The XL600 thread

[MentalGuru]

Originally Posted by cynicwanderer

yes, pretty much. I chose the xr650l triple, because it has a hole for the keyswitch and at least a couple of mounting tabs. as far as I know, '91-92 xr600r forks are cartridge vs. damper rod. xr400r forks are sweet, I have them on my xr350r, however, the XL wheel won't bolt on those.

'91 and newer XR600R's are cartridge forks and use a 17mm axle.

Swap to the 17mm bearings wheel bearings that fit with the later XR600R larger axle and spacers.

With XR400 forks one washer needs to go on the axle treads to center the wheel correctly.

[cynicwanderer]

'84-'90 XR600R are damper rod style forks that fit XL axle, '91-'92 are cartridge style forks that fit XL axle. '93-2000 XR600R, all XRL650L and all XR400R are cartridge style forks with larger axle. not all calipers/rotors are interchangeable, even if the wheel is fitted/centered.

Originally Posted by MentalGuru

'91 and newer XR600R's are cartridge forks and use a 17mm axle.

Swap to the 17mm bearings wheel bearings that fit with the later XR600R larger axle and spacers.

With XR400 forks one washer needs to go on the axle treads to center the wheel correctly.

[m2h]

Originally Posted by crobox

There are two "tubes" on the carbs that are a bit mysterious to me. I'm hoping someone can help me figure out what to do with them....







A: If you blow air into this tube it comes out somewhere inside the main body of the carb. I have seen pictures of other bikes where this tube is just capped off with something like an automotive vacuum cap. Is that the right idea?

B: Air blown in here also comes out in the carb, actually from the little hole that's visible about an inch to the left of the red oval in this picture. However, I have no idea what to do with this one.

??

Thanks

Mine have petrol hose attached and fed down to a securing loop on the right side behind the brake lever. Probably better than leaving them as is in your pik.
m2h

[m2h]

Originally Posted by Stretchah

Happy New Year Guys

Since I got the XL I've had intermittent starting problems and after replacing and sorting out quite a few of the porevious owners errors and lack of maintenance, it seemed to be getting better. I then noticed that the compression seemed to be really strong sometimes and hardly there on other occasions. I was thinking it may be a valve issue and the other week the bike died a few times on the way home and lost compression so took the AA for the rest of the way.
I dropped the engine out and yesterday i finally had the time to strip it down and here's what I found:



The intake valve seats seem to have sunk and one has broken up

You can see the amount of sinkage better on this one



Thankfully it looks like I haven't lost any of the seat into the barrel and the piston looks fine:



I've also checked over the cams, cam chain, sliders and Rockers and everything else looks fine, so, hopefully once I've got new valve seats and valves fitted all should be good. There's a local firm that specialise in working on older single cylinder bikes including Xls, so, thinking I'll get them to fit the seats and new valves and then I'll put it back together myself to keep the costs down.
Let me know if there's anything else worth doing while I'm at it?

Oh boy, now you've got me worried My compression seems to be the same
m2h

[Stretchah]

M2h, I hope it's not the same issue, but, it may be worth checking out to be on the safe side. Like Brucifer said I was lucky the chunk of seat didn't come off and cause more damage. The related issues I was having was that it would randomly die on rides too and was a pig to start when comp was low. When it was high I needed decomp to get over TDC and when low I could kick it sitting down without .

Something else to look for perhaps is when I took the carb boots off I noticed that I had black soot in the bell mouth of one of the carbs where the valve wasn't closing and the exhaust gases were blowing through.
I'll keep my fingers crossed it's an easier fix for you :)

On the upside I took the cylinder off and its very smooth and no damage at all, so, going to get a hone and new rings Dropping the head and Barrel into the shop on Saturday, so ,will keep you updated on progress, can't wait to get her back on the road

[brucifer]

Stretcha, did you measure your cylinder and piston? I had an XR600 cylinder that "looked" perfect but once measured was out of specifications, so I ended up having to bore it.

[Stretchah]

Originally Posted by brucifer

Stretcha, did you measure your cylinder and piston? I had an XR600 cylinder that "looked" perfect but once measured was out of specifications, so I ended up having to bore it.

Hey Brucifer, I haven't as my tape measure isn't that accurate ;) So, I'm actually taking the cylinder to the workshop too, so, they can check it out properly and hone or rebore as required, that way at least I'm sure, but, hoping for just a hone and rings. If it's a rebore I may look into a high comp piston alternative

[brucifer]

Originally Posted by Stretchah

Hey Brucifer, I haven't as my tape measure isn't that accurate ;) So, I'm actually taking the cylinder to the workshop too, so, they can check it out properly and hone or rebore as required, that way at least I'm sure, but, hoping for just a hone and rings. If it's a rebore I may look into a high comp piston alternative

Ha ha, yeah, you have to have a pretty good eye with a tape measure.

Well, good luck to ya. Here's to hoping it's just a hone.

[cynicwanderer]

mine runs better when B is covered with a plug. it's a vacuum port used to go to the big evap. can on my CA legal '85. there is a vacuum controlled valve in the can that is activated when the motor runs. it effects the mixture when you don't have anything connected to it and will drive you crazy.

Originally Posted by m2h

Mine have petrol hose attached and fed down to a securing loop on the right side behind the brake lever. Probably better than leaving them as is in your pik.
m2h

[crobox]

Originally Posted by cynicwanderer

mine runs better when B is covered with a plug. it's a vacuum port used to go to the big evap. can on my CA legal '85. there is a vacuum controlled valve in the can that is activated when the motor runs. it effects the mixture when you don't have anything connected to it and will drive you crazy.

Thanks.

Are you running "A" open, uncapped?

-Christian

[cynicwanderer]

A is a vent and I think on mine it just goes down in a tube in front of the swingarm.

Originally Posted by crobox

Thanks.

Are you running "A" open, uncapped?

-Christian

[Carter Pewterschmidt]

Originally Posted by Moparmanpete

Any one know of a windshield that fits, I saw some by Maier Mfg but don't know if they will fit right.
I need something, I feel like I'm wearing a parachute on the highway



Pete

TCI products makes one, as well as some other touring type accessories.

https://tciproductsusa.com/index.php...roducts_id=532

[brucifer]

Originally Posted by cynicwanderer

mine runs better when B is covered with a plug. it's a vacuum port used to go to the big evap. can on my CA legal '85. there is a vacuum controlled valve in the can that is activated when the motor runs. it effects the mixture when you don't have anything connected to it and will drive you crazy.

Are you sure "B" is vacuum? On my '84, it's the float chamber vent.

[MentalGuru]

Originally Posted by Moparmanpete

Thanks Carter, I like how they made the mounts for that, but the price .

Anyone make a windshield?


Pete

Is this what you are looking for??? I think they will fit just fine. The DR650 ones might work well also.

http://www.ceebaileys.com/honda/xr650lws.html

[crobox]

Originally Posted by brucifer

Are you sure "B" is vacuum? On my '84, it's the float chamber vent.

Bruce-
It seems to make sense (to me) that it's vacuum... at least on my carbs. You can't really see it in the picture, because of the angle, but "B" is a short bent steel tube which just goes straight into the side of the intake-side of the main bore of the carb. The place it enters is actually visible in the pic as a small hole, or port, in the bore... about one inch to the left of the red oval surrounding "B". So it does stand to reason that it's vacuum. It doesn't go anywhere near the float chamber, at least not on mine.

By the way, thanks for chiming in with the original answer!

-Christian