Mezo`s 1988 XT600Z 3AJ Rebuild Thread (Project Ténéré)

[Mezo]

Well after a long absence, this is where the 3AJ Project Ténéré thread will be re-posted.

Remember this lads



Mezo.

[GeoffD]

Well after a long absence, this is where the 3AJ Project Ténéré thread will be re-posted.

Remember this lads



Mezo.

Seems like bloody years ago, yet its only Months.......

now how the hell to I transfer me thread over from **Vrider

[Mezo]

To keep myself busy & a chance to give a legend a second chance in life im rebuilding a Yamaha XT600 & will be know know as Project Ténéré

I was browsing our local online flea market (Gumtree) where i came upon the bike, it looked sorta familiar? so after a phone call to the guy i established it was a bike i had seen advertised last year on Gumtree, i was tempted to buy it but had the empty pocket syndrome & passed it buy.

These pics were taken by Tony, the initial strip down of Brian`s beloved trusty steed, and the story begins.





















































Since i last saw it Tony (the very nice Welshman i bought it from) had stripped the bike right down & had started to restore it, the frame & swing arm had been sandblasted & the powder-coated, he had done his best to match the color using the inside of the original side panels (French Blue) and a real nice job has been done.



Here`s a pic taken by the Brian the original owner next to the Pinncales in Western Australia, the bike was a running bike when Tony got hold of it before Christmas, and is still a road registered bike.



This is what the bike looked like when it was new, ill be customizing my with a Sonauto Factory theme to it.



Im also going to experiment using a GSXR 1000 silencer (X40F0X) Titanium/alloy and weighs in at a mere 2KG.



Mezo. (and Geoff, there is no easy way)

[Mezo]

The first thing i ordered was my screen for the project from http://www.eaglescreens.com.au/yamaha.htm ive gone with an extra 130mm in height & extra width in dark tint.

I have had screens from this guy before & was well happy with the product & so im using him again. He makes a standard replacement for AU$110, an extended up to 65mm for AU$130 & extended 65mm to 130mm costs AU$140 (mine) in any tint you care for.

Its a quality job made of 3mm perspex with nice rounded edges



I also ordered the stainless fixing kit for it including the rubber well nuts, may as well do it properly if your spending this kind of money.

And if your like me & stupid enough to knock on his door, be prepared for the wrath of John, he tore me a new arsehole saying "I haven't go time to talk with customers im whey to busy" Grrrrrrr !! he said.

So he locks the shop door & turns up his radio so he cant hear you knocking, so if you want something just email him & you will get a reply back straight away.

Mezo.

[Mezo]

Learned a lot, my tank & fairing had taken a pretty hard hit on the right side, it has been repaired but very poorly, the quote to fix was very expensive because of the labor involved in fixing the tank properly (not bodging it) so i made some phone calls & spoke to a wreckers & turns out he knows the bike very well, he knew Brian the backpacker who run the bike last & the wreckers told me what parts he had sold on the bike.

Here is the tank the came with the bike.







Its full of bog (filler) and only useful as a boat anchor, so i got hold of a secondhand dented (but honest) tank for $200 (that's cheap in Aussie)







And the fixings are in much better shape on this "Honest" tank.





Compared to the old tank.



And besides on the new tank im looking for straight lines (in the important places) and no rust inside.





Mezo.

.

[Mezo]

OK i set about stripping off the 28 yr old paint with normal household paint stripper (hold ye breath)









And after a quick swill (the gas tank not me) eh voilà





You can see how huge these Tenere tanks are in this pic, that`s my CR250Z tank hiding inside.



Then a quick blast with Mr Sandblast.







Look at that fixing, pure sex.





Quick flash with some rattle can primer to stop it rusting.



Makes it easy to see where the repair work is needed.









Mezo.

[Mezo]

Anyhow i pulled out the barrel out the "Box O Bits" only to find it was pretty shagged.



And the head followed (followed after a can of Boddys)



So there we have it, an engine in need of repair.



And check out how the sprocket is held on.



Piston is pretty scored up as well.



Mezo.

[Dirtybrit]

Hey Mezo, great to see the build again, and the fact that you are able to post!

[Mezo]

Its going to be a mammoth task for sure, but the joy of knowing it cannot be fucked with or closed is worth the effort alone.

So i had this idea on the graphics i wanted on the bike, based roughly on the Gauloises sponsored Sonauto French factory team from the eighties, so i scoured the interweb & found a real handy site that has brand logo`s for download. http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/



And then i played around in paintshop to see how it would look in the blue scheme.



And for the tinted screen i was having made i came up with this idea.



So with that design & my logo`s on disk all i needed was the main graphics & thanks to Raul he sent me the PDF to do the job,
this is available for download in the "Hot Links" section of the forum under manuals & graphics.

Then all i needed to do was have the side panel graphics made by a graphic designer (very pretty young lady)

And whilst they was being made my Eagle (extended) screen arrived from John at http://www.eaglescreens.com.au/yamaha.htm

And as usual his work was top notch, real nice & thick with nice rounded corners & choice of height, tint or wings.





Mezo.

[Mezo]

Well i pulled the covers off the engine & took a peak inside.



And managed to clean the bog off the spline to find no damage.



Then decided to pull the valves out & have a closer look at the seats.



And yep i think they need attention.



So i gave it a blast with the sandblaster.



And ideally i would have liked to replace the valves but,,,couldn't afford such luxury so i just hoped a good lap job would suffice.



And whilst i was at this stage i decided to give the ports a tidy up, rough as buggery casting marks from the factory.





So after a couple of hours of work with my cheap & nasty air powered die grinder i got off ebay for $40 "et voilà"





My brother in England had made me a little tool up & posted it over to me here in Aussie for finishing the ports.



Its basically a length of nylon tapering down & a slot cut in the end, you can put a strip of emery in the or scotch cloth for the final finish.

After porting the head i needed to get the seats re-cut from a local machine shop, he also re-bored the barrel as well.





All ready for the new piston.



Mezo.