Having recently returned from a trip through Morocco and into the Sahara on my 91 XT600 she's a little poorly! Burning a lot of oil, major leak from the clutch cover, drop off in power, fuel leak and very rattly (even more than normal!) However saying all of this she still rides.

The question is how much would it cost to do a rebuild thinking of fitting new piston and rings etc and could I do this myself?? To give an idea of my mechanical aptitude I've done quite a bit on cars in the past and recently took the engine out of my CR250 with a friends help to do the head gasket (not a big job I know!)

The other problem is looking at this objectively! I'm planning another big trip this year and although I've become attached to the old girl I only payed £850 for her and would it be more cost effective just to buy another bike?

Any thoughts appreciated....

New piston + rings, new seals, reboring cylinder, new oil and oil filter and work costs in my country equal 400 EUR.
Regards

Hi James, rebuilt my 3aj couple of months ago. (2 crankshaft bearings,balance shaft bearings,timing chain,piston rings + full set of gaskets, all for under £200. They,re not that complicated to work on + the satisfaction you get when she fires up for the first time will put a big smile on your face! Cheers T

Cheers for the replies, decided to rebuild her ready for the next trip and do as much as poss myself!!
Two further questions though I could just do with a little bit more power and torque so am thinking of oversize pistons I've found some u.s. companies doing them @124 us dollars but were would I go in the UK? What would I expect to pay and what capacity would I be looking at?
Secondly the exhaust could really do with replacing and I'd like the lightest possible system, any ideas?

Thanks in anticipation!!!!!!!!

good decision to rebuild the bike, yes do as much as you can yourself, the xt is easy, get a manual and start.

dont get a tuning kit piston, use original, it will last longer and the more power you get out of the tuning kit is not worth it.

yes, change the exhaust, an aftermarket one is lighter and you get a bit more power

enjoy

mika

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