XT600E on the motorway/highway !
 

Just done 5 miles down the motorway at 70mph..

This bike is not made for it. It DEFFO needs a screen being so tall and it was struggled to get anywhere near 75mph.

Still, i didnt get her to mile munch boring highways so what the hell, i still lover her.

Jeq
 

C'mon Ted!

It is not a Hayabusa, YZF, CBR, Ninja type of a motorcycle that you are to hit mphs on highways. I did complete my JEQ (Japanese Enduro Quartet) last week with a klr and I still am missing my 94 XT that I rode for the last couple of years.

The trick is even enjoy highways that these mules do not seem to cope well especially under winds. Slow down and enjoy what the others are missing while going like hell. There is one highway that I ride often and I see wild falcons and eagles on poles and a very strong smell of wild thyme at a very specific point that noone seems to have noticed for years.

Ted.

I cruse regularly at 110/120 km/h (or about 75 mph) fully loaded and she does appear to mind with only 4k 4.5k rpm on the clock.

However, I must agree with the pervious post, slow down and enjoy, afterall it is an adventure your after not a trip to work. Even the most boring highways always have something to offer the rider to look at.

Back off the gas and enjoy the journey. Believe me it is worth it. :mchappy:

oooh I aint complaining !! Just my first bit of serious highway riding on the XT

I wasnt expecting so much wind blast and thought she would cruise happier at 75mph than she did.

The revs were higher than I liked for the speeds so im thinking of lowering the gearing by a couple of teeth at the rear.

Hi Ted,

I know what you mean! Sans screen it's a rough ride at seventy, although I find if I slide back on the seat (about halway between normal and pillion postion) it brings me down to a point where it isn't nearly so tiring.
With my home made screen I could hammer along highways at 80mph.

I agree with you about the gearing, I think if I was planning a lot of m-way riding I'd adjust it. Normally I ride at 70mph on the nose.

Matt :)

Yup..I have a screen just not fitted it yet.

Im happy to cruise at 60-70mph but there are times when motorways cant be avoided and being in the caravan lane isnt very appealing.

ed

True!

Ted, I got my bash plate off Dave Lambeth the other day. It's real nice, looks extremely tough. Hopefully will get it fitted this weekend. Thanks for the tip!

Matt :)

Are you going to drill to M8 ??

Have you drilled and tapped metal before ??

Motorway Driving
 

Ted,

I think there are two options to solve this problem.

First - avoid the motorways. I did this last year - with help from my trusty TomTom Rider - through England, France and Spain - saw so much more and made the trip.

Second - accept the Carvan lane. Painful at time I know, but in my experience its only really bad in the UK. There appears to much less traffic else where.

Just an thought, but the XT doesn't really like 'plugging' around below 3000 rpm, which I also think hammers the gearbox and chain a bit too much for my liking. Which is why I haven't altered the gearing; I altered my routes and riding style to suit. For me this has been a big plus point.

Hi Ted,

Yes, the M8 bolts definately make sense. I was a cycle (push-bikes) mechanic back in the day and have done some drilling/tapping but not much.

I was going to go out and get the taps and the drill bit (6.8mm I think?) this weekend. From memory you get three taps of increasing 'bite' and use them one at a time till you have your thread cut. I was going to drill out the current hole free-hand with a power drill.

Any tips gratefully recieved.

Matt :)

yo matt

well ordinarily you would use 6.8 but I found that it was too big for a pistol drill. I drilled one hole 6.8 and the tap went through TOO easily and its not the best grip on the bolt now. Still, its holding strong.

Get a couple of 6.5 HSS drill bits. Dont get cheap shit either.

Just drill straight through. On the front mountings, the oil pipe could get damaged so slide something behind the hole to protect it.

you need a M8 1.25 tap. That will go straight into the 6.5mm hole

I found the casing gets in the way so I bought a tap extender off ebay.

eBay.co.uk: Ratchet tap wrench holder long reach (item 170095059822 end time 25-Mar-07 13:12:38 BST)

Just wind the tap straight into the hole with a some oil.


The holes on the bottom of the bike were a pain as my drill was too long so had to borrow a friends smaller one.

