Hey guys

I have a few issues my 07 XTX, now at 43.000km. Has Termignioni cans and nothing else (no modifications). I apologize for the long post and hope you guys can offer any assistance.

Vibrations
A few months ago somebody pushed my bike on its side while parked. Since then (almost 10k km later) I feel like it has started to vibrate a lot. I feel strong vibrations in the foot pegs at high speed and rpm. More annoying is the high vibrations when I'm still at a stoplight on neutral. It's so high that my mirrors are blurry and the brake cable vibrates a lot. So it's happens really bad when it's either high rpm or really low/close to idle.

I checked most of the screws and bolts I could (like the front engine mounts) and they don't seem to be loose. I also made sure my exhausts are properly secured (since putting them wrong a while ago made my whole bike vibrate).


Engine almost chocking on gear change
I recently removed the snorkel and slightly increased the CO (which was increased two years ago from standard), this made the bike run a little bit better. But now most of the times when I switch from 1st to 2nd the engine feels like briefly choking/losing power, sometimes even from 3rd to 4th but very rarely.

So far it hasn't stalled but it's making my rides really annoying, I always go for the clutch in panic but the engine gets back to normal after a second.


Handling
There's a handling problem where I almost can't turn left or right unless I jerk it really hard. I suspect one or both of the fork bearings (Im probably not using the correct term here) is damaged. Sometimes I need to jerk it so I can turn, other times it works too easy. Is there an easy way of checking if the bearing are the problem? I'd like to avoid having to wait 2 weeks for parts while my bike is disassembled in some shop. Or maybe just order them since they will probably break down in the future?

Rear brake
There's also the issue with my rear brake. A month ago I had to change the rubber dampers in the back wheel. After putting everything back the rear brake started to make a scraping sound and after riding a bit I noticed the right pad was the one making the sound since it kept pressing the disc. I took the wheel down a few times trying to make sure everything is straight (and that because the screws that hold the brake are worn and I can't unscrew them).

The brake caliper is not stuck, I can easily push it back but it doesn't seem to go back by itself, keeping the right pad pressed on the disc while the left pad is ok. Braking isn't a problem, it works fine. Last thing I tried is change the brake fluid in hopes that it will fix it. It fixed like 80%. The scraping noise is barely audible and it only happens if I lean the bike left/right while stopped. My left rear brake pad is now 25% while the left one is probably 80%. I am getting new pads but need to sort this problem before wearing out another set.


Paint damage
This is not really a big issue but last time I left my bike at a carwash they used a freaking degreaser or some other strong solution that attacked the paint on the engine, rims and even the plastic on the dashboard. The middle half of my engine is now a matte almost white while the rest of the engine is the standard silver-ish. Is there a way/method to repaint the engine without having to dismantle it? And what paint would be suitable?

And since were talking paint is there any that can be used on the exhausts? I always try to clean the clay forming in the front but they look like crap now. If there's no paint I was thinking of maybe polishing them or using that fabric that you can wrap around it (name escapes now but I will google it).


Thank you very much for any responses

Difficult to say from here, but things like the rubber isolating bushes on the handlebar risers and those for the tank mounts can get dislodged in a fall and cause all sorts of funny vibrations. Is anything bent and touching something it shouldn't. Also be wary that engine mounts that are too tight can cause as much trouble as those that are too loose - they need to be torqued within spec.

Raising the CO by a large amount can cause the bike to run too rich between 0 and 2% throttle which in turn causes bogging, surging and cutting out. Try going back to what the bike was set to originally and take it up in small increments. What's you spark plug like? An old worn out plug can cause similar issue as to what you describe. Is the air filter clean too?

It'll be the headstock bearings. Either they're dry, notched or just worn out - quite a common cause of handling woes on XTs.

Most likely culprit are the sliding pins in the caliper sticking or providing too much resistance for both pads to return back fully. Again a very common problem on XTs. The caliper will need a strip and clean. New pins, rubber boots and r-clips etc are available cheaply on ebay.

Very difficult to patch up the paint in the engine cases without removing the motor and ancillaries. If you try and do it in situ, there's a good chance you'll end up making it look worse. Depends how much it offends you I guess?

As for the headers, the original metal is crap and won't polish up no matter how hard you try if it's corroded. Paint, no matter how high a temperature it says on the tin, will always flake off and look rubbish after a few miles in bad weather. Exhaust wrap always seems like a good idea and is in vogue at the moment what with the fashion for Brats, Rats and Steam Punk. However, it may look good when it's first applied, but once it's been on a while it starts to look sh1t really quickly! Also if you leave your bike parked outside at all, it retains moisture and will rot your headers away even quicker than they are doing already. If you want shiny headers then you'll probably have to get new ones from somewhere like OTR.

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Doesn't look like anything is missing or not in place. AFAIK the engine has never been taken down and the only mechanic I used so far hasn't touched the engine mounts. Thing is I can feel the vibrations in the whole bike not just the handlebars.



I will mess with the CO again lowering it to see if it gets better. Spark plug is probably the original one since I havent changed it (but I do have a new one on its way). I'm not sure how clean the air filter is, havent checked it in the last month since I removed the snorkel but will check it tomorrow to see if its ok (it has been changed 5000 km ago along with all the other consumables).



I found an earlier post of yours with these


I assume these are the bearings responsible for the stifness on my bike. If thats the case you just saved me a lot of money seeing the OEM bearing are expensive as hell.



Once my new pads arrive I will try and clean/check the whole rear break. As for the engine paint it doesn't really bother me but it does look like it has a disease or something I found a company that can coat it with the same silverish but it costs a fkin lot (something like 1000+ euros) so I think Im gonna stick with it for now.

Thanks a lot for all the help