white mtns research station/ancient bristlecone forest ride next wee

[Terry Taylor]

Considering the purchase of a 2nd d/p bike.A loaner possibly to get some fringe buddies involved in the dual sport rides.My question is does anybody have experience w/ XT550 Yammie? reliable? fun? hiway worthy? Any feedback appreciated.Thanks...

[Fred Hink]

The XT550 was a great machine. I had one in my shop many years ago that wasn't running. The problem was that there was no spark. Checking on the CDI from Yamaha, I found that they were very expensive and secondly that they had been discontinued. So finding parts for this old machine may prove to be difficult at best. I would do some research on CDI problems with that bike since I seem to remember reading that this was a common problem with this model. Fred www.arrowheadmotorsports.com

----- Original Message ----- From: Terry Taylor To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 7:07 AM Subject: [DSN_KLR650] NKLR Anybody know the good/bad of Yamaha XT 550? Considering the purchase of a 2nd d/p bike.A loaner possibly to get some fringe buddies involved in the dual sport rides.My question is does anybody have experience w/ XT550 Yammie? reliable? fun? hiway worthy? Any feedback appreciated.Thanks... [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Rick McCauley]

What Fred said. Plus; A friend of mine had one. He beat that poor bike. He always maintained it, but he road it hard. That bike refused to break. Rick A17

--- On Fri, 7/17/09, Fred Hink wrote: From: Fred Hink Subject: Re: [DSN_KLR650] NKLR Anybody know the good/bad of Yamaha XT 550? To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Terry Taylor" Date: Friday, July 17, 2009, 8:36 AM The XT550 was a great machine. I had one in my shop many years ago that wasn't running. The problem was that there was no spark. Checking on the CDI from Yamaha, I found that they were very expensive and secondly that they had been discontinued. So finding parts for this old machine may prove to be difficult at best. I would do some research on CDI problems with that bike since I seem to remember reading that this was a common problem with this model. Fred www.arrowheadmotors ports.com ----- Original Message ----- From: Terry Taylor To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 7:07 AM Subject: [DSN_KLR650] NKLR Anybody know the good/bad of Yamaha XT 550? Considering the purchase of a 2nd d/p bike.A loaner possibly to get some fringe buddies involved in the dual sport rides.My question is does anybody have experience w/ XT550 Yammie? reliable? fun? hiway worthy? Any feedback appreciated. Thanks... [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[roncriswell@sbcglobal.net]

Typical of most Japanese bikes. They just don't break much in my experience. I have abused the heck out of them even ran my old IT Yamaha's transmission almost out of oil and water was mixed in what was there. Never had a problem even with that. I saw a guy on an old Yamaha DT 1 run the bike full boar purposely into a cow tank burying it up to the seat in muddy water. I told his buddy's he must be getting rid of that one. Nope they claimed he did it all the time. They pulled the plug and pumped water out of it, reinstalled the plug and started it (with some water still coming out of the exhaust) and rode away. Ever have a problem with a Japanese bike transmission even with a lot of clutchless shifts? Not me. I used to have a Penton with a Sachs engine. There was a neutral between every gear on that one. I have heard BMW's sometimes have problems in the transmission area. Too much money for them to have problems there. Criswell

On Jul 17, 2009, at 8:47 AM, Rick McCauley wrote: > What Fred said. Plus; > A friend of mine had one. He beat that poor bike. He always > maintained it, but he road it hard. That bike refused to break. > > Rick > A17 > > --- On Fri, 7/17/09, Fred Hink wrote: > > From: Fred Hink > Subject: Re: [DSN_KLR650] NKLR Anybody know the good/bad of Yamaha > XT 550? > To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Terry Taylor" > Date: Friday, July 17, 2009, 8:36 AM > > > > The XT550 was a great machine. I had one in my shop many years ago > that wasn't running. The problem was that there was no spark. > Checking on the CDI from Yamaha, I found that they were very > expensive and secondly that they had been discontinued. So finding > parts for this old machine may prove to be difficult at best. I > would do some research on CDI problems with that bike since I seem > to remember reading that this was a common problem with this model. > > Fred > www.arrowheadmotors ports.com > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Terry Taylor > To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogro ups.com > Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 7:07 AM > Subject: [DSN_KLR650] NKLR Anybody know the good/bad of Yamaha XT 550? > > Considering the purchase of a 2nd d/p bike.A loaner possibly to get > some fringe buddies involved in the dual sport rides.My question is > does anybody have experience w/ XT550 Yammie? reliable? fun? hiway > worthy? Any feedback appreciated. Thanks... > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Rick McCauley]

