XRL owners sign in.

[ltcole]

Thank you everyone for the excellent pictures showing the dipstick measurements. That helps out a lot, and I am happy to report I have been running it right at the stock full level just by dumb luck.

bwalsh the reason that link probably didn't work was because I ordered that part as soon as that link was posted. I will be happy to have the suspension back to stock....... Major reason, I don't feel like doing all the other adjustments to the suspension with the lowering link installed. I researched this subject quite a bit and saw several reports that if those adjustments weren't made it made the bike handle a little funky.

On another note, I have had my XRL a little over a month now and have officially logged my first 1000 miles. Pretty easy to do out here in NM though, and most of those miles have been slab miles. Along with my daily commute of ~40 miles roudtrip, I also logged another ~150 miles on Friday, with ~40 of those being offroad.

I changed the oil around 600 miles ago, and changed from the honda 10/40W part synthetic to Mobil full synthetic 20/50w. Needless to say, I have run the bike at 75 to 80 mph for at least 15 minutes at a time, and my highest temp has been about 270. Also, I have not "lost" any oil since I did the oil change. My bike really likes to cruise at 70mph, and my temp sits between 250 and 255. It might help that I went to a 40 tooth sprocket and the plug the owners manual recommends for a lot of highway riding. I see between 48 and 52 miles per gallon so far, but that seems to be influenced by how often I roll on the throttle hard (who would have thought?!?!?!?!).

This thread has been a huge help to this new comer, when it stays on subject that is.

Thanks again, happy trails.

[KyoXR]

Apparently these are new hot off the press, (what I have read anyway).
they won't do me any good with my 320mm front rotor...

http://www.maier-mfg.com/catalog/hon...orkdisc-guards

Fork/ Disc guards.

[Barron]

Originally Posted by ltcole

...It might help that I went to a 40 tooth sprocket...

What size front sprocket do you have? When I went to a 40 tooth rear with a 15 front the bike was sluggish as hell pulling off (my bike was still OEM as far as the engine went then)... it just felt like too much for the bike. I went to a 43 for a while and liked that but got sick of it robbing the ratio from the rest of the gears just for commuting. So I went back to a 45tooth rear with a NX650 5th which handles every bit of legal speed limits with ease and still has the umpf in the first 4 gears... but now that I'm in Japan and the speed limit on most of the roads I I ride on is only 37MPH (50KPH) I'm changing it up again

1. For more "fun" and off-road ability
2. To keep me from speeding every time I shift into 4th gear (I'm still gonna have to watch it though)

-Barron

[ADV BUM]

Barron it seems the nx650 5th gear is hard to get here. Do you have a good source to get over there. Also the 2nd gear. I am not sure if you can use the xr600 2nd or have to use the Nx.

[Spud Rider]

Originally Posted by ADV BUM

Barron it seems the nx650 5th gear is hard to get here. Do you have a good source to get over there. Also the 2nd gear. I am not sure if you can use the xr600 2nd or have to use the Nx.

The NX650 second gear is very easy to purchase in the United States. The NX650 was imported into the United States in 1988-1989. The NX650 second gear, part #23421-MN9-010 will close the gap between 1st and 2nd gear in the stock transmission. The NX650 second gear is part #5 in the following diagram.



Spud

[ADV BUM]

Thanks Spud, what about the elusive 5th?

[Spud Rider]

Originally Posted by ADV BUM

Thanks Spud, what about the elusive 5th?

The FMX650 was never imported into the United States. Therefore, you can only obtain the FMX650 fifth gear from either Europe or Japan. For XR650L owners, replacing the stock fifth gear on the countershaft with the FMX650 fifth gear, part #23491-MW2-780, will increase the gap between 4th and 5th gear in the stock transmission, allowing lower engine rpms in fifth gear. The FMX650 fifth gear is part #16 in the following diagram.



I have heard you can acquire the FMX650 fifth gear from the following website in Japan.

http://www.motobike.jp/

Apparently the vendor above will acquire part #23491-MW2-780, and mail it to your U.S. Postal Service address for a fee of approximately $120.

Spud

[beechum1]

Has that joe guy quit pissing on the bushes then?

[Ironman2001]

Originally Posted by Brown Falcon

I wish I could afford to do that. Maybe someday. It would sure be nice to have a dedicated set of dirt knobbies and some good sticky street rubbers on separate rims.

A set of 17's with street tires would be awesome to swap on for pavement duty!

I have a 21 front and 18 rear on both sets. I don't have to worry about relocating brake calipers or machining parts to fit.

[KyoXR]

I forgot to weigh them minus the stock shields to see how much weight I'm adding.

I'm not sure what was going on with the pain of me installing these but I found I only have mere millimeters between the bar clamps and the tank,



Am I the only one who has tried to put Cycra Pro bends on a XRL with stock bars and a 4.7 Clarke tank? because the shields would hit the tank and I had to trim them.







The other problem I had was the Russel braided front brake line has a funky angle to it and is hitting the brace.
I will probably modify the line stop on the master cylinder so I can rotate the brake line for better clearance...but not today...



on another subject:

out with the old:



in with the new:



So far I like the looks of the Surge-I and I like how it's taller, even though it's a bit more narrow then the Scorpion Pro, I haven't ridden with it yet and I still need to re-calibrate my Vapor because of the added height.




found this during R/R of the front tire:
cracked speedo housing.

[Spud Rider]

Originally Posted by KyoXR

...out with the old:

...in with the new:



So far I like the looks of the Surge-I and I like how it's taller, even though it's a bit more narrow then the Scorpion Pro, I haven't ridden with it yet and I still need to re-calibrate my Vapor because of the added height.

...

You're going to like the Surge I, front tire, Kyo. However, don't be surprised if you notice the narrower front tire turns in more quickly than the older, wider tire.

To get maximum mileage from this aggressive tire, I recommend you rotate the tire every 2,000 miles when you change the engine oil. Also, the tire will last much longer if you keep the pressure at 26 psi, at least while riding on pavement.

Spud

[Lost on Row 1]

Originally Posted by ltcole

I will be happy to have the suspension back to stock....... Major reason, I don't feel like doing all the other adjustments to the suspension with the lowering link installed. I researched this subject quite a bit and saw several reports that if those adjustments weren't made it made the bike handle a little funky.

What kind of link do you have? Are you wanting to swap out for a stock link? If so I am interested. Let me know.

Dave

[ONandOFF]

Originally Posted by Sierra Thumper

... I am going to check my static sag, the suspension was set up for the po who was quite a bit heavier than me, so I'm prolly not getting the proper sink when I sit on the bike. ...

It's worth checking. Don't forget, the static sag is measured as the vertical difference between the suspension fully extended, and where it rests with you sitting completely on it, feet on pegs. Kinda challenging without a helper. It should be a tad under four inches, or about 10cm. Needn't be perfectly on, just close. And it's possible there's a more optimal number for when you have a particular lowering link on, I don't know. Here's a very thorough description of how to proceed..

[techforlife]

Originally Posted by bwalsh

What? No Bacon?

I`ll check with the chef.......don`t recall


B

[techforlife]

Originally Posted by ONandOFF

Got some good dark beers up there? I'm drinking a coffee stout by Hardywood Park Brewery in Richmond my son brought; feels good

Dave was here between his two visits to you and spoke kindly of you and your wife. You were very generous to take care of him in his time of great need. My admiration really goes out to you for that!

If I don't get up there first, y'all come by here!

It was a great time.for both of us,,we enjoyed his company...love to do something like that again...dark beer eh.........alrighty then,,i can manage that me thinks..

B