Old Faithful

[ktmken]

Here is a bike that doesn't do anything spectacular, but it does anything you ask of it. Just slower. I had this bike for 5 years and I thought it was the greatest thing on two wheels. It would always start 2nd kick, good fuel mileage and not bad power for a 350 fourstroke in the mid eighty's. It would pull better than my 1982 XL500.I paid $1000.00 for it and I sold it 5 years later for $1500.00. That is not a bad investment.

 

[Guest]

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Ya know, I really think that some of the manufacturers need to revisit their dual sport departments. You look at a bike like the XT350 and really, it would be very cheap for Yamaha to re introduce it with a set of beefier forks and rear shock and spring and voila, you have an even better bike. Plus, they could sell it at a reasonable price by using the stuff off an existing bike like a WR250. Orrrrrrrr, just put lights and horn on the WR series and let the strictly dirt guys remove it.

 

[halo]

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yeah! i gots an '00 XT350 and i love it! a bit slow and sketchy on the freeway though...

 

[Clead]

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Hello, I finally decided to register months after seeing DSBC at the show . I have a 1992 XT350, which is my first motorcycle. I bought it fall of 2003. Does anyone know how to derestrict these beasts? This would be for both Halo and myself. I believe slightly before my model year, the power was just about cut in half. 31 bhp down to 17 IIRC. Sounds legit because I've read reviews of XT350s where the author had them going 90mph! Not even downhill with a tailwind could mine ever approach that.. LOL

 

[wayne_nicolson]

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Hi Clead;
Check out these XT350 sites for a few ideas:
http://www.imbris.net/~toadie/XT350mods.htm
http://www.geocities.com/xt350pilot/main.html

As you know, in spite of the numbers of XTs sold world-wide over the years, there aren't many sites that deal with performance mods for this bike. The basics always apply though (better breathing = more power). The first site offers info on basic mods (tires, etc.). The second site I mentioned (xt350pilot), offers some advice on jetting and exhaust.

Mine's a lot of fun to ride and it works well (not great) on the highway. I've ridden it from Mackenzie to Vancouver and back many times, Prince George to Kelowna and back and many other places in northern BC. Obviously, I travel light but the bike always performs well. The only thing is that it has a maximum range of only about 200km so I have to be sure there's fuel along the way. Also, that means I'm forced to stop every 1.5-2 hours which isn't so bad, I guess.
Wayne.

 

[Barracuda]

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thanks those are great sites . you can get big bore kits for them also (in eu)

the one thing that isnt mentioned is re doing the exhaust insert , the factory spark arrester is very restrictive and gets plugged easilykeep it clean. you canalso make a larger one or adapt one from another bike. It is a cheap mod that works.

 

[Clead]

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Thanks for the tips guys. Barracuda, I think that should give that little bit of oomph I need on the freeway. Hopefully I'll see you guys on a ride .

Duncan

 

[jbusser]

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Nice bike!!! I bought a 1984 Yamaha XT250 for $800 with 4600 miles on it!!!!