My first bike, the 1974 XL100

The motor is tight since replacing the jug. I more than doubled the miles on the clock this year.

Fight the conspiracy against small-displacement machines and the routes we ride! This one is bullshit- no way around:



But this one you can shut the motor off and walk the bike through a narrow pedestrian path they have set up. It's more in the middle of nowhere than it appears and nobody's even remotely around. Since the bridge in Gibraltar was out over the summer, the only alternative was a trip on a limited-access highway. I did it once and it was a total buzz-kill. Impatient truckers and commuters and the XL pinned barely holding 50. I'm not sure why, probably just the trials tread and bike profile, but the CL is a considerably faster machine (on pavement, mwahahaha).

I also got this setup early in the year so I was able to true and balance my wheels. It works great! There was a bit of vibration in the bars before. Now the ride is super smooth. I did both bikes (XL and CL). I should have done them sooner.

Then my latest trick was to finally finish my cargo setup by adding a rack to the panniers.









Check it out, I got a MAPP gas torch and I'm brazing aluminum (trim pieces for the deck from scrap storm door flashing). Fun fun fun:





The deck is an HDPE cutting board a got at Salvation Army for $1. I wrapped it in an old inner tube to make it look a little less homemade (but just a little). I wasn't expecting it, but the finished product reminded me of something I'd have seen my uncle make back in the 70's when I was a kid and I really like that. Hopefully he doesn't read this and get offended, ha.

Now tucked away in the garage and waiting for the salt to wash off the roads and decent weather again.



That's Soichiro on the pannier, btw.



Word.

This summer, my dad found a bunch of old photos of the bike that are really great. Here's one with he and I on the XL and my uncle on his Elsinore. Righteous.

Totally righteous.

iatethepeach said:

my uncle on his Elsinore.

Click to expand...

and with a classic case of helmet hair!

I still haven't made up my mind but there may be another phase in the life of the XL. One for which There Is No Replacement, so to speak. Last spring, I came across a wrecker in North Hollywood with this:



Sad, but they were closing shop and getting rid of a lot of stuff for what seemed pretty cheap on eBay. I read good things about them (Johnson & Wood) so I decided to go for it. They let me have the motor for $1/CC, shipped. Then I realized I'd need a new stator and rotor, carb, pipe hack, etc., and probably rebuild, so maybe it wasn't a steal after all. Oh well, turns over and shifts on the bench.

I'm also happy just to ride the bike like it is so I might save the 200 for later. Anyway, I have another project lined up that is getting top priority that I'll post about here. If you're reading this thread you will dig it.

Nice man, glad to see you're getting some miles on this little guy!

iatethepeach said:

I realized I'd need a new stator and rotor, carb, pipe hack, etc., and probably rebuild, so maybe it wasn't a steal after all. Oh well, turns over and shifts on the bench.

Click to expand...

Im in the middle of building 1 good xr200 motor out of two, and may have a few parts left over. If you come across anything you cant find engine wise for the 200 lump, let me know.

Thanks a lot, Hurco, I'll keep that in mind.

If it lines up OK, what do you guys think about using my stock 100 exhaust with an ATC185 cam and 24mm carb? My header appears to have the same ID as an XL185's, if it's not a tad larger. Is that possible? I'm shooting for a mellow improvement over the 100, not necessarily a porn hell redemption ride.

I did a PA advanced riding clinic today on the XL. The instructors were awesome, I learned a lot, and as an unexpected bonus the contents of my panniers stayed bone-dry despite the torrential downpour toward the end of the class. The other students were great guys, too. It was a lot of fun.

The past couple weekends, I watched a lot of World Cup soccer and played around with the XR I mean XL.



No show-stoppers, but the kickstart lever in that photo will never work. If this little mod goes through, I'll have to use one off some other bike or be gentle with the 100's.

Presumably, a 24mm will not squeeze in so easily. I'll burn that bridge when I cross it.



The pipe fits with a little work on the hanger. It exits closer to the frame due to being a little higher, but seems OK.

If I keep the two-honey maybe I'll stop being such a chicken and add a mount point to the frame directly above the engine mount.

This gizmo fits nicely here, though the wires will make getting the tank on and off a little more cumbersome.



Do I need shielding between it and the coil? Normally, I think they're bolted to either side of the frame. Unfortunately, there aren't a whole lot of options.

Speaking of that gizmo, is this tip from the FSM true or false? I need to know because I've got no spark and everything else tests OK. Unfortunately, I don't have access to either a SANWA ELECTRIC TESTER or a KOWA ELECTRIC TESTER, just my crappy homeowner-grade DMM, and it reads totally wacky compared to the values in the chart.



Volts do emerge from the black/white wire that leads to the primary coil when I push on the kicker, however, which seems like it should count for something.

I would think a normal multimeter will give you correct readings. I had to use a similar chart to diagnose a faulty stator winding on the FA50. Sounds like your CDI may be shot.

Thanks! I ordered a new unit. If the problem turns out to be something else, it will be nice to have a spare.

Is there typically an acceptable range for the exciter wire resistance? My shop manual just says 245 ohms, whereas for all other components it seems to specify a range rather than a precise value.

HOT DAMN THIS KICKS ASS!!! I got the engine running this afternoon and the bump in power is HUGE! No more shying away from steep hills and headwinds, to say the least. I mostly resisted the urge to hoon the bike on my test ride (mostly), but immediately noticed that the front wheel lifts when you goose it in second. Ha ha.

Apart from some popping on deceleration, the engine runs beautifully. I didn't want to waste a half-dozen exhaust gaskets during fitment and wasn't sure when I'd last need to reinstall the pipe, so the popping might just be because the gasket is thoroughly and completely flattened. I'll fix that. I raised the carb needle a notch mid-ride but didn't check the plug.

Unfortunately, the battery may not be charging, or for some reason the turn signals don't work with the lights on. Pre-ride, I rejiggered the wires in the XL185 alternator connector so the colors matched up with the XL100 harness, hoping that would do the trick. Should I have replaced the yellow wire going to the XL100's lighting switch with the XL185 exciter wire (red/black)? Post-ride voltage at the battery is 6.1V with the engine off, 6.3 at idle, and 6.6 at higher RPM.

Other minor issues are that the rear brake switch doesn't work in its original location, there's an oil leak from the alternator cover because I neglected to replace the o-ring, and something is funky with the clutch adjustment (I can't get it to engage at the right point without excess play in the lever). A cable that's a few inches shorter than the stock XL185's would route a lot more cleanly, too.

Overall, though, the motor seems like a big win. I was expecting to have to redo the top end, at least, but there's no smoke or noises and it shifts great. It would be cool if I could braaap around on it for the rest of the season and then freshen it up over the winter.