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Yamaha XT 550 discussion forum:To all new XT-550 owners |
| To all new XT-550 owners |
| Mark 03-03-10 said 2010-03-04 02:53 |
| Guys, I have read most of your issues and findings with this bike. Let me just say I have owned one for approximately 5 years and sold it quite some time ago. It was a great running machine. Considering there isn´t much information out there, many of you might not be aware that this is a bike quite different from the norm of enduros and trail bikes out there. It runs the oil through the frame. I´m not sure of the technical name for this. It´s nice for an air-cooled machine as it certainly helps with keeping the running temps down. One of the writers commented about having issues with oil bubbling around the fill cap. I would encourage you to let it settle down for awhile and then check again. This is not your typical, check the oil at the crank case machine. If you are on the dirt be careful with it. The compression in the motor was a blast, making great torque, but if you are getting heavy on the brakes it can and often did lock on me. You will master clutch and brake control on this bike if you are in the dirt. For an old machine weighing alot more than today´s standard dirtbikes, and myself only being 170lbs at the time, it often threw me for a wild ride. I could easily crank throttle only 2nd gear wheelies with ease. There was alot of thumper torque. There are 2 carbs, Mikunis if I remember correctly. They are synced together, and I´m not sure about there ever being a replacement. Electronics was an issue with this machine. I eventually found that I took out the wiring harness and eventually used the bike as a kick start only machine, giving up my headlights and accessories for better use in the dirt. This was just my experience, I have never heard of anyone else having issues with it. I remember fashioning an old super-trappe style muffler with discs. This seemed to generate the most power for me, being able to tune the machine to the different altitudes i would ride at. The Fork seals were also always going on me. It is a heavy machine to be flying through the air. If the bike has been sitting for 2 years, I recommend definitely removing the fuel tank and cleaning out. It is metal and will corrode over time. You need to get rid of all this debris, usually being surface rust flakes. The carb should probably be removed and cleaned however given the complexity of it, you might be able to sneak by with pumping some carb cleaner through the airbox inlet (take air filter off first) and trying to flush out all the gumbed up components before taking apart and cleaning. I would then replace the battery with a new Yuasa battery. They are the cheapest out there and will work fine. I would also drop the oil cold (don´t try starting it as all the metal components are certainly very dry. Fill it up with fresh 20w-50 motorcycle oil, unless you are in a very cold climate, then I´d go with a 10w-40. Fill it up, new oil filter, clean and oil the air filter as well. Also make sure to replace the spark plug as this is certainly corroded. NGK´s are the standard plug for these and most japanese bikes. Check your cables for corrosion and adjustment. Make sure you use the decompression lever, and give it a few kickstarts. Make sure to definitely not use any throttle to start this bike except initially to get fuel into the carb. The idea being you don´t want it to start and have soaring RPM´s on a dry motor. You want it to idle as low an rpm as possible, but still have enough oil pressure to make sure the pistons and valvetrain get the oil needed. Also shut it down after a few minutes. You need to check the oil again since it will probably need more. The oil is being sucked right out of the frame and into the bottom of the crankcase. Fire it back up and continue to let it idle under the decompression/ choke lever. Check tires for dry-rot. Make sure your chain is tight, but not too tight and well oiled. DO NOT USE WD-40. It will swell O-rings, so everyone says. Chain tension you should be able to put your first finger on the chain and be able to push the chain down about an inch to almost two inches. Anything less or more will cause a chain to fly off or wear out your sprockets quickly. I think that´s it, and have fun riding. |
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