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New Toy to Teach the Wife on: 1980 Honda XL185S

Started by bombsquad83, August 05, 2012, 08:39:11 PM

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bombsquad83

Got a new toy today, and it's awesome!  Got the little thumper for $800, and it's plated and registered already, so all I have to do is transfer title and plates.  Rode it 25 miles at it's top speed of around 55 mph back from the location to my buddy's parents farm house.  Then spent an hour teaching the wife how to ride for the first time.   This thing is so much fun, and everything on it is sound mechanically!  The inside of the tank is the cleanest I've ever seen for a vintage bike.  A few dents in the tank, but hey, it's still sweet...  Did my first wheelie on a bike on it too ;).

Click to enlarge


My last name's not wilson...but I kind like the steel plate that they mounted in place of the side cover.  I have the original side covers and airbox too, maybe eventually I'll repaint them and put them on...

Just a few issues to deal with.
1. No rear pegs?  Are there supposed to be any on this bike?
2. Aftermarket exhaust needs to be better mounted
3. Needs mirrors
4. Something drains on the battery when it's off, so the lights only work after running the bike for a minute.  After that, they work fine.  Stupid old 6V systems....

This thing is F-U-N fun.

yamahonkawazuki

if its meant to carry passengers then yes it needs rear pegs. but im having a difficult time seeing where to put them. unless up high. @ thigh level of front rider. on frame. otherwise theyd end up on swingarm. and that can be dangerous on bumpy roads.
Jan 14 2010 0310 I miss you mom
Vielen dank Patrick. Vielen dank
".
A proud Mormon
"if you come in with the bottom of your cast black,
neither one of us will be happy"- Alan Silverman MD

Big Rich

#2
Ya, I wouldn't worry too much about the passenger pegs. Not exactly a 2-up kind of bike. If you REALLY wanted to though, I'm sure you could get some clamp on universal pegs on the frame somewhere though.

One thing I would recommend - try to find some type of fork brace (usually just an older fender). It would sturdy up that front end.

One more thing: great score!
83 GR650 (riding / rolling project)

It's opener there in the wide open air...

bryan88

One of the best bikes ever built, congrats! Think I read somewhere that one of it's uses was in the Afgan wars of the '80's. They wanted a bike that was easy to ride/fix/service for the freedom fighters/terrorists (don't know who's side they were on then) to use in the desert. That motor is also the basis for the XR200 if I'm not mistaken. As far as I know the passenger footpegs were mounted on the swingarm.

jestercinti

Mr. Bombsquad83, that's a nice bike!  You'll (and She'll) have fun with it.
Bikeless and Broke at the moment...

GI_JO_NATHAN

Jonathan
'04 GS500
Quote from: POLLOCK28 (XDTALK.com)From what I understand from frequenting various forums you are handling this critisim completely wrong. You are supposed to get bent out of shape and start turning towards personal attacks.
Get with the program!

adidasguy

#5233

Cute little bike! I'm developing a fondness for little thumpers with nary a thought of going bigger than a GS500.

One thing about Thumper - my 1973 TS-185 is the headlight does not work off of the battery. That seems to be normal. The battery is pretty small and only intended to run the turn signals and indicator lights. That is even in the manual for  it. Bike must be running for the headlight to operate. The battery acts more like a large capacitor to smooth out the voltage. If the battery ts toast, then the regulator won't work right and you will blow headlights.

Only now do I  know why I always blew headlights on my 1972 Yamaha DT250 many many years ago - I never even knew that thing had a battery.Now I know: it had one that was dead ergo no regulation so headlights kept blowing out. I hacked it by throwing a 5v regulator on the headlight (I was a real nerd and not a bike mechanic and CHEAP) something like an LM7805 or whatever the big TO-3 5 amp regulator was on a big heat sink.

bombsquad83

Yep.  I'm aware about the headlight not working until its running being normal.  I don't think the signals even work right away though...I'll have to check that out.

Big Rich

Bomb, if you look for 6v LED's for the signals / tail light, I think superbrightleds.com has them. And I read somewhere on another forum about a 6v turn signal relay that would work with the signals. If you want, I could look around and see if I could find it........
83 GR650 (riding / rolling project)

It's opener there in the wide open air...

bombsquad83

Sure Rich, I appreciate the help.  One thing that I noticed is that when the turn signals are going, the brake light dims when the turn signal is on.  I'm guessing it's not supposed to do that.  Might be a while before I dig into the electrical system.  Then again, if I get it all sorted out, I could bring it home and ride it to work and save even more gas than the GS!

