Xt progress

[MrFluffy]

Well, Ive got a front brake, and what a brake she will be!
The 38mm lc4 carb turned up too, so Ive made up a manifold by shortening slightly the one that was in the box with the xt (curiously enough it was 38mm id too) and boring it deeper to allow the carb to sit nearer the head. It *just* misses the frame mods for the monoshock if I tilt the carb about 10deg from vert, so I will have to make a even lower profile mount to give me clearance proper and let me mount it properly vertical. Im begining to suspect my motor isnt very standard since the valve passages are 38mm too. I got the spiel that it was a tuned lump that I had known in another bike (mounted in a cr250 frame , it was known as the "over the hill xt") and the xt had vandalised the lightweight cr frame, so had been split up. Fingers crossed it is, as that lump I remember being very special indeed inside. It also accounts for the carb being miles too small for the inlet and valve passages, despite being a 34mm, since it wasnt with the other bits when I arrived to collect, and we had to go digging through random teechests to find it...
Weirdly the ktm carb has both a choke knob and a choke slide proper with cable etc, anyone know why?

Caliper is a Honda blackbird 6 pot (well 3 pot swinging) caliper gripping a 320mm floating front disc.


Now got to tackle the seat, was looking at them tt500 flat track all in one units, but I quite like the look of the original + guard, so Im keeping my eyes peeled for them on those sites...

[guest27]

When you decide to replace the tank - please send it this way....

R

[MrFluffy]

ok,,, but dont hold your breath, I havent actually replaced anything original yet and I dont have any plans to change the tank unless I can get hold of a alloy one at a decent price (and theres not much chance of that now they have become the "mythical moto of legende" as one ebayer described it trying to hype up prices). Original parts wise I only got a frame, the tank and a engine in the boxes along with some random bits hence why I havent got any electrics or carb or anything.

Tanks got a few knee dents etc in it, but nothing that wont mostly work out with a cranked ball ended rod in the vice. Its inevitable Im going to fall off the end result sooner or later (I dont do ornaments), so it'd be pointless to source a perfect tank then ruin it.

Just got back from the local bike shop, clutch cable, valve lifter cable and the frame oil filter and gaskets will arrive in a week or so which are the last missing links from the oil and cable jigsaws then I can fire up the motor and see what suprises thats got in store for me (read, find out the reason why it was still in the teachests). 40e for a clutch cable, I was almost tempted to just buy some bowden...

Are you needing a xt tank for something? the steel ones come up quite often on ebay france at reasonable prices if you keep your eye out. xt 500 (note the space, the french tend to put a space there) and reservoir are the keywords.

[trophydave]

Tanks got a few knee dents etc in it, but nothing that wont mostly work out with a cranked ball ended rod in the vice. Its inevitable Im going to fall off the end result sooner or later (I dont do ornaments), so it'd be pointless to source a perfect tank then ruin it.

Is there any chance of a picture of the tool you use for getting dents out of the tank.My XT350 tank looks rather 'used' and could do with some tidying up.I don't really want to fill the dents and then paint it if I can work some of them out instead.I did think about asking one of those dent removal blokes but that could involve spending money:-)

[guest27]

I just love the shape of the XT tank - had a 250 one on my Jawa and it looks like this would fit the Bonnie frame I have been told I must move out of the garden and ito the shed (OK GC I think it will hang on the ceiling..) and was thus guessing that the 500 would fit too.  Funnily enough I replaced the 250 tank with one from a 650 Seca... with a bath plug as a petrol cap.   Along with the pallet wrap seat cover, jacked up suspension etc - some silly sod stole it...

Would either need to put some brackets on the Triumph frame or a hole through the Yam tank.  Mind the US shape Bonnie tanks are Mmmmmmmm too.

So I am in less rush to find one than you are to get rid of one.

R

[guest207]

So then Fluffster...are you gonna finish the XT or the turbo first?

[guest27]

Neither - he is lookingat the single cyl turbo roadster and the 4 cyl 750 traily as options

R

[guest207]

Neither - he is lookingat the single cyl turbo roadster and the 4 cyl 750 traily as options

R

Now that would not surprise me one bit

[MrFluffy]

Theyll be finished in parallell is the usual answer ive given mik in the past, Id ask which will be finished out of your turbo and ktm but neither of them are projects at the moment either eh
 Ive been working on the xt while those tl forks made their way across the channel. Ive still got a v8 smog pump that I want to bolt onto a single as a supercharger, but this one is too big, Im still thinking of getting a ct90 for the back of our camper van for that experiment...

