i have a XR400 oil cooler I'm going to add to my 82 XL500. the xr400 front end swap went wonderfully, and I have a rear shock off a 82 XR500 to slap on it this week. Going to look at putting the XR4's swingarm on it as well I know it's a XL and this is a XR thread but back then they shared a lot of parts.
-hi bruce- nice new carb!- why you changed it?? im not so lucky- i mounted a new dellorto phf 36 - new sparkcable, sparkshoe, plug etc. new gas- the beast want run!!?? :-/ ill kick my butt off - but nothing!? only thing it does it kicks BACK so hard that i sometimes thing it breaks my leg...!? on the weekend i check the valves remove the airfilter (which looks good) and try it again! i mean even if the jetting on this carb is bad/wrong in the chokephase it has to start or cuff some times right?? can it be a problem with timing/ignition?? gettin frustrating little bit.... greets peter/europe
OK so I sold my 82 to a friend. Since then there's a realizeation for him even that these days you need a "street legal" dirt bike. That's the very reason I sold it. OHV= very hard to or never can be plated. That said, he's now picked up a somewhat junky 82 xl500. Plan was to make the best of the xl useing the xr. Man, that's two different bikes! That must be why I chose the xr at the bike shop when I bought new. Even though in 82 I could forsee the future of dirt riding...I got the beefier XR. OK now, He calls me and says he found another 82 XR500R that's almost new for 250! It's been sitting for all this time and isn't faded out because some one broke off the kickstarter shaft!!! How in the hell? Anyway, he has 3 now. He's probaly going to leave my X xr alone and wants to cheat to get a plated bike out of the other 2. I gotta go over there and check the newest one, but I got some shots of the xl500 basket when we mocked it up together. Sorry 'bout the blur in the photo's. The P/O had pulled the XL apart and never put it back together, but said it runs and wheelies. He was fixing the normal leak spot between the rocker cover and found the top motor mount busted off the rocker. He put it back together with a replacement cover. There's no mechanizm for compression release? :eek1:huh There's an open spot with no cover at the end of the cam. This bike has current reg!
Hi Peter. Did you ever get your bike running? Hi 22many. Be carefull what information ya give out on these here interwebz. You never know who might be reading. :eek1 I'm kinda turning my XL600 into a plated dirt bike. Been gathering some odds and ends to try and update the suspension a bit. If it turns out how I'm hoping, it'll be pretty trick.
hi brucifer- NO- the kickstarter BREAKS after thousands of tries... so i have to put the engine apart to change this part and while doin this i will check the timing spark advancer (?) cause i think theres the problem.... this will take some time/months i think :-/ BUT i bought a second one and completed it with the parts from the first one (there were many parts missing like airbox etc.) - its really difficult to get parts here in europe!- put some new plastics, stickers, work on the exhaust etc. and beast nr.2 is alive: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp8QS6C4PYI yeah i love to ride this bike- its SOO different to the heavy adventure its really fun ....
Well, that sucks about the broken kickstart shaft but awesome you got another XR500R! Congratulations! On XR #1, the more I think about your problem the more it sounds like a faulty pulse generator or maybe the CDI unit taking a dump. I wonder if somehow the pulse generator wires have gotten switched? Or maybe shorted?
Hello all, just discovered this discussion and I LOVE it! I bought a XR500R new in 1981 and I still have it. Here it is way back then, when I was a young lad. Couple of years ago I bought another as a wreck but that was equipped with a few interesting mods.... I will let you figure out what they are on the photos It is now back on the road as it deserved. Brucifer, the reed box replacement bit you are looking for is this. I got one, but I am keeping it sorry. It should be possible to make a mold from the cylinderhead innards and DYI one with melted aluminum. Heavy duty DIY,... Also, FYI, I am rebuilding 2 earlier XR500 in C&J frrames, but this will be for another time...
Eric you dog! Tease me with your reed block replacement like that! That's so cool you still have the bike you bought new after all these years. I wish I would have kept my '82. Okay, mods on the other bike. White Brothers swingarm Aftermarket shock Aftermarket header with Supertrapp ISDE muffler Uuhh, what else, what did I miss?
