Hey guys Ive been a Honda fan for a few years now and most of my experience is in the automotive world, but I have been wanting to get a bike for some time now and finally the other day my wish came true. A friend of mine was moving short notice and couldnt take anything with him so he offered me his bike for free and of course I accepted! The bike is a 1983 XL600R with only 6500 miles on it and Im absolutely in love with it! It isnt in brand new condition or anything but it is mechanically and structurally sound, the only things wrong with it are the speedometer had just recently stopped working and the rear part that holds the license plate is broken. I was wondering if anybody knew how to go about fixing the speedometer issue, and if you could let me know what that part is in the rear that holds the license plate (and possibly the rear turn signals) is called I would greatly appreciate it! I'll get some pics up shortly also!

 

Awesome swipe on the XL600! The speedo might be as simple as the cable coming loose from the hub or speedo. Get a service manual!

 

I actually have the service manual handy and will take a look, thanks for the heads up on where to look! Any idea on the other part that is broken?

 

On the enduros I've seen, the plate is mounted to the fender.

I was really considering an 86 XL600R but passed because it was kickstart only. I hear those older XL's rip!

 

pics!

 

The kick start is a little tricky, but once you find a rhythm its not too bad.
On the photos I have seen it looks like there is a bracket that connects to the rear fender that holds the license plate, but I cant find anything online to buy one, can anyone show me the light??

 

http://www.wheelingcyclesupply.com/s...gory&cat_id=72

I have personally bought from here multiple times and have always had great service.
I have the Edge tail light with plate bracket on my drz.

If you just need a plate bracket I wouldn't bother buying a new one, some "L" brackets from home depot will usually do the job well if you just take some of the bend out of them.

 

thanks for the tip man!

It was nice out today so I decided to shoot some quick pics of the bike, here they are:



as you can see the seat is pretty beat up, the rear turn signals are busted, the taillight is missing, and there is no place to mount the license plate. Ive already ordered new rear turn signals and a tail light, im going to try that L bracket suggestion to mount the plate, and the seat Im not really too worried about replacing it just yet.
and for good measure a shot of the girls together:


let me know what you think!

 

Get some "marine vinyl" from a fabric store. It's really easy to recover the seat, especially if you heat up the material so it stretches better. You just need a staple gun, scissors, and an extra hand to help stretch it on.

Otherwise, it looks great to me. You even have a Supertrapp muffler you lucky dog!

BTW, I think your bike has a 6-volt electrical system. You might want to verify that to be sure but it's good to know just in case.

 

Thanks for the comments man! Ill try that marine vinyl for the seat thanks.
btw what does it mean if the bike has a 6V electrical system?

 

take it off any sweet jumps yet?

 

lol, no not yet

 

id duct tape the seat back together and rock it just like that. free is always good. enjoy and ride safe.

 

damn u got a free bike hah thats pretty good

 

ya dude i was so stoked when i came up on it

 

not bad for a first bike.. i bet u that u will only keep that beater for few months haha

 

man free bikes are great, good luck with it.

 

no way man im gonna ride this thing for a while!

 

A dual sport bike is one of those bikes that every rider should own. To me, they are the essence of motorcycling and embody the concept of freedom to go anywhere and do anything.

bikers need not apply

 

you're starting to sound like one of those elitist ADVers

 

haha

i used to have a blast on my bros 89 transalp, awesome secondary bike !

 

anyone know how to take the seat off of this bike by chance? How many bolts/clips(?) are there?

 

I did a little poking around and figured out how to get the seat off to expose more of the wiring for the turn signals. My new ones came in and so I installed them today:


next on the agenda is installing my brake/tail light once it comes in, and then when my buddy gets back in town at the end of the month either he finds the title or we file for lost title and I can register the bike in my name, get a license plate on there and take it on some serious rides, not just around the neighborhood anymore!

edit: im still stumped on the speedometer, i tightened the speedo cable to the back of the speedometer (behind the headlight) as tight as I could and it still doesnt work. Is it possible that I need a new one or could it be something fixable?

 

The actual speedometer cable runs inside the housing. I'd loosen the housing from the back of the speedo to make sure wheel rotation is spinning the cable.

 

so I should take out the speedo cable from the back of the speedometer and spin the front wheel and see if it spins the cable?