The Honda XL (and other vintage singles) thread!

Looking for a cylinder head for a 1976 XL 250. Planning to pick up a bike with a cracked head at the plug. Was also wondering what years beyond 1976 that would have the same head.

the '76 250 is the odd duck of the bunch- only made it that one year in the states... Not sure if the '76-'78 XL 350 heads are the same or not but I'm pretty sure none of the '72-'75 cylinders will fit and I know the heads won't. The bottom end is pretty much identical to the later 350's though as I understand.

Looks like I'm going to start with the heli-coil idea first. If I had any sense, I should go get a different year XL. Unfortunately, I don't.
Should never have sold the one I had.

Curious, are you sure its cracked? I've seen some with funky casting defects that *look* cracked but they arent... I think having one crack like that is pretty uncommon.

Not sure a helicoil would seal it if it is, they are basically just a spring so you would still get leaks through it, and if it IS cracked, usually the crack goes from the spark plug hole to one of the valve seats, and the heli coil wouldn't fix that. You could probably take it to a welding shop and they could weld it up, but you would probably have to re- tap the spark plug hole and re machine the valve seat hole and have a new valve seat put in.

I don't know for sure if it's cracked or if the plug popped. Bike's in Denver. I'm going to try to get the seller to send me a pic of the damage and talk to him again. He seems to know what's what with bikes.

1976s are centerports, there are '77s just not in the US. The 350 heads are different as is the upper case. So basically you need a '76 head or a non-US '77 head, or swap in a complete 350 engine...or repair the head. If it's not terrible you may be able to add weld material and regrind it, I had a 125 head back in the day that the whole exhaust port was blown out and split and got it repaired and it raced again.

Thanks. One problem is that the bike is 600 miles from here. Will have to talk to the seller again today and see if I can get some further info. I know that he has already pulled the head, so maybe some pix will help clarify the issue.
I do like that bike and dropping in a 350 might not be a bad option. In any case, it's a winter project.

Blue's my favorite color too. I *do* have a blue 350 if you are looking for a bigger project...

I could be greatly interested, especially since the deal on the '76 may die. Will know by tonight.

It's tonight, and the deal is dead. Too many unanswered questions, no title, too far away to justify the fuel expense.
Blue, you said?
PM forthcoming.

Back to square one. Looking for an XL 175 - 250 somewhere near Billings, MT.

Senior,
I've messed with the 175s, they are okay, but as it went on I learned they are harder to find pieces for and (imho) a bit under powered. Sort of a missing link that died out so to speak.

The 250s/350s have a much stronger following and will get you up to real world road speeds. Great gobs o' torque and easy to deal with.

And, if you really want a lighter XL, the 185s and 200s are worlds better than the 175s. Again, imho.
Check it out, the 185/200s have plentiful XR cousins and Poweroll has some real cool stuff for that engine series..

Just sticking my nose in where I wasn't asked...

Thanks, I appreciate the info. I had an XL 250 two years ago that I made the mistake of selling after I piled up a Kawi 250. Long story short, I'm supposed to be dead, but I'm better now.
But you're right about the 250/350's, so I'll keep looking.

These bikes are beautiful. I guess I must be getting old and sentimental about the SL and the XLs. Wish I hadn't gotten rid of this one. But, my foot still gives me problems at 53 from kicking this the wrong way, it would kick back.

Just pick a mid 90's XR100 for my kids to learn on, still have fond memories of my early 70's XL100 I learned on. Anyway, had my two boys do basic maintiance and can not find an oil filter. Do these motors have oil filters?

TIA

No oil filter, but they have a strainer screen under the right crankcase cover:


:)

How hot would an XL500 S run in stressful situations? i.e: hot weather + stop n go traffic, traffic jams, or uphill trail riding. I'm looking at one on Craigslist that looks pretty darn clean. My only concern is that I do a lot of city riding, which a lot of bikes don't enjoy. Thanks!

This was my Dad's 1979 Honda XR500. He rebuilt the motor with a Wiseco 10.5:1 compression piston and had the gas tank re-painted. He was only the second owner of the bike, and it had 6,900 miles on it.

I posted a quick write-up on the day tripping forum:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=901428

With over 150 years of age total, the only mechanical we had was when the '72 ran out of gas. My brother-in-law didn't top off when everyone else did. We bled a little gas from the other bikes and he was back on the road.

I have a 1977 XL100. Idle is all over, high then low then high. Usually high though. I checked for vacume leaks by spraying any unions between the carb and motor. No change while I did this. I have checked throttle as well as if the slide is in correct as well as removing throttle end of cable from throttle to be sure it is not hanging up. I am lost......any leads? Thanks.

Bill