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

[DRZ400SM1981]

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 . 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.

[DRZ400SM1981]

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:

[DRZ400SM1981]

Some more pics

[DRZ400SM1981]

And a little more

[DRZ400SM1981]

And some more

[DRZ400SM1981]

This is fun:

[DRZ400SM1981]

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

[DRZ400SM1981]

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

[DRZ400SM1981]

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.

[DRZ400SM1981]

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?

[DRZ400SM1981]

Looking into the garage.

[DRZ400SM1981]

Cleaned that mess up a little.

[DRZ400SM1981]

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

[DRZ400SM1981]

Oh buy lets unwrap it and see what it is:

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

[mcma111]

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

Heres mine. Looks just like yours.