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Stage 1 XT modification
I knew very well the bike had promise, so I paid $800 and had Terry ride it to my house. Everything worked on the bike and it was last registered in Jan 2012. Paperwork was all good and once it was sitting in my workshop, I sat down, lit a smoke, looked at the bike and thought “ How can I turn you into a desert dweller, that eats the outback and all its harshness for dinner?”.. It took me more than one smoke to “ find the answers”… so after some careful thought I remembered what Dad once said “ Always ask older people things you need to know, because they have been through it!”. Well my mate Datto ( Tony Travers ) is not old, but he’s certainly been “through it”.. So within moments Datto was on the phone listening to my thoughts and questions and offering advice. It seems the first thing I needed was to get my hands on good, strong lightweight steel… So off to “Mitre 11” ( the dump shop or “recycle centre” as Royal Society of Victoria would call it )
Rack and Pack
My trip to “ Mitre 11” was a success! $20 bought me a strange square tube steel frame of some sort. Its 2.5 mm thick walls and 15mm tube ensured me of a strong but lightweight rack to hold my fuel and pack. But the buy of the century was this assorted mix of Ex-army “CRAPPOLA” I found at the dump shop. It consisted of an “Austpac backpack, webbing and 8 various pouches that would normally cost $25 per pouch and $180 for the pack and up to $150 for the webbing harness. I got the lot WITH THE METAL FRAME for $20. It’s time to turn this mess into magic… or is it the other way around? We’ll see.
Let The Sparks Fly!
TIME TO WELD!...So I took to that square tube metal frame with a hacksaw and cut some bits I needed to make the first stage of the bike frame. I was in two minds at this point!.. 1) do I make the carry rack on a workbench and simply bolt it on to the bike frame later? This means I can always remove it later and the bike goes back to its original state. But I firmly believe that welding would be stronger than bolting it down. 2) Do I simply measure/cut and weld a frame, and to hell with removing it later, because that’s some other poor buggers problem when I sell my bike as I plan to!... I held a committee meeting in my village and everyone voted I just weld the crap out of it.. So I did.. option 2 was taken…
I hate welding....
Let me just say for the record how much I HATE WELDING. I know there are lots of guys who can weld like it’s no issue. Personally I am not afraid to admit I hate the experience, and would sooner watch someone else do it. I had only had 5 hours max in real time welding over the 43 years of my life. But owning and preparing a bike like this meant it was time to buy and own a welder. This photo shows some of the steel I got from the dump shop, already cut and welded roughly in place. The side of the exhaust pipe required me to cut a longer width to clear the hot pipe, and I feared this would make the bike heavy and lean to the right as the left side is beautifully tucked to the side of the bike with 1 inch clearance. I made some mistakes during this time and I wished I’d used a square to really keep things straight.
Rack almost done
I hope you can’t zoom in too close to see the mess I consider as “welding” but it passed the hammer test when I beat the hell out of the rack. I’m only 60% sure the rack will survive a sideways drop even though I poured a large amount of weld around every join. I used galvanized chain link and welded them in place for the ratchet straps I plan to secure the fuel cans with later.
Tank Bag Option
Remember that Austpac I found at the dump? Well I pulled the webbing and harness from the backpack apart, and separated every pouch, bag and belt and decided on setting up storage for the bike in various locations. Going into central Australia for 14-16 days would mean taking so much more than food and water, and securing it on the bike had to be carefully planned.. Using the belt, belt comforter, and harness I was able to secure a strong “unmovable” web around my tank that was so strong, I could lift my bike up using it.. then I fixed what was the “bum bag” of the webbing as a tank bag, and clipped the two 1 liter water bottles to the side, complete with cup canteens inside the water pouch for cooking and drinking. Can I just add that Army equipment really is made so much more tougher than commercial items in this case, so I recommend the use of these packs if you can find them for sale.
Fuel Cans On
O.K please ignore the poorly taken photo here. No your eyes are not blurry; this picture is out of focus! With some of the covers back on the bike, I could see a preview of the bikes look with just the 2 X 10 Liter plastic fuel cans. I was told to buy plastic and NOT the metal cans as plastic deflects rocks better, and is easy to patch up if I get a leak or crack. However since this photo I found two 10 Liter cans that are the classic “Metal Jerry” type. I think I’ll be using them.
