My brother and I took the day off from work yesterday and rode a portion of the Trans Wisconsin Trail. (Many ride reports can be found on ADV) The weather was perfect and the trails were wonderful. We rode 220 miles total, and my XL600 worked very well. I did run a knobby tire on the front, and I left my big ammo cans at home and used soft bags instead. Other than that, it is the exact same bike that I can commute 80 miles a day on. I was concerned that my suspension would really feel weak compared to my XR, but for the type of riding we were doing, it was perfect. I only felt the rear end bottom once the whole day in a deep, sharp whoop. The trail is mostly forest roads, dirt country roads, and some ATV trails. I am looking forward to going back and completing some other sections in the fall.
Awesome! Old man Honda begat the XL600R for just such trips. Anybody else notice the resemblance of the XL600 and the DR650? Coincidence? I bet Suzuki had one in the factory for the cloning process.
Joel, The XR is plated. I just need to sort out a 3rd gear issue that I failed to address when I rebuilt it, and for a ride like this one, it will need a few more items to be "legal" on the roads. The DR had 3 issues that my brother discovered. #1. The seat. He borrowed the WalMart seat pad from me and said it made a nice difference on the long ride. #2. Trail wing tires stink. Now he knows why they call them DeathWings. Even on loose gravel he said his front end felt sketchy. #3. The DR does not want to start after you dump it. (Yep, he tipped it over in the first sandy corner) (No, I didn't laugh at him.....much) It did take the Dr a long while to decide to start after that. The electric start seemed like a great idea until I saw that happen. On another note, this was my first ride with my new Shinko brand rear tire. It is DOT approved and looks similar to a Kenda 270 or an IRC dual-sport tire tread. I like it, it was quiet on the pavement and felt good in the corners, and the trail riding showed that it still worked in the dirt and the mudpuddles as well. In the REALLY deep sand it would be nicer to have a more aggressive digger, and I can imagine that in a totally mucked out swamp, you would feel the same way, but overall, I really liked it. I have a matching front tire that is mounted on my spare front wheel and that will be on the bike next week for some commuting duty. Hopefully, it will feel as good as the rear tire did. The Shinkos were on sale at BikeBandit a while back, and I got the front and rear delivered for around $80. I wouldn't hesitate to do THAT again...
Well, I have pulled my switch apart,cleaned it,check continuity on the wires and still am having issues with it turning off and now turning on. If I press hard it works ok:huh but if you let go it is back to being sporatic. There doesn't seem to be a way to press and seal the body to make it work right so my next step is replacement. Unfortunately Honda does not carry the parts t replace or repair. So I replace. I can get one from Emgo but don't know the model to use So does anyone know which other models will switch over? Not even concerned about steering lock. Or can I just rig any ile 2 pole switch to work? When I park her for any amount of time/ distance I do use a m/c lock so theft isn't that great of a concern. Thanks as always. sorry for the duplicate thread but trolling for all answers.:eek1 <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->__________________
Just can't say enough good things about the XL600's... Both my boys rode the whole weekend at WestFest....totally trouble free. While other bikes were breaking down around them, the XL600's just kept plugging away!!!
[Thanks. Thought there might be some large acerbis tanks for the xl out there. That looks great, but i think i am too lazy to try that. Maybe get a clark. (even though it will be less fulfilling) quote=crag antler]All the info here http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9551496#post9551496 post #19[/quote]
I have been converting my failed igniton switch over to 2 separate switches. Well yesterday evening, I got it all buttoned up and went to test them. Kick and kick and she wouldn't start Realized I didn't have my new switch turned on. Stupid me, turned it on and tried to kick again. Well she kicked right back. Almost sent me over the seat. Even with work boots on, I ended up with a sprained ankle. Damn it and my motocross boots were within sight. So here I sit with my foot elevated and an aircast on. Crutches for the next few days. Good news I am on vacation starting tomorrow night, or maybe even today. I will have to see how work goes. Can't really do too much as a facility engineer on crutches. So if you don't know, please wear something with a steel shank. I'm just glad nothing is broken.
I remember when I first got the bike there was a party across the street and everybody was going up on the roof by climbing using a board. Time to come down, there was no board. I jumped in my thin dress shoes and sprained my ankles... both of them. So when I was first trying to get the bike running, I had to stop because my ankle hurt fro still being sprained. Knowing what top dead center feels like, knowing never to pull the throttle while kicking, and the decompressor lever will save you from injury, my friend.
