Screwdriver tips – restoration of a Honda XL 500 R

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Screwdriver tips - restoration of a Honda XL 500 R
Fred Siemer

Screwdriver tips - restoration of a Honda XL 500 R

Screwdriver tips - restoration of a Honda XL 500 R

Screwdriver tips - restoration of a Honda XL 500 R

Screwdriver tips - restoration of a Honda XL 500 R

13th pictures

Screwdriver tips - restoration of a Honda XL 500 R
Fred Siemer

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Two friends are restoring a Honda XL 500 R..

Screwdriver tips - restoration of a Honda XL 500 R
Fred Siemer

2/13
The electrical system looked bad, but after careful examination it was still usable.

Screwdriver tips - restoration of a Honda XL 500 R
Fred Siemer

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The Pro-Link lever on the rear shock absorber alone caused a few hours of work.

Screwdriver tips - restoration of a Honda XL 500 R
Fred Siemer

4/13
Peter Westerbarkei has just married the engine and frame again. Easy game with a single.

Screwdriver tips - restoration of a Honda XL 500 R
Fred Siemer

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The Honda Enduro quickly caught up with buyers.

Screwdriver tips - restoration of a Honda XL 500 R
Fred Siemer

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The main thing here was the fun of screwing together.

Screwdriver tips - restoration of a Honda XL 500 R
Fred Siemer

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In Germany, the 500 was throttled from 33 to 27 hp by means of exhaust covers.

Screwdriver tips - restoration of a Honda XL 500 R
Fred Siemer

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Parts of early enduro bikes that were at risk of falling are now really rare, but the XL indicators were available online.

Screwdriver tips - restoration of a Honda XL 500 R
Fred Siemer

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Only the small luggage rack required welding work. Two cracks appeared after the sandblasting.

Screwdriver tips - restoration of a Honda XL 500 R
Fred Siemer

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Honda XL 500 R..

Screwdriver tips - restoration of a Honda XL 500 R
Fred Siemer

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Honda XL 500 R..

Screwdriver tips - restoration of a Honda XL 500 R
Fred Siemer

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Honda XL 500 R..

Screwdriver tips - restoration of a Honda XL 500 R
Fred Siemer

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Honda XL 500 R..

counselor

workshop

Screwdriver tips – restoration of a Honda XL 500 R

Screwdriver tips – restoration of a Honda XL 500 R
For two cases of beer

Content of

On a whim, two tinkering friends exchanged a small amount of barley juice for a torn heap of plastic and metal. This resulted in a beautiful Honda XL 500 R – like new.

Fred Siemer

09/08/2016

Some projects start out anything but targeted, and in the case presented here, too, there can be no question of intent: Neither Jurgen Friedmann, who has been a magazine producer and motorcycle fan since his youth, nor his similarly dispositioned friend, the auto mechanic Peter Westerbarkei, had so far opted for early enduros warmed up. No, rather both were looking for a real challenge when they swapped the already stripped torso and a few boxes of parts of a Honda XL 500 R for two cases of beer with a bold “I would have laughed” and assured the previous owner of victory, albeit not completely sober: “You’ll see, it’ll be like new again.”

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With zero per mille in the blood and viewed in daylight, Jurgen found this announcement to be quite full-bodied, but by no means frightening. Anyone who has ever converted a Suzuki GSX 750 F into an exhibition-ready streetfighter à la Triumph Speed ​​Triple will not buckle in front of a scruffy single-cylinder. After all, dismantling and sorting showed that everything really needed thorough cleaning, but almost everything was available. In order to underpin this impression, but also to find out what exactly had to be attached, how and where, from then on the screwdriver friends collected every tangible text and every photo on the topic whenever Jurgen passed a Honda XL 500 R on one of his many business trips , he got down on his knees and took detailed pictures.

Three years after the XT 500

Not many people treat Honda’s first large enduro with such affection these days. How times change: In 1979, three years after Yamaha’s XT 500 came on the market, the XL quickly caught up with buyers. Four valves, a 23-inch front wheel otherwise only used in sports, the automatic valve lifter and various other modern details also counted. In 1982 Honda increased the appeal again considerably and installed the brand’s own Pro-Link swing arm lever for the first time in a production motorcycle. As with the full crosser, a toggle lever articulated between the swing arm and the frame made the mono spring strut work very progressively, and the spring travel was also increased. Upgrading to 12-volt electrical systems and dismantling the 21-inch front wheel made it more attractive for road riders, and overall the studded steering wheel, now called the Honda XL 500 R, was well prepared even against Yamaha’s new XT 550. The sporty version called the XR, which is popular in the USA, even proved this at the Paris-Dakar rally and helped works driver Cyril Neveu to achieve overall victory.

Unlike Yamaha, Honda relied on wet sump lubrication – and did without an oil filter. That was brave, especially in view of the camshaft that was only supported in the light alloy of the cylinder head and cylinder cover. One of the few weak points of the Honda XL 500 R, Jurgen and Peter were all the happier that their engine showed no bearing damage. However, the previous owner’s care-giving talent with careful checking of the oil level was obviously exhausted: crumpled lever action on the swing arm, damage caused by overflowing battery acid, half-crumpled cables with chafed sheaths, stiff brake cams – the XL really didn’t leave out anything that caused grief and dirty fingers. When all the dirt was gone, things looked a lot happier: only two welds had to be tightened on the luggage rack. And with the electrics – with the exception of an ignition coil that had to be replaced – cosmetic measures were sufficient.

Honda swingarm initially attached upside down

New screws, washers, sealing rings and hoses were easy to find, the missing original indicators could be found – what luck! – catch on the internet. During these procurement measures, the frame, rocker arm, tank, cylinder, head and so on stayed with the painter, and the friends let the housing parts of the engine of the Honda XL 500 R powder. And would not do the latter today, because they had a lot of work afterwards to scrape the sealing surfaces behind them really clean again. A hot air blower brought new freshness to the old plastic parts: if you carefully blast the faded surfaces with it, the chemical softeners are activated and trigger a strengthening reaction.

All that remained was the bench, more precisely its style-defining lettering. The XL should definitely adorn the back end, and here Jurgen’s professional experience finally paid off. The logo was photographed, the photo was then processed on the computer in a professional graphics program. A plotter turned this template into a cutting template. Elastic paint sprayed on the new seat cover, perfect. Unfortunately, the tank of the Honda XL 500 R came back almost perfectly: The great, but motorcycle-ignorant painter had attached the Honda swing arm upside down. Do the whole thing again, and finally: like new.

Old enduros are rarities

This is precisely why this Honda XL 500 R is confusing, because enduros used to look badly ridden after two or three years. Because of their cheap insurance, they then passed it on from one beginner to the next, and at some point it came to an end. This exodus is driving up used prices today, but the fact that early Japanese enduros are now among the sought-after young timers did not interest the two friends.

They wanted to master a manageable project together, fill winter evenings, have fun. They had it. Especially when the engine started on the second step. For driving, however, the Honda XL 500 R seemed a little weak, a little small. Jurgen says you could try a Tenere. Even if the base is guaranteed to cost more than two cases of beer.

Technical data Honda XL 500 R

Engine: Air-cooled single-cylinder four-stroke engine, a chain-driven, overhead camshaft, four valves operated by rocker arms, bore x stroke 89 x 80 mm, displacement 498 cm³, compression 8.6: 1, power: 27 hp at 5500 / min
Power transmission: Multi-disc oil bath clutch, five-speed gearbox, chain drive
Landing gear: Steel mono-tube frame open at the bottom, engine load-bearing element, telescopic fork, Ø 37 mm, rear swing arm with central spring strut articulated via Pro-Link lever system, wire-spoke wheels with aluminum rims, front tires 3.00-21, rear 4.60-17, front duplex drum brake, simplex drum brake rear, Ø front and rear 130 mm
Mass and weight: Wheelbase 1405 mm, weight with a full tank of 152 kg, tank capacity 10 l
Driving performance: Top speed 134 km / h, 0 – 100 km / h: 7.6 seconds

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