DJW997

I had this problem with my XT when I bought it and at times it has been sitting unused for a while. If you feel confident enough I would get a Haynes manual (extremely helpful if you want to get your hands dirty and maintain the bike yourself) and look at cleaning the carburetor. My bet is that you have a clogged jet. YouTube is also very helpful! https://youtu.be/Vhej6IZWsXE I would recommend using a spanner or socket on the main jet though, not pliers as this guy does.

I was just passing by the forum for the first time in a long time and thought I'd chime in on this as I have had exactly the same problem you're experiencing on my XT125R and it drove me absolutely bat-s&*t crazy for two weeks trying to fix it. I even went as far as replacing the caliper and master cyl (caliper needed replacing anyway). I tried everything mentioned above, but this is what solved it for me: I removed the caliper from the fork leg, keeping all the brake lines connected but un-did all the brake line clips etc so I could move the caliper freely. I routed it up past the speedo and stood up on a step ladder holding the caliper way above the master cylinder so the brake line had no 'low points' in it, if that makes sense, so air wouldn't get trapped and could travel up freely. I put a spanner between the pads to stop the pistons from popping out and had an assistant pump the lever and keep the fluid topped up whilst I worked the bleed nipple and just bled the system conventionally - didn't take too long at all before I had a somewhat reasonable lever! After this I tied the brake lever to the handlebar overnight as has been mentioned above and had a perfect front brake! As for the binding rear brake, providing everything's 'normal' and the fluid isn't over-filled or brake lever adjusted incorrectly, I would imagine the caliper wants cleaning and rebuilding with new seals and possibly pistons depending on their condition. The seals should be cheap enough, it's just that you will obviously have to bleed that brake after you're done.. I remember speaking to a mechanic at my local Yam dealer when I was struggling with bleeding my front brake, he said the back is even worse, so have a think about that one It's funny really, I rebuilt the rear caliper on a Bandit recently and had no problems what-so-ever bleeding it afterwards. Anyway, I hope this helps you as I remember the frustration well! Keep us updated!

Interesting thought about welding and truing, I can get access to a lathe and a good engineer for nothing! I'll be going to see him when I get the head bearing race pressed off the steering stem, so maybe worth picking his brains on it.

I had a chat with the guy today, he has owned the bike from new and said his uncle was the last to do the seals, so he's going to try asking him to cover some of the cost of the new parts. (Rightly so imo!) I only have experience with simple forks like these, no upside down, no adjustment screws or anything, just fill with oil and slap it back on the bike, but indeed, if it makes your bike feel better having the pros do it, fair enough. They must know something. Does this method make a big mess everywhere when the seal pops out? If I didn't know the guy at all then I wouldn't even consider trying to patch it up - I'd be hesitant even to consider used replacement parts (depending on the part), but I do know the guy and I know he wouldn't screw me over like that. Regardless, new (used) forks will be ordered when I get some money from him.

Yes, very good point. I would have talked it over with the guy first and made sure he understood the risk, but yes, I'd hate to have that on my hands regardless. I took the other fork apart today to find similar damage, but not quite so deep gouging. It looks the idiot tried to get the seals out by stuffing a screwdriver between the sleeve and the seal trying to scoop it out that way. Did I mention both seals were fitted upside-down? I've managed to find a pair of used forks along with a steering stem for £50. Seals need doing, so I'll re-build those and throw these ones away I suppose. Let's hope the 'new' ones haven't been similarly abused! I'll let you know how I get on.

I used a big blunt flat blade and pryed up and 'walked' it out without appyling any pressure to the inside of the tube! It must have been one sharp screwdriver or they whacked it with a hammer.

Fill the low spots with what - chemical metal?

Yes, those are my thoughts. New sleeve is around £140.

The only thing with that though would be getting the bottom step right. Perfect angle etc.

Hi guys, I'm doing the fork seals on a friend's scoot and found a nasty surprise after I got one of them out: The fork did leak like hell, (hence doing the seals) and the seal itself doesn't look too bad apart from where it has sat against the horrible mess you see above. Would it be a bad idea to try and get some of the nasty burs off and use some kind of sealent to help it seal better, or am I just wasting my time? I expect it would only continue to leak. If it was my bike I would just replace the sleeve and poke the idiot that made the mess in the first place right in the eye.. christ knows how he's managed that.. but it's for a friend of a friend, and of course he's not going to want to shell out the money for a new sleeve. Let me know what you think. Has anyone else seen anything like this? Looks like whoever did it used a hammer and chilsel!

Thanks. At a glance, seems like the maroon 'general purpose' one is good for cleaning chrome and such, so I might give that a try. I wonder if they do them as a small drill-bit to get in between all the spokes and awkward places. I would love to just tear the wheel apart and do it all 'properly', but the tyre would have to come off and the wheel would need to be trued afterwards etc.

