Itchy Boots

[Scotsrich]

Back on 2 wheels again after her collar bone break.

An ‘interesting’ choice of new bike which isn’t one I’d have gone for.

[KungFooBob]

You could have said what it was and saved me 30 seconds of googling.

1987 Yamaha XT600Z if anyone is interested.

[Skub]

No pics. Didn't happen.

[cvilla]

Details on bike re-build/refurb due Sunday, if I read socials right
Also link here, not sure how to stick in post!

[kendo57]

She was saying you do not want complicated electronics when your riding in the middle of nowhere and the bike needs
to be easy to repair. Its the same reason why a lot of older plant / machinery gets shipped to Africa.
I'm surprised Honda have not sponsored her after showcasing the ability of that 250 she had.

[Bigjawa]

The Beast?

Good luck kicking it if the starter packs up!

[Pirahna]

1987 Yamaha XT600Z if anyone is interested.

I had one of those when I lived in Australia, I rode all over Oz on it and it never missed a beat, a superb bike. But that was 35 years ago, I wouldn't trust one to do serious miles now, great for a Sunday fun bike to the local cafe and back though.

[Scotsrich]

The latest episode goes into quite a bit more detail about the bike. The guy has certainly thought it out pretty well and heck does he know his stuff.

His workshop is like an Aladdin’s cave

[cvilla]

Link here if you fancy;

I'm part way through...very interesting:)

[Skub]

It's a great watch,even for someone like me who has zero interest in dirt bikes. The workshop is old school amazing.

[Bustaspoke]

I enjoyed watching that,he must have half the stock of XT600's in western Europe!
I agree with the mindset of keeping things simple,& I love the look of the 80's XL's,DR's & XT's but I'd have took a XT600E with a Acerbis tank myself.
My own XT600 43F is earlier than that 1VJ & had a total rebuild,new gearbox,uprated oil pump,new TCI unit from Zeeltronics,lots of other new parts & a few thousand miles later the ignition pick up failed.Theyr'e unobtainium & no one makes a pattern version,I spent months trying to source a replacement with no luck,eventually I found a good auto electrician who could solder the failed parts together,not what you need in the back of beyond.Hopefully the builder can ship some rare parts out to her if something fails

[Horse]

... the ignition pick up failed.Theyr'e unobtainium & no one makes a pattern version,I spent months trying to source a replacement with no luck, ...

As an aside.

A mate told me this was roughly how [the late] Les Harris got started.

He was the 'parts' man in a dealer.

Customer came in, wanted a particular set of cams. Six dealer's in, no stock, none available.

LH said "Leave it with me. Come back in two weeks."

Got a set made, covered his costs. The other five sets he had made were clear profit.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Har ... sinessman)

[/Derail]

[asmethurst99]

... the ignition pick up failed.Theyr'e unobtainium & no one makes a pattern version,I spent months trying to source a replacement with no luck, ...

As an aside.

A mate told me this was roughly how [the late] Les Harris got started.

He was the 'parts' man in a dealer.

Customer came in, wanted a particular set of cams. Six dealer's in, no stock, none available.

LH said "Leave it with me. Come back in two weeks."

Got a set made, covered his costs. The other five sets he had made were clear profit.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Har ... sinessman)

[/Derail]

Interesting post - I’d always wondered where the G80 came from -

[Bigyin]

I do wonder how she will get on if she has problems as identifying exactly which model and year of XT part she has as its a bitsa made from many different models and years which are different and will she know if a certain part is an 85 or 87 for example

[The Spin Doctor]

She was saying you do not want complicated electronics when your riding in the middle of nowhere and the bike needs
to be easy to repair. Its the same reason why a lot of older plant / machinery gets shipped to Africa.
I'm surprised Honda have not sponsored her after showcasing the ability of that 250 she had.

Someone I know got a BMW loaner of the then latest GS (1150 IIRC) and it conked out... a warning light had started flashing, they pulled into a petrol station to refuel and the bike wouldn't restart - threw up an error code.

He got the satellite phone out, phoned up Bracknell and asked to be put through to the technical department - the reception queried the reason, he explained the bike wasn't going anywhere and she went off into a spiel about contacting the local dealer who would arrange recovery back to the workshop.

He stopped her, and explained they were just over the border of Senegal on the way to Dakar.

There was a pause, and she connected him to the technical department.

It turned out to be dust on the ABS sensor. He explained how to remove it and clean it, then gave him the arcane sequence of turning the ignition on and off, and flicking switches to reset the ABS. It took five minutes with the toolkit and a spit-dampened handkerchief to get the bike going again.

Aside from getting stuck roadside somewhere you really don't want to be stuck roadside, I wonder what the workshop bill for that would have been.

[mangocrazy]

I do wonder how she will get on if she has problems as identifying exactly which model and year of XT part she has as its a bitsa made from many different models and years which are different and will she know if a certain part is an 85 or 87 for example

Exactly my thoughts. Well done cherry-picking the best parts from each model year, but only the guy who built it would know which part to order in the event of failure.

[MyLittleStudPony]

If the side stand is strike, the engine is running.

[Whysub]

Watching the video of what stock he has, I doubt she will have any issues in getting parts from him for her bike.

I don't doubt for a second that he has a full list of what is fitted within the engine and chassis. In his head, even if not written down (a bit like Alan Millyard)

[cvilla]

Latest vid on Yam mods,