74 Honda XL 350 - The Turd

Spitballin'
 

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Can anyone give me any references for reputable shops in the New England area (or continental US) to send the head for servicing? I'd gladly support any reputable forum members as well.

I called Dave from XLint to get a quote, they offer bored cyl swap outs for $90 - I may go that route as I need to buy a piston/rings anyways and by the time I buy a hone Id be halfway towards an overbore cylinder anyways.
 
I have used DWMS and highly recommend them, Joey is a sponsor of this site and a great human being to work with.
He is in AL.
http://www.dwmsracing.com/
Some of the pictures on the land page are of the work he aha done for me.
 
I'll second Joey. That shop is awesome, and about the most considerate guys you'll get to touch that motor. Member Kanticoy just had a head rebuilt by them for his DR build here.

I'm sending mine to him at some point after I beat the shit of this motor for a little while in it's mostly stock configuration.
 
Spoke with David from XLint earlier tonight. He knows a thing or two about these motors. Gave me a few pointers on cracking the cases and some things to watch out for including the idler gear losing a tooth.

I can't quite justify the cost of having the top end rebuilt professionally at the moment. Going to really assess the damage tomorrow once i pull the valves out.
 
Pitched a tent in the backyard and started some blasting. I called/went over to the sandblasting shop and no sign of the dude, SO i said f' it and grabbed the cheap 50 lb hopper/blasting gun setup from harbor freight. http://www.harborfreight.com/portable-abrasive-blaster-kit-37025.html

After about 3 hours of use, I will say this thing works pretty damn well. I ended up cutting the hose from 10-12ft down to about 6' to avoid kinks. The hose is not that great quality so it can easily kink and screw up your media flow. I had the parts on the ground, and I put the hopper up on my welding table at about ~3 feet. Pretty necessary to have the hopper elevated since its siphon fed and not pressurized. Bought a 50 lb bag of aluminum oxide, and I've been able to save about 95+% of the media using the tent method.


Our compressor runs 6.8 CFM at 60 PSI, and I was running the gun at ~80, which seemed to be the best balance between air flow and blasting power.. It seemed to keep up alright, but after a few minutes I would take a break to let my goggles unfog and the air build up. Shake all the shit to the middle of the tent, screen and repeat. Had to run out too many times before I got started, so I only got the swinger and about 50% of the frame done before dark hit. I'll have the complete frame blasted and painted by tomorrow. Not bad turnaround time!
 

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Getting there. About to head back outside now that the rain's done and finish blasting the frame. Hoping to get all that crap cleaned up, load glass beads into the blaster and get started on the aluminum parts.

Pulled the valves out on Saturday. A quick tap of the hammer and the exhaust valves released themselves. Despite all the junk and carbon, the valves and seats look to be in decent shape. Valve guides are definitely in useable shape. I will check the springs against the FSM specs, but I am planning to do a set of rings, hone, lap the valves and slap it back together and see what happens.

I have done quite a bit of browsing, but have only been able to find rings for overbore cylinders for these particular motors. If I cant find the correct rings, my most reasonable option will be to send out my jug to David at XLint to swap out for a bored cylinder, and pick up a set of rings to match.
 
Finished blasting the frame today. Would not recommend. Took about 8 hours total. But the good news is all the rust was superficial, and I got the frame and swinger primed and painted in gloss black. Had to try out the rustoleum "appliance epoxy" I've been hearing so much about.

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I'll give it 4-5 days to hang and dry before moving it since it's niiiiice and humid this time of year.
 
Lookin great! The epoxy is tough stuff. I love it. did my alum fork lowers and headlight bucket. Years ago...still good. 8)
Im most impressed w its aluminum adhesion. tiedown ratchet rubbing from Kentucky to Illinois scraped some off...but zero rock chips.
 
trek97 said:
Lookin great! The epoxy is tough stuff. I love it. did my alum fork lowers and headlight bucket. Years ago...still good. 8)
Im most impressed w its aluminum adhesion. tiedown ratchet rubbing from Kentucky to Illinois scraped some off...but zero rock chips.

I used the VHT Satin black epoxy on damn near everything on the 360. Hasn't let me down yet. Hope this stuff is just as tough.

Window shopping dual sport tires. Came across this *interesting article on tire tread wear.

http://www.w6rec.com/duane/bmw/cupping/index.htm
 
Well, I may have left the tank in vinegar for a bit too long...

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That damn crevice between the bottom of the tank and the mounting plate.

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Probably going to cut this tank up and see if I can't save it, got nothing to lose at this point. Start shopping for a replacement.
 
the bottom of my CL100 tank was swiss cheese. local radiator shop fixed me right up. I did seal it afterwords w por-15.
 
trek97 said:
lol not jb weld. ;)

Anything but JB weld!

I got a lead on a XL in the area with motor w/"good compression" and chopped frame. If i can pick it up for a lowball it would be cheaper than rebuilding my motor.
 
Quick update. Been cleaning/painting random parts for reuse. A lot of it is pitted and looks mediocre at best but if i decide to keep this thing that will be for much later down the road.

Scooted over to a machine shop yesterday. The guy checked the offset on the jug, gave it a quick hone and I was on my way. Looks like the clearance is tight enough that I will be able to run stock rings and call it a day. Score +1.

Just about finished disassembling the carbs. I have never had anything as stuck as the throttle valve in this carburetor. Ended up tying copper wire (didn't have any steel lying around :-\ ) around the linkage, the other end around the needlenose, and twisting and prying until the fucker popped out. I probably fought with it for at least an hour, broke 3-4 pieces of doubled up copper wire, and it's a wonder I didn't break anything on the carb or my hands. Good news is all the brass looks to be in good shape. I picked up a full NOS carb rebuild kit for $16 on ebay, so can't beat that deal.

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