Newbie

[philio]

Hi

Newbie here from the midlands, currently ride a Fazer but looking to get a XT600E as a second bike. Seen a 2001 at a dealers with about 6k on the clock, mint condition for £1900...but its had 6 owners?! (which i think is a little odd)

Any way...what do you guys do with regards to suspension front and rear? would be looking to get a new rear shock, any sugestions? as for the front end....does any different fron ends fit into the XT600E or is the a case of just upgrading front springs & oil?

Im guessing that the XT is interchangable with other bikes...so does other XT, TTR, Tenere stuff fit it?

Oh and also...can they be jacked up at all, longer dog bones? im quite tall.

Disclaimer: sorry if you guys have heard these questions asked a million times before.

cheers

[nop]

Some interesting questions!


Front Suspension.

XT600 suspension is notorious, it is like riding a jelly. For the front people either:

Do a complete front end swap or mod the forks. Look in the 'workshop' section, I posted some links to lists of bikes with the same bearings/fork diameters etc for potential donors. Popular choices are kx500, yz, wr, kdx.

Fork iniminators from Ricor, cartridge emulators form race tech (or the cheaper pd valve from yss suspension) change the handling of the suspension.

New springs. hyperpro, wilbur, hagon, etc make progressive springs for the XT600 at around £80-£120 for a pair.


Rear Suspension.

The choices are really limited on this one. Hagon, Wilbur, Ohlin make replacement rear shocks. These range from £300-£650.

You can take a rear shock from a TT600 and bodge the frame. (coincidentally I have a works performance shock for a TT600 I am trying to flog ) If you look in the restorations thread there is one called 1991 army XT by danjet, it show the process.

Another alternative is simply up-rating the spring by 10-15% (no more in order to avoid re-valving etc).

Hyperpro make a complete spring set for the XT600e, this plus emulators for the front may be quite good?


Compatibility.

The early XT600 were mostly part compatible with the early Teneres however the XT600e was different from almost everything else. However there is a LOT more aftermarket stuff for the XT600e.


Jacked up!

The rear end can be jacked up with a metal spacer, there is talk of it on ADVrider or somewhere like that. It was a very simple metal piece that could be fabricated at home with a file and a vice.

[philio]

thanks for the info

I think if money will stretch i would go for an aftermarket shock and hopefully a front end swap. So how many people have swapped the front end for say...a WR? or is it all "theory"?

Also, what mileage would i expect from say a 2000ish year XT600E? i want to use it as a green laner / tourer / overlander.

when buying one what would you class as a low mileage.....5K?....15K? i always think bikes of say about 8 -10 years old will about 2 - 3K on the clock are a bit dodgy...i prefer them to be run in at least and used. "Used" usually leads to them being maintaned. make any sense??

Phil

[xtzrick]

Most front end swaps are possible, it's all down to money, time & engineering skill.
There are a few front end swaps on here, have you read Patricks' thread in restorations & rebuilds?

My 02 600E averaged 55-65mpg.

I don't consider mileage too much when looking at a 2nd hand bike, you never Know what twats have owned it before or how often the speedo's been disconnected.
Look at the condition it's in, listen to the engine, look for oil & smoke, check the bearings, kick the tyres & haggle 'til you get the price you're happy with

Rick