Only one Japanese bike I ever had any problems with. I had a 1975 KH500 2 stroke triple. It broke alot. I did buy it used, so i don't know how it was treated before I bought it. However, It only had about 3,500 miles on it when i purchased it. It was a wild ride when it was running though. Grab a handle full of throttle in 1st gear,and you better be leaning over the gas tank before the tach got to 5,000 rpm.. woo hoo !! Rick A17

--- On Fri, 7/17/09, roncriswell@... wrote: From: roncriswell@... Subject: Re: [DSN_KLR650] NKLR Anybody know the good/bad of Yamaha XT 550? To: "Rick McCauley" Cc: dsn_klr650@yahoogroups.com Date: Friday, July 17, 2009, 9:08 AM Typical of most Japanese bikes. They just don't break much in my experience. I have abused the heck out of them even ran my old IT Yamaha's transmission almost out of oil and water was mixed in what was there. Never had a problem even with that. I saw a guy on an old Yamaha DT 1 run the bike full boar purposely into a cow tank burying it up to the seat in muddy water. I told his buddy's he must be getting rid of that one. Nope they claimed he did it all the time. They pulled the plug and pumped water out of it, reinstalled the plug and started it (with some water still coming out of the exhaust) and rode away. Ever have a problem with a Japanese bike transmission even with a lot of clutchless shifts? Not me. I used to have a Penton with a Sachs engine. There was a neutral between every gear on that one. I have heard BMW's sometimes have problems in the transmission area. Too much money for them to have problems there. Criswell On Jul 17, 2009, at 8:47 AM, Rick McCauley wrote: What Fred said. Plus; A friend of mine had one. He beat that poor bike. He always maintained it, but he road it hard. That bike refused to break. Rick A17 --- On Fri, 7/17/09, Fred Hink wrote: From: Fred Hink Subject: Re: [DSN_KLR650] NKLR Anybody know the good/bad of Yamaha XT 550? To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogro ups.com, "Terry Taylor" Date: Friday, July 17, 2009, 8:36 AM The XT550 was a great machine. I had one in my shop many years ago that wasn't running. The problem was that there was no spark. Checking on the CDI from Yamaha, I found that they were very expensive and secondly that they had been discontinued. So finding parts for this old machine may prove to be difficult at best. I would do some research on CDI problems with that bike since I seem to remember reading that this was a common problem with this model. Fred www.arrowheadmotors ports.com ----- Original Message ----- From: Terry Taylor To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 7:07 AM Subject: [DSN_KLR650] NKLR Anybody know the good/bad of Yamaha XT 550? Considering the purchase of a 2nd d/p bike.A loaner possibly to get some fringe buddies involved in the dual sport rides.My question is does anybody have experience w/ XT550 Yammie? reliable? fun? hiway worthy? Any feedback appreciated. Thanks... [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Bob Miskimen]

I concur. My KH400 Tripple was a basket case of maintenance. It was fun to ride, but loud and needing sparkplugs frequently. Bobthefarmer ________________________________ From: Rick McCauley To: dsn_klr650@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 10:46:10 AM Subject: Re: [DSN_KLR650] NKLR Anybody know the good/bad of Yamaha XT 550? Only one Japanese bike I ever had any problems with. I had a 1975 KH500 2 stroke triple. It broke alot. I did buy it used, so i don't know how it was treated before I bought it. However, It only had about 3,500 miles on it when i purchased it. It was a wild ride when it was running though. Grab a handle full of throttle in 1st gear,and you better be leaning over the gas tank before the tach got to 5,000 rpm.. woo hoo !! Rick A17

