Jaredmacneill 27 Posted July 24, 2021 I’m curious to know what vintage Hondas are still around. here’s mine and some of you know it’s getting an new engine installed. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted July 24, 2021 18 minutes ago, Jaredmacneill said: I’m curious to know what vintage Hondas are still around. here’s mine and some of you know it’s getting an new engine installed. Here's my oldest 4 wheeler I still have , 1992 , you got me beat there ------ But then here's my 1972 2 wheeler 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
56Sierra 1,845 Posted July 24, 2021 What the heck happened to that XL250? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jaredmacneill 27 Posted July 24, 2021 23 minutes ago, Fishfiles said: Here's my oldest 4 wheeler I still have , 1992 , you got me beat there ------ But then here's my 1972 2 wheeler Wow that xl 250 is so cool 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted July 24, 2021 55 minutes ago, 56Sierra said: What the heck happened to that XL250? It got ATV'erized !!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
56Sierra 1,845 Posted July 24, 2021 I've had three XL250s and a XL350. Just loved those bikes. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted July 25, 2021 7 hours ago, 56Sierra said: I've had three XL250s and a XL350. Just loved those bikes. Cool !! Did you know the XL250s till 1972-mid 73 had the SL250 MotorSport engines in them , in 1973 they detuned them and they became a true XL engine , I don't know the story on the XL350s being MotorSports engines or not ---- the XL350 was a beast , I have never owned on , but a friend had one while I was riding a Suzuki 250 2 stroke at the time , I could tear him up in a short run but he always could catch me , that was around 1973 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
56Sierra 1,845 Posted July 25, 2021 I used to say the XL359 should have been painted green and yellow because of the low end torque. I loved hill climbing mine. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_Wilson_™ 6,591 Posted July 25, 2021 (edited) should have been painted green and yellow because of the low end torque. i like the way you think.... lol! Edited July 25, 2021 by _Wilson_™ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
56Sierra 1,845 Posted July 25, 2021 359? Fat fingers. I did not know about the different engines in the XL250. I started working at the Honda dealer in 1973 and saw a 250 that the guy tried everything to lighten the bike. One thing he did wrong was to grind off a stalagtite looking thing on the underside of the cam cover. The purpose of this tiny amount of weight was to allow a point for oil to drip down on the cam and valve train. Yep, he toasted the top end. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pampas56 52 Posted July 28, 2021 A 1972 XL250 that was rode hard and put up wet. It starts and runs ( 60 mph is a little scary but it pulls like a tractor at the bottom end. Muffler is burnt out and the wiring is atrocious. It is a project at this point, but will be my commuter/trail ride at my daughter's farm in Eastern WA. The blue farm implement paint is going away as soon as everything works. I'm thinking White or Silver/Gray Believe it or not this is the good side.😁 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted July 28, 2021 11 minutes ago, Pampas56 said: A 1972 XL250 that was rode hard and put up wet. It starts and runs ( 60 mph is a little scary but it pulls like a tractor at the bottom end. Muffler is burnt out and the wiring is atrocious. It is a project at this point, but will be my commuter/trail ride at my daughter's farm in Eastern WA. The blue farm implement paint is going away as soon as everything works. I'm thinking White or Silver/Gray Believe it or not this is the good side.😁 Nice ! Everyone I ever seen was a silver tank with different colored trim / stripes , have you seen different colors ?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bighanded 1,234 Posted July 28, 2021 have shared this before, but it was the only pic handy at the moment. I know that a 93 Fourtrax is far from rare with millions of them still in service. I expect it will stay with me until I'm too old to ride. the lil red wonder is a 1979 CT90...last year of the 90s in the states before they went to the 110 models. was just out spinning on it last week in fact....nice slow cruise on the country back roads...amazingly capable on the trails..and I'm about 40lbs over rating, but it doesn't complain...just continues to offer up smiles n miles. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pampas56 52 Posted July 28, 2021 3 hours ago, Fishfiles said: Nice ! Everyone I ever seen was a silver tank with different colored trim / stripes , have you seen different colors ?? The parts bike that I got with it has silver with black and red pinstriping. The tank however is implement blue just like the other. I'm not planning on going for a full restoration. Just a nice, better looking paint job on the tank and fenders in a color that I like. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Goober 1,555 Posted July 29, 2021 Ive used 3M Conspicuity reflective tape to good effect on my quad 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted July 29, 2021 5 hours ago, Goober said: Ive used """ 3M Conspicuity reflective tape """ to good effect on my quad I had to look that up ^^^ , Hmmmmm! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted August 5, 2021 I guess this is a good of a thread as any for this story , 8/5/21 Just got off the phone with my buddy who lives in BrookHaven , Mississippi , the Honda dealership there has always had the best prices and best selection for years , many Louisiana guys go there , well Robbie just told me , he went there over the weekend for an oil filter , air cleaner and spark plug and there is not one Honda atv or utv on the lot , owner told him they can't get them , two atvs are allotted to him at the moment and have never arrived yet and they are already sold and paid for 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeepwm69 7,719 Posted August 5, 2021 I spent the morning swapping tires off of an 87 350A Fourtrax so the owner could come get it. Long story, but guy moved to town a few years ago. Liked junk like I do, and had a son in my oldest daughter's class. He says he has a 350 that "just needs a top end" and wanted it fixed up for the boy. I told him to bring it by. So he does. Things been sitting with the top end off for God knows how long. I have other irons in the fire so don't jump right on it. Over time, I figure out this guy and his wife are horrible parents. They moved here, put their kids in private school, then wouldn't pay tuition. The kids are about