1981 XL185S Pooched Parts Bike

[XLsior]

Trying to find a Decent parts bike to have some spares around incase my XLCG250 needs them.

I found this and payed a deposit so basically committed to purchase site unseen.

It was close enough that fuel and time wasn't a major pain.

No Idea what the history is other than it's a 1981 (same Vintage as me)
The seller had bought some lawn mowers and this was part of the sale agreement(take away)

I was mainly interested wheel/rim/drumbrake assemblies and I think the chrome will polish out and they seem straight. Triple tree is good front shocks usable, rear shocks seem fine.

The engine turns and has compression.

The box of miscellaneous parts had a gasket kit and piston rings...so i think someone was prepared to have a go fixing it but then tapped out.

The engine has been coated in some heavy black enamel paint/bed liner coating with no masking effort aka PITA.

But there is no ignition wiring.

most of the hardware has been replaced with discount hardware's finest.

Taking the non matching seat that was screw bolted into the side off the frame and fuel tank that is dented beyond hope...

The discovery is the frame had snapped near the top engine mounts and was welded back...I suspect it was ridden with the missing front engine mounts...

Any what this means is this frame is no good for roadworthy.

However I think I might try to make this poor clapped out 81 into a twinshock trails/backyard basher bike.

The project XL/CG250 road legal bike is still main priority.

going to sell off the non used original parts to recoup some costs first.

[Moto1204]

Wow! Nice buy. I was going to say depending on what you paid it might be worth to freshen it up and get it running to flip it. Doubt it came with a title though.

[XLsior]

looks are deceiving, Most of the bolts are not original.

the frame has snapped and been welded...will not pass a road safety inspection.

The motor is missing the sprocket cover, points/CDI cover and some case bolts.

I am hoping the black heavy paint will respond to paint stripper. not So sure about dumping $ more into a beater.
However I have no problem hacking into it.

Some other bits like the rear brake return spring ,wheel adjustment/chain tension bolts are gone.

I would probably have to get another bike just to save this one. It's basically junk but might be able to sell the non essentials like the side plast+airbox, splash and rear guard as-well as the gauge cluster and loom to a point where the wheels, hubs, swing arm and front shocks were worth the effort.

The rear tire holds air...I guess that's something.

I spent more on this 81 parts bike than my 92 model but that pre pandemic prices...and that being said my 92 wasn't perfect but at least it was mostly original and structurally sound.

[XLsior]

I thew some remaining paint stripper on the engine to see if it will clean up ok...

Results look promising.

however the back sprocket is cracked. So any intentions of putting time and finances into this particular bike is pretty much dusted.

However the sum of its parts is still justified.

The rims should clean up ok and there are a number of legitimate spares for the main bike now.

The current rolling assembly will be rolled under the house for storage.

In case another better spares/parts bike perhaps becomes available.

I should be able to hobble together 2 runners with spares out of 3 bikes but I think I will be drawing a line after that.

[XLsior]

So I was searching marketplace...as purveyors of rust buckets often do...

And well ... found another abused XL185. Was sold to me as a 78...but the compliance plate is 12 month 1981

It was cheap...the frame is solid (ticked the box)...Just what is in the photos...no engine,seat or tank.

a rolling frame...

everything is pretty crapola...Frame and mounts is what I paid for

Might be able to sell off the complete airbox.

So what are the odds i can make 1 beater bike out of 2 ragged on 1981 bikes and some 92 leftovers...?

The old man I bought it from had a shed full of restored to partially restored to dead XL185/250 and XR200s...And I really mean a shed full...like packed to the rafters full.

think I found my parts guy.

I'll just chip away at the beater bike for a couple of years and see how it pans out.

[XLsior]

My second project bike is coming into focus...

It will be another XL185 with a China clone engine...

But this time I am going to be cutting and shortening the frame...

Less Dualsport more Trails/Scrambler...Something for around the yard that won't mind taking a beating...

No roadworthy requirements/electrical equipment.

So the frame has about 4 different forms of paint coatings...

Oringnal frame colour is red, rear fender is white...which is an 81 color...but also the sellers 78 claim...I think its an 81...

Well... I decided to shift the rear fender closer to the suspension mounts... cutting out the middle section...

found some solid barstock and made a pair of support pins, then cut and bent them to the right angle...

dressed the frame cutoffs/cut and shut any gaps and welded it all into place.

then multiple coats of paint stripper and pressure washing...

[XLsior]

Paint stripper is pretty horrible stuff...but it does the job.

I know you're supposed to scrape it off...but I don't wont to get in contact with it any more than I have to and a pressure washer makes short work...

My weedy driveway will probably be fine...

2 applications got back to original frame paint and almost bare metal fender...

with a mock stance of the finished frame cut shut and rear fender position..

I also found an engine on marketplace....1.5 hour round trip and $100aud

sneak peak photo...

[XLsior]

I found this listing on FBmarketplace.

advertised as a 250cc Apollo 'parts'

Engine is Loncin 166fmm.

I saw the engine and it looked fairly complete...

price was a bargain if the engine was fine...

no carb or sparkplug but it looked to be garaged...so hopefully no water ingress.

Got it home and next day got the jump cables and hot cranked it.

with the thumb over the spark plug did feel some compression...later checked to be 90psi.

So top end seems fine...

Next found a shift lever and checked gears... seems all good solid shifts smooth rotation/ no jank...Clutch springs felt strong... Clutch pack under load unknown...

Other then a few missing case bolts all M6 and no sprocket cover,

The engine seems pretty good.

That apollo frame though is a heavy lump...Might keep it for an engine cradle/other project...

Suspension stanchions are rusted toast. Forks might be fine but i doubt there's much of a market/resale value...

Seems people just assume when the bikes fall apart so do the engines.

If my primary road bike XL185 with the XL350 feul tank fits on this engine I am leaning towards switching over to the OHC on the main bike and the cg250 in this Trails/beater project...

[XLsior]

Removing all superfluous frame bracketry and stripping it down to its fundamental requirements...

Not planning to back to bare metal but will hit the rust spots with the flap disc and wire wheel prior to respray.

I'm not even sure I'll bother with DIY aluminium side panels and battery brackets...as per my 92 XL185.

Not sure what this aesthetic is of bar bone minimalism "naked" style is called...

Seat is just an ebay cheap 'cafe style' will be modified.

the dead tank is just for mock up...

modified the coil and CDI location as per my 92 by cutting our some bits and bending the the CDI tag back and up...

Don't have coil bracket yet but it goes on the other side.

[XLsior]

Does anyone know what/how the gear sensor wiring break out terminal looks like?

I found this 6pin that had a 12mm nut...but it appears to be all threaded into place?

assuming it comes out what does a replacement look like?

pretty sure its like this thing...

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002428618150.html?spm

[XLsior]

Taking all the bits and soaking them for along as it take for the rust to melt off.

Followed by fresh paint...

[XLsior]

Rear guard...

After the paint strip and pressure was..

next was a wire wheel followed by a plug weld to fill excess holes...

then grind and flap disk...

then rust treat...

then JBweld fill and sand...

Then Paint.

[XLsior]

I went into the hardware store with the intention of rustoleum 2x and some dulux diamond silver...

but holding the cans just didn't feel right...I had turquoise/aquamarine in mind but the rustoleum color felt off looking at the cap.

my eye went up and down the shelves and in the top right corner I peeped these 2 cans next to each other...

I used the brand (Dy-Mark) on my main 92 project for the aluminum color in the skid plate so I felt confident.

Also its Australian owned and made so doing my bit for the economy...

Anyway I am happy with the results...

[XLsior]

The apollo frame probably wouldn't be worth the time trying to sell it for what it is...

So to make something usefull I attacked it with the slice and dice...

though for that 1 person with an apollo who is thinking about a PZ30B pumper carb...with some minor modification it appears to fit within the frame.

With that pinch of knowledge out of the way I cut the frame above the engine mounts.

Few zaps with the welder and some fabrication for a front mount and it should make for a nice little fmm/fml engine cradle.

[TominMO]

I like your paint stand too. :tup:

[XLsior]

I like your paint stand too. :tup:

Old ironing tables are very useful especially if you never do any clothes ironing.

[XLsior]

with 2 sets of 81 rims was hoping for better...

but they are all rough...

the 2 rims without tires came from the original pooched 81...
they looked decent from the outside but when the rubber came off it was evident they were roached....hubs/bearings were decent though. spokes ok.

The recent 81 wheels looked rough on the outside...few loose spokes, more rust etc...

But the tires hold air pressure...so I deflated them to see behind the side wall...and though its a bit crusty, there is decent rim tape...so I squirted some lanolin rust inhibitor around and pumped them back up...

the rear wheel is the roughest externally and the bearing was not rolling...

But the other rear rim was cactus...

I did not want to bother with swapping/replacing bearings...

So I managed to degreaser blast and pick out the grunge in the bad bearing to where they rolled albeit a bit ratchety, packed with fresh grease and called it good.

These are not road going wheels just for beating around the yard. cant do much about the couple of loose spokes (nuts are seized)

just going to clean them up as best as I can with a wire wheel and hit them with spray paint...

The other better condition hubs will go to a new rim and spoke replacement job when my 92 road xl185 needs new rubber...

[XLsior]

Most of the projects are collecting dust at the moment while other more important things are filling up my time now.


I have not forgotten about them.


