Racing an '84 XL200r

[foytix]

Got some goodies in today.  From comparing the new foot pegs to the original it doesn't appear they'll be any lower, but the middle of the pegs look like they'll sit about 3/4" to 1" further back.  Should give me more room.  Now I'll just need to get some handlebar risers to match.  Also should note that I got a new rear tube installed, and made some adjustments to my rear brake so hopefully it will be working better as well.  I removed my shock and linkage asm.  I wanted to see if the link and shock off my 82 xr200r would work (not quite sure with the stock swing arm).  I found one of my links is frozen solid so I'll spend some time and try to get her freed up.  Sucks they don't have the grease fitting like the XR versions do.....

 

New foot pegs.  Aside from being wider and further back they're also more solid as the original ones were rubber mounted.

 

New strap to pick up and move the bike, handy for tons of uses.

 

Looks like not too much will be needed.  Make the mounting holes a 10mm and use a pin or bolt.  Take off some of the stop metal on the pegs.  The factory spring will work.  So hopefully an update in a few days.

[foytix]

Got the peg install finished up today.  Also installed the grab handle.  I re-installed the cleaned up and properly lubed rear suspension last night.  I also then set my sag up,  was set way soft previously (had never touched it).  I'm so looking forward to giving her a workout in the AM.  All this is in preparation for the final VCHSS race on Nov 1st (so looking forward to it).

 

Cleaned and freed up the seized suspension link.  Ran it through the ultrasonic cleaner then had to use a press to get the bushing out.

 

The rear grab handle was pretty straight forward.

 

The pegs used a much bigger diameter pin 10mm to be exact.  I drilled out the mounts.  For the pin I used some 10mm shoulder bolts and cut to size then drilled for a pin.  As far as material removal all I need to do was to grind some of the lower stop off and remove the upper stop.  The rest worked perfectly, even re-used the stock return springs.

 

Things still to do before the race.  New fork oil and seals.  Possibly try some handlebar risers to move them up a tad, but more importantly forward.  The factory triple has the bars mounted pretty far back for aggressive use (although I've gotten use to them).

[Firestone]

Sorry to but into your thread, I just wanted to share my home made riser with you.

And extra pair of top clamps and a piece of 1/4" galvanized steel.

www.flybynorth.com/risers1.jpg

www.flybynorth.com/risers2.jpg

[foytix]

Ride report from the upgrades.  I like!  Takes a little getting use to, but I'm liking the bigger / repositioned pegs.  Also the rear suspension adjustment was a huge upgrade, can't believe I hadn't done that sooner. 

 

Sorry to but into your thread, I just wanted to share my home made riser with you.

And extra pair of top clamps and a piece of 1/4" galvanized steel.
 

 

I like what you did with the risers.  I really just wish I could move mine forward with out raising them, but it looks like I'll just have to bite the bullet and give it a go.

 

Here's another short vid for those that like watching

 

https://youtu.be/SJ9tkV77_hQ

[Firestone]

Cool! Man I can't even see a trail in a lot of your woods. You hustle through the bush on that little bike!

[BFMDan]

Um . . . what's the difference between a XL200r and a XR200r?

 

HB

[foytix]

Technically speaking the XL is the street legal dual sport version of a XR.  Different suspension, less aggressive engine, wide ratio 5 speed trans, more lighting along with signal lights and a more powerful charging system, metal fuel tank, frame is actually different, more weight, sure there's more.  Although mine is ultimately halfway between both right now, no longer street legal, and possibly lighter LOL.

Edited October 21, 2015 by foytix

[chadzu]

Pegs look good. It made a big difference on my bike. It's much easier to weight the pegs properly, helps out the handling quite a bit.

[foytix]

Thanks.  I also noticed it was much easier to weight the pegs and the handling was improved quite a bit.  I wasn't sure if it was more the pegs or the rear shock adjustment, or both.  Either way I liked the difference.  Tonight I finally started on my fork rebuild.  Also redoing the front brakes and wheel bearings while I have them off.  Looks like it may be a good idea to replace the brake cable while I'm there (it's a tad stiff).  I did lube it and will let it sit overnight and check it again in the AM.  Major bonehead move on my part though.  Pulled the front forks and forgot to strap the bike down.  All was good till I took the last fork leg off.  Then it all started sliding back.  I didn't want to drop the fork leg and one arm just wasn't stopping it at that point.  Down off the stand she went right onto her side.  Somehow it managed to put a dent in my head pipe ****!  I'll hopefully rebuild the forks tomorrow during my lunch break, at least that's the plan.

 

 

 

 

[blackfly53]

Let us know what air pressure you end up running in forks.

[foytix]

Let us know what air pressure you end up running in forks.

