1983 Honda XL600R Dual Sport Motorcycle

Posted on | April 18, 2008 | No Comments

I spotted this for a reasonable price and couldn’t resist. The motor in it is junk I’m told and has no compression. Though the bike came with an XR600R motor to swap in!!! The XR600 motor has a smaller diameter bore and longer stroke than the XL600 motor that comes stock on these dual purpose bikes. As a result the XR600R motor produces less peak horsepower, but WAY more torque for gnarly off-road conditions.

Just like the TT350 this bike is a single cylinder with dual carbs. They produced this bike in dual carbs for several years and then switched it to a single carb as technology improved. However, the early dual carb motors produce more power than all other Honda 600 singles. In fact, top racers in later years would swap the old style heads and carbs onto their more modern bikes.

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I just can’t seem to get enough of Dual Sport bikes lately. I’ve owned around 50 street bikes in the last few years, and very few off-road bikes. I’ve got the off-road itch and I can’t shake it. That’s why the last couple pages of this blog have been nearly all off-road bikes rather than my usual vintage streetbike projects. I used to dirtbike all the time when I was younger, and also when I had my first KTM 300exc a few years ago. It’s just more fun that street riding, but can be difficult when you live in the city, like I do.

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I have owned nearly every make and model of vintage Japanese motorcycle as well as a number of other Europeans and more modern bikes. I do everything from simple fixes to full restorations. I also travel and ride every chance I get.

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