Honda 1975 XL350

  I bought this bike in St. Louis a few weekends ago but had other things to work on.

This weekend I decided I needed to at least start it.....

After a day of disappointment I finally decided to open up the points cover.....

Rusty points!

As you can tell by this picture, it was rusted shut basically.

This is the IV stand setup for...kind of hard to tell.

Old plastic tank for an IV bag and this run off the magneto.

Just happened to have new points and condenser laying around that fit this thing.  

After I gapped the points, it started first kick and sounded good....

Now I just have to wait to see if Ardcore can make a jackshaft for me...

if not, this thing is getting cleaned up and tuned I will have one more bike to sell in the spring...

1974 Honda XL350 Engine Removal

I don't mind taking engines out of frames......especially if they are just twin or single cylinder guys...

I do however mind when the redneck bastards I get bikes like this from think its okay to use non-metric bolts and nuts.  Spend a little time and get the OEM bolts for 50 cents......

I guess I am expecting too much and of course, I am the one who bought it knowing this would be the case.  

I had already started to tear stuff off...carb, air box, whatever.

Clean frame.  Nothing looks bent or re-welded.  Not like I am going to reuse anything but maybe the cables on this thing anyway.

Vroom Vroom?  Not for a while.  I am going to put in the stock 350 cylinder and piston, get a valve job done and put new side covers on the engine.  I might have to get a new head too......one that doesn't have fins that have been beat with a hammer.......

1976 Honda XL250

Good things come to those who wait? 

I think I just got lucky. . . .

 I have been emailing and calling Charles over near Illinois for at least two maybe closer to three weeks and I could never get a clear reply or set up a time to see the bike.  

Today he called me up unexpectedly and I took off down 74.....

He lives in the middle of nowhere about 15 minutes north of 74.  Took this in on trade for a porsche or something like that a few years back and kind of tried to sell it on and off.  Started right up on choke and I rode down his gravel road a mile or so and back.  It sputters around 3000RPM's.....I am guessing its carb related...side covers are gone but I am going to swap engines anyway.

3,XXX miles....Speedo and tach are clean.  

It shows on the speedo not to push it above 60 unless you have road tires.(!)

Tank is perfect inside, headlight and tail/brake light work but not the signals.  This bike has a battery-less 6v system....one of the reasons I wanted it for the ariel build.

I love the chrome triangle panel just before the muffler.  .  I wish it still had the chrome piece on the header.

Overall a pretty good looking bike.

It still had a price tag from when it was in his shop a fews years back. 

I didn't pay that much......

         I feel kind of back tearing out this bikes heart.....if I can find another XL250 engine to swap back in, I might partially restore and sell it later........