!!! 1986 XL600R Adventure Bike Rebuild !!!

[Carter Pewterschmidt]

Originally Posted by crobox

1) probably the most important reason... I think honda really got it right with the shape of this tank. I just think it looks right.

+1

Plus I don't want to add extra fuel weight. I bought this bike because it's fun to ride. If I wanted something heavy and sloppy I would have gotten a KLR.

[crobox]

I mentioned in my last post that painting in these unusually cold temperatures was a pain in the rear....

I've been working on my tank recently and I just thought I'd post a picture of my "Paint Oven"...



That's my regular 2-barrel stove that I use to (barely) heat the shop. I set up the "table" on top of it, and the plates of aluminum above that to sort of capture the heat and make a bit of an "oven". I typically warm up the item that I am painting for a little while, and warm the can of spraypaint too, then take out the item, paint it, and then put it back in to the "oven" so the paint can set at a warm temperature. I usually bring the item into the house and hang it from the ceiling at night because the temperatures in the shop drop to about 0º at night these days, and the house is of course considerably warmer.

That is my gas tank, with a coat of gray primer, sitting in the "oven" in this picture.

I thought it was entertaining, so I thought you all might too.....

[Utah Bones]

Looking good!

[crobox]

I sorted out the rear fender today. I purchased a Kawasaki KDX 250 rear fender recently, mostly because it was the right color and because it had an integrated tail light, which I like. However, it didn't have a provision for a license plate or a license plate light, so I cobbled that stuff on from the previous rear fender (which was a dilapidated Acerbis universal fender, cracking apart from age).

I might fine-tune the position of the fender... I think it sits a little far back right now. It was not an easy job to get this to fit... lots of modifications to the fender required.



Don't worry, fellow gold-haters... the rim will either get painted or replaced with one of a different color. Sorry Carter!

-Christian

[crobox]

I started to try to mock up the fairing today, using some plastic sheet I had lying around. It took a few attempts to get to a shape that I think I like.... I think I actually like the contour of the trailing edge better than the stock Honda twin-headlight fairing from the Euro XLM.

Next on this project will be actually cutting it the shape from aluminum sheet and welding it up. Possibly a difficult job. We will see.



You can see here that I've got my recently un-golded and re-sealed forks back on too.

-Christian

[crobox]

Welded it up today, and did some preliminary cleanup with a flap disc. Not as hard a welding job as I'd feared, although I did make up a complicated jig to keep it from deflecting and warping while I welded it. Next up, figure out how to mount it. (It is just sort of stuck on for this pic)

[brucifer]

Nice! Looking good, man.

[Reposado1800]

Sweet!

[crobox]

[Moparmanpete]

Slick!

[crobox]

I've been posting concurrently in the main XL600 thread about my engine's top end. For the sake of the continuity of this thread I will recap.

I bought, on eBay, a re-bored cylinder and Wiseco 101mm piston.



I posted in the XL600 thread some concern I had about possible downsides to using a "high compression" piston (Wiseco claims 11:1, but most folks on here are saying this piston is 10.5:1, tops). However, the consensus seems to be "go ahead and use it", even with the stock cam. So that's what I will do.

I'm pretty sure I am going to change up the color scheme of the engine a little... black bottom end, bare metal cylinder and head, and black valve cover. I've already sand-blasted the head. I'll blast this newly bored cylinder soon, then install it.

Here are pics of the bore and cylinder which are the ones I will be replacing. Even though they are clean and good looking, I figure that if I can use the 101mm Wiseco and the stock cam with no pinging, then I might as well.





OK, that's all for now I guess.

-Christian

[Stretch67]

Very nicely done with the fairing.

[MartiniUp]

Nice work, you are obviously a patient man. I personally think the original color scheme of that tank is beyond improvement. In fact, it is in fact perfection perfected. But its your bike, screw it up till your hearts content.

[davek181]

Good work. I love to see these old relics reclaimed.

Oh, wait. I ride one too. It also seems to be in a constant state of reclamation.

Next on my list of projects USD forks and rear disc brake.

[crobox]

Thanks for the kind and supportive words, mr. Martini

I actually like the red/white/blue tank, and I like the red/white/blue color scheme of 1987, as long as there is no gold. I agree that that is a pretty awesome color scheme.

However, that is NOT what I started with. My bike was a tired and ugly mish-mash of parts, all of which needed refreshing or replacing.

Plus, I am just one of those guys who prefers to have something a little (or a lot) different than what anyone else has. Being one of those guys, I think it's the best way to be!