1973 XL175 Vitamin C Hell Ride

Re: 1973 XL175 Orange Soda Hell Ride

Round 2 on the donor motor:

Transferred the transmission gears from the upper case to the lower case.

xl_08_zps68135a22.jpg


Then, while holding the crank shaft I dropped the top end onto the lower case. Not too bad. It took two tries, only because the case bearing on the crank shaft spun a bit and didn't align with it's pin. All buttoned up.

xl_09_zps17078e9d.jpg
 
Re: 1973 XL175 Orange Soda Hell Ride

Now I just wait on gaskets to put the motor back together. In the meantime, enjoy these sweet vintage AMA stickers that are on the top of the tank. I just bought a replacement pair of the triangle sticker from eBay, so it will remain a part of this bike.

xl_10_zps7979311f.jpg

xl_11_zpsceaafd6f.jpg
 
Re: 1973 XL175 Orange Soda Hell Ride

I've been focusing a bit on the CB360, but found the time to work on the XL this weekend.

77150-060414142853.jpeg

Got the kick start shaft replaced. I know there are a lot of theories as to why this happened on these XL's. I like Murray's theory that it may have to do with the set screw loosening and causing the lever to twist on the shaft. The splines on the broken shaft show obvious twisting and the end of the shaft looks like it twisted before it broke.

77150-060414142952.jpeg

I got the motor back together and cleaned up. Ready for install.

77150-060414143045.jpeg

A little aircraft stripper and carb cleaner got the carb all cleaned up.
 
Re: 1973 XL175 Orange Soda Hell Ride

Haha... So is the owner...
I will try to send you a picture of the tire we spoke of tomorrow if I get a chance to dig it out.
 
Re: 1973 XL175 Orange Soda Hell Ride

Started separating the wiring harness. As it sits, with no lights and no key switch, all the bike needs is 4 wires. I'll splice a few leads to add in lighting later.
77150-130414171123.jpeg
 
Re: 1973 XL175 Orange Soda Hell Ride

I still have that tire... If your getting ready to put this on the road I will try to get it out next week. Mount the other one I had on my cb350 and it looks really nice.
 
Re: 1973 XL175 Orange Soda Hell Ride

Ellwood said:
I still have that tire... If your getting ready to put this on the road I will try to get it out next week. Mount the other one I had on my cb350 and it looks really nice.
Thanks. There's still a little time. I'm putting the 360 back together and this one needs a new coil, which I haven't ordered yet. Wax came out, which tells me that mug is dead.
 
Re: 1973 XL175 Orange Soda Hell Ride

What's it take... I have two cb350 coils... Need to have spark wire replaced... But test out good
uvynahen.jpg
 
Re: 1973 XL175 Orange Soda Hell Ride

It's a 6 volt. I'm pretty sure a 12v coil will have a higher primary resistance and a lower secondary resistance which = crappy running motor. I think.
 
Re: 1973 XL175 Orange Soda Hell Ride

6 volt say no more.... My dream is a 6 volt.... Hell it doesn't even have a regulator.
 
Re: 1973 XL175 Orange Soda Hell Ride

I've got one of these with the broken shaft, and a replacement to install, so this is very interesting to me. I am so afraid of breaking the new shaft. I wonder if there's some way to "blueprint" a kick lever so that it's perfectly fitted to the shaft (more support for the shaft and splines.) Like just making sure the splines are all supported, especially the inner splines, and also that with the cross bolt, it's exactly where it needs to be on the shaft. The broken shafts just look like the kicker was hanging way out there levering on the end of the shaft, when it should have been in close to the case. I'd then be sure to Loctite the set screw, also.

Thanks for the great thread, and good luck with the build.
 
Re: 1973 XL175 Orange Soda Hell Ride

old school race trick on those was to cut a keyway in the shaft and kicker so the shaft was held by the keyshaft

i never saw one of the modded ones break
 
Re: 1973 XL175 Orange Soda Hell Ride

Surprised to see others currently working on a project I have been putting off for about a year.
I have an orange 1973 xl175 also with a kick starter issue. Has a little over 2400 miles on it, has great compression and collector plates so I can ride it on the road.
Was having fun riding it the last few years and on one ride went to kick start it and no longer cranked the engine, thinking the kick starter shaft broke inside the case (is this common?). Looks like yours is broke outside the case.
Since it was warm when it broke, was able to push start it and ride back to camp. It is a bit fussy to start when cold so push starting now is not doable.
Got a donor bike/motor with a kick starter that is engaging the engine they couldn't get running.
Did you get the motor back together? Where did you get the gaskets from and did you get new seals also?
Have lots of questions, was wondering if I could call you at some point offline to talk about your experience and recommendations on this project before I start.
My son is getting his motorcycle endorsement in a couple weeks and really wants to get this bike running again (wants to park it next to a 2013 Yamaha R6 some kid is riding to school). Thanks.
 
Re: 1973 XL175 Orange Soda Hell Ride

riding4fun said:
Got a donor bike/motor with a kick starter that is engaging the engine they couldn't get running.
Did you get the motor back together? Where did you get the gaskets from and did you get new seals also?
Have lots of questions, was wondering if I could call you at some point offline to talk about your experience and recommendations on this project before I start.
You can get gasket sets on eBay. That's where I got mine. The parts aren't as readily available as other bikes, but many are common to several model Hondas. I got the replacement kickstarter shaft from a donor bike that happened to have a good one. The donor was a 1979. I'm not sure if Honda fixed the issue by then, but hopefully this one will stay good. Right now, I'm still dead waiting to order new coils.
 
Re: 1973 XL175 Orange Soda Hell Ride

I finally got the little hell ride to run last night. It didn't run well, but it runs. The points are worn, so I'll order a new set, get it running well, then take her apart. Time to start ordering parts and resurrecting this build for the "kind'a sort'a" winter in Augusta, Georgia. The goal is to have this bike ready for Meltdown and the Spring Thaw.
 
Re: 1973 XL175 Orange Soda Hell Ride

Ellwood said:
Still got that tire...
Ha. I need it too. Looks like y'all had a great time. My dad gets discharged today. So all is well.
 
Re: 1973 XL175 Orange Soda Hell Ride

I've got a 1973 XL175 myself as well. My kickstarter is fine but I ran it out of oil while it was idling in my garage as I was trying to sort out some carb issues so I spend the summer rebuilding the top end. I found a nice used piston and cylinder and a set of NOS rocker arms on Ebay for cheap. Got it all back together but must have goofed up something because the timing was all wrong when I got it done so a buddy of mine took it to school where he's taking the motorcycle tech course and is working on it currently. Hopefully by next spring it'll be all done and ready for the trails.
 
Re: 1973 XL175 Orange Soda Hell Ride

Got it started up and idling really well. However, when I throttle it wide open it wants to backfire and shoot flame out of the header. I removed a coil from one of the advancer springs, as they seemed really weak, but I'm thinking that may have been a mistake. I'll change that spring out and give it another go. Regardless, it's a runner and after a few more tweaks I'll feel comfortable tearing this thing apart for a winter build.
 
Back
Top Bottom