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TT600RE suspension and luggage questions TT600RE suspension and luggage questions
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Yamaha Tech Originally the Yamaha XT600 Tech Forum, due to demand it now includes all Yamaha's technical / mechanical / repair / preparation questions.
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  #1  
Old 18 Jul 2005
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TT600RE suspension and luggage questions
Hi all,

I'm just getting used to my new Yamaha (05) TT600RE - it was terrible when new, but now it's loosening up I have more hope for it!! I have some questions though:

1 - The back end is quite low and quite soft. As I want to fit hard luggage, I'm thinking of having a stiffer (and perhaps slightly longer) spring wound for the back shock. Has anyone had this done before, and if so do they have any tips. (Btw, I'm 90 kg and my luggage will be about 40kg).

2 - Racks - I see www.offtheroad.de do a rack for it. Does anyone have this? If so, are they happy with it? Is the standard rear subframe up to the job?

Anyway, thanks for the help - Andy



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  #2  
Old 19 Jul 2005
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Congrats on your new ride !
i suspect yamaha put on a longer link on the RE models than was used previously on the R (kicker) models. it may be as simple and probably cheaper than messing with longer springs to substitute the link.
would be wise to cross reference the part numbers if there is a change from the R to the RE
as for luggage .. why bother with hard luggage i have quite a few thousand kilometers with this set up

oxford "throw overs" and a behemoth of a dufflebag

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  #3  
Old 19 Jul 2005
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i forgot to ask... you have tightened up the preload on the rear shock ...right?
of course you have
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  #4  
Old 19 Jul 2005
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I have the rack and boxes from off the road. They have a home made feel but look very strong, they fix to the main footpegs and four points on the subframe which really spreads the load to the right places. I have done 20,000 miles with this set up half with just me and luggage North Africa and Europe. Half with girlfriend(60Kg) on the back and 40Kg luggage Trans Canada and U.S.A.
No problems at all with luggage, make sure you seal the box seams with silicone and line the boxes with sticky backed vinyl sheet, this stops water and black marks on your gear.
The boxes are easier to use and de-mount than Zega boxes and rack has re-located pillion pegs for passenger comfort.
I am now buying a 2005 TT600RE to replace my 2001 TT600R and I am thinking of swapping the forks and shock, any ideas?
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  #5  
Old 19 Jul 2005
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Hi guys - thanks for the help. From what I hear, the Ohlins unit on the 600R is better than the Sachs unit on the RE. Having said that, your Ohlins has done quite a bit of hard work, so if you were going to swap them, it might be worth having it rebuilt at the time??

I'd be interested to know if the ride height difference in the 2 models is just down to the link. Anyone with a 600R fancy measuring their link? If so, I'll probably get a 600R link, take the preload up a bit more (i.e. to max) and that should be fine.

I'm encouraged to hear that the subframe is up to the job. My past travel bikes (XR600R and XR650L) both had puny subframes. The XR600s broke 3 times. Still I guess they weren't designed for luggage.

I'm still a fan of aluminium panniers though - you can sit on them of an evening and they make good washing up bowls :-)

Cheers for now - Andy

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  #6  
Old 20 Jul 2005
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Hi
I have a few photos of my TTR swingarm and link which I posted on another site for somone.
May be you can see if the link looks different to your one, sorry dont know any measurements as bike is back together.
The photos are hear
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/...guid=163722627
you will have to join site to view.
Is it possible to post photos on this site?
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  #7  
Old 1 Jun 2007
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Laromonster,

An old thread I realise, but how do you keep your soft luggage off the bike - hot exhaust etc?

Thanks,

Dave
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Old 1 Jun 2007
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wow! a blast from the past

The way i had the bags on the bike kept them from making contact with the exhaust.. way forward, i was sitting on the crossover straps, and had the dufflebag bungied to the pannier handles to prevent them from sagging inwards.

Some lowlife scum solved the whole problem for me and took off with the yammie last september
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Old 1 Jun 2007
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Soft / Hard
I bought the same set of Oxie´s for my Thunderace, and they have been great. Allso had them mounted on the old XT for a while,but have now got my self a pair of Touratech Zega´s waiting at home for installation when I get vacation. I think alu boxes have an advantage to soft bags when rideing a dualsport. They are tougher and you don´t have to wash them after or cover them in case of rain or mud.
On the Ace that is only eating highway miles i like the Oxford bags, Takes 5min to strap on/off. And you can fit a lot of gear in too them


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Places to be and things to do, see you all out there!!

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  #10  
Old 1 Jun 2007
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Oxford soft luggage
Laromonster,
They look a lot further to the rear than you describe, which is what caught my eye - I have the same bike and the same luggage (had the Oxfords for some years and they work well for me - the bike, not so long).
I have thought about trying them out in the way you describe, but I was wondering if the weight would still push the plastics i.e. bend them into the exhaust.

Tom,
Yes, I've used the throwovers for various trips on road bikes - great for me, keeps the weight low (I'm not keen on topboxes) and fairly streamlined for those 100+ MPH dashes on the German autobahns. I used binbags inside them and then pack the kit in - that keeps everything dry without bothering with putting an outer water-resistant cover on.

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