The XL600 thread

[handirifle]

Originally Posted by MotoChris521

I have a set of forks('85 XL600) with new seals,if any body want's them.I'm in So Cal.

You sellng them or giving them away?

I'm in Palmdale.

[handirifle]

Originally Posted by fully_geed

I'll be first in this great thread to welcome Joel back to the DUAL CARB tribe where RFVC engines love to play. Joel: your experiments are a true inspiration about tinkering with this great bike. Not sure why XL600's are so amenable to this process but they are.

Joel swung by my house in Oakland,CA on his way to Oregon late last year on this bike. Truly experienced XL600 guy here to be able to pull stunts like switching heads out, carbs, seeing how they go...shit. can't imagine.

Please indulge me with my XL-600. I'm taking it backwards in time in one smear, and then pulling it towards the future in the next:



subscribed!

That is really cool looking. I like it. I see a rear disk back there. How'd you do that?

[God of Speed]

[Zombie_Stomp]

Originally Posted by handirifle

That is really cool looking. I like it. I see a rear disk back there. How'd you do that?

Black magic!

Naw, he paid an expert lots of money (probably) to do it for him.

To his credit, though, even though FG doesn't know how to fabricate on his own disk brakes, he DOES do some amazing, top-quality fiberglass work. Check out his blog, it's amazing to watch the process of some of his parts being made, such as the airbox, gas tank, and seatpan he is/has been working on.

[fully_geed]

Originally Posted by handrifle

That is really cool looking. I like it. I see a rear disk back there. How'd you do that?

Originally Posted by Zombie_Stomp

Black magic!


Naw, he paid an expert lots of money (probably) to do it for him.

To his credit, though, even though FG doesn't know how to fabricate on his own disk brakes, he DOES do some amazing, top-quality fiberglass work. Check out his blog, it's amazing to watch the process of some of his parts being made, such as the airbox, gas tank, and seatpan he is/has been working on.

Thanks Joel. Right, I had a local guy do the brakes on both ends of the bike. labor wasn't so bad because he knows flat trackers really well and what to do. www.bankeperformance.com

IIRC The expensive part was the hub: because you need a cushdrive and disk tabs. so we went with a supermoto hub by RAD racing designed for a CR/F. Could probably have E-Bay'ed an XRL, or KLR hub for cheap, but if I had my druthers I'd nuke E-bay from orbit:

[fully_geed]

Hey Waterscm: those Avons don't look like they do so well in loose sand. Just thought I'd let you know

Tell us about the trip, where'd you go with all that gas strapped to the back?

Originally Posted by waterscm

[Gregster]

Originally Posted by fully_geed

Dude, that's AWESOME

[Zombie_Stomp]

FG, he took a trip around Australia where he lives, and he's only 19. I think he's got a ride report floating around somewhere. He really covered some miles, too.

I hadn't noticed the fasteners for your disk brake before, and I wanted to ask if your caliper has steel hardware behind the aluminum plate, or if it is only threaded in to the aluminum. It might be a good idea to use longer bolts and nuts on the back if there is room behind the plate for the nuts. I'm sure it would hold up but most of the disk brake calipers I've seen were deeper into more aluminum than that plate has. I'm sure you're much better off than us rear drum XL guys. If my front brake went out on me, I'd be F*cked!

I can switch to my XR rear swingarm if I can find a cush drive hub that costs less than the RAD manufacturing ones. I'm adamant about having cush drive because it is my deepest, darkest fear that I will get a stripped or abused countershaft. I don't like doing tranny work. I beat up a couple of XL countershafts before I realizd that I needed to leave more slack in my chain. Now that I have a chain slider that I made out of nylon, it is ok to let some chain slack slide. (Geezus, can you believe that the OEM ones cost $60.00?!)

Oh one more thing, guys, check out the sad little pile of hacked-off XL600 frame pieces in FG's disk brake photo! I'm trying to think of a good place to weld those onto my frame for a rack system. that would look so OEM!

