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Old 27-07-18, 10:48
tripletom tripletom is offline
XT-Moto SuperStar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Lower New Inn
Posts: 763
tripletom is on a distinguished road
Rotten XT frame after 9 years

Sad times.
My Tenere started dropping a bit of oil when parked up, and I inspected further and found oil along the down tube and the front of the engine.
After spraying with a good degreaser and hosing down I waited to see where the oil was coming from. It appeared to be coming from the headstock area so I then stripped the tank etc. off and inspected further.
The leak was coming from the oil tank behind the head steady.


Which was a pisser.

After setting to with a wire wheel to clear the rust off and then coating with zinc primer I discovered the first pinhole



and then after cleaning the primer off and degreasing spent about an hour chasing the paper thin metal with my tig welder to clear all the other holes up.
Neither Yamaha nor the franchise I bought the bike from were interested in assisting.

I've got to say I'm really disappointed in the build quality of the bike. Last year I had to have the wheels rebuilt with new hubs and spokes after they were too corroded to be safe.
This is a bike that gets regularly used, but also regularly coated in ACF50 and waxoyl.
This post is a heads up to other owners to have a good look around that area and make sure it's as corrosion free as possible.

I've a feeling in the not too distant future I'll be looking to mount a remote oil tank, or cut the old frame section out and try and weld a new tank in situ.