommendable, especially for offroad is a ratio of 14:40 (front/rear sprocket). use D.I.D. x-ring chain with a dry-lube spray.

gears: the 5th gear is a known weak point of all xt600 models until today (but worst until 1988). the live-span of the gear is usually about 50.000-60.000 km but
depends very much on the driver. avoid low (<3000) and high (>6000) revs. especially strong acceleration from low revs in 5th gear is deadly. there are possibilities to
make the 5th gear more relaible, but i can't describe everything in detail here. ask, if you want to do something.

alternator, cdi-unit: isolation of the coils in the alternator was not the best in the models up to 1988. this may cause ignition problems, especially if the bike was out of
use for a long time. check resistance values of the coils if you have problems to start the bike. the cdi circuit is a bit strange, but it works. nevertheless i would consider
it as a good idea to have a spare one or at least to know where you can get one if nessecary.

that should do for the first. have fun and send us a pic from the outback!
bye
klaus


[This message has been edited by Grant Johnson (edited 18 November 2001).]

Why is the 5th gear prone to failure, what happens? Do the teeth on the gear break off or what. What recommendations would you suggest to make it more robust(reliable). Also if I stay with the original oil pump and only operate the bike within 3 -> 6000 rpms what is the likely effect on piston, cylinder, camshaft etc Does changing the oil pump considerably increase the life of the engine?
Thanks Doug

Why is the 5th gear prone to failure, what happens? Do the teeth on the gear break off or what.

5th gear is sensitive to strong acceleration in low revs which causes extremly high pressure on the teeth.
second, greasing of the gears is done from the hauling circuit, the oil is more hot then the oil of the feed circuit.
hot oil - less greasing.
most common problem is pitting.
here you can find a pic of such a gear: http://www.xt600.de/xt_schraubertips...ingbildung.jpg
the small, hardened steel parts escaping from the teeth may cause serios damage to oilpump, bearings etc.

What recommendations would you suggest to make it more robust(reliable).

there are several measures to minimize the wear of the gear:
simple measures:
1) use motorcycle engine oil designed for greasing also clutch and gears
2) use chain kit with 14:40 ratio (or 14:45 for newer xt's)
3) avoid low and very high revs
difficult measures (you have to open the engine):
4) use the gearbox of newer xt's (different ratio of gears)
5) modifiy the lubrication circuit to the one of newer xt's (starting from tenere 3AJ, 1988)
6) mount a special oil jet in the crankcase above 5th gear
(http://www.xt600.de/xt_schraubertips...uese_klein.jpg http://www.xt600.de/xt_schraubertips...ert_klein.jpg)


Also if I stay with the original oil pump and only operate the bike within 3 -> 6000 rpms
what is the likely effect on piston, cylinder, camshaft etc

compared to new oil pump: less oil - less lubrication - bigger wear

Does changing the oil pump considerably increase the life of the engine?

i would say it depends very much on the driver and the way he treats the engine.
there are enough people who used the original 34L for more than 100.000 kms without opening the engine.
on the other hand there are also enough examples where the engine's live ended suddenly due to lubrication problems.
there are two simple rules for a good driver:
carefully warm up the engine; drive at least 20 km until you use higher revs (> 4500)
change oil every 5.000 km

bye
klaus

Klaus,

Thank YOU for that very good list of recommendations. I have teh same bike 83 model with 26,000 kilos on it, very reliable never had a problem but will do what you recommend before the next big trip planned from Dakar Mali to the Red Sea.

Small tip that to anyone interested, I find the kickstarter on that model a bit weak too, it tends to crack at the bottom, have welded mine once already.

Another question, how well can the XT cross water, say rivers where the engine gets in contact with the water ?

Second question, my fuel tap is tight as hellm especially when hot. I opened it and took out the little spring, didn't help, what can I do ?

Another question, I fell and the screen inside the tank that stops the fuel from sloshing back and forth has come loose and rattles, how do I fix that, any ideas ?

Last question, how do check whether the wheel bearings are still OK ? Do I need special tools to change them out ?

Thanks a lot for this site,

Hed

hi hed,
kickstarter lever is okay and reliable, as long as the decompression lever and cable is ok and good adjusted. most kickstart-problems result from broken decompression-cable or false adjustment. with a proper adjusted decompression unit, you can kickstart your xt by hand!
water-crossing:
as long as the water doesn't invade the air filter (level must be below seat), no problem! drive neither to slow nor to fast.
fuel tap:
dismount everything and clean each part. use steel-wool (or how do you call this in english?). apply some grease on the o-ring.
tank:
no way to fix without opening the tank (and who would do such crazy thing?)
bearings:
changing is described in the clymer repair manual. to check the bearings it is important to remove the grease first (use brake-cleaner spray). bearing has to turn without any sign of resistance and very smoothly.
have fun!
klaus
mailto:klaus@xt600.de

Klasu,

Txs for the tip re the compression. On my machine the kickstarter moves really easy, but when I want to start it I usually slowly kick it through 2 or 3 times until I get to teh compression stroke, I then relax my foot and let it come back a little bit and then I kick it. At this point I really have to kick it as I feel the compression strongly. Is that correct ? Your comment regarding adjusting the decompression properly, how do I do that ? I looked it up in the manual and all they say is to set it to 0.5 OT, what does that mean ? I checked mine and it has about 0.5 cm play, but I have no idea what that means. Any pointers ?