Big Rich

83 GR650 (riding / rolling project)

It's opener there in the wide open air...

iclrag


bombsquad83

I'm going back as close to original/reproduction OEM parts as possible.  I'm going to leave the cone filter, because putting the airbox back together with OEM parts would be a huge pain and expensive.  I'll also leave the current carb (whatever it is) on it because it's working very well.  No way to source a stock exhaust for this thing either, so I'm going to repaint the one that's it's got and make sure it's nice and solid.

Here's a list of parts I'm replacing with OEM or reproduction parts:

Already ordered
Handlebars (Used)
Clutch Perch and Lever (Used)
Mirrors (NOS)
Front Reflectors (Repro)
Rear Turn Signals (Repro)

To Do
Bar end weights and Grips
Get the dent in the side of the tank taken out
Make a stainless plate that and mounting clamps for a substitute left side cover similar to the right (which I think looks pretty nice)
Sort the electrical, I'm hoping OEM voltage and wattage signals will cure it
A bunch of odds and ends yet to be determined



bombsquad83

#13
Had a ton of fun on this bike over the weekend.  Went to South Fork Dirt Riders OHV park near Taylorville, IL and road through some sloppy muddy messes and some hills and dirt.  Good thing I put Kenda 270 50/50 dual purpose tires on first, or I would have spent most of my time laying under the bike in the mud!  Only dropped it a few times despite being my first time in the dirt/mud.  Was a great time punching through ruts over 1 ft deep filled with water.  Boy was my lower back sore on Monday.

CLICK TO ENLARGE







yamahonkawazuki

HAHA. looks like fun. speaking of riding. rode the 650L again monday. since im only 5'10" with shoes, i have to get on it, like my motorised bikes. ( put foot on left peg, start moving and swing leg over)that bike was made for someone north of six feet 2 inches
Jan 14 2010 0310 I miss you mom
Vielen dank Patrick. Vielen dank
".
A proud Mormon
"if you come in with the bottom of your cast black,
neither one of us will be happy"- Alan Silverman MD

bombsquad83

#15
Thinking about making my own exhaust core to quiet this bike down a bit.  It's a little annoying at speed, and I'm sure the neighbors aren't digging the sound of running in through the gears in the neightborhood.

Here's the idea...
Aluminum flashing rolled into a cylinder shape and held with metal cable ties with lots of holes drilled into it for a core.  Then pack with stainless steel scour pad material like this.  Thoughts?

Basically I don't want to pay $90 for a the core that's made for the universal Supertrapp dirtike slip on that is already on the bike. 
https://www.denniskirk.com/25963.sku?utm_source=nextag&utm_medium=cse

bombsquad83

So I ended up taking apart and repainting the exhuast.  I realized that there was already an exhaust core and packing inside.  I replaced the old fiberglass packing with stainless steel scrubber pad packing.  I'm not sure that it's any louder or quieter than it was before.  If anything it seems a bit louder.  I might have to figure out how to add some kind of baffles or something to make it a bit quieter.  I'll try taking a couple discs out of the supertrapp to start.

I also ran into a similar issue to what adidasguy was talking about with the electrical.  The battery is actually used as a voltage regulator of sorts, since there is no actual regulator on the bike.  I started it up tonight and when I revved it, the neutral light and the tail light got much brighter than they should.  Soooo the battery isn't doing it's job of regulating the voltage.  I ordered a new yuasa battery from Amazon (gotta love Prime free 2-day shipping).

yamahonkawazuki

#17
yup agreed with the electrical statement. adidas knows what hes sayin. COULD put a turntown @ the end of the exhaust would not make it as noticeable
Jan 14 2010 0310 I miss you mom
Vielen dank Patrick. Vielen dank
".
A proud Mormon
"if you come in with the bottom of your cast black,
neither one of us will be happy"- Alan Silverman MD

adidasguy

Quote from: bombsquad83 on October 09, 2012, 08:32:53 PM
.... from Amazon (gotta love Prime free 2-day shipping).
That's pretty good. here is where the catch comes in in any Amazon order: multiple items. If it is not Prime and you have to pay shipping - it is PER ITEM. Order 3 and you get hit with 3 shippings even if it fits in one box. They do not have a shipping discount option. I think that's how they make back their money to give us Prime so cheap: people who order multiple items.

Fortunately Magnum Tuning is thoughtful enough to issue a refund of the extra shipping (sometimes I just order more Brisk plugs on amazon if I'm ordering other stuff). Most shippers do not.

bombsquad83

I have an idea for homemade baffles.  I'm going to put in two washers just big enough to fit inside the 1 3/4" core with two nuts locking it in in place on the rod that runs through the core.  I'll drill a hole in the edge of both washers, and the holes will be on opposite sides of the washers when they are put in place on the rod.  We'll see how that works.  I'll post pictures when I'm done this time.

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