Tenere is go :D

Picked it up from Josh during the week. Hauled it home and got in in the shed.
Due to work commitments i didn't even get a chance to start it up until today. None the less. My dual sport dreams will soon become reality :rockon
The basics are;

Yamaha, 1988 model XT Tenere.
600cc
Monoshock
Upright forks
Discs front and rear
Suspected 24l tank capacity
Five running gears
Heavy :neutral

Even for an older bike, the seat height is not all to much different from the 530. The seat is so comfortable. For a tallish guy, everything is in a comfortable place. Took it for a test ride today and didn't find any issues with sore back/neck/shoulders/wrists etc. Granted this could change on a long journey but so far all good.

Things I've noticed
I still freak out every time i turn the hangers and the fairing doesn't move :haha I'm hoping ill get used to that.
Coming off the 530, its so heavy, both in maneuvering with feet or turning. Will be interesting on the dirt to say the least. Again something i should adjust to.
Theres a cable or a clip or something in the front fairing that vibrates and causes a horrible noise on acceleration.
Brakes are hopeless currently. At the moment the most effective method of slowing/stopping is engine braking. Luckily, the compression is unreal (ill take that as a sign of a healthy motor) The rear brake does nothing at all and the front isn't much better. I can hold the front and rear brake in full and still push the bike with ease.
There are a fair few little leaks and weeps here and there, oil/fuel and brake fluid.
I suspect the speedo is fairly inaccurate. Either that or its just me not being used to the bike yet, but im pretty sure its the speedo.
Once the rear brake is engaged and then disengaged, the brake light stays on until you stick your foot under the brake lever and tap it up.
Starts pretty easily via the electric leg, which is lucky as there is no kick start. Im still kind of nervous about not having the manual back up but what can you do.

So, with a pretty damn small list of things to do, ill book it in for a tune to get it running schmicko, and then get it in to get all the brake issues sorted. Adjusting the front and rear brakes doesn't help at all, so im thinking new fluid and pads should do the trick. Josh had the rear caliper rebuilt a few weeks ago so im not sure if that included pads as well or not.
After the brake issues, ill get to work on the leaks. Ill need to source some new gaskets and some hose clamps.
As well as that, i need to try and get a new cable made up of the choke. OEM the choke is a pull button up on the dash, but the cable was broken and Josh was unable to find a new one, so at the moment its just a short bit of cable hanging off the carbie. Does the job but i would like to reinstate the original.
Then its just a matter of finding out where to go to get the speedo re calibrated.

Things i did today.
Installed bash plate.
Adjusted lever and handle bar positions.
Loctited *everything*
Tightened chain
Removed front wheel, deflated entirely as so i could seat the valve better. Its still on a bit of an angle but allot better than it was. Reinstalled and inflated.
Admired reflection in frame paintwork.
Test rode. 4km's before it started raining.
Thats all i got round to doing before i had to move onto the 530, which is now cleaner, and sporting brand new tires front and back.

Plans.
Well, i want to keep this as a pretty basic dual sport. Something reliable that i can load up and just "go" on, so there wont be to much happening.
Once its all fixed up and running reliably, there will be a set of panniers, crash bars, bark busters and a 12v socket or other power adapter for a GPS. Just basic adventure equipment i guess.
The major change will be the paint. Now Josh will probably murder me for this, but while the blue and yellow does look kinda cool and old school, im not entirely a huge fan, and i will be altering the looks with this as my main inspiration;

http://www.xt600.de/xt_galerie/spezial- ... /index.htm

So, thats pretty much it for now. Here are some pics for the meantime Should be out at coffee next week to
(Please ignore the shed mess, im working on it, promise)











OMG proper headlights!!


I look forward to seeing her happily over the mark.


Cheers!

Pat

 

yep the japs have learnt a thing or to over the last 20years
Pat when you get back on the 530 it will feel like a toy and you'll be looking to upgrade to the 950

 

Bleed the brakes ASAP. That'll probably fix them right up.

 

Im not sure how the 950 would like tally single trail Not to say i don't want one though *drools*

And yes, bleeding the brakes probably would do the trick. Maybe ill give ti a go. guess its something i've gotta learn to do. If i can find somewhere tomorrow thats open that sells the right fluid (supercheap?) and some hose i might give it a go.

 

Try removing the brake pads and scuffing them up with sandpaper, probably do the same with the discs. They might just be glazed... Last time i tried the fronts, they were fine to stop.

As for the sticking rear brake light, try spraying some electrical cleaner into the switch... maybe try moving the switch a bit lower... might not be returning enough.

