Gotta love this bike they don’t make them like that no more … Honda XL 250 Motosport was my first ride didn’t have a license (17 lmao 😅) … what a blast the good ole days … btw good music awesome vid good job 😎🇺🇸✌🏽
Nice work , my first bike was an xl250s 1980 model . Now have the xr400r 2003 model. Great bikes. Always fancied a 350 to do as a running project like yours. Great work.👍
Thank you! The 350 is kinda what got me hooked on the vintage Hondas. I also have a couple XR400s on my channel you should check out. Thanks for watching!
Nice bike, my friend had a 75 xl 350 and I had a 74 xl 250 and he could smoke me on the highway....100 cc makes a big difference...BTW, changing the counter sprocket to make it "taller" is a good option with those bikes... if I remember, his stock would run around 75-80 MPH, I would go with a smaller sprocket on my 250 which made it a much better trail bike...enjoyed the video, ride safe.
One of these was the first bike I ever owned, bought for NZ$1000 (US$600 now, I don't know what it was then) in 1980 when I was in my last year of high school. 1974, same colour, not red&black like later ones. I used it to commute (holidays and Easter etc) 300 km to university for my first two years, then updated to a 1980 XR250. The 350 wasn't all that great off-road, except that it was one of the best things around at steep but relatively smooth hill climbs e.g. firebreaks. Certainly better than any of my friends had at the time. The only problem I had with the bike was the exhaust to head joint. No matter what I tried it somehow destroyed the gasket again and again and turned into the most anti-social thing imaginable.
That’s awesome! My friend has the same 74 XL350 but his was setup for more off-road use with a Hooker high pipe and beefier rear shocks with more travel. That thing does pretty good in the woods for its age and climbs like a tractor. He was blasting around the hare scramble loop pretty quick too if you watch the newest video that I had uploaded yesterday. You can see it in action in front of me.
@@Garage2Trail Cool! That XL350 sounds noisy -- about how mine was when the exhaust gasket was on the way out. Normally the 2-valve XL 250/350 were super quiet. That XL500S sounds very civilised. I think I've never ridden one. I've ridden the XR500 and both XL and XR 250s. There's really something special about the engines in those 23" front wheel, laid forward shocks bikes. In the 250 it made a really significant power difference whether you had XL or XR (especially because my XR250 had the official Honda +5 HP kit), but it probably didn't matter much in the 500. Back in those days the XR185/200 was also super popular in enduro events as they were very light but made almost the power of the 250. In my area in New Zealand there was someone who put an XR200 engine in an RM125 frame and did pretty well in full-on motocross. I had a 1986 XR600 right through the 90s, then didn't have a dirt bike at all for 20 years. Now I'm just putting around on a 2019 CRF250 Rally. ua-cam.com/video/BWq632ZHWLQ/v-deo.html
@@BruceHoult his XL350 has an aftermarket high pipe. It’s a Hooker one piece which I’m assuming was a good hop up for those back in the day. His 350 runs very strong. That XL500S is very mild mannered down low but if you get on it, the mid range pulls deceivingly hard and gets up to speed quick. It’s stuck in 1st gear though most of that video. Great bike. Sold it while I was out there to a guy that appreciates those years too. Glad it went to someone like that.
This is the bike that got me hooked on the vintage stuff. It will cruise roads at low revs but can climb snotty hillclimbs too. My buddy has the same bike that has real knobs on it and it climbs really well. Tractor like power.
Nice! What was that tool you used for drifting the fork seals in? I understand the early Hondas suffer from the triple tree becoming fragile with age so be careful when opening the clamps up to release the forks. They are getting hard to find now.
I had no idea! Thanks for the info…I’ll be extra careful in the future. That was just a piece of scrap aluminum and the old seal I was using to press it in.
Thank you for the feedback and the sub! I’m not great at talking that long on video yet and I feel there would be a lot of boring and repetitive commentary by me lol. I will give it a go at some point to have more dialog in future videos!
🤔 I have 74 XL 350 black and red in about the same condition but my heat guard on the exhaust is just a solid black piece its not a perforated crammed guard like this one?🤷
There is a Facebook group for XL250 and 350 side ports. If you join, there are files of workshop manuals that people uploaded for free. There are wiring diagrams there.
Thanks! I need to find an XL250 sometime to complete the XL lineup lol. Check out PB Sprockets. That’s where’s I got mine. If you google them you should be able to find their online store. PB Sprockets also has an eBay store you might want to look for too.
Gotta love this bike they don’t make them like that no more … Honda XL 250 Motosport was my first ride didn’t have a license (17 lmao 😅) … what a blast the good ole days … btw good music awesome vid good job 😎🇺🇸✌🏽
Thank you! It’s my favorite bike to cruise around town on. Super torquey.
Nice work , my first bike was an xl250s 1980 model . Now have the xr400r 2003 model. Great bikes. Always fancied a 350 to do as a running project like yours. Great work.👍
Thank you! The 350 is kinda what got me hooked on the vintage Hondas. I also have a couple XR400s on my channel you should check out. Thanks for watching!
I could not for the life of me get the fork seals out. Thank you for showing how you did this. Heat really did the trick.
Awesome, glad it helped! Thanks for the feedback!
Nice bike, my friend had a 75 xl 350 and I had a 74 xl 250 and he could smoke me on the highway....100 cc makes a big difference...BTW, changing the counter sprocket to make it "taller" is a good option with those bikes... if I remember, his stock would run around 75-80 MPH, I would go with a smaller sprocket on my 250 which made it a much better trail bike...enjoyed the video, ride safe.
Thank you, and thanks for sharing! I love that my videos triggers memories of these awesome bikes and I enjoy hearing them.
One of these was the first bike I ever owned, bought for NZ$1000 (US$600 now, I don't know what it was then) in 1980 when I was in my last year of high school. 1974, same colour, not red&black like later ones. I used it to commute (holidays and Easter etc) 300 km to university for my first two years, then updated to a 1980 XR250. The 350 wasn't all that great off-road, except that it was one of the best things around at steep but relatively smooth hill climbs e.g. firebreaks. Certainly better than any of my friends had at the time. The only problem I had with the bike was the exhaust to head joint. No matter what I tried it somehow destroyed the gasket again and again and turned into the most anti-social thing imaginable.
That’s awesome! My friend has the same 74 XL350 but his was setup for more off-road use with a Hooker high pipe and beefier rear shocks with more travel. That thing does pretty good in the woods for its age and climbs like a tractor. He was blasting around the hare scramble loop pretty quick too if you watch the newest video that I had uploaded yesterday. You can see it in action in front of me.
@@Garage2Trail Cool! That XL350 sounds noisy -- about how mine was when the exhaust gasket was on the way out. Normally the 2-valve XL 250/350 were super quiet. That XL500S sounds very civilised. I think I've never ridden one. I've ridden the XR500 and both XL and XR 250s. There's really something special about the engines in those 23" front wheel, laid forward shocks bikes. In the 250 it made a really significant power difference whether you had XL or XR (especially because my XR250 had the official Honda +5 HP kit), but it probably didn't matter much in the 500. Back in those days the XR185/200 was also super popular in enduro events as they were very light but made almost the power of the 250. In my area in New Zealand there was someone who put an XR200 engine in an RM125 frame and did pretty well in full-on motocross. I had a 1986 XR600 right through the 90s, then didn't have a dirt bike at all for 20 years. Now I'm just putting around on a 2019 CRF250 Rally. ua-cam.com/video/BWq632ZHWLQ/v-deo.html
@@BruceHoult his XL350 has an aftermarket high pipe. It’s a Hooker one piece which I’m assuming was a good hop up for those back in the day. His 350 runs very strong. That XL500S is very mild mannered down low but if you get on it, the mid range pulls deceivingly hard and gets up to speed quick. It’s stuck in 1st gear though most of that video. Great bike. Sold it while I was out there to a guy that appreciates those years too. Glad it went to someone like that.
@@BruceHoult I still want to get a late 90s XR600 to see how it compares to my XR400 and XR650R. Your CRF looks like a fun bike too.
nice bike had one back in the day fun bike
my high school ride
This is the bike that got me hooked on the vintage stuff. It will cruise roads at low revs but can climb snotty hillclimbs too. My buddy has the same bike that has real knobs on it and it climbs really well. Tractor like power.
Nice! What was that tool you used for drifting the fork seals in?
I understand the early Hondas suffer from the triple tree becoming fragile with age so be careful when opening the clamps up to release the forks. They are getting hard to find now.
I had no idea! Thanks for the info…I’ll be extra careful in the future.
That was just a piece of scrap aluminum and the old seal I was using to press it in.
Great video man, I subscribed 👍🏻 personally only thing i would change is having background music. I would rather here you talk about the process :)
Thank you for the feedback and the sub! I’m not great at talking that long on video yet and I feel there would be a lot of boring and repetitive commentary by me lol. I will give it a go at some point to have more dialog in future videos!
@@Garage2Trail sounds good :)
🤔 I have 74 XL 350 black and red in about the same condition but my heat guard on the exhaust is just a solid black piece its not a perforated crammed guard like this one?🤷
Hmm, maybe someone painted it
How did you end up liking the all balls seal set? I just ordered a set off of eBay for my 72.
I’ve had no problems with them so far. No leaks!
Where did you find the seals for the forks?
eBay:
www.ebay.com/itm/402232311829?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=mWyhasFQSKG&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=1QWenE7CT8u&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
I just bought one myself but, my gosh the wiring is a mess...any idea where I could find the diagram for it?
There is a Facebook group for XL250 and 350 side ports. If you join, there are files of workshop manuals that people uploaded for free. There are wiring diagrams there.
@@Garage2Trail...I don't use Facebook 🤦♂️😅
Hello. Great video! I have a '72 250 i just put back on the road. Where'd you get the sprockets for the taller gearing?
Thanks! I need to find an XL250 sometime to complete the XL lineup lol. Check out PB Sprockets. That’s where’s I got mine. If you google them you should be able to find their online store. PB Sprockets also has an eBay store you might want to look for too.
@@Garage2Trail thank you!