Since
1998
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The bike When I got there, the 2 Hondas were in the very back of the garage and each bike had a battery tender plugged into it. He seemed to be under the impression that I had driven over 1250 miles each way to merely look at the bike in the back of garage. After convincing him that I intended to take it back to Colorado the next day and Argentina about a week later, my dad and I shuffled all the bikes around and finally uncovered the XRL's. He had a '95 and a '97. Both had exactly 3400 miles, had never left pavement, and were cleaner than when they left Japan. Twenty five $100 bills later, the '95 was in the back of my truck. He told my dad he should lock me in my room till I came to my senses. The Problem THE HELP The first thing I did is rip off all the emissions stuff. I'm not a fan
of pollution, but it runs like shit with it. They make a blockoff kit for
about $20, but I'm on a budget, so I cut the hoses at the cylinder with a hacksaw
and welded the holes shut. The rubber hoses I plugged with about $1 worth
of stoppers from ACE hardware. I replaced the stock steel bendzamatic bars with a pair of aluminums bars with handguards from FUNWHEELS. I added a mount for the GPS (Garmin GPS V) while I was at it. I ripped off the speedometer and replaced it with a SIGMA bicycle computer I
had on the CBR900RR. I unplugged the wires I could and clipped the rest,
only to find that the turn signals, horn, and headlight don't work without the
indicator lights on the speedo to tell you they are still there. Many
connectors later, and all was operational again. I replaced the stock muffler with a SUPERTRAPP E-series from FUNWHEELS.
I got the Universal mount unit to save money and had an adapter made from the
pipe on the stock unit. The bolt to the stock exhaust pipe broke when I
tried to remove it, so I had to cut that all apart and weld a nut to the
pipe. I replaced the stock tank with a 4.5 gallon Clarke unit, also from FUNWHEELS.
I opted for the clear version so I could see how far till I had to push and
marked it at 1 gallon intervals. I fitted a new set of Bridgestone Trail Wings on each end from FUNWHEELS, as the stock tires were a bit worn. New jets are on order, so I put it the biggest main I had (152, I think) and took the beast out for a ride today (Feb 16) without any luggage. The verdict- still slow. Dog slow. But it's still really lean- even here at 5000 feet. I sure hope getting the jetting sorted out solves the problem. TWEAKING Jetting- even at 5000 feet, this thing is so lean stock that it barely runs. You must get some fuel to it. I bought some washers at the local hobby store and put one under the needle. Outside diameter= .25" thickness= .035" This made a huge improvement. Then I put in a 162 main and drilled the 2 holes in the slide to 5/32" dia. (The pilot is still stock but I've got 2 fatter ones on order.) Finally, this thing runs. Still too slow by my standards, but at least the front wheel isn't glued to the ground anymore. Luggage- I had a pair of Oxford Soveigrn saddlebags
that came with the 900RR when I bought it. Matt had used the exact same
thing before, so they must work. I welded up a guard to keep the right one
off the pipe and went for a ride to Boulder. Unfortunately, I had nothing
in the bags so the wind blew them backward and into the pipe, burning the right
bag beyond repair. DOH! EBAY to the rescue. One click on
Buy-It-Now and $100 later and another pair of bags is in the mail. (I
didn't try to buy just the right one.) I then welded up more of a guard
from the pipe. Chain- The stock chain does not have a master link so I broke it here and installed a master link so that I can change it when needed. I got a new DID O-ring chain, 2 rear sprockets (45 and 48 teeth), and 2 front sprockets (13 and 14 teeth), all from FUNWHEELS to carry as spares. Misc- I added a strap around the tank that may be
useful in tying down the backpack or pouches. I lowered the rear with a White Brothers lowering link from FUNWHEELS. I lowered the front by dropping the forks about 1" in the clamps. I had to cut a small section out of the kickstand to accommodate the lowering and welded it back together. |
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