Golden Boy - The '84 XL350R

[NitroRoo]

The transmission on my '00 ZRX 1100 went south last weekend, well, 4th gear, anyway. My ZRX is my main form of transportation, as we are down to 1 car at the moment. At 48k miles, it is also due a valve adjustment at oil change - so it's going to be down for the count for a little while.

Enter my friend John from the ZRXOA. John picked up "Old Red" a few months back, to try out the dual sport thing. Well, he must have really liked it because a couple months later he went and bought a brand new CRF250L He offered up his brand new ride to borrow as transportation, but the thing isn't even broken in yet, how could I do that to a guy?! So what else is in the garage? Oh yeah, that '84 XL350R.

"wanna sell it?"

"yeah I'd sell it"

and thus, "Old Red" became mine, and is now dubbed "Golden Boy." (The 50/50 dual sport tires say Golden Boy on them, which apparently is some obscure tire manufacturer in Taiwan. My riding buddy Trevor saw that and so the name stuck.)

I'd been wanting a dual sport for a long time. Having done the dirt bike/mx thing and the street bike thing, I wanted something that could take me back and forth to work, but wasn't too big or heavy to tackle the trails. I can easily avoid the highway on my commute, so I was looking at 450cc and smaller bikes. I wasn't planning on buying one anytime soon, but with the ZRX needing work and John's offer to help me out, I couldn't say no. The bike is pretty much exactly what I was looking for... I Picked it up on Saturday and haven't stopped smiling:


Hadn't been run in a while so it took a few kicks to get going (this is a man's bike: kick start only). After clearing it's throat and being run a bit, it starts up 2nd kick when warm, and 4th or 5th when cold in the morning. I just added some fresh gas this afternoon, so that should improve even further.

First order of business was to replace that fugly seat cover. John had a brand new XL seat cover that he gave to me with the bike. An hour with a heat gun, some pliers, and a staple gun (I only shot myself once), and the seat has a whole new look!

From this:


To this:


Not perfect but not too shabby. I added some mirrors that I had laying around in the garage (I can see behind me now!) and I'd say I shaved 10 years off it's life:



Just got back from a mini-moto adventure on my lunch break, and I've gotta say, I should have bought a dual sport a LOT sooner



I want to extend a huge thanks to my friend John for working out a deal for me, and keeping me on two wheels while the ZRX gets a transplant. Now, it's time to get DIRTY!

[MZRider]

Originally Posted by NitroRoo

and thus, "Old Red" became mine, and is now dubbed "Golden Boy." (The 50/50 dual sport tires say Golden Boy on them, which apparently is some obscure tire manufacturer in Taiwan.

"Golden Boy" is the name on Shinko 244s which are made in Korea.

[Yokomo]

I don't think they're putting golden boy on the tires anymore. My old one has them, but my new set doesn't. They're nice tires.
You gotta like the old Honda's!

[Stretch67]

I do love an XL.