Buyers Guide

Thinking of Buying an MT? Here are some questions to ask yourself. Score each one on a scale of 1 to 10

  Scale 1 Scale 10 Score
1 Need to jump on and go Prepared to spend time before going  
2 Need a bike that melts into the crowd Happy to be different  
3 Want to own a race bike Want to take in the views  
4 Need two-up in comfort Solo riding mainly  
5 Never want to venture off tarmac Want to ride all terrain  
6 Need a brand new/nearly new bike Happy to ride an older bike  
7 Never want to get hands dirty Happy to take bike apart  
8 Like polishing chrome Happy to only wash bike for MOT  
9 Need full instrumentation Happy with basic speedo+lights  
10 Need full weather protection Happy with naked bike  
11 Need superlight bike Happy with heavier bike  
12 Money no object Like to be thrifty  
13 One bike only, sole transport Like to have 2 bikes or more  
14 Get annoyed when things breakdown Happy to diagnose and fix  

If you score less than 5 on four or more of these questions, you should seriously consider whether an MT is right for you. If you just want a ‘winter hack’ to get to work and back, go and buy a Honda – for the same money you’ll probably get a newer, more reliable and less time consuming bike. BUT if you want a bike that will run through the winter AND allow you to play off-road; or if you want a bike that you could take on an expedition; or if you want a bike that you can restore to pristine military trim, supermoto, fast accelerating road bike, then look no further. These bikes are tough, heavy, and slow in standard trim. They were bought as a general purpose bike. As such the military specified them to be in a low state of tune and are designed to take a lot of abuse and, provided they are maintained, just keep going. The military accountants wrote them off over 6 years and they were expected to have a maximum service life of ten years. They were not lightweight traillie, other machines filled that role, and they were not intended to last forever. The other difference from normal bikes is their relative rarity. It is quite normal for total strangers, bikers and non-bikers to approach you in car parks, petrol stations etc and start asking you questions about your bike. It is commonly assumed that they saw service in WW2, yet MT350s were only withdrawn from service in April 2009. They will all be either beyond or very close to their planned life. The older they are, the more TLC may be needed initially to get them back to their former glory.

For some background and impartial information try these links:

Buyers guide from www.motorcycle.co.uk
Write up of MT500 by www.realclassic.co.uk
Write up of MT350e by www.realclassic.co.uk PART 1 PART 2 PART 3

Which MT do you go for?

MT500:
Service: 1984 – 1993+
Style: older, bit more ‘classic’
Speed: more mid-range grunt, higher top end
BHP: less than 32 bhp
Brakes: weaker drum brakes (adequate if adjusted and maintained)
Starting: kick start only
Luggage: rear open pannier frames with canvas bags as standard, rear rack
Fettles: there is much debate about how best to start them cold/ hot, which carb is best, what to do when flooded. That said when they are set up correctly and used regularly, they’re fine.
Common Mods: Frame modified to take electric start bigger engine, upgrade carb to Dellorto or Mikuni, standard exhaust to stainless steel, front end changed to MT350e disc brake. Installation of MT350e front forks and rear shocks to increase ride height.

MT350e:
Service: 1993 – April 2009
Style: very similar to MT500 but more modern feel with bark busters, modern panniers and rear mounted gun scabbard
Speed: weaker apparent power and lower top speed as standard but easily improved.
BHP: less than 32 bhp
Brakes: hydraulic disc brakes all round
Starting: electric and kick start
Luggage: front mounted removeable plastic, lockable, pannier boxes, rear gun scabbard, rear rack
Fettles: carb rubbers often split, carbs get blocked and spark plug cap shorts – all easily resolved
Common Mods: Carb & airbox mod improves overall performance immensley, larger engines slot straight in with little modification needed, stainless exhausts, forks slid through yokes and MT500 rear shocks swapped todecrease ride height.

Notes:

If you’re the first civilian owner, you’ll have to spend some time cleaning sand out of the tank and carb in particular, as well as a good service and check over. Both bikes use a safe cam as standard, so even if your cam-belt breaks, you don’t damage the engine, and replacing it is easy. Have a good read of the forum, you’ll pick up LOADS of information. If you haven’t already, update your Members profile with your location. You might find an owner nearby who’ll let you have a closer look at an MT.

So you’ve decided an MT is for you. Where do you buy one?..

From the forum: Submit a question, a member may have one for sale.

