Traveldri Prep
Adventure bike preparation and bike restoration services
TravelDri prep offers a range of services to support the motorcycle adventure overlanding world. Founded by adventure motorcycle travellers Max Jowett and Craig Carey-Clinch and based in the South West of England, TravelDri Prep combines decades of travel, engineering and industry experience to offer a range of services tailored towards the needs of the motorcycle traveller.
Our Services:
Adventure motorcycle preparation
Advice and support on sourcing and fitting equipment
Motorcycle modifications and adaptations
Supply of clothing and equipment
Ongoing support and advice
Classic adventure bike restorations
Both Craig and Max have long experience of building and maintaining older and classic motorcycles. TravelDri Prep combines this experience to offer a unique service tailored to supporting you if you have a classic adventure or trials bike which needs recommissioning or restoring.
We can undertake a wide range of work from full show condition restorations to refurbishing and adapting older adventure bikes to make them fit for further travels.
We specialise in the Japanese brands, BMW, KTM, Triumph, BSA and Matchless/AJS.An example of our work is here (link)
Contact:
Max 07970480803
Craig 07979 757484
Bike restoration
1976 Yamaha XT500 restoration project:
Restore an early Yamaha XT500 to near concours condition
The Bike
This 1976 Yamaha XT500 was acquired after it lay dormant for several decades. It was in very poor condition having been basically abandoned after being crashed.
Severe corrosion was evident throughout and several parts were in a very poor state, requiring extensive refurbishment and in some cases replacement. The engine was seized.
We quickly discovered that this particular XT is a rather special bike. It is one of the first 1,500 XT500s made by Yamaha and came with factory certification of its early provenance. It also had a mere 1,531 miles on the clock.
The downside of this being such an early bike is that several components and certain aspects of machine configuration are unique to this bike. This made sourcing parts difficult in some cases. Some items are now unavailable and machining was needed on items such as the replacement fork stanchions to bring them to the specification required for fitting to the original sliders.
Careful detective work tracked down unavailable original parts, with many of these found in the USA.
Yamaha XT500 Restoration (Before)
The Final Product
The finished bike can be described as near concours and is a great example of the very first XT500s. Restoration was undertaken in TravelDri Prep’s workshops in Devon and Cornwall, with our specialist suppliers undertaking certain aspects of machining and paint work.
More images of process to follow.