1985 XR600 build

smashingpumpkins167
Edited Date/Time 9/6/2022 11:33am
This all started because I found a motor for $100 on craigslist. I took the head cover off and discovered why the motor was so cheap.



I guess in 1985 they were actually a little bit faster than the other models because they had the dual carb setup. I was able to pick one of those up for a pretty penny on eBay. $250 for two 35-year-old carbs

I have been just slowly buying parts to put it together. Im going to end up splitting the cases. It's my first four stroke rebuild. I will probably rebuild the crank and put all new bearings in the bottom end. The cylinder doesn't look too bad but I will get it honed.



I have a set of 2002 yz125 forks that I will put heavier springs in and I hope to have it end up somewhat like a scrambler. I found the right bearing and the steering stem should work.

I hope to end up with something like this. Stay tuned.



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smashingpumpkins167 10/19/2020 9:46pm
10/19/2020 9:46pm
Well shoot. This sucks, I dropped a valve. I'm contemplating getting a newer head and returning the $250 carbs... Or I could pay around $350 for a head rebuild.
timobijnen84 10/20/2020 12:09am
10/20/2020 12:09am
Is only the valve bent?
You can rebuild a head yourself for a lot cheaper.
burn1986
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burn1986 10/23/2020 10:03am
10/23/2020 10:03am Edited Date/Time 10/23/2020 10:04am
Sweet man. It looks like a fun rebuild. I’ve only done 2-strokes, but would love to do a 4-stroke.

The Shop

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smashingpumpkins167 10/23/2020 4:49pm
10/23/2020 4:49pm Edited Date/Time 10/23/2020 4:51pm
burn1986 wrote:
Sweet man. It looks like a fun rebuild. I’ve only done 2-strokes, but would love to do a 4-stroke.
Yeah I've always been kind of scared to do a four stroke, so this is a good first four stroke for me. The middle cam journal was pretty shot so I found a "new" head on ebay that looks to be in much better shape. I also bought steering stem bearings that should allow me to put the yz forks on. It is 1 mm too wide at the base, but otherwise the measurements are spot on. The steering stem is the right length already.

This should help with the steering stem bearing install. I just picked it up and am already having a lot of fun with it.

The new head


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smashingpumpkins167 10/23/2020 7:10pm
10/23/2020 7:10pm
My other clue as to what lead to the death of this motor is that it looks like this thing was ridden with this cover off. I'm not sure what the cover is called, but it is on the clutch side right in front of the oil pump. Anybody know what it's called so I can find it on ebay?
doitinthewoods 10/24/2020 4:59am
10/24/2020 4:59am
That’s where an oil lines gets bolted on to. I rebuilt my 650l and that looks very familiar
smashingpumpkins167 10/24/2020 6:10am
10/24/2020 6:10am
doitinthewoods wrote:
That’s where an oil lines gets bolted on to. I rebuilt my 650l and that looks very familiar
Aha, that makes sense. I noticed all the grime around it so I thought whatever it was, that maybe it became disconnected while somebody was riding it. Thanks.
smashingpumpkins167 11/26/2020 6:27pm
11/26/2020 6:27pm
Jake_R72435 wrote:
Any updates?
Not a lot unfortunately. I have bought a lot of odds and ends, including a new head, because my cam journals were shot and I had that bent valve. The original head was bone dry and had a lot of metal shavings on it, so that made me nervous.



I had to order large wrenches to get the cylinder bolts loose. I'm in a rural mountain area so most of my parts and tools get ordered online. I want to be able to check the rings and crank out and hopefully avoid splitting the cases. I'll be getting a cam soon since tomorrow is pay day. In theory I should be able to start it up if everything checks out. I have all the wiring, header, and carburetors.
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smashingpumpkins167 4/11/2021 6:39pm
4/11/2021 6:39pm
Well a lot has happened, some small progress was made too. We moved across the country and are finally set up to get some work done. I got the frame powder coated and should have the swing arm back soon from getting blasted and coated. I finally got the cylinder off with some help from my dad and the crank feels good so I won't be splitting the cases, only down side is that I won't be able to get the cases blasted. I'll just be polishing then with some elbow grease. The piston and cylinder looked really good. Our theory is that maybe the cam chain jumped and caused the snafu in the head. Lots of parts are being blasted now by a good friend who started his own company. Calls it restoblast out of Missouri. I'm going to dig into the forks next and get them anodized, I'm hoping for the factory look like these.


I'm also getting a lower triple clamp blasted and polished by Mullenix quality coatings in temecula CA, he was my go-to guy when I was on that did of the country. I got an applied upper that was already polished.






I picked up a random really cool looking exhaust too for pretty cheap on ebay. It's really fat and will probably be really loud. I really like the welds.


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smashingpumpkins167 7/7/2021 1:55am
7/7/2021 1:55am
I decided I need to get a welder, notcher and metal bender. Im going to try to get a subframe fabbed, this is my first time trying anything like this.