The 81 is still a lounge ornament waiting for me to decide on making a battery holder before bolting more parts to the frame...


On another matter, I've been tweaking the Nibbi PE28FL constantly now on the main bike, that I started to looking at the PZ30B again as I recall it was pretty good when I removed the pumper assembly and ran it on a stock piston and cylinder CG250.


I found a knob kit for the PZ30 which replaces the PITA A/F screw and Idle screw.


I'd say the A/F knob is just enough to make adjustments with the carb installed.


The Idle knob will not work with a pumper assembly, but should fine on a non pumper PZ30.

[cheesy]

Most of the projects are collecting dust at the moment while other more important things are filling up my time now.


I have not forgotten about them.

Boy, do I know that feeling.

[XLsior]

Had some time to spend on the 81...


No battery bracket yet, but I was going to need a seat at some point and had the bits about.


Just one of those 'cafe racer' style seats with a bit of heatgun treatment and some 6mm button hex head bolts and mudflap washers.


Better than no seat...

[XLsior]

A bit more progress on the 81 naked XL185


With a section of scrap bar stock I added a support cross bar to give something for a battery/regulator/solenoid to mount to.


Predrilled some 5.5mm holes and thread tapped to M6.


Don't make the mistake of welding with bare bolt threads ( I had to cut them down and throw them out)


bit of flap disk and some dremel made the welds less shit and I wringed the last splurt of paint out of the can to cover it up and stop rust...


Next will be some cardboard aided design (CAD) for the actual Battery box.

[cheesy]

snort

Cardboard
Aided
Design

:lmao:

That's a hell of a lot classier than my "Gimme dat cereal box so I can figger dis fcuker out" design.

Looks good.

[XLsior]

snort

Cardboard
Aided
Design

:lmao:

That's a hell of a lot classier than my "Gimme dat cereal box so I can figger dis fcuker out" design.

Looks good.




Well that method (FtFo)- figure this fucker out) at least give you more opportunity to try different breakfast cereals.


The CAD method is more cardboard on the brain until it falls out after much time wasted and you forgot to buy more cereal last week.

[XLsior]

Ate a box of Choco Pillows cereal...


Made the rough plan CAD battery box and transfered it of to sheet aluminum.


Had to trim down to fit and shave some edges but eventually got it mocked up and installed for a clearance test.


Rear tire clears without fear of contact. Enough under gap for chain and exhaust pipe.


I left side tabs to allow for the installation of the regulator and starter solenoid.


Also added the front wheel as counter balance but you get a closer idea of the end result.

[Bruces]

I like the blue paint .

[XLsior]

I will spare you the detail of flap discs and wire wheels prep..


Put in just enough effort to get the most of the flaky rust and treat it with converter, then hit with a spray of fresh paint.



Used Dunlop 605 on the rear along with the 45t sprocket. The tube survived. Most of the chrome on the rim was to far gone and the inner rim was a pitted mess but it is solid. So silver paint with zinc protect to the rescue.


The front rubber and tube I left alone, the rim is ok...spokes not great so wire wheel and more silver paint. then see if any loose spoke nuts turn...



Drum hubs got the flat black rustoleum 2x treatment.


No masking tape was used just accurate over-spray mitigation technique.



The lounge ornament is getting close to assembly under the house...Battery box and seat turned out alright.



Purchased a new header pipe and pitbike muffler (cheapest on Ebay)


Also new brake/clutch levers fro Aliexpress...

[XLsior]

Cobbling it all back together.


Considering how it looked when I got the 81 rolling frame, I think its turned out a considerable improvement.


Found a worn sprocket to make for a new kickstand foot.


Decided to drain the funky old fork oil.


The seat and tank will have to come off again for engine fitment...


But when the heart goes in it becomes a motorcycle again....

[XLsior]

The engine went in pretty smoothly.


Next thing i wanted to see is if I could get the PZ30B pumper carb to fit.


It took a specific offset manifold but the result was about perfect.


However the manifold mating flange looks to be cast for a much smaller carb so the oring seal appeared to be a possible leak point. I went for the JBweld fix.


I also discovered that the front suspension with the leaky fork seal that came from the older sold for parts 81 were actually worse than the paint covered 81 front forks that came with the bike...so spent to time cleaning and sorting that swap over...


Then started digging around the parts hoard for old cables, switches and grips.


Then it's just waiting for the new parts and JBweld to cure...

[XLsior]

Wasn't gelling with the orange springs on the rear shocks.


But they were the set that actually worked I believe they were the set that came from the 92 bike.


I had pair with silver springs but they were shot.


figured I could attempt to do a part swap over. though didn't have a spring compressor tool...


turns out a bolt and ratchet strap is more than capable and the risk was low.


easy peasy...