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Above is the XL, sporting its new look with an ebay fuel tank and header heat shield from an 82 XR250, plus new fork boots, handle bars, Bark Busters and the front number plate from a 2000 XR200. I've also cut down the side number plates and removed the headlight and bucket, key ignition and instrument light panel, choke, speedo, tail light, battery and battery box, turn signals, wiring harness, rear foot pegs, seat strap, horn, chain guard, helmet and steering lock, and tons of other little parts to make it lighter and more nimble on the trails. Essentially, I turned the XL into an XR. Pulling all these parts off did make a substantial weight difference(15-20pds)and I'm very happy with the results, though it would be an involved job trying to set this bike up for the street again. The question might be "why the fuck didn't you just buy an old XR and spare yourself the trouble of stripping down this dinosaur?" The answer is that a friend of mine who works for the water company reading meters, repeatedly noticed the bike sitting in the corner of a garage, covered with junk, and thought it might be something I'd be interested in. He bumped into the owner one day and was given
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the bike for free on the spot. So it came to me for nothing. It had been sitting for 10 years and needed the carb cleaned, new tires and a little tlc, but I had it running in a few weeks.
These eighties XL's don't have the same appeal as XL's from the seventies, they're not as sought after simply because they don't look nearly as cool -I'm sure there are people who would argue this point late into the night, but that aside, my idea was that this bike would make a great little trail bike, and it definitely has.
One big advantage for the inexperienced rider is the seat height, which is comfortably low. I'm 5'8" and I can sit on this bike with both feet flat on the ground. An XR or just about any late model dirt bike is a groin straining 4+ inches higher and makes a huge difference when people come out who have never ridden before. In the picture above -a rare picture of 4'11" Jenee Gill riding a dirt bike, you can see she's able to get a few toes of each foot on the ground.
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This bike has the ginormous 23" front tire that Honda used for a few years on the XR/XL bikes, and I know some people recommend swapping them out for a 21", but unless someone gives me a compelling reason to do so I will, eh, let it ride.
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The pic above shows Dr. John testing the limits of the XL's stock suspension. Not bad for a 26 year old bike eh?
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If you need help working on your XL, don't ask me, do what I do and follow the link below to the XL message board and search through old posts or start a new topic. These guys are great at helping out and have been an amazing resource for trouble shooting.
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