The Honda XL (and other vintage singles) thread!

[dorkpunch]

If the nut is off, and ALL of the other bolts are loose or out, try rocking the engine up and down while you try pushing the bolt out. If its not loose while rocking the engine, put the nut back on a little ways to protect the bolt and while rocking the engine tap on it with a hammer.

[pckopp]

Both the speedo and tach on my old XL have badly deteriorated rubber "cushions". These are the pieces that sit between the polished support piece and the instrument itself. One of mine looks like it was in a fire. It is melted and crumbling. Since these pieces are in such bad shape, the instruments themselves don't really mount snugly.

Item #8 on this page:

http://www.bikebandit.com/houseofmotorcycles/1972-honda-xl250-speedometer-tachometer/o/m9192sch396944

BikeBandit shows it as being available to order but $15 each seems a bit high. For me and this bike, anyway. Anyone ever tried to make one out of inner tube rubber or anything?

Anyone have a speedo cable they don't need?

Thanks!

[skorpioskorpio]

They're not melted, they're just made out of butyl rubber which is not a very stable material and breaks down over time, especially when exposed to UV. Same problems happen with speakers with butyl rubber surrounds. Anyway I just bought new ones, but considered making my own. I was considering making them out of silicon RTV, maybe waxing the inside of the cup and the back of the guage as a release compound and then just gooping it up and pressing the parts together to make the mold. RTV comes in black at the auto parts store. It's quite a lot of it and would probably take a week to dry (at least).

If you were going to make them out of tubes, maybe a rear tube, cut a donut out of it radially, long enough to fold it over itself with some foam inbetween the fold. Kinda Ricky Racer, but would probably work.

[rpet]

the rubber gauge cushions aren't available for my '76.

Last weekend I replaced the deteriorated and useless ones with some black silicone weather stripping (not sure if for doors or windows) that I had sitting around the garage. Worked perfectly.

[pckopp]

Originally Posted by rpet

Last weekend I replaced the deteriorated and useless ones with some black silicone weather stripping (not sure if for doors or windows) that I had sitting around the garage. Worked perfectly.

Genius! Thanks.

[rpet]

Skorpio (and others):
I just noticed an H4 halogen headlight bulb in 6v 35w offered here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-Thump...3#ht_965wt_922

http://thevintagespoke.com/Electrical.aspx

I hadn't found such a bulb on it's own, and it piques my interest for further headlight upgrades.

Lately I've been thinking about getting wild with one of the cheap 7" Bosch headlights, if I can figure out a good means to mount it.

(Side question: I wonder if the XT500 happens to have the same headlight diameter as the 70s XL250/350s.)

[Wadester]

Why stick with 35W?

Narva makes an H4 6V 60/55W

http://store.candlepower.com/bconah4ha60b.html

[skorpioskorpio]

A 6V XL won't drive a 65 watter with a stock stator, you'll just get a dim glow out of it, I've tried. You'll need a stator rewind to do that, and you'll probably need to regulate the rewound stator. The way the headlight is run on these bikes is pretty iffy, the high beam uses the highbeam indicator as a load resistor and the low beam has a load resistor mounted to the frame, this is all done because the voltage is all over the place and that is what keeps the bulbs from blowing. If you up the output amperage, you'll end up with something even more wildly variable. I run 35/35W H4s in mine with a 5 1/4" Cibie reflector, tried a 60/55 and trust me you'd do better with a candle.

[Pete-NZ]

Originally Posted by dorkpunch

I like the look of those tires- they look a lot like the IRC GP110's I have on my XL350.


not the best pic...



Kinda miss my collection.

Love the MT250 in front... Had hours of fun on mine..a life time ago..

[rpet]

Skorpio -
How is the Cibie working so far?

[dorkpunch]

Originally Posted by Pete-NZ

Love the MT250 in front... Had hours of fun on mine..a life time ago..

That picture makes me sad... only have the '78 CR250 and the '75 XL350 left.

[rpet]

Anyone tried one of these on a 70s XL?

http://www.oregonmotorcycleparts.com/BEC.html

My '82 had one (i'm not even sure what type), that works w/o any problems. All lights perfectly functional and zero drama.

[Mr. Ray]

Here she is all finished up and ready for action. This was taken in Jamaica Plain, MA two weeks ago.

[pckopp]

I just replaced the bearings and seals in both wheels and mounted a new tire on the back. Kicked it to life for a quick ride around the block. Sitting at the first stop sign waiting for traffic and I heard this rhythmic grinding sound. I turned around and came home. It is coming from the bottom of the engine right in line with the crank. Dammit!

Unless I find another decent donor engine, I think this one has come to the end.

It is this one, by the way.



http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=398283

I've had this bike 23 years!

[stiggs13]

Here is my 82 xl500r, rode from Lancaster to DV and back, had a bit of a glitch coming up out of DV may have overheated, the bike kinda farted some smoke pulled it off road the chase truck the last 20 miles to camp, fired it up ran to camp and road the next day 300+ miles. Seems a bit noisy in the top end or I may be super paranoid hoping I did not fark it up too bad.