On Any Sunday
Variety is the spice of life so they say. Well, it certainly was fun working on this little '83 XL200R and certainly different.
Chris, the client, wanted to give this bike a makeover, freshen it up and add a little retro style of the early U.S desert racers (we've all seen the film haven't we?)
Firstly, all the red and plastic had to go, and a black and alloy colour scheme was chosen.
After the teardown, the frame was de-tabbed of all unwanted brackets and sent off with the swinging arm and lots of other parts for blasting and powder coating satin black.
The engine was sweet so that was just cosmetically refreshed, serviced, and treated to some new stainless fasteners.
All the suspension linkages were liberally greased (they're not from the factory) to ensure smooth action and then mated up to the refreshed shock and swinging arm.
The bulky old airbox was now gone and the new carb fitted with a high flow, washable Ram Air filter. To save more weight, improve gas flow and soundtrack, a new stainless link pipe was made to mate up with the new stainless end can which has a removable baffle and is much smaller, lighter and gives a fruity tone without being too loud.
It was decided that as the old wheel rims were pretty scabby, a new set of SM Pro Platinum black anodized rims laced up with stainless spokes were fitted and topped off with Mitas dual purpose tyres.
All the electrics were simplified. Out went the old bulky clocks and switchgear and in came a new Koso digital/analogue speedo and a small multifunction switch. A lightweight Lithium Iron battery was fitted to a custom made tray. A large headlamp with stone guard was requested and a small black LED tail light brings up the rear.
The tank was expertly painted to create a brushed alloy look and topped off with airbrushed on, old style Honda logos and blend in nicely with the new, lightweight brushed alloy mudguards.
To finish the build off, the seat was reduced in height and covered in black leather with white ribbed stitching and a matching tool bag to go with it.
Chris will certainly be putting this little 'Trailie to good use as part of his commute is down unmade tracks and knarly backroads. Just the kind of riding the bike was intended for.
Side Rock Cycles