Hello. I am a Canadian rider with a 1986 XT350. I have managed to take my Xt off the road as I was constantly changing and upgrading parts to accommodate my Off-Road riding. The only street worthy components left are my stock 428 chain and stock sprockets(front and rear). I find I am in need of more bottom end power to get me through the DEEP, DEEP sand and mud. Has anyone ever changed the stock XT gearing to the stock TT set up? I don't want to run out of top end at 50 kms(30mph) but do need a little more low pulling power. Thanks

I believe the only difference between the two bikes was the final drive. You could look up the stock tt and xt gear ratios to make sure. Old dirtbike mag issue said the TT would pull past 80mph with stock gearing. So if you make the swap to your xt, I think you'll be fine.

I had an '86 XT350.  If I remember correctly, I changed the back sprocket up one tooth and the front sprocket down 2.  Topped out at about 55 mph.

I think the TT runs a 520 chain, different carb, rubber rear hub, as well as different sprockets.

if i remeber correctly the aftermarket book lists 4 rear sprockets for a xt350. 50, 54, 55(stock) and a 62.  from what you are tellin us it sounds like you need the 62 or whatever one it is in the book.  www.royaldistributing.com  has xt350 listed in the atv book towards the rear with all the dirt bikes under chains and sprockets.


the 62 tooth one is not listed there but i rember seeing a 4th rear sprocket listed in the aftermarket catolouge at the dealer wher i bought mine.

The primary drive is in fact different from the XT to the TT according to my findings. Supposedly the secondary drive varies from 85-95 to 96-00 as well in the XT's. I am definitely changing to the 520 chain when I make the gearing changes to obtain the stronger option. In the Clymer they list both carbs (TT and XT) as the same TEIKEI part number. I think the clip positions and jets are the difference. I am a newer member and appreciate any feedback or experiences with good results. Thanks

im with you on the jetting chris,I picked up a 2000 xt350 last friday and its killer trying to find any usable information and aftermarket parts for it.Have you figured out what you are going to do with the jetting?I have a supertrap and a no toil coming for it, and was thinking about pulling the snorkel and adding some bullseyes to the airbox, but am unsure of where to get jets that will work.

You might try these guys for jets??
http://www.kedo.com/
Located in germany.
Web site in english.
Good luck, Corky     

thanks....anything is worth a shot...

Hey freezie nice to see another rider from the plains. I am running a Supertrapp and UNI dual stage filter with the snorkel on and no air box mods. I am in the middle of adjusting the needle for a little richer jetting and hope I can get just a little more midrange outta her.

let me know how that turns out..I have a supertrapp on the way, and some uni air vents to add to my airbox.Jetting is a concern, especially here, there is no-one to helpout and no place to get parts other than online.if the shim works out for ya, let me know where you picked up the shim,so i can track one down too.It should be pretty much the same as our elevation should match.

The TT has an aluminum swingarm. The XT's is steel.

freezie said:

Hey freezie. I should get her running again sometime this weekend. Kinda x-cited to see how it will all turn out. I won't be doing any air box vents as of yet, but I should be able to dial in the exhaust with the needle change. I will probably need more air to maximize the adjustments. Have you checked out the Canada forum? I used to write in there as well, but haven't had as much luck and support as here in the Dual/Sport.
P.S. You should check out Suggestion Box and throw your support into the XT forum idea.

P.S. You should check out Suggestion Box and throw your support into the XT forum idea.


will do..thanks..

freezie said:

Delays and obligations have set it back a week or so. Good news is that I am just about to order my 520 conversion.

thats another thing i am looking ito, my chain is stiff..last person didnt do alot of maintainance to the bike.I took it off and soaked it in kerosene and then lubed it up. But i am still thinking about the conversion.

I got my exhaust this week, put it on , and it is definately lean.I can feel it while riding,sorta surging and if i reach down and pull on the choke it clears right up and runs strong.I ordered a complete set of stock jets (should be here next week) and i will goto the shop and drill em out one size and try them(we have orfice bits at the shop)I will shim the needle as well.

From what you have read , do you think the secondary carbs main jet needs any adjustment? or just leave it as is?What do you think on its opening timing?

Because I did not put air vents into the box and only changed the filter element quality, I did not bother considering jet changes. Last year I ran 6 disks in the muffler, used the UNI instead of the stock foam filter and it ran quite well. I am still only going to shim the needle, keep the air box vent free for now and see if I can simply adjust the number of disks in the muffler and pull a little more power (1/4-3/4 throttle) from the needle adjustment. As for the secondary carb setting, I don't know the answer just yet, to that one.

In my experience once the chain stiffens up it is toast. Why ruin your sprockets too? Buy a new one. You are talking maybe $40 for a non o-ring Regina reinforced chain. If you wait and add in sprockets it will be another $75 on top of the chain you already know you need.

As to jetting, my XT350 usually had eight disks in a Supertrapp and always had a drilled out airbox. My plug did not look right until we went with one size larger main jet in both carbs. It also gained a nice little punch off idle by going up one on the pilot jet and closing the airscrew a bit. I can't remember how much.

This was in the 80's and the Yamadealer had all the jets in stock. You can't get to the airscrew until you drill out a plug under the carb. And my standard warning - DO NOT BEND THE FLOAT when you open the carb. It takes a special tool or hours of trial and error to reset the float height. On that miserable POS of a carb the float height is set with the carb ASSEMBLED. God only knows why.

ya i read about the float on those...i will watch for that...As far as the chain goes, i better replace it if stiffness is a bad sign..I can always look into the conversion next year.Thanks for the info on the carbs, i was thinking about doing both mains, now i will.Any ideas on the timing of the secondary? I have read conflicting info, some say imeadiately , some dont.

In my experience, if it is an o-ring once it stiffens up it is dead. You can sometimes get a little more life out of a non-sealed chain by soaking it. But I never was able to salvage an o-ring that stiffened up.

My '86 XT350 was adjusted to have the secondary carb start opening sooner. I think the linkage was adjusted to start immediately. I wish I had copied all my notes before I eBayed my carbs and shop manual. After three years my memory is going. And the guy that did mine really did it right so I tried to share. If you search on my user name for XT350 and jetting as far back as you can go and compare it to now hopefully it won't show Alzheimer's setting in.

So just for the record, my bike was bored twice over and had a higher compression Wiseco forged piston. Plus the air box was wide open and it was running a Supertrapp with 8 disks - sometimes 6 for more grunt. It was geared one tooth higher at the countershaft and STILL pulled hard until the CDI cut out. So I tended to rev the pee out of it. In other words,  all that extra fuel may not be needed for a relatively stock engine or easier use.