Ahhh Man.... Well, Merry X-mas, another XR600 rebuild thread

Dad Shoes · Dec 24, 2010

I love motorcycles. I spend a good portion of everyday thinking about them or riding on one. Over the years there's been an evolution of sorts to my bikes of choice. When I was a kid I had a little red Honda. Can't remember for sure (everything was spray painted to my memory) but I think it was a little XR . This fueled the passion for the ride. When I got a little bit older I bought a CBR600RR . Just about wheelied that toy straight to the wreckers. Broke my back, punctured a lung and did some other awesome things that earned me some nice scars for my stupidity . So then I moved on to just a dirt bike. CRF450R. Pretty dang nice bike although I needed something for the street. So I bought a DRZ400SM. Built up everything but the engine which only had bolts on's. The CRF was enough of a maintenance nightmare and I needed a bike for the streets, not the track. But alas, that bike was stolen :eek1. So what now? I bought a wee-storm. Did a bunch of suspension and other comfort/protection mods. Pretty fun, although something was missing. I needed to go back to my roots. I needed an XR .

So I bought a plated 1999 XR600R out in So Cal for $1500. Seems good so far. The bike was stock and looked in good condition. This is exactly what I wanted. A bike with no issues that was hopefully maintained and in good shape. The gentleman selling the bike swore up and down that he bought it from his friend who had it plated at the time of purchase. That means I won't have any issues when the plates are being pulled. Sounds pretty solid so far .

So I took my new baby home and cleaned her up. Right now I'm in a bit of a broke phase so I planned on just riding the XR and fixing her up sometime later. No rush, it's a reliable bike and shouldn't have any issues.

The maiden voyage saw me out in Dumont Dunes ready to rip. I was riding with two CRF450R's and a CR250T. Let see if I can catch up? So we hit a wash on the back side of the dunes and I open her up. In fifth doing about 70 now. Why is the engine warming up...?... About two seconds of additional heat that I attributed to riding into the sunlight was my top end starving of oil. Oh oh... but there's more. The heat is followed by a locking up of my back tire. Seized piston. Awesome.

So I come to a stop and what do I see? My kick starter seal had failed and my engine oil decided it would rather lube up my rear brake than my engine . Great. Good thing I brought the 450 on the trip too.

So now we're onto a rebuild. I wanted to just do the engine, although my need/desire/passion/bad money management has swayed me to go the other way. I'm doing a budget rebuild... let's see how it goes.

Original bike when purchased:

Also, how the heck do I add more Pics. Right now the forum is saying I'm limited to one.

Dad Shoes · Dec 24, 2010

Since I don't know how to add multiple pics, I'm just gonna do some additional posts with a pic a piece.

Into the garage:

Dad Shoes · Dec 24, 2010

Some more pics

Dad Shoes · Dec 24, 2010

And a little more

Dad Shoes · Dec 24, 2010

And some more

Dad Shoes · Dec 24, 2010

This is fun:

Dad Shoes · Dec 24, 2010

Wow, this guy didn't like to clean apparently.

Dad Shoes · Dec 24, 2010

Oh... yeah, my now not running engine. Great.

Dad Shoes · Dec 24, 2010

So there is this guy named Jake in Riverside, CA. He is an old factory suspension tuner. Previously he did some work on my CRF so I asked him if he could perform on my XR600. I asked him if he had experience with the 600's. He said he was Johnny Campbell's tuner until Honda went to FMF. Good enough for me and the price is unbelievable. I've had suspension done on almost all my bikes and I think his work is some of my favorite. Not a pro rider, or a suspension expert, just a guy having fun. Although I am a firm believer that the first mode anyone should do to a bike is the suspension. My suspension experiences have been Suspension by Jake on the CRF, RG3 on the DRZ, Ricor on the wee and now Suspension by Jake on the XR600. Going off previous experiences, the 600 should be fantastic. More to come on this when I have a running engine.

Dad Shoes · Dec 24, 2010

That carb wasn't looking to hot. A little cleaner should do the trick. I also have a can of parts wash. I'm thinking of just dipping the carb over night, although then I will need to buy a carb kit from Honda. What everyone's thoughts on this? Should I dip the carb and buy the kit, or is the carb cleaner spray enough?

