Hi, I was wondering if the below list of items were important additions to the bike ?

Locking Fuel Cap for acerbis tank.
Oil Cap with Thermometer gauge.
Head Lamp Cover.
Rim tapes and Rim locks - do the existing standard wheels on the xt600e 2002 already have Rim tape and locks ? Are these perishable items that need to be replaced once a year or on repearing a puncture ? - apologies, my mechanics course havent discussed this yet .

The Acerbis tank is only 23liters - appears a little shy on volume compared to the tanks they make for other bikes. If I were to be using soft panniers, any suggestion how/ where one can attach additional liters ? - also water.

Aaah yes, some little Chav tried to steal my baby this weekend....managed to snap my disc brake lock and bend my mirror (frikken vandals ). I threw some cash at more locks and chains, but I must say that I am feeling a little insecure. Theft would require months of councelling !
Any clever ideas of how to secure against general London louts ? - are there any bits that I could remove easily to stop the xt from starting while Im kicking-back in a park ?

Thanks

Locking Fuel Cap for acerbis tank - Yes, keeps your fuel from being stolen, or some vandal putting something in your tank. I have one and it does the job well. I dropped the bike in the bush and no fuel leaked out of it too

Oil Cap with Thermometer gauge - Cool, but probably not nessesary. What are you gonna do if it says high? You'd probably smell the cooking engine anyway. That being said, I want one just for bling!

Head Lamp Cover - Sounds like a good idea, if you going serious offroading. If not, its just extra weight.

Rim tapes and Rim locks - do the existing standard wheels on the xt600e 2002 already have Rim tape and locks ? Are these perishable items that need to be replaced once a year or on repearing a puncture ? - Rim tape comes standard with tubed tyres. I rekon replace if there's any sign of damage. Rim locks are'nt standard on XT's. If you not gonna let your tyres down to ride on soft sand, are they really nessesary? Probably not.

The Acerbis tank is only 23liters - appears a little shy on volume compared to the tanks they make for other bikes. If I were to be using soft panniers, any suggestion how/ where one can attach additional liters ? - also water.
- Hepco and Beker sell all sorts of stuff for the XT. There is even a top box with a water tank built in.

Aaah yes, some little Chav tried to steal my baby this weekend....managed to snap my disc brake lock and bend my mirror (frikken vandals ). I threw some cash at more locks and chains, but I must say that I am feeling a little insecure. Theft would require months of councelling !
Any clever ideas of how to secure against general London louts ? - are there any bits that I could remove easily to stop the xt from starting while Im kicking-back in a park ? - Massive chain and lock. Maybe a hidden kill switch.

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Locking fuel cap - yes, had my screw one temporarily pinched in Pakistan (I got it back...) with some crap deposited in the tank plus had some fuel nicked but that can be done with the hose rather than via the filler cap.

Headlight guard- don't waste money on expensive TT bling, a cut piece of perspex duck taped on will suffice just as well. Its only there to stop stones breaking the glass.

23L tank is fine unless you're really going of the beaten track. Only carried some extra fuel on 2 occasions in South America (a 5L water bottle tied on) and that was with a 22L tank. On my Asia trip, I had a 20L tank and never needed to carry any extra fuel.

Security - a cheap alarm is handy, especially if travelling alone as it gives a little peace of mind when you're dealing with paperwork away from the bike.

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Mike


www.singapore-scotland.blogspot.com
www.argentina-alaska.blogspot.com
My little Vid: India/Pakistan

BMW R1150GS
Suzuki DR650 SE: Ride it like ya stole it. Oh, somebody just did...

Well, Best thing you can do is put some different screws with nobbles so you can easily remove the TCI and refit the seat back on.

A good disc brake lock with alarm that uses a weird shape key is an awesome thing and works great!
As for other disc brake locks that use a round key or whatever just leave them alone as they are very easy to pick!


Vando