Apologies if it was you and that I passed on this lane today without stopping to chat.
I was out on my XT600E and for the first time that I've green laned it!
I came back with a surpisingly small list of things to do to it for my Round the World Trip next year.
The gearing seems to be spot on but it does need a small screen to take the windblast off at anything over 60mph.
Not as forgiving or as easy as my TTR250 but tremendous fun and the new Trelleborg T644 Army Special did really well. I think Mitas have changed to compound as it felt very much like an ET01.
I'd like to make a drop down foot brake extension similar to the R1200GSA so that I can brake comfortably stood up but not lock the back wheel too easily when sat down.
Good luck with your new adventure Andy. My only foray greenlaning my old XT600 was interesting to say the least.
As far as the Army specials go ...... fantastic. Did nearly 80 miles on the Husky in the pouring rain on Saturday with Snaf and a few friends. Cleared everything I pointed it at with ease. More than can be said for those on enduro tyres. Not bad for a 34 year old bike. Best keep that tyre a secret then .........
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Politicians are like nappies. They need changing often, and usually for the same reason.
I was warned that the Army tyre was a bit skittish on the road but I didn't find that. Bearing in mind it is now made by Mitas I think they have changed the compound. I would blame any 'looseness' on the depth of the tread as the blocks appear to be about 12mm long. I'm sure they're not but I can't measure them at the mo!
The list of things needed to do to the bike is amazingly small..
Mirrors - something like these The downside of these is that nobody seems to be importing these into the UK!!!
A voltage/charging indicator - This is the one I have on my TTR and it is great to know the battery is being charged. Unfortunately the XT 600E and the Suzy DR650 that my brother has, have only 200watt generators. Both the bikes have a recommended tickover of 1400 to 1700 rpm which is far too fast for off-roading. I use that term loosely as I don't do off-roading in the UK, I only ride on legal UCRs and Byways.
With only 200w to play with I need to know that the battery is being charged and if the slow tickover isn't charging the battery then it will need to be adjusted until it does.
I need to change the headlight from a power hungry 55/60w unit to an HiD 35w (3 times brighter) so I can run heated grips and waistcoat. I would have frozen to death in Siberia last year, when it hit -7C at night, without my Chilli Heated Waistcoat. This will be advantageous outside of the UK as you have to run with your headlight on everywhere else - except Mongolia.
I will also be putting a Shorai Battery on the bike - it saves 2Kgs over the stock battery as well as giving me 18AH instead of 8AH. It's also smaller than the original and charges up more quickly.
The blog will be updated shortly as I'm moving back to Ivybridge. All of you that have my 01548 number can go back to my 01752 number as from Monday 27th Feb. Nevil, my naturalised Canadian brother, is also going to update the blog and he's just ordered loads and loads of bits from Here I'm quite jealous of his ability to buy so many parts for his DR. Extras are a bit thin on the ground for the XT.
I found the suspension on the XT to be very good whereas Nev needs to put Intiminators in his forks and he's had a complete upgrade, rebuild of his rear shock.
The list goes on but it is much smaller than the list for Babs (The Ural I took to Mongolia)