Bike almost ready
BIKE ALMOST READY....... 4 weeks later, my bike has the new heavy duty inner tubes. Brakes are all serviced and carbi has been pulled apart and re-kitted after a good clean ( didn't need it but good to be safe ). This bike is now ready for its trial run. So my next plan is to ride it 700klm away and see how it handles on and off road conditions holding an extra 20lts fuel. I have written to "Just Tanks" for the price of a 28 ltr tank to replace my 17ltr stock tank, but the latest update is they don't have or stock an adaptore kit for my 1992 XT 600EB. If anyone knows where I can get one please let me know.
GPS
So I decided to use my old waterproof GPS for the outback tracks, however I have since fallen in love with map reading again, so I'll take it with me just as another layer of safety, but I don't honestly plan to rely on it.
Visor
So I'm told that stones and bugs hitting you at speeds of 90klm per hour really hurt, and wind striking you at 100klm can quickly turn a fun ride into a nightmare. Therefore a GOOD rider would have a windshield. So with the guidance of my mate Datto in Darwin and lots of phone pics later, he talked me into 1/4" perspex fabrication. I have prepared a "montage" or pictures of me preparing and cutting, and finally bending into shape my new stone and bug guard.
Sanding Bike
Look I have to be honest, i HATED the pink "XT" written on my tank, so i decided to unattach all my crappola from the bike and prepare it for painting. I was going to simply paint it mat black, but as I came to learn while selling my quadbike 2 years ago, " If you paint it CAMO the price suddenly jumps up as if the bike is suddenly something way more special". In our City of Townsville there are two kinds of folks.. 1) those who WORK for the army and want to get out 2) those who DREAM of working for the Army but will never be allowed in. And its the second group that look at CAMO quad bikes and motorbikes and pay way more for the paint.. So it's CAMO.. ( even though I can't stand the patten after serving 23 years in the ADF myself.
Sanding Tank2
Watching Paint Dry
Letting the paint dry as the bike tank and panels sit in the sun, while i get busy putting a 12V power line up to the dash for a USB charger.
Tony's XT
For those of you reading carefully, you'll note this change to the plan. I recently bought this monster. Right out of the Army auctions my friend Peter bought this bike and sold it to me as a reliable backup. This XT600EB is just like mine but for some reason the army forgot to remove all it's secret shit from it. So it comes complete with "blackout" lights for night Ops, Simple "switch" ignition so losing the key isn't a problem, and comes with a SPARE MOTOR as well as everything for a second bike ( excluding the frame ). So now we've got lots to pick from to take on the ride. Tony will now ditch the Kawasaki KLR and instead stick to riding this bike so we all have XT 600EB's on the ride making it easier for carrying spares and tools ( one set for all ).
Tony's XT2
Tony's XT4
Check out the night nav lights above the green fork protectors. This stuff should have been removed lol! but God bless the Army AND the TAXPAYER I say! I'm going to tell Tony to ride with the secret lights on so I can see if the bike has "cloaking" mode so it becomes invisibible or some shit.
Tony'sXT3
The Switches that start the bike and shut off lighting for night ops. They also power a UHF rack mountable radio ( thankfully the Army DID remove that item, or else I'd be " breaka breaka rubber ducky, you got the bandit here come-on good buddy" while the army's wondering WHO THE HELL is screwing with their secure comms!
Phils XT
Ah the pride of the fleet. Phils 1992 XT600EB. This bike is simply "READY TO GO" thanks to the former owner Ian who rode this bike well and serviced it loyally. Ian's become a good mate of ours and is now onboard as a trip advisor and guide thanks to his years of adventure riding. " Ian we'd love you to join us dude! comeon! Pack your other bike up and blast off into the sunset with us ( as long as your wife says it's OK )... don't worry, I had to ask my wife too lol !
XT600EB
New Bike! I bought this bike for $600 from a bike dealer who told me it was broken beyond repair, and was only a “Scrap Bike” good for parts only. However 45 minutes after arriving from Rockhamton this XT 600EB was running like new. The same day I put new front brakes on the bike, freed the back brakes and serviced the engine. The original Australian Army saddlebags were brittle and hard from years of sitting in the sun under bike parts. However I used Lanolin spray thanks to Tony, and sprayed them heavily to give the leather natural animal oil to drink. It did the trick and within 24 hours they soft and easy to push back into shape. Now this latest XT 600EB is simply ready to rock! Perhaps the best $600 bike money could buy! " Some scrap bike Huh?".
3 Bikes
Because safety is so important on thi ride, I decided to personally buy and own all the bikes used on the ride. So ALL BIKES had to be XT 600EB's. I now own three, and Phil owns his own XT 600EB. This was a great plan as it means one tool kit for all 4 bikes. Our parts all cross fit, and fault finding is so much easier when you can check something on one bike, on the other bikes.
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