Customizing a XL600R into a Cafe Racer/Street tracker to ride South

[speedmonkey7]

Originally Posted by MagneticSouth

Thanks, good to know..

I bought some new carbs off ebay and they just arrived yesterday..
They have 115 jets, the stock is 120 and high altitude is supposed to be 112,
I found one 112 main jet as a spare that i could use on the primary carb at altitude but hopefully 115 will be a happy medium?
Ive never rode up mountains on a bike, it will probably do better than i did when i hiked machu picchu a few years ago.

I'm not 100% on how those dual carb bikes run, but that makes sense to me. The only thing I'd be worried about is that usually the factories deliver their bikes pretty lean, so if the stock 120 is already lean, a 115 might be a bit too lean at lower elevations, and lean scares me having burned up some of my old 2 stroke race bikes. Maybe some other guys that know the dual carb bikes can chime in?

[MagneticSouth]

Originally Posted by speedmonkey7

I'm not 100% on how those dual carb bikes run, but that makes sense to me. The only thing I'd be worried about is that usually the factories deliver their bikes pretty lean, so if the stock 120 is already lean, a 115 might be a bit too lean at lower elevations, and lean scares me having burned up some of my old 2 stroke race bikes. Maybe some other guys that know the dual carb bikes can chime in?

The carbs i bought off ebay was off an 85, it came stock 115. My bike is an 84 and the stock jets are suposed to be 120, but the guy i bought it had 130's and a different muffler.
Put in the new carbs today and she started up second kick
Idle sounded good and she warmed up nicely, so hopefully the 115 jets are ok.
Would be good if someone had more info on running lean like you mentioned.
Just have to do some work on the electrics and a few adjustments and she will be ready for a test ride

[MagneticSouth]

It has been a year since i started this trip, this is the third time in the United States in the past 13 months, no wonder they gave me a hard time at the border...



i leave sydney for the 3rd time to try and start this motorcycle adventure South.



the new office space... bright and well ventilated at the least.



After removing the oil again, the engine comes out for the third time to take the rocker cover off.



Doh!!! Just my luck i cracked something removing the cover.



Eventually we got there... Daniel swapping over the rockers to replace a new cover.

[MagneticSouth]

wrapping the exhaust

after putting it all back together and yet another new oil change we warmed her up.. a leak!

Oil was seeping out of the stator side cover through the rubber grommet that came with the new ricky stator i had replaced.



I layed her down in the gutter, and had to operate yet again, opened up the cover and RTV'd around the grommet and the new paper gasket... there was no way that grommet was gonna hold back hot oil, I think ricky should have mentioned this with the instructions really.



the test ride will have to wait another day

[MagneticSouth]

I am still in search of a welder in LA..
My Wolfman side racks and pannier bags are in the mail

Im still contemplating which top box system with a lockable hard case i should get..

I could mount the top box straight to my top rack or I was thinking of using this DIY top case system with an aluminium mounting plate that i could attach to my existing top rack just in case i want to take it off easily.

Can anyone recommend either the Happy trails top box

http://www.happy-trail.com/Products/...TB10-7-29.aspx

Pelican top box

http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/5572

or caribou cases

http://www.cariboucases.com/store/?name=Home

[GSequoia]

Originally Posted by MagneticSouth

I am still in search of a welder in LA..
My Wolfman side racks and pannier bags are in the mail

Im still contemplating which top box system with a lockable hard case i should get..

I could mount the top box straight to my top rack or I was thinking of using this DIY top case system with an aluminium mounting plate that i could attach to my existing top rack just in case i want to take it off easily.

Can anyone recommend either the Happy trails top box

http://www.happy-trail.com/Products/...TB10-7-29.aspx

Pelican top box

http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/5572

or caribou cases

http://www.cariboucases.com/store/?name=Home

If you can't find anybody else I can burn it together but it won't be pretty, I'll try to make it strong though. Only issue is I'm pretty swamped for the next couple weeks iwth family commitments.

I'm down in Torrance.

[EmilianoXR650L]

!!!!! como decimos por aqui ..... la tercera es la vencida !!!!!!

[beechum1]

Originally Posted by EmilianoXR650L

!!!!! como decimos por aqui ..... la tercera es la vencida !!!!!!