I got my parts back from the blaster. I was also able to line up some more lucrative work so hopefully things will start happening faster....but I do still have a one year old and another one due in November, so I'm definitely not making any promises.
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vanillaice782 1/26/2022 4:47pm
1/26/2022 4:47pm
Haha so I was booted for arguing about covid stuff, I went ahead and has them reactivate my original name. Frame is still getting welded. I casually reminded the guy that he has had it since October so he is actually working on it now. Motor is almost back together. I have another baby who is two months old. Maybe once he can walk I can get back out there more. I've needed a hair cut for like a month. Things move slow when you have two kids under two.



I also picked this up from a buddy. It's nice to have something that actually runs.

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vanillaice782 3/6/2022 2:35am
3/6/2022 2:35am
I am very close to having the motor back together, I just need to get the news cover on and a few odds and ends. I mostly just came here tonight to brag about securing these. I don't need them, but I remember when I first saw them in the pits after a supercross and they just looked so bad ass.


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vanillaice782 3/20/2022 12:25am
3/20/2022 12:25am
I got my frame and tank back finally. I'm thinking about just polishing the tank for now, but I'm still undecided. I got the enzo subtanks too. I have to end the caps off to Enzo to be drilled to install the valve at the top.





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Pit Row

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vanillaice782 5/12/2022 7:25pm
5/12/2022 7:25pm
Motor is in, loosely, waiting on the rear motor mount. This is a 96 frame so the top shock mount is actually off to the side a little bit, it would affect the airbox mounting, with the dual carbs. but I'm probably just going to put pods on the filters, I gotta do everything I can to keep the dual carb set up. I assumed these things were virtually unchanged for all these years, but I guess they did some changes. The shock I bought is for the older models too so I might be buying a newer shock to go with my 96 frame and 96 swingarm.



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vanillaice782 8/22/2022 12:52pm
8/22/2022 12:52pm Edited Date/Time 8/22/2022 12:55pm
It has been a minute since I've made any progress. I need to figure out the wiring harness, my dad drilled out the fork cap so I could put the fittings for the enzo subtanks. They were just a really cool looking part, that I used to see on the factory bikes, so I really wanted to do a set. I didn't have the upper steering stem bearing, so I couldn't technically mount the forks, but I threw a bond just to see what it looks like. I will still have to have some welding done to get the seat mounted too. I hope I can have it ready for a vintage racing October. I really don't know how this thing will handle on the track though. It will be weird. I use Scotch-Brite pads to add some texture to the gas tank. I'll probably end up doing some kind of paint job on it, but I'm undecided so far. I'm sure there will be some red white and blue.

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vanillaice782 8/22/2022 12:58pm
8/22/2022 12:58pm
A close-up of the seat that I had custom made by raretro moto. It was a really cool process. I took a lot of pictures of the frame rails, and measured angles and distances and he put it together while halfway across the world, and then mailed it to me when he was finished. I might take some foam out to make it a little shorter. We will see though



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vanillaice782 8/26/2022 8:07pm
8/26/2022 8:07pm Edited Date/Time 8/26/2022 8:08pm
I'm not totally sure about the electrical. I wired it up just like the manual said, I don't see any spark coming out with the spark plug, but I also am trying to kick over a 600cc motor with my hand. I can actually feel some electricity pulsating to the kill switch. So I think I might be good. I hope I can have the carbs and gas tank on soon so I can try to fire her up.
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Al259
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Al259 9/6/2022 11:33am
9/6/2022 11:33am
hey, if you have the plug out you should be able to get spark. Even by hand.
vanillaice782 3/26/2023 11:29pm
3/26/2023 11:29pm Edited Date/Time 3/26/2023 11:33pm

I'm so close. I had to send the head off for a rebuild. I broke a valve guide when I was compressing the springs to replace them. 20230310 072105

I have the carbs on with pod filters on. I will probably still have clearance issues though because the newer frame shock mount goes off to the side instead of straight down the middle like they did in the earlier days when they had two carbs. That was something that I realized when I was already months into this project.  I had the shock spring powder coated just because it will be very visible when this thing is all done. I have been scotch briting pretty much every nut and bolt as I put this thing together too. 

20230215 134201

One of my floats must be sticking because the passenger side carb is leaking when I turn the fuel on. Have to take them out again. I'm having a little bit of regret about the huge tank and frame modifications because it will probably make it feel pretty strange to ride, but if it's too had I was thinking I would get an unmodified frame and then I just need a tank and plastic after that. I hate casting lines so I took the grinder to the kick starter and I will do the same to the linkage, and any other lines I find. 20230311 080448

 

 20230322 190209.jpg?VersionId=ItESqL1fst8roAs6jRcMEqKm4DH

 

 20230223 180136

 20230315 183542

 This is a pro circuit rmz perch that I had bought a whole back. I was hoping to use the above small lever as a compression release, but I didn't have enough leverage with that tiny lever. So it will be for my choke instead. 

 

My next big purchase will be wheels. I'm not looking forward to that.

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vanillaice782 3/27/2023 12:02am
3/27/2023 12:02am

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 This was my temporary fuel line routing just to see if it would fire up. I have a new petcock on the way that shoots down and that should work a lot better. If I wanted to go straight to the carburetor I would have had to kink the line.

 

my youngest got his first mullet the other day and there is another one on the way  I have six months to get this thing done. Thanks for following along. 20230325 152851.jpg?VersionId=dfFhh4YeBPTs

 

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