Im going to fill the xt with oil this week and fire her up with a total loss ignition circuit as Ive managed to unseize the knackered atu and get a baseplate, If i fire it up I can make sure theres no nasty noises and probally will give me the kick to take it to bits and make everything pretty. Could do with being able to put a chain on it and check gear selection, maybe Ill see if I can put a old 530 or something the wrong pitch on for the rear sprocket just to check.
Spent the other night remachining the carb inlet so it misses the frame etc now nicely, and a sr500 downpipe has been procured and put on "for now", just to get running with.

Then Ive got to go pick up the new rear tyre (that I was supposed to get today, but ended up driving mrs f to the shops as she's not allowed to drive far doctors orders) and decide what size custom sprocket to order and for which end of the chain as theyre different pitches front and rear, get a sprocket nut that I forgot to order from the yamaha dealers and then its all apart for tidying up and wiring by which time my seat should have arrived relative post from the uk. Still havent got a original mudguard, but in a few weeks if I keep my eye out, otherwise Ive got a nasty acerbis placcy one in red that can go on till one turns up...
Then when all thats done, itll be another couple of teachests turned into a functioning bike to be abused and modified more as time goes on, much to the horror of the restorers!

Trophydave, will get a shot of it, but its just a bar with two bends on it with a big old ball welded to the end. I got the idea years ago from a feature on the tank shop where he had similar...

[guest207]

Theyll be finished in parallell is the usual answer ive given mik in the past, Id ask which will be finished out of your turbo and ktm but neither of them are projects at the moment either eh

Ahh but as off this week the turbo became a project..ZX7 front end and back wheel etc ready for JD in may. And its CCM not KTM which means its an on going project..

[guest27]

Is that a Rotax 604 CCM, a earlier Brit engined one or one of the Suzuki ones?

R

[guest207]

Is that a Rotax 604 CCM, a earlier Brit engined one or one of the Suzuki ones?

R

Its a 99 Rotax 640 engined one, owned it 3yrs now and it still makes me smile

but the neighbours hate it, something to do with the noise I think.

Mick

[MrFluffy]

What miks not telling you is why they hate it SO much, its not that theyre not thumper enthusiasts but more how he used to work a early start and go to work at 6am, and it had a race pipe on it. I stayed at his house once and he let it warm up outside at 6am thumping away, then pulled a huge wheelie out of his estate. Still its better than them needing alarm clocks I guess. I cant tell you what the B stands for, as this isnt that sort of forum, but alexis sayle fans might have a clue.

Seats coming relativepost from the uk next weekend! Now to find a rear mudguard, tried the placcy acerbis one I have spare and it looks absolutely pants. I think the rear guard defines the back of a XT after seeing how crap the aftermarket one looked, so a original shaped one it needs to be.
Thunderstorm stopped play so will run her up in the week one evening, no rush so might get a sprocket first (and remember to order a sprocket nut this time... bah). I took off the atu cover to mount and time up the points in prep and... Theres already a nice pretty looking set in there along with atu etc but with no points wire. I should have checked first (understatement) but I assumed as every other cover Ive removed hid empty spaces that the rusted atu was the only one. There was a honda poopiedream reg rectifier in the box, so I excitedly dug out the old stator remains expecting to find 3 phase wires, only to find it was a single phase stock xt one. Found one of the proper tank bobbins in the bottom of a grubby box, now I know what shape it should be I can make some proper copies up in nylon or rubber. Its been like a veritable root round a autojumble in my shed this weekend...

[guest27]

Its been like a veritable root round a autojumble in my shed this weekend...

For our Antipodean friends - 'to root' comes from the way pigs dig out roots and nuts etc, thus raking through boxes.






R

[themoudie]

Aye Rog and MrFluffy,

Truffles, with any well trained swine! ;-)

"Rooting about" seems quite normal. "Having a ferret!" is one I use as well. "Keeking in the guddle!" is coloquial round here.

My neighbour whom is really a placid soul, was goaded by a Duke 450, on a short megga, from within a closed garage at 10:30pm at a distance of 70m the other side of my house. However, he used to start up the 'Grey Fergie at 07:30am on the sawbench on Sunday for his firewood!!!! I no longer run up unsilenced bikes after 21:00hrs, he no longer cuts firewood at 07:30am.

As an aside, Duke 250, in pre-nonsense days at Brands was recorded on a shortish megga at 123db! Eh? Pardon? ;-)

Toodle pip, Bill