Mutant oil tank on my bike?

[AlexD]

Is my bike a mutant? I have a 1989 XT600ZE Tenere (twin headlight) with an oil tank on the right-hand side under the plastic body panel. The tank has a drain bolt next to the lower oil pipe which bolts onto the side of the tank, is this normal? No Yamaha dealer I’ve tried can find me a replacement drain bolt or any associated seals/o-rings or washers. Does anyone else have a drain bolt like me?

[big t]

Hi AlexD, Just checked my 90 3aj and it has the same drain bolt! looks like 8mm?

[AlexD]

Useless dealer fiches (and dealers sometimes too)! Thanks Big T.

[Mark]

Hi

As our 3AJ Tenere aren't covered in the Clymer manual, I thought that you might also be unaware of Yamaha's intended oil tank drain method

The 3AJ oil tank should have a large hollow drain bolt with a small bolt and copper washer sealing the end.
To drain the oil you should hold the end of the large bolt and slacken the small bolt a little, then unscrew the large bolt something like 15 or 20 turns until you can see the thread has been machined off as an indicator not to unscrew any further. Then with a large container ready to catch the oil, remove the small screw and washer to allow the oil to drain. This method makes it easier to catch the oil as it drains, but because the bike leans the other way on its side stand it is still not ideal. I tie the front brake on and lean the bike over to the right and put an axle stand under the front right foot rest to allow me to leave a drain tray on the floor rather than holding it under the drain bolt. But now it’s leaning the wrong way to drain the gear box completely from the drain hole near the gear lever shaft, so you have to swap between leaning either way.
I think that there is supposed to be an aluminium washer to seal between the big drain bolt and the oil tank, it’s what I use anyway.

The Clymer manual tells you to unbolt the oil pipe from next from the oil tank drain bolt to remove and clean the oil strainer that lives behind it, but once the oil tank is empty you can examine the strainer with a torch, looking inside the tank through the filler cap opening. If it looks good and clean I don’t bother removing it. As well as the large o-ring that seals the strainer, here are small o-rings behind the two allen headed bolts and they are easily lost as you remove the pipe or when you are reassembling it.

Hope this makes sence,

Mark

[AlexD]

Mark, brilliant write-up, thanks. This explains why I've got a leak from the tank then. I'm missing all the little gubbins that you've described, I have one big bolt where the drain bolt stuff should be and I don't think I have the o-rings for behind the allen bolts. The Yamaha dealer is telling me these parts don't exist on their fiche so they can't order them for me. Have you any diagrams, part numbers or competent suppliers I could use?

[Dave O]

Hi, - I use Keys Motorcycles in Worthing. It's down south here, but they have all the parts fiche and workshop manuals for all of the tenere's. If yamaha still makes the parts, they will get them. I get 90% of my 3AJ parts from them. Ask for Darren when you phone up, and if you've got the frame number, it will help.

[AlexD]

Cheers Dave, I'll give them a whirl.