Harley Davidson MT350
 

I have been looking on ebay at Mt350s, i have searched on here but not really found much about them as they dont seem to be used much for overlanding.
Is this because they are heavy or unreliable or some other reason?
I would think being air cooled, steel framed, well sprung, economical with a good generator output and extremly useful pannniers and luggage racks they would have a stronger following with two wheeled travelers. Have any of you used these as a travel bike? Not saying i wont one as such just interested in any of your thoughts on these seemingly useful machines.
Thanks Jim

Have a look at MT Riders Club

Jim, picked up this thread searching for information on the MT350 (toying with the idea of buying one). Thought exactly the same as you did. If prepared correctly rotax engine seems to be reliable, everythings a simple fix , spares readily available; only downside would seem to be a little on the heavy side and that tiny tank (which without too much work can be overcome). Not sure why it isn't more popular.

As an MT350 owner i can highly recomend the MT Riders Club

But I go out my mt in the rough most weekends. As ex milatry machines they come with a collector price tag good ones start at £1200.

They are relativley heavy for some thing with a 350 engine (170 kg dry weight) but are pretty much indestructable.

They were built to work in a war zone and be easy to get going with very little work. The tank on mine is about 13litres and will do approx 130 miles between fill ups, careful though the reserve will get you 5miles at best.

They have a limited top end 75mph cruise at 65mph but will tackel almost any terrain.

PS a whole group of us in the club are currently plannig a trip to marocco for next year, and many club members do serious overlanding on them.

There were 3 of us on MTs at the Ripley Horizons meet last month, a 350 ,500 and a 640. I believe they're ideal for overland trips, especailly with a larger engine and a few other changes such as a larger tank and luggage carrying mods.

They seem up to the job to me, remember that machine lightness becomes less important when you load it with lots of kilos of overlanding gear, or a slightly rotund rider! More important are reliability, strength, comfort etc.

Thanks guys, i thought there must be a strong following of these machines, im still considering buying one and the Morroco trip sounds great, i would be interested.
I saw the MTs at Ripley and was hoping to have a chat although with all the talks i didnt get round to it. Thanks for your thoughts. Cheers Jim

I personally have used them whitest serving in the Army & I thought the same, however I have found the bikes unreliable and far too heavy,
the best thing about them is the sa80 holder good for sunday morning paper collection.

have a look at these sites if you fancy buying one

http://www.motorcycle.co.uk/Articles...0---MT350.aspx

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For what it is worth I travelled up to Ripley with a friend who was riding an MT350, we were taking it steady travelling at about 50-55 mph on A and B roads and the MT did 80 mpg, pretty handy when on tour, my own Triumph T140 was only managing 65 mpg.
The owner has just aquired an Acerbis tanks for it which was fitted to a few mod bikes, I think the Acerbis from an XT or XL 500 also fits so it is possible to boost range.

Im with 'Selous'...i used these with the military in Kosovo & managed to break 3 of them in the space of 2 months. They are bit heavy, especially with luggage etc, but the engines died on all 3 in the middle of no-where, which wasnt fun!
Mayb i just had a bad batch???

(mind you...i do have a great photo of me wheeling one through a half cleared mine field lol)

Fantastic Mister Fox can now testify how strong these machines actually are! We both saw (well I saw - FMF was a more intimate part of the experience!) one of these bikes ridden off a 6 foot drop from a Military bunker at the weekend (not intentionally!). It nose dived on the front wheel, did a complete somersault and both bike and rider continued the ride after a short smoke break for the bystanders to recover. Try that on a lesser bike!

Sounds like you had fun on the plain, its a great place to ride. well done foxy for not busting yourself or bike a true testament to man and machine.

Neither my self or the machine are Busted (well not properly.)

I have a bruised knee (i'm not sure how i got that a i remember landing on my head) and I Damaged a few bits of plastic on the bike and knocked some of the electrics loose. I also later discoverd a slow puncture in the front.

A testiment to a fantastic machine and an Idiot rider