Honda xl 350

Bumbling down the road near our office recently was a barely mobile example of how oddly illogical the human animal can be.

Subscribe to our free email news. Middlewight trail bike was a predecessor to the soft-roader. One of our favourite s trail bikes is the Honda XL above , though the top was the volume-seller. At kg for just odd horsepower, a is a bit of a truck by today's standards. And its off-road performance wasn't cutting edge even back then. However if you wanted something that could handle easy trails and still be a halfway reasonable road mount, it was a pretty good option.

Honda xl 350

Others agree to the sound aspect, but favor the wail of a Single straining under full load again that image of power. And, there are those that love big Thumpers for their characteristic low end grunt. The Thumper, then, is more than an engineering exercise in simplicity. They leaked oil, were hard starting, had less than reliable electrical components in many cases, and they were heavy! If things had continued that way, the big Single, in spite of the nostalgia, would have become a dead issue. The Single, you see, is just large enough, and just powerful enough to fit the image the buying public has conjured up, yet it has none of the vices 1 of the Thumpers of yesteryear. These are very similar to Dohertys in design, but are softer and considerably less durable. The fuel tank has been reshaped somewhat, but still holds 2. The exhaust system is immense, mounted low on the left hand side, and there are turn signals to aid in warding off city traffic. The turn signals, incidentally, are rubber mounted to aid survivability, and are easily removed and disconnected from the electrical system for serious off-road jaunts. Both tachometer and speedometer are present. The seat is large, almost overly so. It feels comfortable at first, but after a while the soft padding lets the rider bang against the seat bottom.

The tires are nearly a chapter on their own. Thank you for pointing out our error. However, honda xl 350, the revvy little engine felt much better on the street than on a forest road.

This Retrospective article was printed in the June issue of Rider Magazine. This four-stroke woodser was an immediate hit with the casual rider, and could even seduce two-stroke lovers away from their mounts. As an added bonus the XL K1 was quite adequate on the pavement. For less than one-thousand dollars anyone could buy this mid-sized thumper and go play on the thousands of miles of dirt roads that traverse this continent. You just had to keep in mind that the 2. Tripping down the tree-shrouded byways, where gravel could turn to sand, dirt to mud, the piston in the slightly oversquare cylinder 79mm bore, 71mm stroke provided a satisfyingly grunty response when the throttle was twisted.

Make Honda. This bike has been modified with a FT cc engine. All components work as they should. Tires are New. Chain and Sprockets are in good working order. All Cables and Switches function as they should smooth and crisp.

Honda xl 350

Claimed horsepower was The engine was a air cooled single cylinder, four-stroke. Fuel was supplied via a overhead cams ohc. It came with a 3. Stopping was achieved via expanding brake in the front and a expanding brake in the rear.

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I did not find any structural problems in the running gear. In exchange for looking funny, they were cramped. Done Reading. Shes My Blue Suede! When I got out I convinced my brother to get a new XL, it was bored to cc and my widowed sister-in-law still has it. And to pull out the choke if the engine was cold. They weave cars between the cones and clock the average speed. Goal one is to get it running and idling. The clutch is an XL unit that slots straight into the XL clutch basket without modification. The dealer makes out better on the XR? South U. Thanks Steve. I changed to RD shocks to lower the ride position, and lengthened the swing arm by two inches, for better stability at speed. Still reminisce about this bike. With tire pressures reduced, try 15 psi in front 12 psi in back, the XL will maintain pace at least as fast as the rider needs.

This Retrospective article was printed in the June issue of Rider Magazine. This four-stroke woodser was an immediate hit with the casual rider, and could even seduce two-stroke lovers away from their mounts.

After picking up a few parts on Ebay, I had a fully functional unit. So most of the parts are ordered and now I need to get down to more cleaning and painting the frame, which as the bottom photo shows, is really quite simple. Brakes and tires were obviously needed, so I began disassembly. See you down the road. I sold it to buy a car… stupid! They leaked oil, were hard starting, had less than reliable electrical components in many cases, and they were heavy! Also the rear tail light, license bracket and blinkers are all steel. View Article Pages. It appears most of the parts I need are available. No in both cases. Facebook Instagram Youtube. I had an old XL with a powroll kit in it and loved that bike, 74 I think it was. And all of this was to be done on a constrained budget.