The XT350 thread

[JensEskildsen]

Originally Posted by xt4ever

Yeah, I bet the only thing this guy got from a TT were the gaiters

People are so smart inhere....

Then I guess this must be the beefiest xt350 fork I've ever come across


Caliper relocation bracket, so original caliper can be used:


I checked valve clearences yesterday, 0.12 on intake, and 0.18 on exhaust, slighly too much, but I left them there for now. Really just wanted to open her up and have a look. She looks nice inside, no sound from the slightly loose valves, and the cam chain tensioner wasnt all the way out, so hopefully im good.

I do however, have some clutch slippage in 3-6 gear when I gun it. The bike came with a lot of spare parts, incl some other (used) clutch plates. I'll meassure thoose and see if they're in spec. Perhaps I'll look around for some harder clutch springs aswell, time will tell.

The bike has a rough idle, occasionally it sounds like it doesnt fire on a single stroke, then idles fine for 5 secs, and misses again. Sometimes the engine stalls. I've set the idle higher now (a little too high) and she idles fine. I think I saw someone having the same troubles and fixed it, but cant remember what fixed it. Perhaps some advance/retard of the timing?

I tried, as a quick fix, to back out the CO screw half a turn, but it didnt help.

[xt4ever]

Originally Posted by JensEskildsen

People are so smart inhere....

No punch was intended, sorry.

Originally Posted by JensEskildsen

Then I guess this must be the beefiest xt350 fork I've ever come across


Caliper relocation bracket, so original caliper can be used:
[img]http://www.tenere.dk/forumnew/uploads/987/DSC05119.JPG[/img

Enough proof!

[xt4ever]

Originally Posted by JensEskildsen

I checked valve clearences yesterday, 0.12 on intake, and 0.18 on exhaust, slighly too much, but I left them there for now

A little bit out of spec the EX and just in the limit the IN. My Clymer manual says 0.07-0.12 IN and 0.13-0.17 EX

Originally Posted by JensEskildsen

I do however, have some clutch slippage in 3-6 gear when I gun it. The bike came with a lot of spare parts, incl some other (used) clutch plates. I'll meassure thoose and see if they're in spec. Perhaps I'll look around for some harder clutch springs aswell, time will tell.

It's very usual to find plates and springs in eBay

Originally Posted by JensEskildsen

The bike has a rough idle, occasionally it sounds like it doesnt fire on a single stroke, then idles fine for 5 secs, and misses again. Sometimes the engine stalls. I've set the idle higher now (a little too high) and she idles fine. I think I saw someone having the same troubles and fixed it, but cant remember what fixed it. Perhaps some advance/retard of the timing?

I would begin adjusting the valves, anyway you're going to need to do it more sooner than later

HTH

[JensEskildsen]

Hi thanks

My clymer says the same things regarding valveclearences. Im new to the whole shim-thing, but dont they only come in 0.05mm steps, which would take them all to the close side of the spec instead? I would prefer them looser over tighter :-) I really like the adjusternuts on the xt600

My spare set of clutch plates meassures just about new (both friction and metal), so perhaps I should fit them. I just changed the oil, wonder if that have messed with the clutch? Its 5w40 fulsynthetic (freezing temps currently), the same stuff my xt600 gets in the winter, with no trouble.

The manual mentiones an adjuster nut on the clutch (behind the clutchcover), could that be in need of adjustement, or is it more likely that the plates are just worn? I guess I'll have a look sometimes soon. But any advice/help is much appreciated.

[NordieBoy]

Originally Posted by JensEskildsen

People are so smart inhere....

Why yes, yes we are.
Triumph Scrambler Intiminators will improve the fork action considerably.

[NordieBoy]

Originally Posted by jan.van.gent

Hello everyone,

Since this weekend, my carburator is leaking a little bit. My garage smells slightly like petrol, and the outside of the float room feels wet.
The bike runs great, no problem.
Anyone having an idea which could cause this leak? Which seals to replace? Or is the float room flooded?
I have not a lot of experience with carburators.

Mine was loosing about 2.5L per tank due to 21 year old gaskets in the carbs...

[Indiesol]

Originally Posted by Grreatdog

Nothing to the sync. It is just a cable adjustment at the linkage. Unless you really change that it won't make much difference.

As for taking them apart, there is a small rubber hose that connects the float bowl to the secondary. If the carbs are on your workbench you will see it. But if you try to pull the float with the carbs on the bike you might not see it and end up bending the float out of adjustment.

Which brings up the most important point: be careful not to bend the float out of adjustment. It is almost impossible to readjust. I am not not exaggerating, it really is almost impossible to adjust the float height. You need a special tool and it is done with the carb assembled and on the bike.

All that said, did you unscrew the gas cap when it started acting up? I know the Clarke tank has a normal vent hose so venting shouldn't be an issue at the cap. But early XT350's had a TSB about bad carb vent tube routing that would cause stalling. It acted exactly like you described.

The Clarke tank should also prevent the most common cause of clogging which is tank rust. But pull the fuel tap out anyway and check the screens to make sure they aren't clogged with goo, dirt or rust. Even though the Clarke won't rust you may have picked up bad gas somewhere.

