XCountry Rebuild

essjay · Sep 30, 2019

A few weeks ago I picked up a 2008 (black) XCountry with 20k miles and plan to tidy it up over the winter. At this point I don't know how much of a "rebuild" I'll do but I'm planning the following at least as the bike is quite ratty looking and probably spend a lot of it's life outdoors.

Clutch cover fix
New gear lever
Change wheel bearings
Change swingarm bearings
Change head bearings?
Change hand levers
Replace brake lines with HEL ones
Front master cylinder gasket and cap (it's leaking)
WP forks (they were cheap enough)
Rebuild water pump/replace coolant? (Anyone ever tried an aftermarket electric pump?)
Replace both brake light microswitches (neither brakes switching on brake light)
Service items (oil, oil/air filters, spark plug)
Clean up the radiator (fan coming on within 5 minutes)
Maybe give the engine/starter a lick of paint
Fix the dashboard/clocks (right indicator LED and "SET" button broken)

Any other recommendations to change out while I'm doing the work? Fuel filter, fuel pump, ???? Chain and sprockets look recent so they should be ok. Has a new clutch cable.

Maybe down the line might add....
Windscreen (maybe an R80GS fairing?)
Leo Vince pipe
Hand guards
Rear rack
Aux fuel tank
Rear shock
Center stand
Maybe a LED H4 bulb (hearing good things about the F2 H4 bulbs) and/or replace with a 7" Hella headlight
Heated grips
and so on....

GFJ · Oct 1, 2019

Be careful buggering about with your clocks (unless you know what you're doing)

The PCB can get wet which causes problems, in which case you can clean it up and spray with PCB laquer to protect (various threads on this).

The mode button is one of two microswitches, so that may just need freeing up.

Much more than that tread carefully; that circuitry controls your indicators so if they are working I would be tempted to leave well alone. There is no obvious replacement for the clock unit.

nicholsonj2252 · Oct 1, 2019

GFJ said:
Be careful buggering about with your clocks (unless you know what you're doing)

The PCB can get wet which causes problems, in which case you can clean it up and spray with PCB laquer to protect (various threads on this).

The mode button is one of two microswitches, so that may just need freeing up.

Much more than that tread carefully; that circuitry controls your indicators so if they are working I would be tempted to leave well alone. There is no obvious replacement for the clock unit.

If the indicator tell tale LED's are not working on the dash I did find a company in Sheffield that can fix them . They sorted a malfunction on an XCountry dash panel I had

Company name is NOVA Electronics , 700-702 Attercliffe Rd, Sheffield S9 3RP

0114 244 7257

nova-electronics.co.uk

GFJ · Oct 2, 2019

nicholsonj2252 said:
If the indicator tell tale LED's are not working on the dash I did find a company in Sheffield that can fix them . They sorted a malfunction on an XCountry dash panel I had

Company name is NOVA Electronics , 700-702 Attercliffe Rd, Sheffield S9 3RP

0114 244 7257

nova-electronics.co.uk

That's worth knowing John. Will keep a note. Ta

nicholsonj2252 · Oct 2, 2019

GFJ said:
That's worth knowing John. Will keep a note. Ta

Gareth - they were extremely good . I took the panel to them and they fixed it within an hour and only charged £30 . I dealt with a guy called Steve Daykin

essjay · Oct 2, 2019

Is it just replacing a resistor?

nicholsonj2252 · Oct 3, 2019

essjay said:
Is it just replacing a resistor?

No - from memory i think it was repairing the circuit board track and ensuring the micro LED soldered connections were sound

essjay · Oct 3, 2019

Great thanks. I'll take a look and if no joy I may replace with a TrailTech Striker.

essjay · Oct 6, 2019

First job done: replaced the front brake microswitch that controls the brake light.

Rather than buying the part from BMW which was stupid money, I got this from eBay for under £2.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/230800798717

Cut and ground the centre pin, soldered some auto cable to the other pins and covered the lot with liquid electrical tape. A little bit of duct table to protect the sides from the weather. I used M2x12mm stainless button head bolts to attached to the metal plate. Not pretty but it works.

King Rat · Oct 6, 2019

Have a look at the Scorpion exhaust before deciding. It isn't as loud as the leo Vince, but fits beautifully, and is UK made, near Ripley in Derbyshire. Saves just as much weight. Mine is stainless, they do other versions.

essjay · Oct 6, 2019

I thought the LV exhaust was the quietest of the aftermarket ones. I'll take a look at Scorpion. I had them on my old DL1000 VStrom.

essjay · Oct 6, 2019

Is the Scorpion a full system like the LV?

King Rat · Oct 10, 2019

essjay said:
Is the Scorpion a full system like the LV?

I just bought a tail pipe - the joint is by your thigh, you can see it in my picture, where the clamp is. From there aft is what I got from Ripley.

Schtum · Oct 10, 2019

essjay said:
I thought the LV exhaust was the quietest of the aftermarket ones. I'll take a look at Scorpion. I had them on my old DL1000 VStrom.

The Leo Vince is supplied with a selection of baffles, including one with a US Forestry Approved Spark Arrestor. I've got the quietest one in mine, as the other ranged from slightly too loud to offensive.

King Rat · Oct 17, 2019

My Scorpion is pleasingly offensive!

essjay · Nov 2, 2019

The bike lift arrived last week and so I've managed to get a better look at the state of the bike

essjay · Nov 2, 2019

Quite wet and oily under the bike. I can't see a max level on the coolant so don't know if that's too low. I'll be doing the pump anyway as a precaution and replacing the coolant.

essjay · Nov 2, 2019

The paint is in bad shape all around the bike really.

essjay · Nov 2, 2019

I wouldn't be surprised if this is an ex-BMW Off Road School bike judging by the scrapes and state of the bike in general considering it's only done 20,000 miles. The wheel rims look pebble dashed.

GFJ · Nov 3, 2019

Most of the pics look normal (ish) for a bike used on the trails.
Only one of slight concern for me is the oily engine one. I have had similar. Check the tension on the side case to crank case bolts. I have had a couple of engines where they have been a little loose, and the oil weep stopped when i tightened them.

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