The Author purchased a somewhat 'worn' XT550 back in April 1996. The bike had been repainted, first back to the original white color, then later black. The paint was beginning to peel off the plastic parts, and so a full strip-down was necessary. Having done this, I started taking the bike apart !!!
The XT in question was a 1984 model, the 550 being made from around 1979 until 1985. Prior to this the XT500 had been produced, with the first one coming off the line in 1976. The two bikes are very different however. On the motor side the XT550 gained a twin choke carb, four valve head and engine balancer. The frame was also distinctly different, the original having conventional coil-over dampers, the latter gaining a mono-shock through the centre on the frame.
In many respects, including many parts, the XT550 is more like the later XT600 or even the Ténéré
The 30hp of the 500, together with it's tendency to suffer from poor carburation, chain snatch, and rotting magnesium crankcases, gave way to a 40hp machine that suffered from a somewhat fragile clutch, although this can be overcome by an upgraded assembly.
The rebuild began as a 'few hours here and there' type project. As is the normal way with such projects, pressures of work etc. meant that progress was very slow. Only when I was invited to join a group of friends motorcycling over to a friends wedding reception, did the urgency to finish cause the speed of progress to increase! Three weeks to clean everything up, remove the old paint, apply new paint, change the brake linings, sandblast and EHT paint the exhaust, and so on.
Every night after work in the cellar I worked away, hoping to finish in time.
Eventually, with just two days to spare, I re-registered the bike and went for a test ride. It seemed OK on a short (30km) ride, so I hoped it would make the 300km round trip planned for that weekend.
One thing that soon became apparent was that if I gave a 'good handful of gas' in either of the first two gears, the front wheel had a traction problem! Trying my best not to do this, the weekend was thoroughly enjoyable. My 550 was luckily not the smallest of the bikes attending, but was dwarfed by the 1100s !
Off-road, the first thing that was evident was the lack of tread on the rear tyre/tire. Whilst it was well within limits for road use, it really hadn't got the grip required when the going got slippery.Needless to say, the shiney clean bike was soon plastered with sand-colo(u)red mud, and it wasn't long before a little tumble was taken! Luckily, both the rider and the newly painted glossy white tank was unhurt!
The XT makes a surprisingly good 'tourer', holding its own with bigger bikes through the curves, due to the light weight and 'flickability'. The roar of the air intake becomes intrusive at Autobahn cruising speed though. A trip to the WSB at Brands Hatch required some electrical fault-finding, when the headlight ceased to function. This was traced to a loose connector, which had subsequently melted! A maximum comfortable cruising speed of 140km/h could be maintained, without rattling out the fillings!
Alas, after several months of ownership, the motorcycle has now gone to better owners. It was a great shame to see it go, but I live in the knowledge that I gave it a good home for nearly a year and hope that the new owner will take good care of it for me. Luckily, I never really got too attached to the bike, but it was still sad to say goodbye.
The knowledge gained working on this bike has been enormous and I would welcome contact from XT owners needing help or advice.
If you ride a motorbike, please spare a few moments to fill in my survey about motorcycling around corners!