As for the boots, test before you replace. Spray carb cleaner around them with the bike running. If the idle doesn't change look elsewhere for your problem. Yes, they need to be replaced eventually. But my point is to find this problem by doing the easy stuff before opening up the carbs.

Haha! Right on the money about the vent tube, Greattdog. Went to work on the bike and it was running right as rain. I remembered about your post, and also how bad it was raining the day I was having issues. I believe some of the sheets of water that were coming down managed to get in my vent tube (which was not a 1 way hose) and caused the issue. I picked up a one way vent hose and haven't had a problem since. Thanks for your help.

[JensEskildsen]

Originally Posted by NordieBoy

Why yes, yes we are.
Triumph Scrambler Intiminators will improve the fork action considerably.

Dont they require revalving/shimmig for them to work properly? And do they really fit the wider TT forks?

Anyhoot: I have no suspension issues at all, so no plans of futher upgrading....but thanks

[NordieBoy]

Originally Posted by JensEskildsen

Dont they require revalving/shimmig for them to work properly? And do they really fit the wider TT forks?

Anyhoot: I have no suspension issues at all, so no plans of futher upgrading....but thanks

Just replace with 5w oil instead of the original 10w. Done.

I spent quite a bit of time emailing back and forth with Ricor to find something that would work, and for the TT350 slider internal measurement, the Scrambler Intiminators were the best match.

Then I had to spend some time changing shims to work out the best setup as they are a leeeeetle over damped for the TT

The only downside is you can't preload the forks to pop the front up over obstacles as easily due to the anti-dive characteristics...

[jan.van.gent]

Originally Posted by SkidMarx

Likely just a dirty float needle or stuck floats.
-Remove the carbs.
-Carefully remove the float bowl. Make sure you don't bend the floats out of adjustment.
-lift the floats so that the needle is up and spray carb cleaner in the hole.
-look for any dirt or varnish that may be causing the needle to not close all the way.

If you can find a shop with an ultrasonic cleaner big enough for the carb, have them put the carb in there for a day or so.
If not soak it in carb cleaner.

Next for the cause.
If the bike sat for several months, it's likely varnish. The soaking shoild do the trick.

If it's dirt, check to make suer the screens on the petcock don't have holes. replace them if they do.

Thanks for the help!
I have an ultrasonic cleaner at my work. Can I remove the carbs from the bike and just toss them in the cleaner? Or do I nead to remove all the rubbers etc.?

[SkidMarx]

Originally Posted by jan.van.gent

Thanks for the help!
I have an ultrasonic cleaner at my work. Can I remove the carbs from the bike and just toss them in the cleaner? Or do I nead to remove all the rubbers etc.?

Pretty sure it depends on what's in the cleaner. I know Grreatdog had his done way back when and it worked wonders. That's why I suggested it. Maybe he can answer that better.

I would definitely take the bowl off so that's one gasket.
I would also remove the 3 jets and Pilot screw. 2 jets in primary carb + screw, 1 in secondary. That makes the jet/screw o-rings easy to remove (and inspect)
The big question is do you remove the diphram from the secondary. Not sure about that.
That's me though. Just dumping the whole thing in there may work fine also.

[gearheadE30]

Originally Posted by JensEskildsen

My spare set of clutch plates meassures just about new (both friction and metal), so perhaps I should fit them. I just changed the oil, wonder if that have messed with the clutch? Its 5w40 fulsynthetic (freezing temps currently), the same stuff my xt600 gets in the winter, with no trouble.

Is that oil motorcycle-specific? Automotive engine oil is not designed to work with wet clutches, and the friction modifiers will soak into the clutch fibers and prevent them from grabbing the plates. It won't get worse if you go back to motorcycle oil, but it might not get any better either. It doesn't take long to make a big difference.

Also, for the carb leak stuff. I was riding one day and the oring on the float bowl drain screw started leaking. Bizarre problem, but it leaked like crazy and due to wind blowing across the engine, it sprayed upwards and always looked like it was coming from higher on the carb.

[Grreatdog]

Ultrasonic carb cleaners use ultrasonic carb cleaning solution or parts washer fluid. Seriously.

But you could probably buy a $75 Harbor Freight model and just fill it with carb cleaner or Simple Green. If you use anything combustible like carb cleaner be damned careful because it does generate some heat.

If you use your wife's jewerly cleaner I have never met you or given any advice about this stuff.

[SkidMarx]

Originally Posted by Grreatdog

Ultrasonic carb cleaners use ultrasonic carb cleaning solution or parts washer fluid. Seriously.

But you could probably buy a $75 Harbor Freight model and just fill it with carb cleaner or Simple Green. If you use anything combustible like carb cleaner be damned careful because it does generate some heat.

If you use your wife's jewerly cleaner I have never met you or given any advice about this stuff.

I hear Pine-Sol works wonders also.
Wife's jewerly cleaner is too small for anything but jets. Not that I would EVER use it for that.

[JensEskildsen]

Originally Posted by gearheadE30

Is that oil motorcycle-specific?

Yeb, sure is. But thanks for the suggestion.