help ive got a xt550 82/83 the one with the braced swing arm an i want to put on the road is there anyone with any service tec , service stuff ie; spark plug, filter stuff ????? or a manual for sale ??? im after any advice to get this bike on the road thanks, oh its got a spark now an again when i kick it over but not all the time ???? whats that all about??

XT550 ( 5Y3 ) Prefix

Spark plug NGK DR7ES Gap 0.6 - 0.7mm i.e 24 - 28 thou

Valve clearance Inlet 0.05 - 0.10mm ( 2 - 4 thou ) Exhaust 0.12 - 0.17 ( 5 - 7 thou )

Air filter i think is a foam type which you can wash out and lightly reoil

Hope this helps Tony

Heres a thought. Check out Ebay.uk for the complete workshop manual. Its on C.D. and will cost under 5 pound. I live in OZ and just purchased one. Just waiting for it to arrive.

I know this might seem a little basic, but if you don`t turn the petrol off each time you get off, the buggers wont want to start next time.

Also just depress the kick starter a bit to get the decompression valve open, then kick. It should be easy, you should almost be able to start it with your hands.

Cheers.

P.S

One more thing that we often over look, Check your Ignition switch. The switches on these bike are not that good, mine can give spasmodic spark and before I realized what it was, I was only getting spark half of the time. Now I just fiddle the key, just a little and all is well.

There are a lot of technical parts that can go wrong of course but check these small issues while your at it.

Cheers.