Secondly, the k&n airfilter, do you have a model number or something similar, I searched teh internet and also went to their website, but nogo cannot find anything. Are you suggesting toi remove the whole plastic airfilter box and just fitting normal airfilter ? Please explain.

On the oil pump, would you recommend doing that modification even if the old one is running fine and I have not had any overheating problems ?

Txs again,

Heye

kick-start:
your procedure is ok.
it is VERY important to have sufficient play on the decompression lever. if not, exhaust
valve might not close completly and will burn then because it can't submit the heat of the
hot exhaust to the cylinder head.
on the other hand, too much play will make kick-starting more difficult and the cable may break.
to adjust you have to put the piston to top dead center (tdc=highest position of piston AND
all valves are closed, which takes place every 2nd rev of crankshaft. OT is the german
abbreviation for this).
yamaha says, in this position the play of the lever should be 0.5 mm. i would say 1 mm,
to be on the safe side. the adjustment can be done on the adjuster locknut in the middle of
the decompression cable.

airfilter:
you can purchase this filter from http://www.kedo.com in hamburg, germany.
tell them i send you, they know me.
this k&n filter fits for all 34L, 43F, 55W and 2KF/2NF, they all have the same airfilter
housing (in which the filter is installed).

oil pump:
lets say you are a doctor and you have two patients, one with a strong heart and one with a
weak heart. what would you say, which one lives longer?
think about it!

bye
klaus
mailto:klaus@xt600.de

Klaus
About the pitting on the 5th gear; did you see an improvement after the fitting of the oiljet ? Did you see any differences with different oils ? What's the reason for the pitting, gear too soft, oil from return pump too hot ? Wouldn't it a good idea too use an oil with good e.p. (extreme pressure)additives (for instance moly). About the wear on the oilpump one tip: mount some strong magnets in the oilpan it will protect the oilreturnpump, Wouldn't it be a good idea to mount an oilfilter in the return line to the oiltank ? (cooler oil, protection of the feed oilpump) Regards

I just like to say thanks to Klaus for this oil pump info.

I was scratching my head why my oil kept disappearing from my tank after leaving the bike standing & also wondering why I'd had to re-bore the bike twice in 55000km. Now it all makes sense. Fitted new-type pump as per instructions and now ride around with some confidence that the next re-bore isn't just round the corner! (the change in pumps was particularly striking when I bled the air from the oil-filter housing: it used to ooze out slowly, now a jet of oil shoots 30cm into the air!).

I'd also second the weak gears - my whole gearbox was breaking up, but fortunately I found a new set which had been made for the UK "Sound of the Singles" race series (at huge expense) and never used - I got them for 50 pounds & slotted them straight in.

I also put Akront rims on as mine had the evil alloy cancer from within.

So, hopefully I've had all the problems now and my bike will run smoothly for another 55000 km ... off to Morocco next year (the bike did CapeTown - London in 1990 already)

How do I actually find the TDC position without opening up the engine?

safe riding =)

Feel for it basically, as described in earlier posts here from years ago.

A few points: if you have an electric starter, then you don't care about TDC.
For the kickstarter, you are very interested because it makes the starting procedure so much more reliable - hence all those people who claim their bike starts "first or second kick, every time".

So, you feel for the compression resistance of the piston as it comes up on the compression stroke - when you judge that it is at the TDC position, or very slightly past TDC, that is when you start the bike "for real"; until then you are turning the engine over only so that you can find TDC.
(Practice it if you are not sure).

When you are working on the engine there are far more accurate methods for getting the piston at TDC, because you can see it or feel it.

__________________
Dave

Greetings:

I have a 1985 34L.

It's got a bit of a whine in 5th gear. Most noticeable at 70kph, goes away by 100kph.

Might this be the dreaded 5th gear issue? Machine seems to work fine otherwise.

Thoughts and opinions?

Thanks!

Others can jump in here too but I expect the whine is being caused by the wear on the teeth. If indeed that is what is causing the whine, use the winter to pull the engine apart. Better than having a gear break and cause major damage.

__________________
'84 XT600 is now bored to 2nd oversize and new OEM pistons and rings installed. No more smoking.

That is not what I wanted to hear. I'd like to hear that it's normal, or perhaps a small squirrel in the airbox.

It's odd that it goes away. Harmonics or such maybe?

The whole things makes all kinds of interesting noises. Always has. Just distinct in 5th.

That is why I said to get other opinions. I've not noticed a whine in my USA XT600's

__________________
'84 XT600 is now bored to 2nd oversize and new OEM pistons and rings installed. No more smoking.