The Honda XL (and other vintage singles) thread!

OK, I am officially pissed off now.

The carb rebuild kit came without a needle jet and with the wrong sized O ring for the air screw.

I put it all together with new needle, new main jet , new pilot jet and found an O ring that nearly fitted the air screw so I rubbed down the OD and it sort of fits.

No better. it takes up to quarter throttle but dies when you open it up more. I tired a bigger main jet, no different.

I have just finished bodging a 34mm dellorto carb off my Norton to fit but it's a bit late to be upsetting the neighbours so I'll try it tomorrow morning.

If it is still the same I guess I've got to look at the ignition.

Shit that's no good mate, good luck with it, gets frustrating sometimes doesn't!, :eek1
especially when you find the problem, it's usually something simple - 99% of the time!!
Cheers
Baza

One thing that's got me wondering. When I bought it, the PO had wired the ignition coil up to the white wire from the alternator. According to the wiring diagram I have it should be the black wire. I've put it on the black, but I'm wondering if there's a reason for the change that the PO did.

"It's running without a battery.

My plan is this:

1 Try different carb
2 Disconnect alternator and run total loss from 6v battery.
3 Cry like a girl

Howdy all, does anyone here have a XL500 head that is damaged? I need one that the exhaust ports are ok, so i can use it to mod a ktm header pipe to the xl. yeah I like to tinker

Off the top of my head the coil gets wired to the black/white stripe wire. The only things connected to the "ignition wire" is the coil, the ignition switch and the kill switch (both of which ground that wire when off). This is a seperate and isolated coil in the stator that only provides energy for the coil.

Your symptoms actually sound like points and timing, check and double check your gap, it's very easy to miss the high spot on the points lobe. If the points are set to too narrow of a gap the bike will carbon foul the plug and spit and bog at higher rpms. Is this what's happening? Of course also check the timing.

Bet ya that's the problem, it's not putting out enough electrical thingmes to handle the extra juice when you open it up [throttle]
skorpioskorpio
Off the top of my head the coil gets wired to the black/white stripe wire. The only things connected to the "ignition wire" is the coil, the ignition switch and the kill switch (both of which ground that wire when off). This is a seperate and isolated coil in the stator that only provides energy for the coil.

Your symptoms actually sound like points and timing, check and double check your gap, it's very easy to miss the high spot on the points lobe. If the points are set to too narrow of a gap the bike will carbon foul the plug and spit and bog at higher rpms. Is this what's happening? Of course also check the timing.
Very valid point too, haven't played with a honda for a couple of years now but about to have my memory jogged soon I think - XL500R
Cheers
Baza

Alright..

I bodged the 34mm dellorto from my Norton on there and reset the points. I'm embarrassed to say the points were at 7 thou. A quick blatt around the block and it's miles miles better. It revs out and will take full throttle. It's still a bit spluttery in the middle but that's just a bit of tweaking.
I can't do much more today, the neighbours are looking at me and a little old lady looked very upset as I gave it full throttle past her. It's kinda noisy:)

Thanks for the help hunter and skorpio. I was starting to get despondent but at least I now have a starting point and I can start to work on jetting.
Thanks again I really appreciate it.

No probs old son, good luck
Cheers
Baza

It's what forums like this are for to benefit from what others have learned. That whole points gap too thin thing caused me to have to change a glorious ride on my cleaned up old XL250, to a humbling and strenuous 3 mile push through Beverly Hills a couple years back.

Also a lot of the Australian VMX racers swear that aftermarket points last for a couple races and OEM Honda points last a decade, so if your bike has been diddled with, and it sounds like it has, the previous owner may have replaced the points, as we all think we should, with what is commonly available, that none of us would ever question.... I mean it's just a spring and a contact, right? But according to some it really matters.

I personally also get better spark, first or 2nd kick starts and never a sputter with ND plugs (X24ES-U) and will take 4 or 5 kicks and pop occasionally with the equivelent NGK. This is true on 2 different XL250s one high milage (over 30,000mi) and one low (less than 1000mi).

Thanks. It's off to the shop for an ND plug then. I found using ND ES-ZU plugs on my Norton gave about one horsepower on the dyno.

I'm off to the races in two weeks time and really it's going to be a test session. I'll try both carbs and see how the jetting looks and how it runs once it's really up to temperature. Riding round the block isn't a great way to get a bike set up :)

1982 XL500R...12400 miles..Everything works.. Starts easy..Lots of new stuff..$1200.00...OBO...In Mississippi!

nice looking XL I have a 82 also, its a hell of a lot of fun

A few pictures of my XL based racers in action (or just after) Redline 350



A big jump for a 4 inch travel bike.



New and old C&J and CRF 450's



Engine for the next project 412cc



Not an XL but my old Red Rocket mixing it with the moderns.

Hi All

Love the thread.

I'm desperately looking for a new camshaft for my XL600 RMG ('86 PD04) - Honda part # 14100-MK2-000 - does anybody have one lying around in their shed and would be willing to move it one?

If I can't find a new OEM, is it better to have the old cam's lobes built up and machined back to spec (whatever that is) or go for an aftermarket option like a Hotcam?

Any assistance will be much appreciated.

Jon

Megacycle do one for that bike.

http://www.megacyclecams.com/catalog/Page31.pdf

Here's my first project
<a href="http://s1253.photobucket.com/albums/hh582/markosgen/?action=view&amp;current=DSC_0377.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1253.photobucket.com/albums/hh582/markosgen/DSC_0377.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s1253.photobucket.com/albums/hh582/markosgen/?action=view&amp;current=DSC_0379.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1253.photobucket.com/albums/hh582/markosgen/DSC_0379.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s1253.photobucket.com/albums/hh582/markosgen/?action=view&amp;current=DSC_0382.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1253.photobucket.com/albums/hh582/markosgen/DSC_0382.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

FYI...

Working on a '78 XL350 for a friend. Discovered an air filter that fits with only minor modifcations! Came off of a Can-Am DS250.



Little tall, but fits perfectly over the base. Just have to trim a little off the end!

This exact thing happened to my 75 XL350 that I had years ago. I was a poor college kid at the time so I JB welded it. It worked well and I sold it that way.

Hey guys..

New 87 XL250 owner here. Shes a little beat up, but shes street legal.

I want to know what parts are interchangeable between the XL and the XRL? For example, the exhaust / headers? I am pretty sure they are both the same engine with minor differences. From the looks of it, the XRL exhaust looks exactly like my XL.

Another issue is that it has no key (yes, I have the title for it). The PO lost the key and rigged it up so that a tiny flathead screwdriver is now the "key". I am having ignition problems, only getting spark 3/8 times so for now I leave the ign always "on" but eventually I will need a new one and they seem near impossible to find.

Ignitions cant vary much from bike to bike, right? Id assume an XRL ignition w/ key would work but I am not 100%. Any info id appreciate! Thanks!

Hi all,
I'm rebuilding my 78 XL250. Nothing really wrong with the engine that I've found apart from being low on compression. Just rebuilt the bottom end and now doing the top.

In my manual it says the minimum length of the inner spring is 42.5mm and all mine are 40.5mm approximately. Are they all worn or is the manual wrong? The outer larger springs are all within spec.

Also, what is the purpose of the inner spring?

It seems that the intake valves are fine but the exhaust valve and seats are beyond the service limit of 2mm. Is it common for exhaust valves to need replacing before intake valves? Would it be best to replace all of the valves?

Sorry for so many questions :eek1 Hope someone can help and thanks :)

John