xt600e tips

[tackle]

hi all, picked up a '97 xt600e 3 weeks ago after a break from riding of about 8 years following a high speed rta on a cbr600.......injuries it left me with meant no more sports machines, which is probably a good thing as i've always preffered thumpers having previously owned dr600 & xr600 amongst others.
anyway, enough waffling, i'm loving most aspects of the xt6e with the exception of the rock hard seat & lack of power (mainly top end speed), i know their not the quickest things around but any trips of 30+ miles are hard on the butt & a bit monotonous.......considering a new fruitier exhaust & maybe a front/rear sprocket change to lengthen the gears a tad........dunno what to do bout the seat yet..........?

any advice would be appreciated...........cheers......mark

[shack]

Hi Tackle,
I've made a sheepskin pad containing memory foam and a bicycle gel pad, it helps but adds an inch to the ride height (not found it a prob myself) when I used to have an XRV I drilled a series of inch holes in the base of the seatand removed cores of foam this helped as well (and will be my next course of action with my current XTZ 660) failing this I will refoam the seat, but I go for the easy fool resistant options first.

[tackle]

cheers shack, i'll give it a try with some memory foam & a gel pad, i called a firm that advertise's in mcn today, called LICS, they offer seat refurb with a gel pad.......glad i was sitting down when i called, gel pad & new cover on the seat works out to £286.
time for a bit of diy methinks.............thanks for the advice.

[Lutin]

Hi Tackle

Have a search on the forum for seat rebuilds. There's been plenty of discussion about this subject - for various bikes and plenty of solutions too.

That quote you had of 200 odd pounds seems a bit high to me - I'm sure there's been some recommendations for outfits that would do the job much cheaper.

Maybe a post in the general "Bike Tech" thread would get a better response.

[tackle]

hi lutin, couldn't agree more,nearly £300 for a bit off padding & gel (especially when they said i could bring it down & they'll do it in less than two hours)........their labour rate is about the same as a barristers lol.

[davsato]

the seats big and square so have a go yourself, its pretty easy. theres a pic of my supermoto in the yam section somewhere near the beginning, same model as yours.
since that was taken its got a stainless pro'duro system fitted, road legal but still rorty as hell i think most of the packing has blown out, but who cares its 'E' marked innit?

i haven't done it myself, with a braided hose, slugged forks and a 17" sportsbike tyre the original XT brake works fine- but if your interested, a bigger diameter R6 brake disc bolts straight onto the XT front hub, so all you need is a small adapter for the R6 caliper and a long braided hose and you too can fly over the handlebars like peter pan