If you have any other quieres, you can MSN me: tedmagnum(at)hotmail.com

So True,this bike just isnt up to the job to ride in any highway.
Even 800cc daewoo matiz's give it a hard time..
I only got out once for a 150 mile ride and sworn never to do it again
unless its a matter of life and death.
My first thought was the wind is to blame,so get a windshield .
my second thought (on the way back) was that even with a windshield
the engine's power band/gearing wont let it cruise at 140km/h any other
bike likes to cruise at.I guess that's where a sixth gear and 3-4hp would come handy..

Think the other way around.

Highways/motorways are not well designed means of travelling even sometimes by cars. We are trying to cope with something very badly designed and thinking that it is the deficiency of our motorcycles.

There's nothing wrong with our motorcycles. Modify highways/motorways.

Highway riding
 

Hey Ted,

The XT isn't alone in being one down to highways. Highways are a necessary evil, and on my Dommie (also sans screen), they are character building stuff :)

There are positives though:
* You can't go fast. Even if you duck down as low as possible and pray for a tail wind, you might just see 80mph. That's all good though!! I pootle along at 65/70 and feel better that if I fell off, the outcome would be better than if I was hooning around at 90/100.
(but I tend not to think about that one too many times LOL)

* the wind makes you use your stomach and arm muscles :thumbup:
after a few days travelling you will notice the difference! (bye bye bingo wings, hello 6 pack! )

* lastly, try to ride behind someone else who doesn't have a screen - that way you get to see them being buffetted arond and their lollipop helmet heads blowing from side to side and the amusement value should help.

Slow and steady. Much better than speedy!

Whats wrong with you guys??? I did 250 miles on my 2003 XT today half of that at 75-80mph on the motorway. I must admit I am short (5ft6) and don't really have a neck (20 years playing rugby). My Xt loved it at around 4.5k = 75mph. The only problem I have is the seat after about 70 miles I have to stop and have a walk. I have seen lots of you guys have done all kinds of mods but I would like to keep the bike looking the same eg no sheep skin rugs!!!! Any ideas??? Also what is the average tank range you guys are getting am I being stupid because I dont risk going any further than 110 miles between fill ups??

How big's your tank ?? Stock 15l or Acerbis 23l ?

I get nearly 300 miles from my 23L. Thats riding conservatively.

With the seat, you can get gel pads inserted under the skin.

Hi Bonfireboy,
I did a day trip down to Exmoor ( from Reading, 340 miles total ) a couple of weeks ago - I worked out the motorway mpg getting from Reading to Bridgewater M4 / M5, it was 55 MPG ( 70-85mph all the way ), then on the way back in Minehead- oh shite - I got a puncture, luckily there was a garage that sold "flatmate" the stuff you spray into tyres and it seals the puncture which worked but meant I had to keep the speed down and couldn't take the motorway home, the "A and B" road MPG on the way back worked out at 68 mpg ! So it seems your tank range depends on your speed ( probably load/wind/riding style as well) so I think your 110 miles refill could go out to 120 - 130 fairly comfortably which along with your tank reserve - 2 litres- should easily see you to the next garage ( in the UK anyway ). These figures are based on the standard tank. I also don't mind the motorway riding on the XT, a lot slower than the other bikes I've had but at least I can pick this one up when I drop it down some muddy track!
cheers Mike

I use my XT for commuting, about 60Km per day. At about 110KMH it starts to get unstable.If I jiggle the bars it seems like it could easily turn in to a headshaker. At 100 KMH is quite solid. I can do 120KMH but I have to be alert. I use a windscreen that keeps the wind off my chest which helps a lot.

I also use an Acerbis tank of about 20L which give me at least 400KM per tankful

XT600 Speed v Economy
 

Guys,

Posted this before but, I do on average 500km++ a week on my 2003 XT, including two long (ish) motorway commutes and a fair amount of off roading at the weekend :).

Boris (my XT) will cruise happily (fully loaded) between 110/120km with 4500rpm, returning about 20km/l or about 55mpg which means I get about 250km or 155 miles between petrol stops. Which considering she has a full set of Metal Mule panniers and a 'fat' bloke on board, I don't think is too bad.

