2006 XT600E piston slap, or worse??

[AndrewS]

Hi all,

I recently bought a mint 2006 grey import XT600E with 2400km on the clock - just out of warranty. I noticed a couple of the silencer mounting bolts were missing (the previous owner had presumably fitted a slip on can) and I attributed a heavy rattle/knock to the loose exhaust. I recently replaced/tightened the offending bolts and now strongly suspect the noise I'm (still..!) hearing is piston slap and/or small/big end bearings.

The noise is present at standstill and on the move. A light blip on the throttle from idle seems to reproduce it quite consistently. Oil level and appearance is fine and the gearchange is smooth, so I don't think it has seen catastrophic lube failure.

Is slap common on XT6E's and would I need to take any precautions if a re-bore was required, i.e. is the bore hard plated, etc.?

Finally, if a complete strip is required, are there any sensible mods out there to improve reliability/durability? I intend to use the bike for long-distance overland touring so it needs to be bombproof!

All comments greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Andrew S