XT600E on the motorway/highway !
 

Just done 5 miles down the motorway at 70mph..

This bike is not made for it. It DEFFO needs a screen being so tall and it was struggled to get anywhere near 75mph.

Still, i didnt get her to mile munch boring highways so what the hell, i still lover her.

Jeq
 

C'mon Ted!

It is not a Hayabusa, YZF, CBR, Ninja type of a motorcycle that you are to hit mphs on highways. I did complete my JEQ (Japanese Enduro Quartet) last week with a klr and I still am missing my 94 XT that I rode for the last couple of years.

The trick is even enjoy highways that these mules do not seem to cope well especially under winds. Slow down and enjoy what the others are missing while going like hell. There is one highway that I ride often and I see wild falcons and eagles on poles and a very strong smell of wild thyme at a very specific point that noone seems to have noticed for years.

Ted.

I cruse regularly at 110/120 km/h (or about 75 mph) fully loaded and she does appear to mind with only 4k 4.5k rpm on the clock.

However, I must agree with the pervious post, slow down and enjoy, afterall it is an adventure your after not a trip to work. Even the most boring highways always have something to offer the rider to look at.

Back off the gas and enjoy the journey. Believe me it is worth it. :mchappy:

oooh I aint complaining !! Just my first bit of serious highway riding on the XT

I wasnt expecting so much wind blast and thought she would cruise happier at 75mph than she did.

The revs were higher than I liked for the speeds so im thinking of lowering the gearing by a couple of teeth at the rear.

Hi Ted,

I know what you mean! Sans screen it's a rough ride at seventy, although I find if I slide back on the seat (about halway between normal and pillion postion) it brings me down to a point where it isn't nearly so tiring.
With my home made screen I could hammer along highways at 80mph.

I agree with you about the gearing, I think if I was planning a lot of m-way riding I'd adjust it. Normally I ride at 70mph on the nose.

Matt :)

Yup..I have a screen just not fitted it yet.

Im happy to cruise at 60-70mph but there are times when motorways cant be avoided and being in the caravan lane isnt very appealing.

ed

True!

Ted, I got my bash plate off Dave Lambeth the other day. It's real nice, looks extremely tough. Hopefully will get it fitted this weekend. Thanks for the tip!

Matt :)

Are you going to drill to M8 ??

Have you drilled and tapped metal before ??

Motorway Driving
 

Ted,

I think there are two options to solve this problem.

First - avoid the motorways. I did this last year - with help from my trusty TomTom Rider - through England, France and Spain - saw so much more and made the trip.

Second - accept the Carvan lane. Painful at time I know, but in my experience its only really bad in the UK. There appears to much less traffic else where.

Just an thought, but the XT doesn't really like 'plugging' around below 3000 rpm, which I also think hammers the gearbox and chain a bit too much for my liking. Which is why I haven't altered the gearing; I altered my routes and riding style to suit. For me this has been a big plus point.

Hi Ted,

Yes, the M8 bolts definately make sense. I was a cycle (push-bikes) mechanic back in the day and have done some drilling/tapping but not much.

I was going to go out and get the taps and the drill bit (6.8mm I think?) this weekend. From memory you get three taps of increasing 'bite' and use them one at a time till you have your thread cut. I was going to drill out the current hole free-hand with a power drill.

Any tips gratefully recieved.

Matt :)

yo matt

well ordinarily you would use 6.8 but I found that it was too big for a pistol drill. I drilled one hole 6.8 and the tap went through TOO easily and its not the best grip on the bolt now. Still, its holding strong.

Get a couple of 6.5 HSS drill bits. Dont get cheap shit either.

Just drill straight through. On the front mountings, the oil pipe could get damaged so slide something behind the hole to protect it.

you need a M8 1.25 tap. That will go straight into the 6.5mm hole

I found the casing gets in the way so I bought a tap extender off ebay.

eBay.co.uk: Ratchet tap wrench holder long reach (item 170095059822 end time 25-Mar-07 13:12:38 BST)

Just wind the tap straight into the hole with a some oil.


The holes on the bottom of the bike were a pain as my drill was too long so had to borrow a friends smaller one.

If you have any other quieres, you can MSN me: tedmagnum(at)hotmail.com

So True,this bike just isnt up to the job to ride in any highway.
Even 800cc daewoo matiz's give it a hard time..
I only got out once for a 150 mile ride and sworn never to do it again
unless its a matter of life and death.
My first thought was the wind is to blame,so get a windshield .
my second thought (on the way back) was that even with a windshield
the engine's power band/gearing wont let it cruise at 140km/h any other
bike likes to cruise at.I guess that's where a sixth gear and 3-4hp would come handy..

Think the other way around.

Highways/motorways are not well designed means of travelling even sometimes by cars. We are trying to cope with something very badly designed and thinking that it is the deficiency of our motorcycles.

There's nothing wrong with our motorcycles. Modify highways/motorways.

Highway riding
 

Hey Ted,

The XT isn't alone in being one down to highways. Highways are a necessary evil, and on my Dommie (also sans screen), they are character building stuff :)

There are positives though:
* You can't go fast. Even if you duck down as low as possible and pray for a tail wind, you might just see 80mph. That's all good though!! I pootle along at 65/70 and feel better that if I fell off, the outcome would be better than if I was hooning around at 90/100.
(but I tend not to think about that one too many times LOL)

* the wind makes you use your stomach and arm muscles :thumbup:
after a few days travelling you will notice the difference! (bye bye bingo wings, hello 6 pack! )

* lastly, try to ride behind someone else who doesn't have a screen - that way you get to see them being buffetted arond and their lollipop helmet heads blowing from side to side and the amusement value should help.

Slow and steady. Much better than speedy!

Whats wrong with you guys??? I did 250 miles on my 2003 XT today half of that at 75-80mph on the motorway. I must admit I am short (5ft6) and don't really have a neck (20 years playing rugby). My Xt loved it at around 4.5k = 75mph. The only problem I have is the seat after about 70 miles I have to stop and have a walk. I have seen lots of you guys have done all kinds of mods but I would like to keep the bike looking the same eg no sheep skin rugs!!!! Any ideas??? Also what is the average tank range you guys are getting am I being stupid because I dont risk going any further than 110 miles between fill ups??