I haven't fitted a screen or modified the seat (yet) - the seats reasonably comfy for the distance between fuel stops, but I am considering a small screen or lip to redirect some of the 'wind blast'.

I must admit, I like riding her slower, so that I can soak up the scenery I pass through - and it is worth it. Have a look at some our my pictures on Moto Andalucia web site or in our Picasa album.

My 2003 xt600e will return 150 miles easily out of a tank (not including reserve) on the commute to work. that include 12miles on dual carriage way at 70-75 and 3 miles in the 30's-40mphs. worked it out at just under 60mpg. not that im counting mpg haha. have to admit that anythin over 75 becomes uncomfortable because of wind.

tank range??
 

Hi guys, I think i might just being a bit nervous about running out of fuel... it all comes from when I first had the bike I had to turn over to the reserve at 110miles on the clock? Hi Ted i have got the standard tank did you know they are £612 from yamaha so look after them! Where can I get these gel things for the saddle?? I will go out out tommorrow and test the range and report back I must admit I used to have a 600 fazer and tend to drive a bit heavy on the throttle I like to punish those R1's and Blades through the bends most of them think its a DT125!

I ride my 84 xt600 on I-80 in California on a regular basis now, 40 mile round trip to work. Cruises real nice at 65 to 70 mph at around 3500 rpm. Have had it up to 90 mph but wind lift on the front makes for sketchy ride. tried a 14 to 42 sprocket ratio and liked the power but lost some top end, so I went back to a 15 to 42.
I try to stay out of the truck lanes at speeds over 65 due to my continued desire to live. Pot holes + speed = road rash and a closed casket.
I do have to agree with other posters. I am happiest running down a two lane road at about 45 mph. The bike purs and I dont feel like an abusive boyfriend.

Kurt AKA, Trainman
Roseville CA

I chopped my front "fender" by about 10 inches and its made faster road cruising more stable.

This is a very common mod with Supermotos.

I do get more spray in wet weather though.

fuel consumption
 

Hi everyone went out yesterday and did 200 odd miles. 7.56 litres took me 100 miles and 8.52 litres took me 120miles at a mix of speeds. Works out about 60MPG. Am I right in thinking the stock tank is 15 litres??? How much of that is reserve??? Trying to work out how far I can go!!

im quite happy to take mine on the motorway, just got to remember 80mph is as high as she'll go and not to try any wild moves.
the great thing about the XT (and big singles in general?) is that you know it'll do 80 whether its just you or a full load, it just seems to shrug it off.
ive had a GSXR600 that would do 140mph but seriously felt any sort of load. give me a torquey chugger over a whizzy four any day

when doing 100kmh or above for any longer than 5 or so minutes i usually use the pillion pegs like a set of rearsets. gets me leaning much further forward, which stops me having to grab the bars, which is what i find most fatiguing. I can easily sit at 120kmh for 2 - 3 hours like that. still not as good as a decent screen, but certainly better than nothing.

Cheers,
Phil

Fill tank to brim .
Take a small jerry can full of petrol with you and ride until the bike tank is on reserve,note mileage, then ride until tank is dry ,note mileage ,empty jerry can into tank and ride to nearest petrol station .
Do mathematics , now you know .

Couple of cents more
 

Exactly how I do it with a carbed bike (but not with FI, which is reputed to have problems if the tank runs dry - therefore never done it with FI; can anyone confirm if this old chestnut is true?).

Even then, I don't rely too much on the reserve tap; many a time, the fuel sloshing around in the tank results in no reserve when the tap is turned eventually; I rely on the miles run to judge when to pull over for fuel (and I have been known to carry a couple of litres spare in a plastic bottle if I think I may be well away from a petrol station).

Ive just returned from Africa on my XT. The two mods I wished i had done are fitting a screen and a more confortable seat.

It was only a problem on long straight highway stretches. In the hills and on the dirt it was fine.

And i would plan on 400km from my 23l acerbis tank, Though i did manage over 480km in Muaritania (Nouadibou-Noakchotte)

PAul

On a bike in Africa