Ok, ok, another thing. FG, I remember you saying my rack I made looks rally OEM too. I had 2 more people ask, "is that the factory rack that's welded to the frame?" I said, "no, I built that, thanks!" Then they asked, "is it welded to the frame though?"
"no, just bolted. This is only the rough first and I want to make more of them."

Then I described the revisions to the design that I want to make.

[Zombie_Stomp]

Oh yeah, I had a dream last night that I was out riding and I realized I had carelessly forgotten to install the oil tube that goes from the oil pump to the head and that I was trying to get home and was getting really edgy because of the sounds my cam was making, starving for oil in there. Then I looked down there again and either the primary carb, or maybe just the airbox boot, was missing from the engine too. I thought "so that's why I've been having crappy idle". In real life the holes for the oil tube would have been shooting out a stream of oil and the bike would not have run at all without a primary carb! I have some wierd dreams, I know.

[balou34]

Hello everybody, new here to the forum, haven't said much cause I like to research before asking question. Anyway, here is my 87 XL600R that I bought two winter ago:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a4/...tosenfants.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a4/...enfants001.jpg

Took it for a ride with my brother last fall 50 km of trails, its awsome could not beleive what it could go thru.

The plan for next winter is to clean it up and do a top end on it.

My previous ride was a beautifull Hawk GT from Honda that I still regret selling.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a4/...odivers081.jpg

[God of Speed]

Originally Posted by fully_geed

Hey Waterscm: those Avons don't look like they do so well in loose sand. Just thought I'd let you know

Tell us about the trip, where'd you go with all that gas strapped to the back?

theyre actually dunlop trailmax enduros, and at that moment the rear was completely bald and had around 35psi in it for the highway. i had just done a 1000km day hence why i didnt think to deflate it a bit, ie: my mind was melted.

here is the rr:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=424359

hey joel howve you been?

[God of Speed]

Originally Posted by fully_geed

Thanks Joel. Right, I had a local guy do the brakes on both ends of the bike. labor wasn't so bad because he knows flat trackers really well and what to do. www.bankeperformance.com

IIRC The expensive part was the hub: because you need a cushdrive and disk tabs. so we went with a supermoto hub by RAD racing designed for a CR/F. Could probably have E-Bay'ed an XRL, or KLR hub for cheap, but if I had my druthers I'd nuke E-bay from orbit:

looking at those off cuts of the red xl frame in the background what the hell is inside the xl frame? it looks like its got wood or something in it?

[fully_geed]

Originally Posted by waterscm

theyre actually dunlop trailmax enduros, and at that moment the rear was completely bald and had around 35psi in it for the highway. i had just done a 1000km day hence why i didnt think to deflate it a bit, ie: my mind was melted.

here is the rr:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=424359

I'll have to check up on that ride, sounds epic...1000K in a day? You beast.

and no, my frame is not filled with wood, but my fabricator guy had the bike up on wooden blocks that you see in the picture frame. Engine was back in my studio apartment at the time getting rebuilt...

[Zombie_Stomp]

Originally Posted by waterscm

looking at those off cuts of the red xl frame in the background what the hell is inside the xl frame? it looks like its got wood or something in it?

I could see how one might think that but I also see how it is that really light surface rust that first forms on fresh steel and looks almost orange in color... have you seen what I'm talking about before?

Subtleties, man, the subtleties...

[God of Speed]

Originally Posted by fully_geed

I'll have to check up on that ride, sounds epic...1000K in a day? You beast.

and no, my frame is not filled with wood, but my fabricator guy had the bike up on wooden blocks that you see in the picture frame. Engine was back in my studio apartment at the time getting rebuilt...

well, that was the longest day i was pretty rooted at the end, in hindsight was COMPLETELY ridiculous, i dont think the engineers at honda designed in parameters for anyone who would be stupid enough to punish a bike that much.

'my frame is not filled with wood' - thats going to go into my signature from now on.