--- On Fri, 7/17/09, roncriswell@ sbcglobal. net wrote: From: roncriswell@ sbcglobal. net Subject: Re: [DSN_KLR650] NKLR Anybody know the good/bad of Yamaha XT 550? To: "Rick McCauley" Cc: dsn_klr650@yahoogro ups.com Date: Friday, July 17, 2009, 9:08 AM Typical of most Japanese bikes. They just don't break much in my experience. I have abused the heck out of them even ran my old IT Yamaha's transmission almost out of oil and water was mixed in what was there. Never had a problem even with that. I saw a guy on an old Yamaha DT 1 run the bike full boar purposely into a cow tank burying it up to the seat in muddy water. I told his buddy's he must be getting rid of that one. Nope they claimed he did it all the time. They pulled the plug and pumped water out of it, reinstalled the plug and started it (with some water still coming out of the exhaust) and rode away. Ever have a problem with a Japanese bike transmission even with a lot of clutchless shifts? Not me. I used to have a Penton with a Sachs engine. There was a neutral between every gear on that one. I have heard BMW's sometimes have problems in the transmission area. Too much money for them to have problems there. Criswell On Jul 17, 2009, at 8:47 AM, Rick McCauley wrote: What Fred said. Plus; A friend of mine had one. He beat that poor bike. He always maintained it, but he road it hard. That bike refused to break. Rick A17 --- On Fri, 7/17/09, Fred Hink wrote: From: Fred Hink Subject: Re: [DSN_KLR650] NKLR Anybody know the good/bad of Yamaha XT 550? To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogro ups.com, "Terry Taylor" Date: Friday, July 17, 2009, 8:36 AM The XT550 was a great machine. I had one in my shop many years ago that wasn't running. The problem was that there was no spark. Checking on the CDI from Yamaha, I found that they were very expensive and secondly that they had been discontinued. So finding parts for this old machine may prove to be difficult at best. I would do some research on CDI problems with that bike since I seem to remember reading that this was a common problem with this model. Fred www.arrowheadmotors ports.com ----- Original Message ----- From: Terry Taylor To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 7:07 AM Subject: [DSN_KLR650] NKLR Anybody know the good/bad of Yamaha XT 550? Considering the purchase of a 2nd d/p bike.A loaner possibly to get some fringe buddies involved in the dual sport rides.My question is does anybody have experience w/ XT550 Yammie? reliable? fun? hiway worthy? Any feedback appreciated. Thanks... [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Jud Jones]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Fred Hink" wrote:

> > The XT550 was a great machine. I had one in my shop many years ago that wasn't running. The problem was that there was no spark. Checking on the CDI from Yamaha, I found that they were very expensive and secondly that they had been discontinued. So finding parts for this old machine may prove to be difficult at best. I would do some research on CDI problems with that bike since I seem to remember reading that this was a common problem with this model. > > Fred

A CDI failure caused a friend to abandon an XT550 in Urique several years ago. The police chief bought it from him cheap, and did manage to get it on the road by the time I got down there a couple of years later.

[Jeff Khoury]

I'm a big Yamaha fan. My first bike was an 1980 DT125. I rode that bike SO hard and it refused to die. Throttle wide open most of the time... mud, sand, water, stumps... you name it, it took it. I killed it in the middle of a stream one time - the angle was such that the breather was out of the water, but the exhaust was submerged. I was able to pull it out by hand to the bank, then without draining anything, I just gave it a good kick with full throttle. Water came spraying out the exhaust like a sprinkler on crack. I ran it hard for a while figuring that if I got the exhaust hot enough all of the water would evaporate. No ill effects and the bike ran for years after that. I don't know if the XTs are built the same way, but I would bet that they are cut from the same cloth. -Jeff Khoury Astatic Solutions, LLC.

----- Original Message ----- From: roncriswell@... To: "Rick McCauley" Cc: "dsn klr650" dsn_klr650@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 7:08:57 AM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific Subject: Re: [DSN_KLR650] NKLR Anybody know the good/bad of Yamaha XT 550? Typical of most Japanese bikes. They just don't break much in my experience. I have abused the heck out of them even ran my old IT Yamaha's transmission almost out of oil and water was mixed in what was there. Never had a problem even with that. I saw a guy on an old Yamaha DT 1 run the bike full boar purposely into a cow tank burying it up to the seat in muddy water. I told his buddy's he must be getting rid of that one. Nope they claimed he did it all the time. They pulled the plug and pumped water out of it, reinstalled the plug and started it (with some water still coming out of the exhaust) and rode away. Ever have a problem with a Japanese bike transmission even with a lot of clutchless shifts? Not me. I used to have a Penton with a Sachs engine. There was a neutral between every gear on that one. I have heard BMW's sometimes have problems in the transmission area. Too much money for them to have problems there. Criswell On Jul 17, 2009, at 8:47 AM, Rick McCauley wrote: > What Fred said. Plus; > A friend of mine had one. He beat that poor bike. He always > maintained it, but he road it hard. That bike refused to break. > > Rick > A17 > > --- On Fri, 7/17/09, Fred Hink < moabmc@... > wrote: > > From: Fred Hink < moabmc@... > > Subject: Re: [DSN_KLR650] NKLR Anybody know the good/bad of Yamaha > XT 550? > To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com , "Terry Taylor" < ttklr2003@... > > Date: Friday, July 17, 2009, 8:36 AM > > > > The XT550 was a great machine. I had one in my shop many years ago > that wasn't running. The problem was that there was no spark. > Checking on the CDI from Yamaha, I found that they were very > expensive and secondly that they had been discontinued. So finding > parts for this old machine may prove to be difficult at best. I > would do some research on CDI problems with that bike since I seem > to remember reading that this was a common problem with this model. > > Fred > www.arrowheadmotors ports.com > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Terry Taylor > To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogro ups.com > Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 7:07 AM > Subject: [DSN_KLR650] NKLR Anybody know the good/bad of Yamaha XT 550? > > Considering the purchase of a 2nd d/p bike.A loaner possibly to get > some fringe buddies involved in the dual sport rides.My question is > does anybody have experience w/ XT550 Yammie? reliable? fun? hiway > worthy? Any feedback appreciated. Thanks... > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[dooden]

