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87' XL600r

13K views 17 replies 8 participants last post by  PingKing 
#1 ·
Im thinking of getting back into riding and going to sm. I found a 87' xl600r with a couple of bumps. The owner before this one was a honda mechanic and the kid that has it now is an idiot. (he gave it the bumps) Im going to be mostly streeting this but I am going to take it on the beach at least 4or5 times out of the year. It looks mostly stock except for the forks. I dont know what they came from. The guy is also throwing in a decent set of street tires and wheels. I wanna know the options I have to increase the power and I wanna know what plastics I can modify to fit. My basic idea is to keep the retro look but with a cr seat and fender. Also what power options do I have without a major rebuild (i.e. exhast, carbs, jetting.) I also have a second design idea of trying to make it look as modern as possible in sand digital camo with a USMC tribute somehow. Here are some pics of the bike. Help me out guys.
 
#3 ·
Hey MG,
Last year my Retro Motard (RETard) project began to take life, and it too is an '87 XL 600R! I will post pictures soon, but to get your creative juices flowing, XR's Only still has a number of performance parts. I was able to hybrid more contemporary suspension components, 17" wheels with Conti's. Full race exhaust, different plastics (UFO flushmount w/ directionals). I put about 1500 miles on it before winter came here in NY. The thing's stupid fun and I have it set up to handle twisty's with the best of them. I have been able to pull on sportbike guys in the tight stuff.

Now, if I can afford to (just bought a house and getting married in Feb.) this winter's project is to rework the subframe/frame to accomodate a newer CRF 450 swingarm and shock, then rear disc conversion.

I know this is useless without pics, so I will snap some over the holiday and post.

Best of luck with your project!

-MM
 
#4 ·
Thanks man. Yeah I am leaning towards a retro look, gold rims, forks, and swing arm. But I defiently wanna see your bike. Sounds like you have the same idea. Im gonna buy the bike next week(have to wait until next pay day due to me dropping 900 on a 04' crf150 for my little bros xmas) I also have looked at xrs only and they have massive supply. Sux about all the snow you have. I live on the Outer Banks NC and Im looking to ride year round. Lookin foward to some pics.
 
#5 ·
these were unique machines.. I mis mine



the dual carbs are baddass if you spend the time to learn and tune them properly. I use an 02 sensor in the headpipe collector and this homemad rich/lean indicator to get the carbs in range. they were dangerously lean from the factory and this lead to many cracked heads (between the sparkplug hole and exhaust valve seat)



cammo jobs are for bombers and your bike has some collectable value. it was the last year for the legandary XL "motorsport" line and for the trick dual-carb set-up but its your bike, do what makes you happy.
 
#7 ·
yeah Im with ya. The more I read about them the more Im glad Im getting it. They seem like hidden beasts on the road. quesion, is that a radar detector rigged up by your spedo? or is that the O2 sensor you were talking about. I think the first stuff Im going to do is uncork it, clean and tune the carbs. Any idea on where the forks are from. Im thinking a later xr or crf. Also what are my options for suspension upgrade? I heard the rear suspension sucks on these.
 
#10 ·
No don't screw it up by painting it camo, please; there are so many for worthy mods. A more modern CR250 front end is a very easy swap, mod the stem and press it into the new tripples and you're set. I also believe that a newer XR650L or XR600R swingarm will bolt in, although you would have to make a bracket for the rear master cylinder. Leave the seat alone, it is a classic.
 
#11 ·
I always loved the red/white/blue colors....Has a timeless look.

I rebuilt my '83 several years ago. Even though the bike was trashed, it still ran like hell.
92 CR250 forks, 17" front rim kit, and a set of KC lights that I had on hand (I might swap in a Baja Design's headlight and ditch the bug eyes). It does great on the highway, and it'll cruise 80 all day with its 100MPH gearing.

An amazing difference how it handles w/the smaller tire.




 
#12 ·
Great bike man. Ive seen it in other posts when I was looking for info. How hard is it to swap the forks? Im defiently redoing the paint as the same scheme. I wonder if I can find original graphics kits or if Im going to have to custom paint it to get it back to stock. Theres a couple good size dents and scratches from abuse. Did you swap out your swing arm? Im thinking of going with the fork, swing arm, and wheels painted gold like a 86'. Do you guys have any carb advice. Such as what jetting I should use. I live at sea level. Im just trying to cover my six. thanx
 
#13 ·
I didn't want to turn the steering stem down to accept the narrower 600 bearings. I mounted the frame in my mill and bored the head to accept the CR races.

It will look sweet w/gold rims.
 
#15 ·
Michael,
Yeah, the whole Hudson Valley area is littered with awesome roads. I will try to bring my camera home from my office today, and snap some shots... Over the weekend at the latest! Ping King - she's a beauty! Is that an Ohlin's shock I see? What gearing are you running?

Have a good New Year guys...
 
#16 ·
MG, some pix of my REtromoTARD!

Sorry for the crap quality photos, but here's a run-down.
Almost 2 years ago, I traded a client an older iMac with a smoked hard drive for an '87 XL 600R completely original with 21,500mi on 'er. The bike had sat in his garage for over 2 years without moving. I brought it to my shop, didn't even drain the gas and oil, and she started on the 10th kick!

That's when I tore her down, and began my search for parts and upgrades. Thru the wonders of my local Honda dealer, eBay, MotoStrano and XR's Only, I was able to acquire and custom fit the following: Front forks and triple clamps from a '98 XR 650, Pro Tapers, 17" Wheel kit (as stated previously, the rear end is this winter's project) with Conti's - was able to mount a Blitz to the stock rear wheel for now, 320 Braking disc, UFO Flushmount Light kits (used the same resistor as used on sportbike LED's to control directionals), Progressive Suspension Rear shock spring, Dirt Digger heavy duty clutch kit, XRs Only complete exhaust, Twin Air filter, Cycra Enduro Brush Guards, New Levers, "custom carved" one of those 'universal' Acerbis rear fenders and threw on a supermoto front fender and more.

This winter I plan on tackling a complete top end rebuild and valve job, plus carb tuning and of course the rear disc/CRF swingarm and shock conversion. But, to get this beast to handle properly, as it was ridden 100% on road, my temporary fix was to get the front forks charged with quite alot of air to stiffen them as well as slide them almost as far as they could up in the triple clamps. I balanced this with the stiff rear shock, and thru tons of fine tuning and adjustments, she handles amazingly now! So much so that I may do a Loudon or NJ track day this summer on it!

It's not the fastest bike on the road by any means, but you can enter turns so fast and hold it on forever, and who cares about straights right? And I have it geared pretty tall so it's not a slow wheelie machine, but 3rd and 4th are no problem.

True motorcyclists and old school off-roaders flip out when they see the REtromoTARD, and at times I wish I didn't beat the hell out of the thing the way I do, but afterall it's an old Honda, and with routine maintenance she'll run longer than I do!
 
#17 ·
Awesome bike. You are doing a great job. Thats pretty much exactly what I want to do except for the lights. What do you know about swapping the forks for some off of a cr250. Also whats it like for long distant riding. I was thinking that with that big soft seat I could take 5 hr trips or longer. It looks like it would fufil all of my needs. I have supermoto, dual sport, swap the wheels back and I have a beach cruiser again. Im fighting with myself cause Im between buying this and a get around car cause my long distant trips are too much for my 72 cougar convertable. (gas)
 
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