Inspiration

I now have something to aim for - a good photo of a restored 1978 XT500.

My XT will have to remain a work-in-progress for now as I can't afford the time and money for a full nut 'n' bolt restoration (and who would feel comfortable using such a pristine machine day-to-day?) but at least I know what it ought to look like.

Since mine will never be 100% original I'm also tempted to reproduce the über-cool "76-look" of the first production XTs, or even the stripped down TT model with plastic rear 'guard and no lights.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. I need to finish cleaning up the parts I have, work out what's required in order to make it run and get out on it.

P.S. If these images belong to you and you either a. object to them appearing here or b. want a copyright credit please let me know.

"When I'm cleaning windows"

The late, great George Formby was also a bike-mad Lancastrian, though whether he spent much time cleaning them is uknown. With song titles to his credit as "The Window Cleaner" and "Chinese laundry Blues" one might suppose he was not averse to a bit of spit 'n' polish.
I have been using slightly more aggressive solvents than saliva during the last few days to remove the layers of grime coating the parts of my XT500 - carb cleaner on...err...the carburettor, brake cleaner on the drums (drum brakes - yikes!) and good ol' Gunk on the oily bits.
Now, the 30-year-old carb looks almost as good as the day it left the Mikuni factory, the brake linings have been revealed to be in great shape as are the brake shoes and the ally wheelrims (which have been re-laced with aftermarket stainless steel spokes) look OK, too.

Oh-my-god-what-have-I-done?

You know how it is with eBay auctions. Sometimes that little "Place Bid" button looks so inviting, especially when you think you've spotted a desirable item and no-one else seems to have noticed? Well maybe that's because you're bidding on a worthless pile of junk, at least that's my wife's verdict on the XT500 I bought as a basket case a couple of weeks ago.

I, however, feel like a teenager with his first bike all over again. This XT500, a 1978 model, was a showroom model when I was just thirteen years old and me and my mates had motorcycle brochures pasted to our walls. There were Laverda triples, black 'n' gold Ducati 900's and of course an XT500. Other lads had posters of the Clash, Sex Pistols and Blondie but for us it was always bikes.

In the intervening years I've had plenty of bikes but never an XT "Thumper"...never, that is, until now.