Bacardi, does that mean that ALL fullsyntetic oils are bad for our bikes, or that this one oil you tried, didnt work for youre bike specificly? Didnt you order some new clutch stuff some time ago? Maybe youre clutch was just on the egde of being toast anyway

Worn clutchplates and many other things can affect the functionality of the clutch itself.

Manuels arent always right, theyre made so that peaople wont sue too much =) As an examble, the manual tells you to run too little chainslack (the chain will be fully stretched before youre suspension is), and also teels you to completely remove the "bleed screw" on top of the oilfilterhousing, to check that oil comes out when you've replaced engine oil (this will make oil PISS out) Instead you just loosen it half a turn, and close it when you see its weeping from the screw.

My manual states: "recommended engine oil classification API service SE, SF, SG type or higher" and then theres a graph to show which viscosity for which temperatures. My 10w50 handles from -10 to 50 degrees celcious in outdor temp = just about whole year. ( I still change to 5w40 in the winter, for peace of mind. the 10w looks realy thick when its freezing)

It also says to not use oils with anti friction modifiers (energy conserving), mine doesnt do that either, and no "bikeoil" will.

A fullsyntetic 10w50 will last longer/lube better over time, than a semisynthetic 10w50, so thats what I use. I also change it before my manual states, again for peace of mind. 50 bucks more in the wallet saved on oil (an extra change a year-ish), does next to nothing if im out in the middle of nowhere with a dead engine. Im closing in on 94.000km so something must be right.

Oil is a personal choice just like so many other things. So when we disguess it, we should make sure not to misguide each other. Y'all have a nice day now

In our bikes is important to use bike oil because of the clutch. I´ve used car oil and soon it became to be hard to change speed.

I use mineral Yamalube 10-40, 32€ 4 liters drum at the Yamaha Dealer.

I rode it on a much cooler day and the bike remained in 102º-104º C. Then went to an alpine road (Saleve, in France) and it was certainly cold and went down to 98ºC. Not great, but felt it in better condition after some riding (what I found is that brakes definitely need pads/liquid replacement!)

5th gear sounds the same, but rode on 5th for a while on open road.

So, I've been looking for XT 600 repair manuals (also in HUBB) and could only find this one in German (Bucheli Reparaturanleitungen für Yamaha XT 600 from 1990) (too hard for me).

Do you know of any other? Haynes or similar? I have the Yamaha manual (in German, 4PT, not 3UX, why?) and downloaded and printed in English (also 4PT). Found this (Clymer Yamaha XT 600 & TT600, 1983-89), so previous to 1995. Is it worth getting it? (Recommendations about any good motorcycle mechanics welcome!)

I´ve a manual in Brasilian Portuguese, it´s original printed in 1999,January but exceds the forum limits for atachments, if you find it usefull I can send it via e-mail.

O brasileiro it´s easy for spanish

Theres just about every manual worth having here: Manual Downloads | Moto Andalucia

*EDIT*

As for engine heat, my bike came with an extension on the back part of the front fender, to block water/dirt better.


I've taken the extension of and actually cut about 2cm of the stock fender, both front and back, to make it flow more air onto the cylinder. You wont se a 10 degrees drop in oiltemp becuase of that, but everything counts, and its a cheap easy fix.

Heres a pic from when the bike was stock, with the extension on the fender:

where i can buy thi s extension?

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Not sure, mine ('03) came that way.

Otherwise you can use a rubberflap (dont know the english word for it) from a moped. I've used one simular to this on my dt175 in the winther, this is from a yamaha 4gear moped:

I think you can find it in Switzerland, there is compulsory to wear it.

Sorry, elcamino, I missed this. I recently talked about it with Pera (missed also his reply).

It is OEM part nr. 3TB-21521-01. You can buy it on line as well: flap front fender yamaha It was in the XTs in Sweden and Norway.




PS: I've been following your hard panniers, amazing!

Of course I would like to have it, Pera! Thanks so much, I PM you right now!

Thanks Jens, I actually got the English manual from that site (did I say I come from Andalucia, as Pera?)
I've got the vey same fender extension and riding all year round (aka freezing for 6 months with inadequate gear! ), I thought it'd be good against (more) salt getting to the engine. I may do it, as you say (very good idea, indeed), but I would prefer to start with solving (if possible) the issue/origin of the overheating.

So, coming back to the books, any other idea. I know a (very little) bit about car engines, but not about motorbikes'. Do you recommend any general book about motorcycle mechanics, good for an XT?

Item number: 280722589724

or google, Clymer workshop manual for Yamaha XT600 and TT600

You might find this of interest, it may not be for you model/year but you will find little difference between the models. Alternatively, keep a look out for a more specific one, as they do come up on a fairly regular basis.

Socks

I rode 80km yesterday, around 15 degrees outside, running with 15/47 sprockets at around 80km/h @ 3500rpm. My oil got up to around 95 degrees.

That doesnt seem far away from yours, I really dont think theres anything wrong with yours.

Have you tried to check the things I mentioned in my first post?

Don´t you know the clasical book Arias Paz for cars? There is an Arias Paz for bikes. I send it to your e-mail.

PS: I´m going tu upload it to anywebsite, it´s about 160 Mb and I can´t send it via e-mail nor attach to a mesage

Of course I know the one about cars, it is the main classical in Spanish! Sure, please, send me the link! Thank you, Pera!