I was reading another thread and someone was talking about their bike getting rear ended before he bought it. He was talking about the rear fender being broken etc. It got me thinking, I got my bike with a cracked tail light, the fender is broken and zip tied back together, the luggage rack needs a quick weld and the license plate one the title I received from the PO was different than the one the bike but the VINS were the same, and when I got my title it had the correct plate numbers. when I first got the bike i thought it was just a wheelie gone bad, I done that a few times and busted rear fenders in my earlier days. I think my bike might have been rear ended :huh Not looking for help, just bitching! the frame dont seem to be bent, i can ride with no hands just fine until i need some throttle! sorry if there is any typos, buzzing!
You never know when you buy something used what trauma it may have endured in a past life. The important part is that the frame is intact and tracks straight. My XL has been rear ended too, but I was on it at the time. It was fairly low speed impact that mainly mangled the taillight, but rear ended just the same. It happened on the trail, hit by a quad, ridden by my own wife no less. There was a blind switchback that I had killed the engine after exiting and was trying to find neutral and kick it back to life when the wife rounded the corner and throttled on hard. By the time she saw me it was too late and the next thing I know I was siting on her front rack and the bike was about six feet down the trail. I wasn't hurt and it really did look funny, and the more I thought of it the funnier it got so I had to laugh while she was horror struck and concerned that she had almost killed me. The damage was so minimal that I was going to give her a pass and not tell anyone else and claim that I broke my own taillight if anyone asked, but as soon as we got to camp she was admitting it to all, relating the story as many times as needed. I discovered other things as time went on about the past life of my bike. The most notable was a defective aftermarket air filter had been installed (K&N) and leaked dirt into the engine and caused premature ring death. When I got the bike I thought it was a little hard to start, and after a couple of rides I noticed that he had backed off the compression release cable to where it was ineffective altogether, and he had also removed the handlebar release altogether. I don't know why, maybe he figured it would have more compression or power without it. I could still kick it to life, but it got easier after the release was adjusted right and the handlebar release reinstalled. Later when I finally did the top end I discovered how bad it had been before because after sealing the rings and valves I could no longer get past TDC without the compression release. I can literally stand on the kickstarter with all the bulk I can muster and it wont budge. Runs better too by far. I hope you don't discover anything else horrible about your bikes past life other than a minor fender bender. Cosmetics are fairly easy to cure luckily.
Well guys, thanks for you all your help with everything, but I'm going to be putting my XL600R up for sale soon. Three bikes worth of maintenance and grad school don't mix too well, and I've got a practically new XT225 that I'm picking up this weekend. Just wanted to give you fanatics the heads up before I finish the fork seals, steering bearing, and speedo drive. 21K, very recent cam chain replacement, and basically a new electrical system and tires, to boot, among other wear items. PM me if you have any questions or would like to make an offer while I wrench, some. It's in Pittsburgh. If this is against the rules, my bad. Let me know, and I'll fix it. Thanks again, guys!
You going from a XL600 to a XT225? :eek1 and no matter how much wrenching you do, its stll going to be worth $1500~. The PO of my bike thought that since he had $1100 into the engine, it was worth $2500. Wrong! it sat for sale for a year before he dropped the price a few times. I got it at $1500 and that was too much. I've seen XLs in way better condition than my bike for about $1K in my area
The only reason I paid $1500 for it was cuz I wanted specifically an 80's DS XR600R or a XL600R. If I wasnt so picky and a lil more patient...... Get more bang for your buck with these bikes from the 80's!
I've been watching nice examples of these XLs sell in the 2 grand range on Ebay. Was at the Bonhams motorcycle auction and they had 2 80s XL500's there. Unfortunetly they were sold already so I didn't get to see the price. Did spot this guy hanging out in the parking lot lol.
Last November we were in Billings visiting relatives and I spotted a 85 XL600 with 1700 miles on it on craigslist for $850.00. Looked like new in the photo. Unfortunately it was in Wyoming too far away, too cold, not enough time, etc. I would have had to buy a helmet, drive 400 miles to ride it back to billings 400 more where I could store it till I came back later, but trust me I was very tempted. I still kick myself for not doing it.
Here are a few shots of my favorite DS, my XR! 2000 XR600, XR's only big bore kit, rewound stator to run some lights you can ride in the dark with! Some other carb I cant remember.... IMS tank and pegs, I welded extended cooling fins on the head after porting it, 2006 CRF450 forks with new springs and pro action valves, XR'S only head pipe and big gun pipe ceramic coated, excel wheels with talon hubs, oversized front rotor. Scott steering dampener, some other speedo/computer... I just got under way with my rear cargo rack, now has lightening and strap holes. I made some mounts to put the headlight on it, I can't remember where I picked it up but sure is BRIGHT, some LED lighting, bits here and there and the all important CA license plate! I'm sure theres more but its all fuzzy now! I will make some mounts for passenger pegs next, it has been a great bike that I will continue to enjoy for years to come. I tend to fully tweak and geek out on my bikes, and cars... thankfully I have some skills and equipment to do this!
Yeah, I know it's not made of gold. What XL's are though, are kick ass bikes. No matter how temperamental we know they are and however many times we get kicked back, or curse the heavens that the bike won't start because it's just 'warm' and not 'hot' or 'cold', I don't think there's going to be a bike with this type of character. I just needed something newer is all, and I got a decent deal on an '02 XT with 250 miles on it. One day when I have a proper garage and not a sidewalk, maybe. But now isn't that time. And that's really sad.
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/mcy/3629355380.html If I had a damned truck.... I imagine the tags are in debt in CA. but it would make an excellent parts bike! and heres one with 6k miles http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/mcy/3650398939.html
Hi Guys, Anyone have any advice on opening up the dia of the banjo bolt holes to allow a bit more oil flo to the head? I don't think this would dramatically reduce flo to anywhere else and may add a little more cooling. As always its good to pick the forum brains M2h
Your still limited by the hole size in the cam. The two banjo bolts have different size holes. The top one is smaller so buy another bottom one for the top. That's about all you can do.
I saw that thing on there. Neat piece of vintage kit. Looks much nicer than the Clarke one and the stickers are really cool. Congrats on that score!