Dad Shoes · Dec 24, 2010

Looking into the garage.

Dad Shoes · Dec 24, 2010

Cleaned that mess up a little.

Dad Shoes · Dec 24, 2010

So what did Santa bring me this year? Let's see:

Dad Shoes · Dec 24, 2010

Oh buy lets unwrap it and see what it is:

It that powder coating!?! I think it is.

mcma111 · Dec 24, 2010

You know that the day after tomorrow your going to have to rename this thread.

Heres mine. Looks just like yours.

toycloser · Dec 24, 2010

Nice bike. I would learn how to use photobucket.com It makes posting photos much easier.

Dad Shoes · Dec 24, 2010

Let's see what we have for stocking stuffers:

Xr's only skid plate, Fredette chain guard (repackaged by moose), Moose shark fin, ASV pro clutch/brake combo, powder coated upper clamp, kick stand and peg bracket and some Plastic Renew! Wow. And not in the picture there was also the XR's only magnetic drain plugs and the XR's only temp dipstick. Oh boy. looking like it's gonna be a pretty cool bike!

Dad Shoes · Dec 24, 2010

Had to have the cylinder machined to go to the .25 over piston. I saw a pic like this one before (XR400 and XR600 rebuild thread?) so I thought I would copy it with my own version.

And I was lucky, the scoring of the cylinder didn't come out with the bore. It wasn't until the hone that it finally polished up. Barely made it, although made it just the same.

Dad Shoes · Dec 24, 2010

So that's it for today I think. I need to get some other work done. But stay tuned, there's sure to be plenty more to come. Same bat time same bat channel.

The head should be back from XR's Only on Monday with a cleaning, a valve job and some fancy new XR's Only valves. The originals were sucked in a bit so this could make a pretty big difference.

Also, XR's Only said my springs spec'd out, and that I would be fine running their valves with the stock springs, although do you guys think I should replace the springs with some new stock ones just to be sure? Let me know.

Dad Shoes · Dec 24, 2010

mcma111 said: ↑

You know that the day after tomorrow your going to have to rename this thread. I might try to squeeze a few extra days out of it.

Heres mine. Looks just like yours.

Click to expand...

 Steve,

Your frame is looking killer. Is this another XR you are building? What's the story. Oh, and I called the shop you use in Petaluma. They were great on the phone. Very knowledgeable. The only reason I went somewhere else is that I like to support local business and that is what XR's only is to me... well... more local that Petaluma that is. If anyone is thinking of using Steve's recommended shop for work, from the little experience I had with the, they are awesome. Very professional and very knowledgeable. Highly recommended .

So back to the build.

I've got a few questions for ya or whoever else wants to chime in, so let the learning begin:

1. When reassembling, do I install the rear linkage system before the airbox to avoid possible PC damage?

2. I cleaned the oil res with some parts cleaning and plugged the holes with golf tees (I've been reading you posts as well as some others) prior to powder coating, although inevitably, as you know, there is a little sand that makes its way into the tank. This build is including a full engine tear down and I can't afford to do it twice. What is your best recommendation for cleaning the oil res after powder coating.

3. Wheel bearings look good for now, although they are cheap to replace and I don't want to run into issues later. I kind of want to replace with some US bearings from a supply house. Do you know which bearings I should order? Size? Brand? Should I just go with some moose or pivot works? They seem more expensive than a supply house and they are Chinese.

4. The only bearing in the swing arm are linkage system that seems bad is the lower shock mount bearing in the linkage system. Should just replace that with genuine Honda? The rest seem fine when just moving parts around, up down, etc. Is that enough of a check. I didn't feel any play.

5. The Steering stem felt a little ruff. When I took it apart the bearings were almost dry. Could I just repack with say... Maxima water proof grease and call it a day or should I splurge on new bearings here too. If bearings, Honda or Pivot works?

6. And one last Q for the time being. Honda wants us to use their moly grease for the suspension on the steering head. That stuff is pricy, and like I said, I don't have a ton of money so I'm picking and choosing what I need to do right now. Will the Maxima waterproof work or should I spend the extra coin?

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Ahhh Man.... Well, Merry X-mas, another XR600 rebuild thread

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