to get booted and other parents step up and pay tuition for the kids out of pity (public schools here are terrible). At this point I'm thinking I'm going to rebuild this Foreman for this guy, and it's not going to the kid, it's gonna get sold off to support the mom's drug habit. I still tinker on it from time to time. Boy gets kicked out of school for pulling a knife on another kid. My daughter then said the parents were going to home school him, which is a joke. Last I saw of the boy, he'd pretty much turned feral. Doesn't live with the parents anymore, moved in with some druggies who were in their early 20's and has no future. Their daughter who is probably now in 8th gradeish has been showing up at high school parties and getting drunk for 2-3 years (so was getting wasted in 5th grade) and still has other people paying her tuition. In the meantime, Dad is driving around town pulling a new Ranger on a trailer behind his wife's Range Rover. In the meantime these people have maxxed out credit with every small business in town and aren't paying anyone anything. Anyhow, while I was at the beach last weekend he appears out of nowhere and starts loading up his Honda. Mom calls me and I said "nope, he needs to come back when I'm there" so Dad goes out and puts the brakes on that. I had a good set of wheels and tires on there so I could roll it around (originals were cracked/rotted/split and wouldn't hold air) and I wanted those, and I also didn't want him getting anything that wasn't his. So this morning I swapped some bald tires that hold air onto it, and collected the rest of his parts. His 87 was actually pretty nice. Plastics and racks were in great shape, and had nice floorboards. Even had a good trunk lid and kickstart/side covers. That "needs a top end" ended up being a huge crack in the bottom of the crankcase, which let the oil out, and I'm sure seized the engine. I put the cleaned up bottom back together with good cases and got the top end in place, but didn't get it completely buttoned up before I quit working on it, so he'll have some work to do to it to get it going. My guess is he'll flip it for cash ASAP. That said, I did have to get tires off of one of my 350 Carcasses, and I really need to get off my butt and get one of those going. I have several parts bikes around, and could easily have two runners. I also am picking up a 250A Fourtrax this weekend. Big ole local guy has it, and a while back he was on FB looking for a rear end. Someone sold him a 250SX rear end that needed bearings, and he was asking if someone would do the work locally. I told him I would put bearings in the SX rear and install it in exchange for his old 250A rear end (which needed bearings BADLY). Was pretty clean for a 250 at the time (couple of years ago) Anyhow, looks like the swingarm broke where it bolts up to the axle tube on the right side, and he wants something bigger, so asked if I wanted it. $400. Runs great, no smoke. Picking it up Saturday morning. Will plan on fixing it and keeping it for at least the time being. 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_Wilson_™ 6,591 Posted August 5, 2021 goodness..... that's some parenting, sad thing is it's more standard then most people realize, mighty nice of the parents to help those kids out with tuition, i sure hate to hear the boy went down the wrong road. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeepwm69 7,719 Posted August 5, 2021 1 hour ago, _Wilson_™ said: goodness..... that's some parenting, sad thing is it's more standard then most people realize, mighty nice of the parents to help those kids out with tuition, i sure hate to hear the boy went down the wrong road. I have a feeling the girl's future is just as bleak. That's when i kinda pushed that 350 to the bottom of the list, when I figured out it wasn't for the kids. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_Wilson_™ 6,591 Posted August 5, 2021 yeah.... i sadly agree, once one heads down that road, most times it's not going to change.... I'm a 1st hand witness to it, just glad my father was not and took after him, i hope you can find someway of fixing / keeping that bike, and making sure the sell of it benifits someone. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeepwm69 7,719 Posted August 5, 2021 27 minutes ago, _Wilson_™ said: yeah.... i sadly agree, once one heads down that road, most times it's not going to change.... I'm a 1st hand witness to it, just glad my father was not and took after him, i hope you can find someway of fixing / keeping that bike, and making sure the sell of it benifits someone. Well it wasn't mine. He came and got it this morning. Like I said, he probably already has a buyer for it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_Wilson_™ 6,591 Posted August 5, 2021 sad deal for that family, or what was a family. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bighanded 1,234 Posted August 6, 2021 On 8/5/2021 at 10:01 AM, Fishfiles said: I guess this is a good of a thread as any for this story , 8/5/21 Just got off the phone with my buddy who lives in BrookHaven , Mississippi , the Honda dealership there has always had the best prices and best selection for years , many Louisiana guys go there , well Robbie just told me , he went there over the weekend for an oil filter , air cleaner and spark plug and there is not one Honda atv or utv on the lot , owner told him they can't get them , two atvs are allotted to him at the moment and have never arrived yet and they are already sold and paid for I hadn't thought about product shortages in our beloved ATV market..but makes sense. many of our local new car lots are extremely low on inventory on their lots. And new boat dealers have been complaining that they can't provide simple things like the bimini top/frame for new pontoons..etc. And with so many ATV products coming from Asia..yeah..makes sense. all the more reason I guess to hang on tight to my beloved old Japan/USA made toys. I treat them easy..mainly cause I'm old and need to treat myself easy (grin). But for sure I'll have to make these old vintage bikes last the balance of my years..and honestly, that's ok too. I love to old hondas. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
56Sierra 1,845 Posted August 6, 2021 I gave up on the Class A motorhome and decided to go pickup and travel trailer. I got very, very lucky and found a 2021 Tundra scheduled to be built and one day away from not making changes. Going to wait a month for it but it's the way I want it. Of course as soon as you try to get any deal the salesman looks past you and says Next to the dozens of buyers in line behind you. I can also sell my 2011 Element for a higher price so that helps. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites