Why bother?

I first saw a Honda XLV750R motorcycle around ten years ago. The moment I clapped eyes on it I knew that I had to have one. It was the red engine that did it. That and the oil filter positioned by the front cylinder. After a couple of minutes looking I also noticed the cover for the air filter on the tank. Almost as if you can change the filters and ride at the same time! The XRV has a real sense of purpose about it.

The bike had been pushed round the back of a motorcycle repair shop in Cambridge (UK). Notice I say pushed, not ridden. The alarm bells should have sounded at this point but I was so enammered by this bike it wouldn't have mattered if the mechanic fixing the bike had appeared and told me of the design faults that I'd later discover. My memory is hazy but I think the front sprocket cover was off, perhaps something wrong with the gearbox? I should have taken more notice of this before I bought my own bike.

10 years on and a colleague in the MCN office sent me a link to an XLV750R on an Ebay auction. The bike was in reasonable condition but not running. There was a problem with the gearbox. The owner told me he'd bought it off a freind with the intention of repairing and using the bike himself. He also told me he'd drained the oil and seen no metal drop out with it. This, as I later found out, must have been stretching the truth a bit.

A deal was done for £700, the owner ended the auction early and I arranged to collect the bike from its Canvey Island home the next week. I then took the bike straight to Mick Berrills motorcycles in Northampton for an engine strip. After Micks mechanic broke open the motor he called me with the bad news.

The gearbox had gone wrong in a big way. The bearing on the countershaft had exploded and allowed the shaft to drop by half an inch. Not a disaster in itself but the owner had tried to continue riding the bike and shagged half the gears on each shaft. The drop had also broken one of the selector forks. On top of this the camshafts and followers are pitted and the oil pump needs replacing.

A quick call to David Silver spares (a absolute godsend to old honda owners) confirmed the worst. Camshafts, followers, some gears and all selector forks are no longer available. After a bit more internet research I discovered that as the gearbox (especially the selector forks) is very fragile most parts have been snapped up by owners over the years.

It's at this point I had a big dilema. I either continue with the hope of finding new old stock in Europe somewhere, scrap the bike and sell as spares on Ebay or find another way of getting the bike on the road.

The 'other way' is finding small engineering firms across the UK that can take what I've got and restore or re-make the parts. It won't be cost effective but that's what I've decided to do. My budget to get the bike back on the road is £1000.


XLV history and spec

The HONDA XLV 750 R (RD01) was sold in Europe (but not the UK) from 1983 to 1986. An updated version (RF) was sold for the last year of production but this was essentially just a paint change. Despite appearances, the XLV was never intended as a 'true' off road bike. Instead it was styled in the 'theme' of a Paris-Dakar XL600 race bike. Honda obviously saw the popularity of the Dakar race and thought it could attact buyers with a road bike that looked like it promised adventure. In much the same way BMW's R1200GS is sold today.

The engine is visually identical to the motor fitted to the 1983 RS750 flat tracker ridden by Ricky Graham and Bubba Shobert. They scored a one-two in the championship that year. The bore and stroke of the RS (and the XLV) is identical to the hugely succesful Harley XR750 flat tracker. The flat tracker is chain drive not shaft.



Engine
749cc 4 stroke 45° V-twin (bore 79.5 x stroke 75.5 mm), 8.4 to 1 compression
Air/oil cooled (2 side deflectors for the rear cylinder)
Single OHC driving 3 valves per cylinder with hydraulical valves
Electronic ignition with 2 spark plugs per cylinder
Carburation through twin 36 mm Keihin constant depression carbs
Power 61 hp at 7000 rpm
Multidisk wet clutch with 5 speed gearbox
Shaft final drive

Chassis
Tubular steel square section cradle frame. Front section acting as an oil tank
Front suspension by a hydraulic + air cartridge-type fork, 200 mm travel
Rear suspension by a hydraulic + air damper Pro-link (progressive), 180 mm travel
Wheels : front 300 x 21, rear 450 x 17
Brakes : front single disk of 276 mm with two same side pistons. 140mm rear drum
Overall length 2240 mm. Wheelbase 1480 mm. Ground clearance 240 mm. Seat height 855 mm
Weight with liquids 212 kg. Fuel capacity 19.5 litres
Average fuel consumption 7 l per 100km
Price (beginning 1984): 30000 French Francs (£2,400)