1980 Honda XL80S Rebuild Before Christmas (HOPEFULLY)

[benwhite34]

Need to start off by saying that this is going to be a slow progressing project.

Took my son to Midland to ride a buddy's Honda 50 dirt bike a couple months ago. He has been begging my wife and I for a dirt bike ever since. He literally rode the bike the entire time we were there. I have been on the look out for him something ever since. I came across a heck of a deal yesterday. I picked up a 1980 Honda XL80S for free from my dad's neighbor. He said it had been sitting for a few years and if I am not able to get it running to bring it back.

Hopefully you guys that have undertaken a project like this will chime in and help me out.

I know there is a lot of things to do. Right now I do not believe there is any compression. It is getting spark but it is not acting like anything is going on when you kick start it. So rebuilding the top end is next after a good cleaning.

Anyone rebuilt something like this? Any tips and pointers will be greatly appreciated. Right now YouTube is my main source of information.

[louieagarcia]

Fun project! Good luck!

[the-butcher]

I bet a little cleaning and carb flush /tune and that honda will purr like a kitten

[Chris1962]

That's a good old bike, Clean the carb and I bet it will fire right up.

[JayB]

Get on Facebook join Vintage Motorcycle parts and Memorabilia For Sale. Also, eBay will usually have stuff. Bike Bandit, Rocky Mountain ATV...some more sources. Have fun with it. It is cool to bring em to life again.

[Palmetto]

How old is the boy?

[benwhite34]

How old is the boy?

8

[Joey~AP]

If no compression you might have a stuck valve.

Clean carb good! It will have a slide with a needle. Pull that out and make sure needle is clean and seat isn't gummed up. You got 2 jets. Small is low speed jet (idle) and you will have a larger high speed jet. Might need a torch tip cleaner to get them open.

[Joey~AP]

Clean tank out good and make sure gas valve is operating right.

Change oil and see if it will crank.

[Joey~AP]

I'm not familiar with that motor. Might be a way to get to the valve springs without pulling the head. Pull spark plug and squirt some WD40 in there.

[Joey~AP]

Check the tank for scale too. Is it rusty inside?

[benwhite34]

The inside of the Tank is rusty. Is there any way to fix that? I tried messing with it some today but it is hard while trying to keep it secret.

[Joey~AP]

Try Red-Kote

[Goldeneagle]

The inside of the Tank is rusty. Is there any way to fix that? I tried messing with it some today but it is hard while trying to keep it secret.

I used to fill them about 1/4 full of water and put some gravel in it then just shake the crap out of it. Done many of them this way.

[benwhite34]

Started taking everything apart today. Got the seat, tank, shocks, carb, air box, and exhaust taken off before almost getting busted. As I was taking the exhaust off, I heard a slight buzzing sound... I guess it looked like a good place to put a wasp nest. How I managed to move this thing around the house, attempt to clean it, and dismantle it without getting attacked is beyond me, but a little Chemtool did the trick.