Hi Folks,

My trusty steed (2010 XT660Z) now has 30,000 miles on the clock and nearly 4 years of age, much of that on the dirt roads of S America. She's had a fairly rough ride most of her life. I am coming home from Peru for a few weeks and thus have an opportunity to pick up a bag of parts, so I thought now would be a good time to get the bike stripped down, inspected and revamped in preparation for the next 15,000 miles.

Importantly, I want to ANTICIPATE future wear and tear and deal with it now, to minimise the potential of failures when I'm in the middle of nowhere in the future.

All the obvious stuff will get dealt with and also that which the manual recommends at this mileage / age, but I would appreciate any advice on what may be less obvious and thus may get overlooked - any XT660Z idiosyncrasies that you guys may have picked up on regarding parts wearing out.

This is a golden opportunity to the bike back to full strength - I have an excellent mechanic to work on the bike, and the hourly rate out here in Peru is a fraction of UK.

Thanks!!
Paul

Normal stuff like wheel bearings, sprocket carrier bearing. C&S set. Crush drive rubbers. Mine has had an easy life (sitting at 54k now) but the headrace bearings need doing again. Clutch has always felt weak but its still going. There has been some reports of gearbox / gear linkage issues on some hard used bikes but most are pretty good. Back up reg/rec with tails attached is an option.

__________________
check out www.redbikejohn.com for all the latest race reports from the CHEC and enduroland.

TBH, if you look at the service schedule for 30K miles, and do everything it says, you won't be far off. Do all the usual stuff as RBJ says, but there are a few notable things that are worth doing in addition to what the book says:

Forks, for example, aren't mentioned as a specific item to service. Trust me, they'll need attention at 30K, if nothing else other than a flush and fresh oil. But if you take them out, for the minimal investment a strip and new seals will make sure things go the distance.

Re-sealing the airbox side covers is a good thing to do that isn't mentioned, particularly if (like you) the bike is used in dusty conditions.

Cleaning out the gauze strainer at the base of the oil tank (frame down tube) which is part of the oil pipe union is worth doing. Again not mentioned and often overlooked.

When you service the swingarm/linkage, get rid of the solid MPL lubricant and replace with grease. My bearings were looking sad after 12K with the OE MPL, but after pulling it all out and replacing with waterproof grease, at 24K they looked mint. Same mileage, same riding conditions.

See these threads by Ohlins for a walkthrough:

Part 4: http://www.xt660.com/showthread.php?t=20738

Part 3: http://www.xt660.com/showthread.php?t=20737

Part 2: http://www.xt660.com/showthread.php?t=20736

Part 1: http://www.xt660.com/showthread.php?t=20735

After 4 years the brake lines should really have been replaced, which although in the service schedule is often overlooked (by DIYers and dealers alike). They will have sufficiently degraded enough at this age to be leaving rubber particles in the fluid, even after you change it and will be have more "give" under pressure than new.

Check all the wiring, not just the reg/rec connector, especially where exposed and clean/lubricate any connectors. Also check for abrasion, especially under the tank where the injector spur off the main loom is known to wear through. I loosen all the cable ties and inserted foam pads early on and everything is goo still.

Check the top hose where it runs round the back of the cylinder head. I found at 12K that the hose was rubbing through on the bolt heads that hold the inlet valve inspection covers in place.

There are probably other things too, these are just some of the extra jobs I did on mine.

__________________

I would certainly change this part. There have been failures that have caused a lot of damage.

Stopper lever ass

(part no 5JW�18140�00)

Thanks for your advice, guys.

Paul