Apologies for the tease, I could not resist . Let me make it worse. I got it off eBay for a handful of bucks. Nobody knew what it is... :) Well, I had only been wanting it for ... 28 years... Now I have seen variations of these made with a piece of pipe (slightly flattened) welded to a plate. You got most of the mods on the other bike. It also has an 82 CR480 43mm Kayaba front fork (the stock fork is WAY too small), a Renthal handle bar and K&N filter, but these are details. The shock is a Ohlins (now rebuilt by the factory). The headlight number plate is actually a 1982. There are several more mods coming... I wish somebody would tell me the origin of the aftermarket header. I assume White Bros like the swingarm, but hard to be certain. Here is what that bike looked like when I got it: The rotor and stator had been messed with, and the cylinder had had a funny repair after being worn by a poorly tightened timing chain. There was however a bonus, it had a Simons fork! Anyway, your bike looks great!!
hi eric- haha- yes we all get older right... used to race an xr 600 in the 90s....yeah good old times. where are you from ???? (plates!)- france?? -think i saw your youtube vids - right!?? btw. guys - i wanto have an OEM exhaust what do you think bout this??????: http://www.smebike.com/index.php?route=product/product&keyword=xr500&product_id=1182 price looks ok for me- anybody knows this stuff?? they have some great parts there! http://www.smebike.com/index.php?route=product/search&keyword=xr500&page=1 greetz peter
Hey Peter, yes from France, now living in California. I have a few videos on YouTube indeed. That exhaust looks just what you need and yes price is very attractive!! I say go for it. And thanks for the link! Very nicely priced useful items.
I thought there was something about the forks! CR480...okay. Simons forks?! Excellent! That bike was certainly equipped with the trick period pieces, that's for sure. I have a well used '84 XR250R I picked up a while ago off Craigslist that has a White Brothers swingarm and full aftermarket exhaust. The header looks very similar to the one on your bike. The muffler is an aluminum 3" Supertrapp. I too would like to know what brand the exhaust is. Where in Ca. are you?
Cant wait to see photos of that exhaust header. For my other projects, I am getting a local shop to try replicate the period Mugen header. Proving tricky and ... expensive... We are almost there: Here is a photo of the original Mugen header ona XR500R (Germany): I am in Santa Clara, Silicon Valley.
This post really caught my eye. I have a 1980 XL500s that I am in the middle of doing the top end on. I have read refrences to swaping a later model xr front end onto the xl with the goal of replacing the 23" front tire with a 21 and adding disc brakes. Any one know which front ends will bolt right up on the XL? Does that '82 Xl have a 21" front tire and a disc brake? What size are the forks? The forks on my '80 are 35mm. Sorry for all the questions that aren't even about an XR, but the xl500s seems to be a red headed step child and there is just not much info out there.
You will get disc brakes only starting with 1983 XR models. The XL500R 1983 still has shoe brakes. I believe that 23" wheels were used only on non ProLink/Monoshock model years. I have fitted CR 1982 and 1983 (non disc) on XR 1979/80 frames no problem. You need to replace the bearings though and possibly add a spacer/washer under the steering column nut. No experience with disc brake forks.
Went for a nice single and two track ride and trail clearing expedition this afternoon. I put the stock carb back on a couple weeks ago. Man, I had forgotten just how good these bikes are in these elements. Rutty, muddy and some roots thrown in. This bike absolutely ROCKS in these conditions! It never stalls, has excellent throttle response without being twitchy (heavy flwheel effect) lower center of gravity than the newer bikes, nice cushy suspension, comfortable seat and the drum brakes work fine at these speeds. I dig this bike...
I put a 98XR400R front end on my 82 XL500R direct bolt on. the bearings are even the same on those years. I had to make 2 brackets one for the headlight and speedo and one to have stearing stops. I have a build thread on here somewhere. here ya go... http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=711672
