oil tank cap/dipstick melted!
 

anybody else had the oiltank cap/dipstick melt? just done a 20mile motorway trip to find oil over the back of the bike and a sorry looking dipstick. not much oil lost, but does this meen the bike was running way too hot? cheers.

Which XT ??

To melt the dipstick, it must of been COOKING ! You're oil level could be dangerously low causing overheating !

:eek3:
that's testament to the bulletproofness of XT's right there.:D

Damn, what the.... Pictures.

And go over that bike, something is really wrong.

Battery breather
 

I'm not sure how melted yours got but mine got a bit melted by acid from the battery when the breather pipe came away from the battery, worth checking.

If your bike was overheating to such a degree then I find it hard to believe that you did not smell something burning or see your pipes glowing or feel the heat off the engine. Is there not an overtemperature light on the XT?

I have experienced battery acid melting plastic after the bike fell over. The battery overflow pipe was disconnected and the acid made it's way over lots of stuff. It was a couple of days before I noticed -by chance actually- when I was changing the air filter.

If this is the case you need to neutralise the acid with something like bicarb and you might need to soak the plastic parts where the acid has penetrated.

Can u show some photos ?

the problem is solved!!! it is a 1vj model which has the seperate oil tank next to the exhaust, which had developed a large hole and was firing v. hot air straight at the cap! a gentle ride home, new cap and exhaust and all is well. (contented sigh....)