Hello Klauss and friends,

Im preparing my '85 Tenere for a trans Africa in April. As we speak Kim (the Cape Town Wizard of Tenere, or so im told) is rebuilding my engine. This is of course getting pricy and stories of disintegrating 5th gears fill my dreams with terror and need to be put to rest.
So whats the deal? Kim says he has never heard of this problem... How can i check if my 5th is ok? My dear bike has 45000km on it.

Thanks for any info!
Jim

Jim,

Your bike is in good hands with Kim. Give him my regards, I'm the Dutch guy he sold two rims to last year.
As for the 5th gear (and 4, and 3 ...) pitting occurs frequently on the teeth of the gears. Especially on the high geared older models that made such a nice sound when cruising at low revs.
So, open up the engine and gearbox and inspect the teeth of the gears. If any sign of abnormal wear replace!
Picture can be found at www.xt600.de, look for 'horror pics'.
Few months ago I actually bought a XT600 on which one of the 5th gear gears had burst into 3 pieces while driving, the then owner, doing 100 km/hr during the event, came to a stop with a blocked rear wheel. So it is not a fairy tale ...

Auke

Hi Auke,
Thanks for the info, i will pass on your regards to Kim.
Jim