 

I'm not planning on running any air pressure in the forks.  I'll most likely use the valves to just release an pressure before riding (with the tire off the ground of course).  Well I got the bike ready for some more testing in the AM.  The race is next weekend on Nov 1st.  The fork rebuild went pretty smooth aside from having to do it over 2 days during lunch at work.  2nd bonehead move putting the forks back on.  I strapped the bike to the ceiling (since bonehead move #1 put it on the ground).  During this process I was straddling the seat with my feet on the smallish 12x12 and lost my balance.  Went to put my foot down wearing shorts and my calf caught my awesome new pegs.....OUCH (they bite).  When I started the bike earlier, I also found out bonehead move #1 compromised my exhaust gasket a tad, blah.  While I was at it I did the front wheel bearings, brakes and installed a new brake cable (old one had a kink and was just way too stiff).  I also installed a Moose EZ3 clutch lever (huge improvement).  That along with my already extended clutch arm makes one finger clutching feel effortless.  As always I'm getting ready to bomb you with pics (sorry and you're welcome all at the same time hahaha).  Maybe later tomorrow evening or sometime Mon I'll have a short clip of my ride tomorrow AM.  After that I've got a few buds coming over and we're cutting more trail (their idea not mine, I wasn't going to turn down the offer).

 

Very possible these are 30+ years old......extremely possible LOL.

 

This was easy, not sure why I've been putting it off.

 

Only the best......Motorex

 

!!!!OUCH!!!!!

 

Well this looks alot better, no oozing oil.

 

EBC's grooved shoes

 

Can't wait to put this clutch lever through the ringer.  Preliminary testing has me grinning from ear to ear.

[foytix]

As promised, here's the video from yesterdays AM ride.  Everything seems to be working great on the bike.  After I went down (damn vines) I noticed it was a tad harder shifting.  Hopefully I didn't screw something up.  They later my buds came over and we got some serious trail cut in, about .75 miles in about 5 hours.  I should note that this trail section had to be wide enough for quads, as my buds can't seem to function on 2 wheels LOL.

 

https://youtu.be/YOxflwVgvu8

 

[rkeeter321]

Dude ! That's some slick riding. The 200 is really coming along !!

[foytix]

Thanks man.  RACE DAY today.  Had a great time out at the Pipsico 100 (not actually 100mi).  The weather was perfect just under 70 degrees,  slightly misting but not enough to make it muddy, and it was overcast.  The track was awesome and naturally progressively got worse as expected.  On the 35+C line we had 13 entries.  I was around 7th into the woods and held my pace for awhile as I was getting reacquainted to racing the ole XL.  There is a big difference between laying hot laps on my practice course and racing.  About 10 min in my arm was PUMPING and I felt like I fell off the pace slightly.  Somewhere halfway through the 2nd lap I apparently blew my front tube.  I didn't realize what happened and just kept on trucking.  I kept hearing this hissing sound and thought "damn I must have screwed up my fork rebuild", and just kept right on getting it.  Thinking back I do recall the front running high in the turns and the suspension acting a little weird on the log crossing....it all made sense after the race.  Anyhow I kept right on it, worked through my arm pump and kept up a decent pace.  Good enough to get 8th in class and 78 out of 184 riders for the morning overall.  I did stay on the lead lap, we only ran 3 total.  The overall winner crossed at 1:34,  I was at 1:58 and the final person on the lead lap came through at 2:20.  My 2nd and 3rd laps were faster than my first, even with the flat and ironically they were almost identical.  Here's a link to the class lap times for anyone interested http://vchss.org/results/vchss_standings_frame_main.htm and the overall lap times http://vchss.org/results/vchss_standings_frame_main.htm .  My dad came along to ride my bosses XR400r, he's getting a crf230 but not until next week.  I also had a customer from work tag along with his CRF230.  There were a fair share of Honda classic thumper in the woods, probably 10+ easy.  Overall had a great time with friends and no serious injuries, all in all a good race.  I'll post a link to the youtube video once I get it loaded up.

 

 

 

 

[foytix]

Lap one video is up For those that may not want to watch all 40 min I'll mention some of the key times to watch.  Obviously the start, at 7:45 for a good pass and one of the hill climbs (almost stalled it), at 22:45 for some good attempted passes,  lastly at 28:30 I missed a shift and got passed by 2 Suzuki's the later being a thumper....for some reason lit a fire under my arse and put me back into high gear.  There's plenty more action in the video if you feel like taking the time,  plus it was a beautiful course.

 

https://youtu.be/E3cyJ9BN5AU

 

Here are a few photo's as well.

 

The Start, this was out of 13 riders so you can see I'm sitting pretty good.  You can see the guy in the background cutting that corner hard,  also seen in the video.  Didn't think about it at the time, but that was pretty dirty right on the start to make a cut like that.

 

Just getting on through the woods.

 

One of many log crossings, this being one of the smaller ones you could hit with some decent speed.

 

One of my friends on his crf230f he was in the 50+ class and was able to finish all 3 laps as well.

