super moto xt600e
 

the wet weather has stopped me from going for a blast on the gixxer so i thought i'd post a thread on my super moto'd xt600e

bought the bike as a non runner as the starter clutch was slipping

it already had super moto wheels on it and was not in too bad shape

i fixed the starter clutch by shortening the spring that holds the cam rollers inside the starter clutch assembly.

re covered the seat with some black vinyl and fixed the tail light as the old one was smashed up looked like someone had gone to far with a wheelie the plastic tail piece was trashed too

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...to/Photoxt.jpg

fitted a shotgun style rear light and i cut the rough end off the tail plastics and sprayed it but the paint soon cracked it looked ok for a short while tho :thumbup1:

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s.../taillight.jpg

it had a pro duro can on it which had a big hole and dent in it so i patched it with some aluminium plate :rolleyes2:

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...o/canpatch.jpg

the plastics were a bit rough so i had covered them with black sticky back plastic but soon got some proper black ones and fitted an accerbis front fender

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...ewplastics.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...sumofender.jpg

the exhaust headers were rotten so replaced them with stainless headers :cool4:

i got some early model WP forks that were fitted to ktm bikes i couldn't fit the standard clocks onto the ktm yokes so fitted an accerbis headlight too :thumbup1:

i made some new air scoops for the tank out of alloy sheet :rolleyes2:

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...o/ktmfofks.jpg

i fitted new carbs off a suzuki 650 freewind which improved performance :thumbup1:
so i had to upgrade the front brake disk so used one off a R6 which bolted straight onto the xt hub :thumbup1:

made a bracket for the ktm caliper which is a tiny brembo 1 but very effective

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...oto/r6disk.jpg

then it broke big time :thumbdown:

the woodruff key on the crank sheared off and the balance shaft and conrod had a collision so hard it smashed the crankcases :(
the cases are cracked all the way through to the output shaft on both sides of the engine

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...o/DSCF0201.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...o/DSCF0205.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...o/DSCF0207.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...o/DSCF0208.jpg

it bent the cast iron balance shaft too :thumbdown:
http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...o/balance1.jpg
http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...o/balance2.jpg
http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...o/balance3.jpg

took the old engine out and the frame looked ok but tatty :rolleyes2:

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...o/DSCF0004.jpg

so i had i powder coated in cadbury purple

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...o/DSCF0018.jpg

it looked so nice was a shame to cover it up with the tank

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...o/DSCF0023.jpg

well as i'd got a spare engine i thought i would give it a good going over and do some improvement new oversize high comp piston and a few tweeks to the head
http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s.../xt6piston.jpg
http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...6pistontop.jpg
http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...o/DSCF0005.jpg
http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...o/DSCF0003.jpg

engine back in the frame :thumbup1:
http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...to/engine1.jpg
http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...to/engine2.jpg
modified an r6 swingarm to fit lighter alloy rear wheel off a yzf600 :cool4:
http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...6swingarm1.jpg
http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...6swingarm2.jpg

Nice project,I hope you were'nt too far from home when the balanceshaft got miss-timed.I know it's a bit of a daft question but do you know why the woodruff key failed?Thats a mechanical that I really don't want to witness!
I plan on doing the supermoto stuff with my 43F XT next year,this years funds have gone on a new gearbox/clutch late model oil pump &rebore:(.Still while it's apart I've got the frame powdercoated..
Why did you fit the Suzuki carbs,and did they fit easily or did you have to mod the airbox etc??The reason I'm asking is that I'm thinking of upgrading the carbs on my bike at a later date and I'm trying to see whats best.

i've no idea why the key failed it actually shattered in places i guess it was fatigue i bought a length of key steel and i think i'll swap it out every couple of oil changes just in case.
the suzuki carbs wont work with the air box as the rubber hoses wont fit and you have to cut the inlet stubs on the head, you need to make a new throttle cable plate too. i used them cos i got em cheap and the mikuni jets are readily available and i new i would need to re jet for the bigger piston. before the engine broke i'd already planned to do a tuned motor.

Wow. Thanks for the story and pics. What you have done to the bike is impressive

Sorry to see damage to the original engine. I can see the engine you are using now is the older version. Do you know if the internals of the two engines are more or less the same, or if they changed a lot of parts when they (Yamaha) upgraded the engine in 1996?

Do you have any pictures of the gearbox from the destroyed engine? Can you see some pitting on the gears? How many KM had the engine done before the brakedown?

What about the electrics? Is there a difference between the old and the new engine? Is the ignition the same?

the new engine is still a later model bottom end so should not give any problems regards reliability the 4tp motor that was fitted internals are in excelent condition so i could probably build a new motor from them without any problems :cool4:

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW!!!!

OMG -- !!!

I didn't even bother reading the write-up - the pictures had me in tears of despair and tears of ecstacy in quick succession!!


That is the most TRAGIC crank case I have EVER seen... i think I would have needed therapy.

However -- that is also the most GORGEOUS head and piston I have ever seen... coooool......shhiiiinnnneeeeyyyyyyy !!!

VERY impressed with the swingarm - do tell us about the yummy rear brake assembly!

What about handling? Have you taken it on the track?


After answering all the above, you really should stop showing off. It's quite nauseating. :rolleyes2:

i think i would have needed therapy if i had not got the spare motor, the funny thing is i'd just given it a big handfull of throttle to overtake a car when it happened i pulled the clutch and still passed the car before coasting to a halt :rolleyes2:
that piston is a wossner and its a work of art :thumbup1:
the rear brake is actually off the front of a gsxr i fitted the yzf wheels so i then altered the front brake and fitted a gsxr caliper so the rear is the other one of the pair :cool4:
its not completed yet so its not even been on the road its the making of the rear brake hanger thats stopped progress that broken mill is holding things up :thumbdown:
the front forks were on before it went bang so i can tell you they certainly improved stability and handling :thumbup1: the swingarm is slightly longer so it should help keep the front planted but is not so long as to affect the cornering :cool4: