Project XL175, Down Under!

[parraeels101]

Gday from Australia!

First of all my name is Mitch and I'm 19.

This bike had been owned by my grandfather for as long as I can remember. He bought it off a bloke who had it sitting in a paddock for years, and it was in a pretty sad way. The seat had rotted through, the years of rain had pooled itself in the carby and cylinder, so of course the motor was seized.

However, after a bit of work, an engine rebuild and with help from a few parts bikes the old XL was complete. He used it for shooting, but apparently it only had a few more hours put on it before it was parked in the garage, where it remained for years.

I was never big enough to ride it, it just sat in the garage collecting dust. That was until a few years ago, where we decided it was time to blow the cobwebs off and kick her over. After stuffing around with things like the stator and the carby, it was time to kick it over. I must've had too much weetbix for breakfast that morning because snap went the old kick starter shaft! Spewin.

Back in the shed it went for another few years, until now. Well Ive decided to take the bike off his hands and fix her right up. I'm hoping to keep the project rolling on until she's complete, and of course I want it done as soon as possible! But we'll see what happens.

The good things are she's pretty much complete. Both side covers are there, albeit are cracked. Easily repaired IMO. It has the original exhaust, although the tailpipe has had some dodgy patches welded on over the years. I'll probably have to make do since I doubt I'll find any better.

Much sadness ?

This however, makes me happier

Well I think thats enough from me, hopefully all the pictures work. I'll try my best to keep this thread updated, theres nothing worse than a project thread that dies in the ass. Please share all your thoughts and opinions, I'd be glad to hear em.

Cheers guys

[Qqqqqqqqqqqq]

what level of restoration do you hope to achieve ?

[brraaapperdoodle]

sweet ride! I'm glad to hear you didn't decide to let it sit for another few years. Hopefully with a little tuning you can be on the road in no time. Did you get a title? Or do you not need one of those over there to get it legal? ?

[basketcasebill]

check out the kicker return spring when you have it apart, they like to crack on the inside twist

[parraeels101]

what level of restoration do you hope to achieve ?

Basically I just want it looking good, like a factory paintjob etc. I plan to powdercoat alot of the hardware (frame,etc) and probably rechrome the stuff that needs doing. I know its gonna cost a bit but oh well :0

sweet ride! I'm glad to hear you didn't decide to let it sit for another few years. Hopefully with a little tuning you can be on the road in no time. Did you get a title? Or do you not need one of those over there to get it legal?

Thanks mate. No need for a title as such here, I believe it just has to have all the required equipment for street use (I have blinkers, etc for it)

check out the kicker return spring when you have it apart, they like to crack on the inside twist

I'll be sure to mate, thanks for the tip ?

[Qqqqqqqqqqqq]

like this

http://www.bikepics.com/pictures/2105493/

[parraeels101]

like this

http://www.bikepics.com/pictures/2105493/

Its a 1976 model, so by rights it should be blue. But I'm not a fan, I'm toying with the idea of painting in the 1975 colour scheme of red and black.

[brraaapperdoodle]

Its a 1976 model, so by rights it should be blue. But I'm not a fan, I'm toying with the idea of painting in the 1975 colour scheme of red and black.

Don't do red and black, Thats a 70's bike and I think sticking with the blue or that orange and black chooken showed you looks right. But really, paint it however you like it ?

[parraeels101]

Don't do red and black, Thats a 70's bike and I think sticking with the blue or that orange and black chooken showed you looks right. But really, paint it however you like it ?

Hmm, I guess I have plenty of time to think about it. But I'm a big fan of the red and black, like this one:

[brraaapperdoodle]

Hmm, I guess I have plenty of time to think about it. But I'm a big fan of the red and black, like this one:

That looks really good. That looks like more of the Tahitian Red color which is one of my favorites

[parraeels101]

That looks really good. That looks like more of the Tahitian Red color which is one of my favorites

Yep thats the tahitian red model, which is probably my favourite at the moment ?

[hinksy]

I had 3 of these when I was your age , they are the absolute best bike and can be made to go really well . I had 2 orange and black and one blue , I think the orange and black is by far the best colour scheme . I hope you can restore it to some of its former glory , have fun , greg

[parraeels101]

Small update. Began the tedious task of stripping the bike down today. So far everythings coming apart quite easily. For the time being I'm going to leave it as a roller so I can still move it around, and I'm yet to remove the engine.

One of the things that worry me is the exhaust. When I removed it it was obvious it was full of rust and crap, as when you shake it it rattles and dust and chunkage like wasp nests fall out of the ends and the small rust holes which seem to be appearing. Im starting to think the exhaust may not be restorable, which is somewhat of a problem. I'll either have to find a good/fixable 2nd hand one or perhaps make one up???

I know muskett mufflers over in UnZud make replica exhausts, but I also know they don't make the mufflers for the 76-78 models. I'm tossing up whether or not to send mine over so they have an example to copy, which means I'm going to have to cough up for shipping and then probably several hundred bucks for a new exhaust.

Decisions decisions. Oh well, I'll think about it for a while

[brraaapperdoodle]

Im starting to think the exhaust may not be restorable, which is somewhat of a problem. I'll either have to find a good/fixable 2nd hand one or perhaps make one up???

I recently Have been looking how to fix my exhaust on my XL, and I can tell you the cheapest way to do it is to take your old exhaust to a muffler shop, I did that with mine and the guy looked at me like "you thought this was going to be hard?" My local muffler shop said they would bend me a pipe and weld everything together for $20 bucks if I just brought them a new muffler. I had no idea it would be that easy. They are used to dealing with larger diameter pipe and much larger sections of exhaust so when he saw the 1 1/8 pipe I brought he was relieved, no big deal. Either way you have to have an exhaust so you will figure it out haha.

[parraeels101]

Small update everyone. RE the exhaust issue, I managed to pick up a brand new Hooker exhaust off eBay over in the good ol US of A. Some of you may have seen the listing? Anyways, at least I've sorted out the exhaust which will definately let the engine breathe a bit better, now I'm on the hunt for a big bore kit and decent cam ?

If anyone can help me out with either of these things please PM me. I'm definately willing to pay for the right items

Edited January 27, 2012 by parraeels101

[parraeels101]

Pretty much got the whole thing stripped down to the frame now, just gotta take off the triple trees and everything will be ready for sandblasting and powdercoating.

[Motosprtman]

musket mufflers may have a repolacement pipe. The XL175's are unique! in that they share nothing with the others engine wise. Next bikes from a simpler time.

[parraeels101]

Well I was pretty excited with what greeted me when I got home from work today ?

My new exhaust finally came in from the US!!!

I took a fair few pics so bear with me...

Still in the original box

Its still in top condition, considering its 30+ years old

This little bag had never been opened

I thought this was pretty cool, an old school Hooker merchandise brochure as well as a couple of old Hooker decals (wonder if they're still sticky haha)

So yeah I'm pretty stoked with the new system. Couldnt believe how much lighter it is compared to the stock one too. I think it'll look sick on the bike and make it go a bit better too =D

Let me know what you guys reckon.

[hinksy]

parra , I had the Hooker and torque pipes on my xl 175's . The hooker is good product and sounds great . In your pics , it looks like yours has a high pipe , I had the lower version that went along the bottom frame rail and curved back up after the foot peg to just above the rear axle . You asked about bigbore kits , if you can source it , I used a burt kingston 200 kit in all 3 of my 175's . There was a 210 available in the 70's , but it proved unreliable and used to blow . If all else fails then try an xr 200 motor , I am not 100 % sure , but I did toy with the idea of swapping one once and had a close look . They seemed to be compatible ( this was the early twin shock model ) . But then I thought why not just get an xr , never did though . Once you get going you should find the bike an excellent slider . I used to be a bit of a circle freak and would take any opportunity to get the rear end sliding . They also have a good point of balance when doing wheelstands , so you will also get many hours of fun from that too . All in all they are a good little motor with more than enough power to get the front wheel up and will take a hell of a lot of abuse . I caned the living daylight out of my 3 and the motors never failed , the frame and suspension , now that's another story , greg .

[parraeels101]

parra , I had the Hooker and torque pipes on my xl 175's . The hooker is good product and sounds great . In your pics , it looks like yours has a high pipe , I had the lower version that went along the bottom frame rail and curved back up after the foot peg to just above the rear axle . You asked about bigbore kits , if you can source it , I used a burt kingston 200 kit in all 3 of my 175's . There was a 210 available in the 70's , but it proved unreliable and used to blow . If all else fails then try an xr 200 motor , I am not 100 % sure , but I did toy with the idea of swapping one once and had a close look . They seemed to be compatible ( this was the early twin shock model ) . But then I thought why not just get an xr , never did though . Once you get going you should find the bike an excellent slider . I used to be a bit of a circle freak and would take any opportunity to get the rear end sliding . They also have a good point of balance when doing wheelstands , so you will also get many hours of fun from that too . All in all they are a good little motor with more than enough power to get the front wheel up and will take a hell of a lot of abuse . I caned the living daylight out of my 3 and the motors never failed , the frame and suspension , now that's another story , greg .

Thanks for all the info Greg =)

Yep this is the high pipe, since mine is a 76. It looks awesome, and you can actually fit the old header pipe inside the new one with room to spare, so it will flow so much better.

In regards to big bores, I can't really be picky because this stuffs as rare as rocking horse s@#$. I emailed Bert a while ago via his website as he used to do a 205cc kit, but he no longer stocks them ? He said it probably wouldnt be worthwhile restocking them either due to the large number he'd have to purchase. So it seems that the only options left are a Henry Abe 210 kit if I can find one.

As for dropping another motor in, I'm not really looking to get rid of the 175 engine. I'd like to persevere with the stock motor and see what I can do

In regards to sliding, yes I have heard that they are great sliders and I'm sure I'll find out one day haha. And tbh I never thought I'd be able to get the front wheel in the air on this thing but hey you never know.

Cheers, Mitch

Edited February 10, 2012 by parraeels101