Dirt Biking in the Cascades

[Superman]

Today I was standing in the parking lot of my office building thinking "Man it would be great to be at about 5000 feet in the Cascades."

Y'have a charmed life there, O'Higgins.

Just heat that fuselage up and bend it back down. The wrinkles will almost disappear. Then use bondo.

Wonderful Fall weather we've had. Wonderful time to be living right here. Wish I were at the top of a mountain.

At least, I've been riding lately too. Two hours each day. I-5. (rolleyes)

[Jeff Higgins]

Problem with bondo is that once it's at altitude, it freezes and falls off.

And yes, I do lead a charmed life. Luck'o'the Irish...

[ODDJOB UNO]

ummmmm..................isnt that like "OPERATOR ERROR!"


that was a damn good STRUT TEST!


if it aint BOEING................I AINT GOING!



cant wait to hear about all the "hidden" damage....................YIKES!


punch some holes in that ho-nads airbox, a k&n, get the xr's only cam/hi-comp piston,new timing chain, timing chain tensioner,carrillo rod, new valves,valve springs, bore it out, gear it,put it on a diet and give that husaberg a run for its money.

have fun in the land of HO-NADS(honda's).

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by ODDJOB UNO

ummmmm..................isnt that like "OPERATOR ERROR!"


that was a damn good STRUT TEST!


if it aint BOEING................I AINT GOING!



cant wait to hear about all the "hidden" damage....................YIKES!


punch some holes in that ho-nads airbox, a k&n, get the xr's only cam/hi-comp piston,new timing chain, timing chain tensioner,carrillo rod, new valves,valve springs, bore it out, gear it,put it on a diet and give that husaberg a run for its money.

have fun in the land of HO-NADS(honda's).

I'm reluctant to dig any deeper into the Honda than I already have. I've got the full XR's Only (Al Baker) header and muffler, I've opened up the airbox, done "Dave's mods" on the carb, de-smogged it, and I'm currently running the Uni filter in deference to our currently dry, dusty conditions. I started with a K&N and was advised against it for such conditions. Maybe I'll run it once it starts to rain again and the dust is settled down.

With the modest mods and re-gearing it up three teeth in the back (plus I have the stock 15 tooth front, along with a 14 and a 13), it now has all the power I can use. I swear, even those easy mods really woke this thing up, and I actually don't have a lot of trouble keeping up with the 'Berg anymore.

Speaking of dirt bike "power", I have a few thoughts on that. What feels like enough (or way too much) in the dirt still feels pretty underpowered on the road. Even the mighty 'Berg, which I've ridden a bunch, just does not keep up on the street. Oh, either bike is pretty damn quick to get up to 40-60 or so, but they have about run out of breath by then. That, and you've shifted four or five times by then. On the Ducati I've only shifted once...

Even my big, heavy, "underpowered" Road King will absolutely walk away from either of these bikes once over about 50 mph. Passing traffic on two lane highways is like doing it in a car; it takes a lot more room than even the big ass Road King. No matter how many times you downshift, they just don't have the performance at highway speed.

Oh well, those are just my observations. Good thing they are so much damn fun once off road, and they are at least passable in getting out to where we can do that. And, once off road, their barely adequate street power transforms into "f k me" scary off-road power. Funny how the perspective changes.

Dang, these things are fun...

[ODDJOB UNO]

i went 14 years 364 days on my 1985 XR-350RF(one yr only mfg w/single carb) before valve spring broke.

thats a hell of alot of riding. all i did was change oil/filter every 200 miles religiously.

when i did finally spring on every known to man XR's only mod, we went full bore and left no stone unturned.

i think i mentioned brand new day one with my fat lard azz on it, it would go 85mph wet full tank and gear on.

new parameters were a HUN-DERT (100) MPH and we did it!

the mikuni flat slide made a hell of a difference,as did xr header and rear super trapp xr tail pipe,k&n, gearing, air box mod,bore job ,big azz piston,carrillo rod blah blah blah and more blah blahs.


if ya find some good used upside down forks or send yers to RACE TECH, it will improve the hell out of how they handle 100%. then do rear shock(race tech) and get new spring to yer style/ability and weight..........you will think ya died and gone to heaven.


pitting for campbell/hengveld down in baja for a few years, we got the low down skinny on all that mods that DO WORK..............and the goofy ones that DONT WORK! right from honda corp in torrance ,kalif.


the most reliable bike i have ever owned. no fuss no muss no b.s. when ya wanted to ride.


oh yeah look for stainless steel mesh oil filter for them. simple solvent clean, filters mega more mucho microns of crap in oil, and simple.


mine runs great on shell/chevron pump primo, with some av gas for good measure at 50/50%.


al baker was killed in the middle of moving to flagstaff az flying his private along I-40 when he hit power lines. we were stunned to say the least and looking forward to having xr's only in our backyard. a real loss.


go to baja designs for improved lighting setups along with helmet lights.

[Jeff Higgins]

Dang, sorry to hear about Al Baker. I had no idea. I actually thought I was talking to him the couple of times I called XRs Only.

"The most reliable bike i have ever owned" is pretty much the consensus on the Honda XRs. That's what more or less sold me on them when I was shopping and researching big bore thumpers.

In the spirit of keeping it that way, I'm avoiding the big cam, high compression, and other internal mods. The 650L, for whatever reason, has a real reputation for running very hot as it is, even when jetted properly (they are quite lean right out of the box). Guys on the thumper forums report oil temps running into the 280+ range under "normal" operating conditions. There is an oil cooler in my future (a guy on ADV Riders has a very cool XR650L specific mount for the Jagg cooler) but, even at their oil-cooled best, these things still run in the 230-240 range. More power, of course, means more BTU's, making matters worse. I don't need a race bike. Like I said, this thing has more power than I can use in the dirt right now. No reason to compromise longevity for something I don't need. Besides, I could have just bought a 'Berg like Sam's, or a KTM, or a Husqvarna, or any number of much more powerful bikes, if that was what I wanted. I just wanted the big, lazy thumper for moseying around the woods. Right now, this "Big Red Pig" (as they are affectionately known), fills the bill perfectly.