From e-bay: Some have been road registered and MOT’d and will have had some tlc since leaving military service. Others may have been bought at auction/tender, have had the minimum of attention and then be put up for sale. If they haven’t got an MOT, or haven’t been registered, chances are that little mileage has been put on the bike since its disposal. Perhaps they will have had a battery put on them, the engine started, short trial run and had a washdown.

       From Dealers:

Bikes from these dealers will probably have been serviced, and may even have some warranty, but will carry a higher price tag, maybe up to £2000+.

‘Direct’ from MOD :  

Withams SV is the official disposal company, (http://www.mod-sales.com) based south of Grantham. The final Tender of MT350′s was September 2011, followed by some being sold via online auction. There may or may not be more bikes via this route.

Auction: They say you should view before bidding. There is a description, some are runners, some missing parts –you need to have a good look to establish what is there and what isn’t before bidding. Also remember to add VAT

Bikes from Withams cannot be ridden off-site, they must be transported. They will also need MOT, registration with the DVLA and road tax. This involves getting insurance on the frame number, then changing it to the registration number when issued and buying plates. Allow £150 (?) to cover this. They will also need some work to service, see below, and replace missing parts. Withams advise that you view before you bid,  if you bid unseen you may be disappointed

Spares from:

Please Note,  KLMotorsport has ceased trading-2 Nov 2011 http://klmotorsport.com/default.aspx

Reliability

How reliable are MTs? A good question, but hard to answer succinctly. The oldest MT350 was built in 1993 whilst the newest was in 1997, so they are all getting on a bit. Even if they were just stored by the military and never used, age takes its toll on rubber parts. If they have been used, whilst some may have been used for trundling around airfields, others will have been used/ abused in more taxing situations. Some have been in enduro race teams and have had a really hard life.

When they come into civvy hands, some have had little more than being taxed, MOT’d, and registered. Others will have had a full strip down and been rebuilt to higher than original spec. The vast majority will be somewhere in between-usually with work done by amateur mechanics.

Some bikes are treated as a green laner, slogged through mud, drowned in rivers and thrashed everywhere, others have a gentler life solely as a commuter bike. Some are used frequently, whilst some lie for months/years with no use- a bike which is regularly used tends not to have too many problems.

Dependent on the skill, enthusiasm and dedication of the owner, and the use they are put to, they can be reliable, or not. Few will maintain their bikes to the absolute letter of the service manual. But then how many bikes of a similar age are maintained to those standards?

Are they easy to maintain? YES, and the forum will help a lot in this. Do you need to put work in to achieve reliability? Yes , especially if you are the first civvy user. Are they more reliable than a similar cost  5 year old Honda CB500 serviced to the same standard? Probably not.

The MT500’s are all older than MT350s so wiring looms, for example,  are more problematic, and all of the above applies.

So you’ve bought a bike –what next?

If you bought a registered, MOT’d runner, you might be able to treat it like any other bike. Look it over, change the oil take it for a ride and then try to stop yourself grinning when you get home. If you bought from Withams, the list of things you MUST do is short and simple to do, but the list you should do is a little longer. Things to bear in mind- these bikes have been dragged through sand/ dropped in mud on multiple occasions, so sand is everywhere; they are pre-owned, not pre-loved; they may have been subject to ‘field repairs’. A good start point would be to read the Handbook and Maintenance schedules- available on forum. Also, find Commercial parts list- very handy for checking what should be there and for ordering parts.

Suggested work list:
Basics:
Check all nuts and bolts are present and tight (jobs may have been left half completed)
Renew cam belt (easy to do-tutorial on forum pages)

Clean out drain hole in cambelt cover

Change oil and filter
Clean primary oil filter
Clean magnetic plugs on sump and frame
Clean and wash out petrol tank and fuel tap, and fuel line
Clean carburettor
Check/renew carb rubber mounts
Air filter
Spark plug
Clean/ lube/adjust chain
Grease swing-arm pivot with grease-gun
Check brakes, lights, horn, spokes, tool box retaining straps, centre stand springs
Moderate:
Change brake fluid-NB Unusual ball bearing in Calipers
Strip and clean/refurb brake calipers and master cylinders (NB Bleeding the front can test your patience)
Check valve clearance
Check/replace wheel bearings
Clean all electrical connectors, switchgear.
Lube/renew throttle/choke/clutch/enrichener (choke) cables
Then perhaps
Renew inner tubes and rim tapes
Change Fork oil/seals
More performance?
Carb mod; air box mod; exhaust system; change the cam; swap engine for 500, 560, 604 or 640.

See FAQs for further information

Compiled by Eric Jones
MT Riders Club Information based on opinion and is intended as advice and not instruction