Yeah but you know, I just started a 2 weeks vacation 2 days early. Don't go back to work until the 17th and I don't go on my camping trip until the 10th.Should be healed by then and if not I was taking the car anyhow.
Hey guys, I'm at my wits end with this machine I just bought. Got it at the beginning of the summer and still haven't ridden it. Fresh top end, including valves&springs, good compression. Ricky stator, all resistances check out, new plug cap, new resistor-less plug (D8EA), good spark. Cleaned carbs, 135&132 mains, 65 pilot, needle in 5th (richest) groove (where it was when I got it). When I finished the rebuild I set the needle to the 4th groove, it started and idled for a bit but when I went to open the throttle it would pop and then die; I figured it was lean so moved the clip back down. I also put it a 65 pilot due to the lean condition; it ran hot and the plug was white. When I last had it running (after hours of kicking and playing with it) it sounded good when I was on the throttle, no lean pops, but when I eased up off the throttle it stalled and no amount of kicks would bring it back to life (I know the proper procedure). Gas comes out of the float bowl drain when I turn out the screw on the bottom of the carb so I know they're getting gas. When I kick it a lot with the choke on and pull the plug I notice there isn't really any fuel on the plug but I do smell gas. I really don't understand why it won't run, I'll kick and kick with the choke off and it wont start, I'll kick with it on and it won't start. Halfway, it won't start. Pilot screw at 2 turns out. I don't know where I should set the idle screw, whether it is open enough or not enough. Sometimes I'll kick with the throttle open a hair but it still does nothing. It's a pain because it has been running, just not for very long, and it has everything it needs. I'm going to turn the idle up tomorrow and squirt quick start in the hard-to-reach spark plug hole with a hose and give it some kicks with the choke off. I'm also thinking of pulling the carbs off again and making sure it's all blown out, especially the choke channel, I feel I may have forgotten it. I feel like I should be able to see fuel on the plug after lots of choke kicks. The one ignition component I haven't tested (because I haven't bought a new one) is the CDI unit. It has good spark, but if it's firing at the wrong time it's going to be a crapshoot, does that kind of thing ever happen? If anyone has any insights or ideas of things to look at it'd really be appreciated right about now.
I will guess that it is either a dirty pilot jet, or a bad stator. If your not getting gas into the cylinder, then your carb on the left side of the bike (this is your primary carb and the only one working during start-up) has a clogged jet. Stators are VERY common problems with these bikes. $130 for a Ricky Stator is money well spent and will probably get you by for another 25 years. CDI units usually either work or they don't. If your timing is off, it is because the cam chain is not set-up with the cam properly. Not because of the CDI. One more thing to check is your valve adjustment. It only takes about half an hour to do it. Good Luck.
I meant the ignition timing being off, the valve timing is set perfectly, I made sure of it when I was rebuilding it. I just cleaned the carbs and blew everything out, I guess I'll do it again though, making especially sure the choke channel is clean. Valves are perfect.
Timing on the motor CAN NOT be off. The PULSE ROTOR that goes on the crank to trip the PULSE GENERATOR only fit's on the shaft ONE and only ONE WAY. Your trouble is in the carburator.
Well according to the Honda Service Manual, that's what they say, but the reality is that yes, it can go on wrong on some bikes, and mine is one of those that just have a small mark in one of the regular looking splines to indicate where to position the pulse generator rotor tab. Not all XL600R engines have the wide spline on the crank. See below: This is where the wide spline is supposed to go. But this is what I get instead of a wide spline - a small indentation near the end of one spline. The correct orientation for this setup is with the wide spline space on the pulse generator rotor positioned centered over the small indentation like this. With the pulse generator rotor tab positioned at 3:00, the crank is a few degrees before TDC, which is what you want. This is where you want the tab to be at the instant the crank passes TDC, meaning that the spark has already fired and the fuel/air mix is still lighting up (flame front propegating across the combustion chamber so that the full force of the explosion happens when the piston is just starting it's downward stroke, not after it is already on the way down which would be the case if the tab passed in front of the pulse generator and ignited the air/fuel mix at TDC). How's that for a run oun scentence? I'm guessing that they have 12 degrees of spark advance. If this stuff isn't positioned right, your motor just won't run at all. If you got it to idle, even if only briefly, then this stuff must be set up right, and your problem is with the fuel/air delivery. Try taking your carbs apart and cleaning them real good with carb cleaner, paying special close attention to the jets. And make sure everything gets reassembled right. Good luck.
