Hi all

Not posted much on this forum as my bike is still quite new to me but I have been an avid reader!

I have a 2008 XT-R and am going on a 3 month trip to Spain, Portugal and Morocco, then back into Europe and home to UK. The ride will be dusty and sandy of course in Morocco and I will be trying to do as many trails/off-road as possible.

I set off tomorrow and just doing very last minute mods to my bike

I am of course wanting reliability & fuel economy, but also to gain a bit more excitement for the ride. Plus I hope to get rid of the minor surging and the odd cutting out the engine does, usually when slowing down whilst down shifting gears.

The bike has a full Leo Vince exhaust, 1 tooth less on the gearbox sprocket and I've literally just put on a second hand Kev O2 mod I got from a forum member. I have changed the K&N to a DNA stage 1 filter (as it's clean, and because it supposedly gives greater air intake) and have also removed the snorkel. I also got a second hand Kev fuel mod that I have fitted today (from another forum member), but is there any harm running like this without a DNA stage 2 filter?

Or is it better to leave off the fuel mod at this stage?

I have avoided fitting a Stage 2 (although I've bought a brand new one & it's in the garage for when I get back) as will be doing some water crossings and my paranoia says that water will enter

Thanks for any help and words of wisdom people can offer.

You'll be fine fitting the fuel mod with your current setup. They improve the fuelling even on a stock bike.

Set it to where you feel the bike runs best. The exact setting on the dial depends a bit on which version of Kev's fuel mod it is. There have been a few over the years. What colour mark has the knob got?

The cutting out on a closed throttle is more than likely down to your idle speed being set too low. Check it and make sure it is up around the 1500rpm mark.

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Wow Pleiades, thanks for the fast response and the positive reassurance I was hoping for. What a great forum this is!

I've set the fuel mod to 5 below the air temp today (not had a chance to test run it today but will get plenty of time to play around with it slightly on my travels. The fuel mod has a grey knob with a thin green marker line and green little ring at the bottom of it, a white dot mark on the box.

That makes sense regarding the idle speed. Silly question but how do you know what RPM it's ticking over at without a rev counter, or a fancy garage tool? Maybe I should just tweak the idle speed up a bit, I remember seeing a knurled thumb screw and something in the owners manual about this.

Cheers

you can go through the diagnostics of the standard dash and it will show revs. search on the forum and you should find a link easy enough

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Plough on

As Mr Numbers says, you can access a rev counter through the diagnostic mode in the dash.

Read this thread: http://www.xt660.com/showthread.php?t=11677

When you say 5 below air temp, do you mean you've already used the DIAG mode to access the AIT sensor temperature reading and set the fuelling mod to 5 below ambient, or do you mean you've set it at 5 o'clock on the dial?

Did you get Kev's instructions with it?

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Thanks for the heads up regarding a rev counter.
That's a nice little hidden bonus and I'll check it's at 1500 RPM.

Yes, I got Kev's instructions on a disc when I bought the fuel mod and I've followed this. I got on to the DIAG mode to set it 5 deg's below ambient temp today. I have also set the CO1 to 25.

No idea what all the other settings are for, I started scrolling through them, then got a bit freaked out I might do something I'd regret. So scrolled back again to avoid making any other changes.

Thanks again folks, really much appreciated

Excellent!

Sounds like you've got everything covered and in order for your trip. Hope it's a good 'un. Enjoy and keep us posted...

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Enjoy the trip!

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Estne volumen in toga, an solum tibi libet me videre?

Sounds like a fun trip mate, what sort of bags or carrier or panniers have you fitted??? I live and work in Roma (Italy) and I have a van plus a garage with tools so u can call me if you need help (or just a cold beer) if you are passing through!!! Simon

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(Now sold on, sob) 2011 Blue XT660X with gold wheels, was 26,500 km.
Engine mods: K&N Stage 1 filter, DNA Stage 2 filter, snorkel removed, Kev fuel mod fitted.
Plus: smoked Puig screen, Yam aluminium sump guard, Yamaha / Acerbis handguards, Givi Trekker aluminium side cases, Leo Vince X3 cans plus Kev front fork mod and Fender Xtender. Just fitted Michelin Road Pilot 3 tyres.

SOLD the XTX for a Super Ten 1200. And just bought a Raptor 700 so staying on here for some tips....