ASI ES!! fugar a la chingada

[MagneticSouth]

Originally Posted by GSequoia

If you can't find anybody else I can burn it together but it won't be pretty, I'll try to make it strong though. Only issue is I'm pretty swamped for the next couple weeks iwth family commitments.
I'm down in Torrance.

Thanks for the offer, if i cant find anyone this week it will have to wait another week afterwards because im off to NY on saturday for a week or two..
Im waiting to speak to a few guys tomorrow at some garages i dropped in today, and see how much they might charge. Its all adding up having to custom pieces together...
If you could burn them together maybe i could get them finished when i get to mexico?
Will see, cheers.

Originally Posted by EmilianoXR650L

!!!!! como decimos por aqui ..... la tercera es la vencida !!!!!!

hola Emilliano...Lets hope the third time doesnt kill me.

Originally Posted by beechum1

ASI ES!! fugar a la chingada

Im trying, im trying..

hey jeremy, do you have any idea how much welders charge per hour down in mexico?

[beechum1]

Originally Posted by MagneticSouth

hey jeremy, do you have any idea how much welders charge per hour down in mexico?

you can usually pay them in beers or tacos!!

[KHVol]

Very unique RR...loving it....have some stars

[MagneticSouth]

Originally Posted by beechum1

you can usually pay them in beers or tacos!!

Hmmm beer and tacos, that happens to be one of my preferred currencies..

I will try to get a simple spot weld here to get them on and get them to finish them off when i cross the border.

Originally Posted by KHVol

Very unique RR...loving it....have some stars

Some so-called RnR huh.. Its probably the longest prelude to a ride report and i still havent even started the ride yet.

I really gotta get my ass in gear, somehow my things to do list seems to get longer everyday.

[MagneticSouth]

Everytime i do some work on the bike i seem to get flashes of dejavu .

My tank has been sitting here for 3 months and after alot of work getting the rust out, of course its back..
I had to buy some more evaporust to clean it out again..
Heres a pic showing the rust line after some evaporust. Its good stuff.






Last time i changed the fork oil but didnt have time to change the seals, so when i got back they had been leaking...
So i took it all apart again and changed the seals..


I finally put it all back together and ran the new second hand carbs i bought on ebay.. It runs well enough on take off but mid throttle bogs and hesitates till full throttle then it goes...
I think i might have to do another carb clean.. doh!

[Mike_drz]

Originally Posted by MagneticSouth

Of course i wasn't going to listen to peoples advice that you shouldn't be doing that sort of trip with a Cafe racer i head off in search for adventure...



Bondi Beach Sydney




First night i arrived in the Blue Mountains a lil late searching for a particular climbing spot called the Pump House. It was only around 110km (70miles) but i was preety tired just getting used to riding a thumper Cafe Style..Eventually i found the unmarked turn off and rode down the dirt track and found the overhang popular with day tripping climbers..I made a giant fire and was able to do some climbing (bouldering) under campfire light...



Strange lizard, i was tempted to pick it up, it crawled almost slithered out from the darkness akwardly as though it was having trouble dragging its stumpy tale around...



First use of the new camp stove


New tent and sleeping mat


the over hang was great coz it was really windy and rained but i was still able to make my campfire and do some climbing :)


the guys that i bought all my new camp equiptment told me about this bouldering wall that i could stop off at, i dont think ppl normally camp down there, i was lucky enough to get my bike down into the little valley and set up in the middle of the night...






Off to another late start, just wanted to take in the view.


Dubbo, thats as far west ive been in the past...




Couldnt find a place to stay outside naromine... found myself riding through locusts in the early evening and was warned about the kangaroos on the road that time of night, not the best time to be looking for a place to camp in the middle of the night.Found a dirt road off the highway to turn off...


Didn't have time to think about snakes, was just happy to find a place to camp.



Heading West


This was the longest stretch of Kangaroo warning that id seen.

It's some real adventure you were having there!

[MagneticSouth]

Originally Posted by Mike_drz

It's some real adventure you were having there!

It was surprisingly hard to find places to camp.. I imagined you could just ride off the road and camp in the bush somewhere..
For hundreds and hundreds of miles there are fences just a few meters off the road ..
I got out of the big city to have some space get a feel for the grandness and vastness of this huge continent and a sense of freedom,
How ironic even way out there i was all fenced in.