Yamaha Xt 350...

[drj777]

...im just lookin' for any other XT owners - and id like to hear their GOOD or BAD stories about the bike. ive owned mine for over a year now and ive been COMPLETELY satisfied with her service - but i have been a little weary about taking her on long trips out...

so - a little feedback would be appreciated.

thanks

drj

[KLX_RAMBO]

I had a 1987 XT350. It was a great bike. I never really had a problem with mine. Here is a pic of mine right before I sold it last year. If you keep oil in them, they last forever. They didn't change the design for about 15 years. I still have some spare parts in my garage. PM me if you need anything.

[pintopower8]

I own an 86'. It is a good bike. Plenty of off road and crusiing power.

[drj777]

I had a 1987 XT350. It was a great bike. I never really had a problem with mine. Here is a pic of mine right before I sold it last year. If you keep oil in them, they last forever. They didn't change the design for about 15 years. I still have some spare parts in my garage. PM me if you need anything.

wow - she was gorgeous!!

its funny to see the alternate RED scheme...on my '00 its blue & white.

but - all in all - nothing really troublsome to look out for...

how much highway mileage did she see?

i read about one cat who rode 500 miles in one day with no issues.

it just seems like a lot for a 350 with no radiator...or am i being too cautious?

drj

[grreatdog]

The links below should get you started. Mine was basically a good enough bike that I rode it for 17 years. But I also rebuilt the engine multiple times and replaced many parts. It was a decent trail and street bike once it was uncorked. Mine was a bit of a dog with the stock airbox, jetting and exhaust. But it became much more fun with some work. With the engine uncorked, regeared, knobby tires and the suspension (or lack of) dialed in as best it can be, it was a good enough trail bike to keep up with most others. I just got a little pounded by the worthless forks in the process of keeping up.

The main things I learned in all those years was to beware of valve and carb adjustments. Both require special Yamatools and above average mechanical skills. If you remove the float bowl, make certain you remove the connecting rubber in hose on the back of the bowl first. Otherwise it will cause you to bend the float. AND MAKE SURE YOU NEVER BEND THE FLOAT. You will never get it back right without the special Yamatool. Also, don't let the valves get out of spec on the loose side or the engine will be trash in short order. The piston is dished for a reason - there isn't much clearance in there.

When I am throwing my XL around on trails I do miss the midrange hit mine had with the mods and the lighter weight. But I don't miss the XT's torture test seat, that stupid carb or the shim and bucket valve adjustments though. I hope you have fun with it.

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=289140&page=2&pp=10

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=189551&parentpage=23

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=285631&parentpage=6

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=202274&parentpage=5

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=227835&parentpage=9

[Newfoundlander]

My brother had one for 4-5 years put 35000km on it replaced the top end gaskets around 28000km started to leak a bit. The suspension was a bit slight for offroad and the 428 chain stretched ad wore the sprockets fairly quick. It was a great bike away from that, it pulled good and was extremely reliable. He had to sell it to get a truck but he misses it like crazy.

[KLX_RAMBO]

wow - she was gorgeous!!

its funny to see the alternate RED scheme...on my '00 its blue & white.

but - all in all - nothing really troublsome to look out for...

how much highway mileage did she see?

i read about one cat who rode 500 miles in one day with no issues.

it just seems like a lot for a 350 with no radiator...or am i being too cautious?

drj

I used to ride it to the State Forest, which is about 26 miles one way from my house. I could cruise all day at 65 mph if I wanted to. However, that's not really my thing. I used to have a big street bike for that but I gave it up when my son was born. I'm really just a trail rider now. I had just shy of 6,000 miles when I sold it. It is a really great motor.

[drj777]

thanks everyone...

GREATDOG - your words were most encouraging.

i bought her with 5000 miles - and she has almost 8000...never had a problem.

about 700 miles ago i went with an O-ring chain - a new pipe (SUPERTRAPP ISD II) and a nice set of 50/50 tires...those few things made all the difference in the world.

now - shes REAL sparky - very nice...very deceiving, because she looks so harmless - BUT - the front forks are total SHAT.

so - now i can sleep easy and dream of weekends abroad without worry...

thanks again for the input!!

drj

[corky]

Mr 777,

You may pick up a few ideas here??

http://www.pbase.com/corky1/xt_350_project_bike

Good luck,

Corky ?

[nfamas]

I bought my 86 in 87 with 182 miles on her, the only problems I had with it was a couple of broken speedo and tach cables, the the speedo it self went out at 12,000 + miles, 2 years and lots of miles later I sold it and I still see it around town once in awhile

The suspension is not the best on them but my XT was my "street bike"

A couple of pics in Cle Elm Wa.