What he said on the Triples... Buddy long ago had the 750 Triple 2 Stroke I think it was, been a long time. But basically as he put it, when its running you better be hanging on tight. Otherwise your working on it. Dooden A15 Green Ape Got to take a 08 KLR for a quick ride today ( Repo'd ), appeared to have lowering links on it, but front end appeared right in the triple, like the forks on the new models, fairing is nice, but seems to breakable for a dual-purpose in my opinion.

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Rick McCauley wrote: > > Only one Japanese bike I ever had any problems with. > I had a 1975 KH500 2 stroke triple. It broke alot. I did buy it used, so i don't know > how it was treated before I bought it. However, It only had about 3,500 miles on it > when i purchased it. It was a wild ride when it was running though. Grab a handle full of throttle in 1st gear,and you better be leaning over the gas tank before the tach got to 5,000 rpm.. woo hoo !! > > Rick > A17 > > --- On Fri, 7/17/09, roncriswell@... wrote: > > > From: roncriswell@... > Subject: Re: [DSN_KLR650] NKLR Anybody know the good/bad of Yamaha XT 550? > To: "Rick McCauley" > Cc: dsn_klr650@yahoogroups.com > Date: Friday, July 17, 2009, 9:08 AM > > > Typical of most Japanese bikes. They just don't break much in my experience. I have abused the heck out of them even ran my old IT Yamaha's transmission almost out of oil and water was mixed in what was there. Never had a problem even with that. I saw a guy on an old Yamaha DT 1 run the bike full boar purposely into a cow tank burying it up to the seat in muddy water. I told his buddy's he must be getting rid of that one. Nope they claimed he did it all the time. They pulled the plug and pumped water out of it, reinstalled the plug and started it (with some water still coming out of the exhaust) and rode away. Ever have a problem with a Japanese bike transmission even with a lot of clutchless shifts? Not me. I used to have a Penton with a Sachs engine. There was a neutral between every gear on that one. I have heard BMW's sometimes have problems in the transmission area. Too much money for them to have problems there. > > > Criswell > > > On Jul 17, 2009, at 8:47 AM, Rick McCauley wrote: > > > > > > What Fred said. Plus; > A friend of mine had one. He beat that poor bike. He always maintained it, but he road it hard. That bike refused to break. > > Rick > A17 > > --- On Fri, 7/17/09, Fred Hink wrote: > > From: Fred Hink > Subject: Re: [DSN_KLR650] NKLR Anybody know the good/bad of Yamaha XT 550? > To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogro ups.com, "Terry Taylor" > Date: Friday, July 17, 2009, 8:36 AM > > > > The XT550 was a great machine. I had one in my shop many years ago that wasn't running. The problem was that there was no spark. Checking on the CDI from Yamaha, I found that they were very expensive and secondly that they had been discontinued. So finding parts for this old machine may prove to be difficult at best. I would do some research on CDI problems with that bike since I seem to remember reading that this was a common problem with this model. > > Fred > www.arrowheadmotors ports.com > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Terry Taylor > To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogro ups.com > Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 7:07 AM > Subject: [DSN_KLR650] NKLR Anybody know the good/bad of Yamaha XT 550? > > Considering the purchase of a 2nd d/p bike.A loaner possibly to get some fringe buddies involved in the dual sport rides.My question is does anybody have experience w/ XT550 Yammie? reliable? fun? hiway worthy? Any feedback appreciated. Thanks... > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >

[Kyle]

Correct me if I`m wrong? But I believe it would be either a XT500 or a XT600, not a XT550. I had the XT600, it was an awsome bike. It had kickstarter &was easy to kickstart it when the engine was cold and it ran like a champ. It was definetly more dirt worthy than my KLR will ever be. It wasn`t street legal so I never had it on the highway. The only drawback I had with the bike was that it was extremely hard to kickstart the bike when the engine was warm. I don`t know why that was? My 2 cents worth anyways.