 

[foytix]

Finally getting around to fixing the flat tire.  Soon I shouldn't have to worry about this as much.  I got a stellar deal through work on a set of Tubliss tire systems.   Just want to install them on the wheel I'll end up using permanently (haven't 100% decided on what forks I want to run).  I'm open to suggestions on that matter.  My choices are '84 xr250r 38mm ,  '87 xr250r 41mm , or 97+ xr250r 41mm cartridge (I'd need to purchase these is the biggest downside).  If I stick with the damper units I'll have Bruce Triplet work his magic,  I just don't care for the overhang under the axle on these units.  That's what is so appealing to me about the newer xr250r forks. 

 

 

Playing around with rear links and shock options.  This hybrid link setup (xl/xr) allows more down travel and a slight more seat height with the XL shock.  However with the '82 200R shock it's cycling close to 11" which is where I really want to end up.  That being said, a standard rebuild is out of the question since I found a spot on the shaft where the chrome has worn off and there is some pitting.  Options range from Works Guts Cartridge,  RaceTech Shockshaft w/ gold valves, or maybe just an entire Hagon shock.  For the time being until I get the shock figured out I'll roll on the stock '84 XL200r shock which despite being 30+ years old and being put through the ringer still has a good charge and no leaking seals !!!! CRAZY !!!!

 

 

 

 

[foytix]

In the process of rebuilding one of my sets of XR250r forks to use on the XL.  This particular set is either a '84 or '85 not 100% sure, not that there's a difference.  This will give me the disk brake for the front, a little more travel, and a more rigid front suspension (not that I really have a problem with the one on there now).  These puppies are in a desperate need of a rebuild.  One of the forks just did not want to give up the seal, by the time I got it out the inside washer was TOAST lol.  Clearly someone has been in these before and just guessing here but probably didn't have a clue what they were doing.  They completely removed the upper short spring and just put a piece of pvc in, and yes I know that can be a common practice for using a spring that is slightly too short.  It was probably a bit excessive in this case though IMO.  I figured out that the stock CRF230f springs are 5mm longer than the 2 stock springs,  and should be better rated for me using them on the XL.  Not to mention they are dirt cheap through Honda, go figure.  The rest of the parts on the other hand......discontinued.  Lucky for me I'm use to dealing with discontinued parts.  We had the inner bushings at work, score.  The outer bushing, washers, and new clips I'm ordering from Kawasaki (they use the KYB38c on the KLR650 up to 2007).  None of that was available aftermarket (other than RaceTech $$$$$), the seals are Moose racing which I've had good luck with.  The springs are on back order until the end of Dec, so I'm considering just sending my damper rods to Bruce to work his magic on them.  In the mean time the bike is still together so I can enjoy it as is for now while I build these forks up.   All in good fun.

 

completely dis-assembled

 

yeah these bushing are TOAST (this was on the side I had to hammer out for what felt like days) the other side wasn't this bad.

 

Here's the washer from all the hammering,  it's supposed to be completely flat.

 

Little bit of unobtanium we had at work (Turner's Honda) they had only been in stock 240 months.

 

Previous owners were slack in the paint dept, talk about over spray.  Goof be gone, already cleaned the one on the top.  Stuff works pretty good.

I'll put it to the test tomorrow on the front wheel they painted so well....hack, hack.

[BFMDan]

Thanks.  I also noticed it was much easier to weight the pegs and the handling was improved quite a bit.  I wasn't sure if it was more the pegs or the rear shock adjustment, or both.  Either way I liked the difference.  Tonight I finally started on my fork rebuild.  Also redoing the front brakes and wheel bearings while I have them off.  Looks like it may be a good idea to replace the brake cable while I'm there (it's a tad stiff).  I did lube it and will let it sit overnight and check it again in the AM.  Major bonehead move on my part though.  Pulled the front forks and forgot to strap the bike down.  All was good till I took the last fork leg off.  Then it all started sliding back.  I didn't want to drop the fork leg and one arm just wasn't stopping it at that point.  Down off the stand she went right onto her side.  Somehow it managed to put a dent in my head pipe ****!  I'll hopefully rebuild the forks tomorrow during my lunch break, at least that's the plan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe I missed a post . . . but, where'd you get the Header?

 

HB

[foytix]

^ LOL, it's back there somewhere (I think).  It's a FMF powerbomb for a CRF230f, shortened up just a tad (removed the reducer on the end). 

 

On another note, sending the damper rods out of the xr250r forks to Bruce Triplett tomorrow.  Getting excited to get the front end all built up.

[foytix]

So I shipped out my rods to Bruce on Tuesday.  He left me a voice mail this afternoon and said he was done with them.  He said they'll be in the mail tomorrow.  Talk about fast turn around and great service.  The rods will be back to me before all the bushings I ordered for the forks will be here LOL.  Hopefully everything will make it in soon,  I'm off from Christmas until after New Year and would love to be able to test out the new stuff, after some assembly.