[Neville1]

Great engine performance for a 350, but the suspension blows in the high speed stuff. Not enough rebound dampening. If you can find a TT350 fork and triple clamps swap them in along with the rear suspension and aluminum swingarm.

[wickedsprint]

I had a 96, I abused the holy hell out of that bike and it always started first kick, good wheelie machine too.

[drj777]

I LOVE IT!!!

i NEVER see other XTs around - shes starting to think shes the last of her kind...actually - come to think of it - the '00 model in fact IS the last of her kind.

GREAT PHOTO by the way ('87 model) - YOU MUST BE NUTS to jump that thing (even a little) with those front forks...

well - it sounds like shes gonna be in my family for a long time...thanks guys.

keep the stories comin'

drj

[grreatdog]

In 17 years the stories are vast:

When mine was six weeks old with only a thousand miles or so (it was my daily driver down south), I lost it into 6' of water. We eventually got it restarted and I rode it home. Before the first year was out I was into first engine rebuild though. A piece of driftwood got kicked up and jammed through the center of the bike while blasting down a beach. It cleaned the crankcase vent hose off and the sand did wonders for compression.

The second rebuild came from the bike being stolen. When it was recovered a year later buried in some woods and it was pretty tired. The shop that did the insurance rebuild forgot to tighten the head bolts so it came apart at 75 on a freeway and dumped oil all over the back tire right before it locked the chain. I probably have some kind of record for the longest skid in history. I did the third and final rebuild.

It's first asphalt crash was from a flat front tire discovered in a turn. The bike did a low side and ended up sliding under the back of a transit bus with me on top of it. It's second pavement crash was from an owl that dove out of the night sky and drilled me in the chest. We probably had a combined impact speed in excess of 100mph and I went over the rear fender. Fortunately the 4-stroke compression slowed the bike a bunch before it endo'ed off the highway. I didn't get hurt despite a long slide because of my snowmobile suit. But I almost suffucated from a full face helmet filled with feathers. I was also rear ended by a Camry and smashed up the hood pretty good with my helmet. I rode it away from every one of those.

Oddly enough, in all the crap I put that bike through, it never left me until the final meltdown on top of Shenandoah mountain a couple of years ago. A dropped valve through the piston finally put the old thing down for good. Even then I coasted for a coouple of miles down the mountain before the valve head finally found the primary gears and locked it. Now it sure feels weird to be on a Honda after 20+ years of Yamahas. I haven't had anything but XT's since 1980.

[Cmott426]

Here is a link to my old web site, I don't maintain it anymore since I sold it and bought a WR426 and plated it.

http://www.imbris.net/~toadie/

[jwilco]

Bought a 98 XT350 recently. It is in good shape and runs great. Does anyone have any performance upgrade advice? I am thinking about starting to play with it a little. It is bone stock except for the Cobra pipe that came on it. Is this pipe worth a crap? I am not familiar with them. Can I improve the suspension? I also read a post about the XT having some type of HP restriction. Is this true and what can I do to bypass? Thanks for any advice.

[drj777]

i have an '00 model with a new o-ring chain (made a nice improvement) and a SUPERTRAPP IDS II pipe (which is tuneable AND opened up the bike quite a bit)...thats all ive done to mine - check CMOTTS website link (above) to see some of his mods - especially the front fork stuff!!!

good luck

that bike - if taken care of - is friggin' bulletproof.

drj

[sTTeve]

I bought a 2-year old XT350 in 1987, 6000 kms on the clock, used it for trailrides, a beachrace, trips to the supermarket, weekendtrips to Belgium and a 2 week holiday to the south of France, and ,my daily transport to work for about 13 years. I sold it after 60.000 kms, with only one rebuild after 40k, because the piston seized after dirt had dropped in the cilinder when i changed the plug. Changed the oil, oilfilter, and airfilter after every 5.000 kms or so, kept a good eye on the valves...that's it. Great bike

[XT350 Chris]

Great bike that loves punishment and maintenance. Oil changes are vital to keep it going almost for ever.

[maim]

fellow 2000 xt 350 rider here. ya these good ole girls are getting hard to come by. mine has 11,000km on it and i am going for more. got rid of the lean problem mine had at highway speeds by re jetting. bought it in 2002 with 2500km on it. previous owner had up graded the bars. here is the list of what i have up-graded on her. i put 50/50 on off tires on it, uni filter in stock air box, LED tail lamp bulb, white LED gage bulbs, power mad hand guards and the best (especially if you drive at night) headlamp bulb to a halogen one. the Yamaha Canada part # for it is YMC-00910-00-00.

now you guys have me considering exh upgrade for her.............

maybe that will fix why she wont pull over 7000rpm on the tack in 6th.