What's the difference? I'll keep an eye out.

Ha! Fair point. Ah, so that's why you use copper grease on brake caliper bolts. I really should know more about this stuff, I did a machining course at college the other year! Anyway, I had a go at the wheel with a used scouring pad & water. I hope it's not too abrasive? The spoke that I used it on cleaned up really well! I think they're just caked in chain lube. As for the rim though, it's cleaned the corrosion off, and it's actually got a bit of a shine to it, but there are little dull dark spots. Is this where the plating has worn off?

Woah, that's pretty damn good! Why don't they make this stuff from stainless in the first place?

Great, thanks! Is that from the TS?

Thanks for this, very useful information! Would my crank case be steel? Obviously the side covers are painted, but the case itself?

Is this procedure for polishing? Out of interest, would the rims and spokes themselves be made of chrome, or just chrome plated steel? If I was to do a proper re-spray, would I sand off all the chrome plating and spray as usual? I'll get hold of a polishing wheel and see what results I get. Failing that, I'll have break out the sandpaper & elbow grease I suppose! Is the hammerite to spray straight over the wheel as it is, no prep (apart from a good clean & degrease I suppose)?

Cheers guys, I'll try more polish the engine and rims/spokes. The swingarm can wait for now, I can't have the bike un-ridable for the moment. Out of interest though, what would be the process for prepping the rims & spokes for paint if the polish doesn't work for me? I wouldn't miss the chrome, black would be fine, but I just can't stand it looking all corroded and stuff. Do you sand/strip the chrome or whatever off and then prime & spray? I suppose, again, it would be easier to un-lace the wheels, but I can imagine that being a bit of a ball ache to re-lace and true up afterwards!

Hey guys, Was wondering what would be the best way for me to clean up the tarnish & corrosion from various places on my bike. I've tried Brasso wadding on the rims, spokes & engine, but it doesn't really seem to do anything. The rims and the spokes should be a mirror-like finish. In one of the pictures below, you can see where I used some wire wool on the starter motor, and the spot that I did cleaned it up really nicely, but I'm not sure if it's the best material to be using. Would it be taking off too much material, like the zinc coating, or whatever is used to protect the metal from rust & corrosion, etc.? Nasty looking rim and spokes. A bit of corrosion & tarnish on the caliper. Is there any way of saving the swingarm from the rust without re-spraying the whole thing? Starter motor after a bit of wire wool. Some more tarnish on the engine. Do I need to use something lightly abrasive or something to remove this stuff, or does it just need a lot of polish & even more elbow grease? Maybe one of those polishing bits for an electric drill or dremel? Any thoughts or tips are gratefully recieved! Thanks guys.

First let the bike fully warm up (take it for a ride) and make sure it has the proper idle speed 1300-1500 RPM with no choke. On my XT I leave the choke on full for at least 1 minute before the bike will tick-over without choke from a cold start, and even then it idles low and bogs when I start riding, so I use full choke to pull away from a junction, and when I get on a straight I knock it off half-way. After a few miles you should be good to knock it off completely and have proper throttle response. If not, you might want to clean your carb paying particular attention to the jets. Hope this helps.

Carb cleaner

Hey - I have a XT 125 R and had the same problem when I first got the bike. I took carb apart and gave it a good clean and adjusted the mixture slightly (as it bogged when pulling away after cleaning) solved the problem. Other things to try before this are to check the air filter & take out the spark plug and see what colour it is - this will give you an idea to what your mixture is like. If it's black and sooty then you're too rich or if it's white and sort of glazed then too lean. If you want to adjust the mixture, there's a screw on the bottom of the carb, really awkward to access but easiest done from the right side of the bike with a 1/4" ratchet with a flat blade attachment. I had to leave the choke on for about 10-15 minutes when I'd just got the bike - before cleaning the carb - now it only needs 5 minutes (2 standing warming up and then just half choke for 3 mins riding). So a dirty carb is probably your problem, but check the simple things first! Hope this helps.

I should be, yes! Thanks.

Update no. 10783736645445.6 (pretty sure this is the last ) I now have a front brake again! Just kept perservering with the bleeding, tried a different method - (open nipple, squeeze lever, close nipple, release lever)opposed to pump 4 times, open, close, release. This seemed to pump the fluid through a lot quicker, and of course the air bubbles. So - thanks to everyone that posted, I really do appreciate you taking your time to help me out, so I thought I'd link a video from YouTube of me starting the bike (after sitting for about 3 weeks due to the brake issues). It's nothing special, but I thought it would show my appreciation of your help It does look to be running a bit rough, but it's not - I'm just being impatient with the choke as it does sound rather nice when it's ticking over around 1300 Thanks again guys.

I'll have another bleeding sesh today and tie the lever back overnight! Thanks for the advice!