Getting My Hands Dirty with the Yamaha XT E 600
So, I ended up with this Yamaha XT E 600. Wasn’t exactly planned. Found it tucked away in someone’s shed, looking pretty sorry for itself. Dust everywhere, flat tires, you know the picture. The guy just wanted it gone, price was almost nothing. I thought, why not? Always liked the look of these old thumpers.
Getting it home was the first challenge. Had to borrow a mate’s van. Once in my garage, I took a proper look. It wasn’t pretty. Looked like it hadn’t run in years. Battery was obviously dead as a doornail. Tried the electric start, just got a sad click. Kickstart? Felt seized solid initially. Great start, right?
First things first, decided to tackle the engine. If that wasn’t salvageable, the whole thing was just scrap metal. Pulled the spark plug out – looked fouled. Checked for spark – nothing. Okay, electrical gremlins. Spent a whole weekend just tracing wires. Found a few dodgy connections, cleaned them up. Still no spark. Turned out the ignition coil was shot. Had to hunt one down online, took ages to arrive.
Then came the carburetor. Oh boy. Took it apart, and it was just gummed up solid. Varnish everywhere. Looked like someone had left old fuel in it for a decade. Cleaned it meticulously. Took hours. Soaked it, scrubbed it with tiny brushes, blew out every passage with compressed air. Put it back together, fingers crossed.
While waiting for parts, I did other bits:
- Changed the oil and filter. The old oil was like treacle.
- Cleaned the air filter – surprisingly okay, just needed a good wash.
- Checked the brakes. Pads were low, discs looked okay. Ordered new pads.
- Got new tires fitted. The old ones were cracked and hard as rock.
Finally, the new coil arrived. Fitted it, put in a new spark plug, fresh fuel in the tank. Cleaned the carb bolted back on. Turned the key, hit the starter button… and it actually turned over! Coughed a bit, sputtered… then roared into life. Okay, maybe not roared, more like chugged loudly, but it was running! Felt like a massive win after all that hassle.
Had to fiddle with the carb tuning quite a bit to get it idling properly. These old bikes are temperamental. Rode it around the block carefully. Brakes felt mushy even with new pads, so bled them properly. Suspension felt soggy, probably needs a rebuild down the line, but good enough for now.
It’s still not perfect. Got a few rattles I need to trace. The plastics are scratched up. But it runs, it stops, and it’s actually pretty fun to ride in a basic, mechanical way. It’s simple, tough. You feel everything. It wasn’t easy, spent way more time (and probably money on bits and pieces) than I first thought. But taking it from a shed relic to a running bike? Yeah, pretty satisfying. It’s mine, warts and all, because I basically brought it back from the dead myself.