Hi All, I remember a problem some people had/have with the oil not staying in the tank so checking the level is hard. Aparently somewhere is a ball bearing, spring and a circular rubber washer. Does this ring any bells?

I have bought replacements and want to change them while I have no oil in the bike, but the manual (clymer) gives no clues as to the location of these parts. I,m thinking the logical place is in the bottom of the oil tank near the pipework but I dont want to go in there if I dont need to. Can anyone tell me where these bits are located?

cheers

First question is what model do you have? old XT, Tenere', TT all have oil tank but different size and location...

Then a picture of the spare parts you bought to replace can help also!

Ah, sorry.....its an 86 XT600Z. Tenere. The tank is on the right hand side. Your asking too much for a picture....I can bearly log on ;-)

The parts in question are a ball bearing, spring and rubber washer/seat.
I,m guessing the the ball bearing is held against the rubber by the spring to prevent the oil from seeping past and out of the tank. Mabe when the engines starts the oil pump pressure overcomes the spring tension and the oil pushes the ball bearing back, allowing oil to flow past????

Sounds nice, simple and low tech but I cant see these componants on the manual..

http://www.xt600.de/xt_werkstatt/%2B...-600-83-89.pdf

think that you have these, find oil pump on page 32, and item 22-23 are the pieces you bought. But you have to open the carter to replace them... I don't really think you need to replace them, the only check you can do with oil pump is to verify that it has the proper pressure. Think that you can find infos about this in the Clymer.

Anyway I read somewhere that someone made two holes on the side of the tank, (one low and one high) and two joints with a transparent tube in the middle, to see in any time the level... if you have some soldering skills, it's an easy trick...

Blimey, yeah, those are the bits..........thanks for doing the donkey work, it looks alot of work.

Out of interest, what does keep the oil up in the tank and not draining into the engine? Is this a common issue? I ask because my XTZ750 seems to be using/missing oil without obvious smoke screens or leaks? I was more keen to sort the problem on that bike and took the oppertunity to sort the 600 out also.........

My XT600 ( 1989 2KF model) is using a bit of oil too, doesn't leak much, about a spoonful a day out of Gearbox output sprocket seal, ( free chain oiler?)but she drinks a fair bit of oil, and if you give her a healthy rev when first starting will give a bit of smoke, but they are all a bit 'slack' when cold........ she is fine when warm... compression is OK, so I am thinking Valve Stem Oil Seals... at least thats what im banking on. she starts 2nd 3rd kick at the most. 1st kick after that. done 37,700 Kilometers. Mostly Abuse! I would say she uses a litre per 1000 kilometres. what is yours like? more? or less?

Martyn

Hi there, the 750 has about 50 000km I have had it 1 year but dont ride it on a regular basis enought to have kept track of it (to many other bikes to ride).......i just noticed originally that after long rides i.e paris-scotland and paris- brest i have to half fill the oil tank again, which seems strange as the bike is not smokey. Now I get paranoid and check every week after use and i still seem to need to fill it by a finger or two. I'm concerned I am filling the whole engine with oil. From the march period I am going to use the bike and really check the mileage against usage. i never noticed the oil usage before I had some engine work done, dont think i really checked..... (I'm not saying it didnt happen though) The main dealer just checked/adjusted the valves and changed the worn, close to service limit parts in that area. dont know if its linked.....
Ref your usage of oil. a litre every 600 miles then I guess its not as bad as that, but I want a bike to ride without having nagging doubts about when it runs dry..

I,m looking forward to sorting the XT600 out though, the 750 may not get a look in ;-)