Also give the bike a good spray... I don't remember seeing any leaks around the engine, but i was spending a lot of time working with the brake.

 

lol. No that effort i can appreciate, after having to go through the same thing before :haha

 

Bled the brakes today. Bled allot of air out of the rear!
Test ride to check for improvement will be the ride out to coffee tomorrow

Also inspected oil and air filter.
Oil looks like it could do with a change once i find out what SAE to use. Filter is fine. Also found the source of the vibration up the front. Going to pick up a bit of sticky sided foam from work tomorrow to fix the dash knocking against the frame.

 

Air-cooled yeah?
20/50 Motul 1000 would be my best guess.

 

Man, this is good to see. We have got to get some proper touring going when this things ready.

Hopefully, one day the CR DualSport crowd can outnumber the M109 crowd...

 

Yea man, hopefully not long before the long distance runs can start!
As for outnumbering the one0nines, i'm all for it. But Canberra109dualsportriders might add a significant price to next years banner? :haha

Just sorted out the sticking brake light issue as well. Turns out the spring switch actually had adjustment on it. Man they think of everything! :smile

 

[rant:1div9r31]Fucking kangaroo's!![/rant:1div9r31]

Went out to get the off road tag this morning. Our good acquaintance mr marsupial decided to jump onto the road about ten meters in front of me :crap!:

I managed to get it down to about 78km/h before contact without the front brake washing me out on the wet roads. Caught the roo in mid jump and he hit the top part of the bike before the upper part of my body/head made contact and pulled me off the back.
Im fine as far as i can tell, sore head, sore back and a sore left leg, but nothing broken or otherwise badly damaged i think. The bike however.. *sighs*

-busted front fairing mounts, whole thing is pushed back up the tank.
-Fairing is cracked in various places, couple of bits broken off entirely.
-cracked headlight protector.
-cracked fuel tank.

It happened about 10 K's into Brindebella road after the MT mac turnoff, so thanks to the crack being higher up on the tank i was able to make it home before the tank drained to much. My left knee is still frozen even after a shower, my whole left leg got covered in fuel on the way home and at one stage before it thawed out along the GDE my whole left knee and shin was frozen fuel. So cold.

So now i get to look into the possibility of plastic weld for the fairing. I really don't want to have to try and find another one :banghead!:
Any idea's where to take the tank to get it welded up?

Draining the fuel tank at home.


Tank crack with the last bit of frozen fuel from the ride back.


Fairing and headlight protector.


Side on.


I feel awful. Had it less than a month and already this :angry

 

Holy crap Pat, sounds like you got off lightly, even though it may not feel that way right now. :shock:

Hope you get the bike sorted out without too many hassles.

 

yeah mate - sounds like a bit of a lucky one overall! nasty..

Plastex will weld that up real nice - although - if you can get the "ABS In a tube" styrene product from the mob in melbourne, it'd be better than new...

 

AAAAHHH! Bloody animal strikes suck at the best of times but even worse when it is a new bike! Glad to hear that beyond the frozen knee you are pretty much ok. fuggin skippy istols!:

 

Mate, at least your alright, the bike suffered no SERIOUS mechanical damage.

Getting that tank welded shouldn't be to hard, They'll need to drain it, fill it with water, and should be good to go.

The fairings, well, did you managed to grab all the bits? The Plastex stuff is awesome.

 

Yea, im pretty sure i got all the bits. I might go for a dive out there and double check though.
I do realize the luck in it, its not often someone hits a roo at any kind of speed and rides away
Will look into the plastex stuff and do some calling around on Tuesday as to getting the tank fixed up.

Cheers guys!

 

Fuuuck.

I feel like this is part my doing. We should've just gone to kowen like we planned originally. That's rotten luck man, I can't believe you hit a roo at those speeds and manage to ride away from it though.

I've got some plastex left over from my repairs to the Trans. If you want it, it's yours. Not much of the black stuff left, but plenty of the white and clear.

 

Aww man, that's no good. It probably doesn't feel like it - but it sounds like you were pretty lucky to be able to walk/limp away from it.

Bloody skippys, there have been far too many roo attacks this year. I did very similar damage to the R1 a few months ago when I hit a roo out on Apollo Rd.

Hope you and the bike are feeling better soon.

Lee

 

not the tenere! good to hear you've come out of it mostly unscathed. If it's any consolation I scored one for us by kicking one of the bastards that was getting too close to my bike for comfort a few days ago.

remember your just giving your bike more character. :thumbsup:

 

bad luck mate - being able to ride home after a roo strike is pretty handy

Hope you get the bike sorted out soon....