XR650L

[kennyw]

I picked up another Honda on trade from a friend. It only took a couple hours to tear it down to replace the frame. Once I get the replacement frame painted, we will reassemble it this weekend.

 

[the Ferret]

Those are beasts off road lol

 

[Frulk_imp]

XR650 is a tried and proven workhorse of a motorcycle platform. Kenny.....Please post up any pics of this project as it progresses.

 

[rboe]

My 650L has tried me and is a proven money pit.

Over on Thumper Talk a potential buyer asked about the things that can go wrong with them. One fellow avoided the usual response of "as reliable as a rock" and rattled off about 8 things that break on the BRP. I had everyone of them plus the two melt downs. Other than that they can be good.

Off the top of my head the things to worry about:
CDI - lowest bidder made them.
Pulse Generator - another low bidder
Stator
Strongly consider an oil cooler (http://suttoncycleworks.com/oilCooler.html) or change the oil every 800 miles.
Moose Racing 650R front sprocket to protect the counter shaft from excessive wear due to the lack of a cush drive
Sheilds for the cases to protect them from being punched by the shift lever or rear brake.

I had all sorts of problems with my carb because it sat so long while being rebuilt (cylinder liner was under sized from the factory so when it got hot it would not maintain good contact with the cylinder so it couldn't transfer heat and it would melt the piston annd burn all the oil - no fun). A session in a ultra sound cleaner was the final solution - highly recommended.

Rejetting the idle jet is worth it. The rest, meh, I'm not convinced. Your mileage may vary.

Good luck. It can be a fun bike for sure.
What is the story on the bad frame?

 

[pdedse]

Looks like a fun project...I would love to have an XR650L and a dr650 to go along with my klr650, which I have had for 11 years, has about 44k miles, an absolute anvil. It'd be fun to just have small fleet for when friends and family visit.

On a trip to Mexico a friend rode his XR650L and I was on the KLR...we switched bikes a few times. The xr650 felt so much lighter and quite a bit more nimble.

Good luck with the rebuild!

 

[rboe]

The L is about 80-90lbs lighter than the KLR. With the extra stuff I've added to my bike (wolfman luggage racks, higher bars, bark busters, rear rack, steering dampner etc. she came out to 380lbs. Ouch!

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Excellent. Pretty hard core.

 

[kennyw]

I spent a couple days working on it this weekend. Saturday mostly prep and painting the frame. Monday started assembly. Cleaning and servicing everything as it goes back together.

The friend I picked it up from is intimately aware of the problem areas and has may of the fixes already like front sprocket. Others I'm starting to deal with as it is reassembled.

 

[Frulk_imp]

Strong work!!!! I DREAM about having the skill set to do this with a bike

 

[kennyw]

Strong work!!!! I DREAM about having the skill set to do this with a bike

No real skill needed other than memory... but I am relying heavily on photos taken before disassembly to aid in that department.

 

[rboe]

That works for me - if I do the reassembly right after the tear down.

In the real world that rarely happened. For me.

These digital cameras are a life saver aren't they?!

 

[pdedse]

Strong work!!!! I DREAM about having the skill set to do this with a bike

No real skill needed other than memory... but I am relying heavily on photos taken before disassembly to aid in that department.

Having the space, tools and time makes a big difference too. But for this the cell phone is one of the most useful of tools there is.

 

[Cormanus]

I wish. Even with lots of pictures, I'd struggle to get putting it back together right.

 

[kennyw]

Strong work!!!! I DREAM about having the skill set to do this with a bike

No real skill needed other than memory... but I am relying heavily on photos taken before disassembly to aid in that department.

Having the space, tools and time makes a big difference too. But for this the cell phone is one of the most useful of tools there is.

Having the space, tools and time makes a big difference too. But for this the cell phone is one of the most useful of tools there is.
Yes it does help. That is why I am working on this at a friends shop since he has more space, a motorcycle lift, and a no-mar tire changer. I could do it at my place but it would be outside in the driveway the whole time due to the small garage space.

 

[dave]

Moose Racing 650R front sprocket to protect the counter shaft from excessive wear due to the lack of a cush drive

How does a sprocket protect the countershaft from wear? I inherited my XR650L, and it came in several boxes box, and all the splines were stripped off the countershaft where the sprocket mounts.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Strong work!!!! I DREAM about having the skill set to do this with a bike

No real skill needed other than memory... but I am relying heavily on photos taken before disassembly to aid in that department.

Having the space, tools and time makes a big difference too. But for this the cell phone is one of the most useful of tools there is.

Having the space, tools and time makes a big difference too. But for this the cell phone is one of the most useful of tools there is.
Yes it does help. That is why I am working on this at a friends shop since he has more space, a motorcycle lift, and a no-mar tire changer. I could do it at my place but it would be outside in the driveway the whole time due to the small garage space.

No worries kennyw. Some Forum members have no garage and have to store the CB outside all seasons. Some even have to do the work in lane ways.

 

[kennyw]

Moose Racing 650R front sprocket to protect the counter shaft from excessive wear due to the lack of a cush drive

How does a sprocket protect the countershaft from wear? I inherited my XR650L, and it came in several boxes box, and all the splines were stripped off the countershaft where the sprocket mounts.

The stock sprocket is much thinner than the length of the spline and have room to float to self center. The aftermarket sprockets have a wider shoulder that spread the load out over the splines better to prevent the wear and centers the chain properly. I can get a picture of the difference Sunday.

You can also run a front sprocket from another model Honda that does the same thing but is slightly offset from the ideal position so you see accelerated chain and sprocket wear.

 

[rboe]

You also have to attack the sprocket with an angle grinder to make some room on the outside so the mounting ring can slip into the matching groove on the countershaft. A pain but a minor one. Just pointing it out so that you know it is NOT plug-n-play.

 

[kennyw]

More progress today. It's starting to look like a bike again. I have parts on order for the engine that will be here around Wednesday. I'll be able to get the engine cleaned up and back in when they arrive.

 

[pdedse]

Looking good!