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XT600E on the motorway/highway ! XT600E on the motorway/highway !
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Yamaha Tech Originally the Yamaha XT600 Tech Forum, due to demand it now includes all Yamaha's technical / mechanical / repair / preparation questions.
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  #1  
Old 22 May 2007
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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
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  #2  
Old 22 May 2007
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt Cartney View Post
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
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Old 22 May 2007
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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
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*Disclaimer* - I am not saying my bike is better than your bike. I am not saying my way is better than your way. I am not mocking your religion/politics/other belief system. When reading my post imagine me sitting behind a frothing pint of ale, smiling and offering you a bag of peanuts. This is the sentiment in which my post is made. Please accept it as such!
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  #4  
Old 22 May 2007
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Originally Posted by Matt Cartney View Post
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 ??
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  #5  
Old 22 May 2007
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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.
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Old 22 May 2007
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Originally Posted by tedmagnum View Post
Are you going to drill to M8 ??

Have you drilled and tapped metal before ??
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
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*Disclaimer* - I am not saying my bike is better than your bike. I am not saying my way is better than your way. I am not mocking your religion/politics/other belief system. When reading my post imagine me sitting behind a frothing pint of ale, smiling and offering you a bag of peanuts. This is the sentiment in which my post is made. Please accept it as such!
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  #7  
Old 22 May 2007
*Touring Ted*'s Avatar
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt Cartney View Post
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
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  #8  
Old 22 May 2007
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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..
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  #9  
Old 28 Aug 2007
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when doing 100kmh or above for any longer than 5 or so minutes i usually use the pillion pegs like a set of rearsets. gets me leaning much further forward, which stops me having to grab the bars, which is what i find most fatiguing. I can easily sit at 120kmh for 2 - 3 hours like that. still not as good as a decent screen, but certainly better than nothing.

Cheers,
Phil
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