I am a sucker for old, neglected bikes that need love. In this case, a 1992 XT600 E with 5000, hard, hard miles. I don't think this bike was ever maintained in any way, shape or form to be honest with you. It was simply ridden into the ground, where it stayed until I came to rescue it.

I've documented my progress in another motorcycle forum but the interest for these bikes there is pretty low it seems. I was pointed in this direction by a HUBB member and I was astonished with what I found here. Great information all through out the site and lots of knowledgeable folk aswell.

In the next few days I will try to catch things up here with where I am at with this project. My hopes are to gain some useful insight into these bikes and document the process as I go along so that others can chime in and also learn from my mistakes.


Alfredo

You can kill an XT in 5000 miles?

Here she is, in her true naked form:




I knew a couple of things about the bike before I became the owner. One being that it ran, the other being that the oil, it's lifeblood, was not circulating to where it should be. Right away I knew things weren't going to look pretty inside this machine, but I decided to go for it anyway. With the hope that I, or someone out there will learn something from this process.

So, right away, as I began to dig into it, issues arose.

Yep, things were a bit dry up top.

Hmmmm.. I wonder what the cylinder looks like...

If your piston looks like this:




Then your cylinder probably needs some love:

Up to this point all I've done is remove parts. I removed the engine also, even though it wasn't really necessary I want to give this bike a complete make over.








In the next post or two I will show you guys what, besides the obvious abuse/negligence, caused all of this to happen..... Check back soon!

Alfredo

hey there and welcome to the Hubb!

Wow...the bike doesn't look that bad on the outside... i didn't spot any rust on the frame either and the engine looks as new ON THE OUTSIDE lol...

Anyway, might you consider on a Stage2 Cam and a 96mm Wiseco (11.5:1 compression)?? lol

Have fun with that rebuilding! Any questions just ask!

If you need the workshop manual just go here Smokin' Lizard



Vando

Great pictures, thanks. Mine looks a whole lot worse on the outside, but I'm hoping that inside things are a little better.

Come on, admit it, you went "oooh" out loud when you saw the pictures didn't you? Nasty, nasty, nasty.

How did such a low mileage engine run so dry? Did the drain plug fall out? Oil pump fail?

It'll be really interesting to see the re-build, and also to see what it all costs, just in case the worst happens to mine.

What caused this to fail you say? It was indeed the oil pump, it was jammed up by some crud that got into the engine somehow.


Here's the clutch side of the engine with the clutch and oil pump out.

Here's the oil pump taken apart:




A close up picture:






The pump was a little pitted on the inside so I went ahead and bought a different one on ebay that came off of xt550.

Also, the gear that drives the pump was toast:



Can't really see it in the pic but the boss spun inside the plastic gear when the pump jammed.

While I was messing with the rest of the engine I ordered a brand new 96mm wiseco piston from ebay. Cost me around $130 dollars with rings and everything. At the end of the project I will compile a list of what everything cost me that way it's all together and easy to find.





Once I had the piston in my hands, I took the cylinder into a shop that was recommended to me by a well respected motorcycle wheel builder/machine shop that is here in Denver, CO.

I was impressed with the job...

Big mistake. Though it fits, pre-89 oil pumps are half the flow capacity to the one you replaced.

Junk it, and go get a post '89 one - plenty of posts on here about the differences.

Unless the 550 guy was enlightened, and had replaced his for the new type already?

Wow. Good to know! See, this is why i'm posting this here also . I only looked at them side by side and the look and fit was exactly the same, it's the internals that are different then?

Good thing I still have all winter to do this!

Nice point!! do get the other oil pump!

Btw, is that piston the 11.5:1 compression ratio or is it stock comp?


One day when I do need to bore the cylinder I might get a 97mm 11.5:1 piston in it and the stage2 cam and maybe a performance "ICU" or whatever it's called...

and get a new cylinder sleeve.. if I want to get back to stock or whatever..


Vando