1987 430XC rebuild

I guess i should start a rebuild post since i am tearing down my newly acquired 430XC. I got a running 87 430XC and a semi complete 87 500XC with a box of parts. i was sold once i got on the 430 and took it for a spin!!
here is what i started with.



once i got home and tore into all both bikes for closer inspection i found a few small problems. first was the water pump seal went bad putting coolant into the case...i cant believe i missed this on the initial inspection of the bike! The more i dug into the 430 the more black spray paint i found over a repaired subframe that was welded up several times. also there was no top mount for the pipe, as in not at all. the bracket on the backbone was non existant. also bike was not able to idle.

cleaned up the 500xc frame and it was in really good shape! it was just covered in dirt and grime. ended up being in WAY better shape than the 430. so i am going to combine the 2 bikes and make one good one.

parts bike also had usable bearing and heims in the rear. in the process tore into the spare 500xc bottom end to see what condition it was in. it was decent. had a perfect water pump and seal. the 430 had the usual broken impeller fins, and buildup of crud, so i was able to swap out the whole side cover. tore into the carb, cleaned up, running 480 main and 50 pilot, needle on 3rd clip. runs great now. idles and runs smooth.

here is the 500 frame after the first round of cleanup.



and here it is as it stands a day later. everything has swapped straight across with no problems.





can anyone tell me if this is a stock silencer? also water pump and seal is holding up great so far, and no loss of coolant a day later.

needs a few small parts like chain, and sprockets, chain guides, bars, and brakes. only other major thing i can see so far is the shock needs a rebuild and new fork seals. does ohlins still supply seals for this shock? or does anyone know of a supplier that has them?

thats looks to be stock.

Yeah looks stock to me. I like the 87 silencer over the 86, your's has twin mounts where 86 only has 1 and i had to get mine strenghtened, the rear subframe has the extra tag. Philip at www.husqvarna-parts.com has most of the stuff you are chasing.

thanks for the info. silencer is in much better shape than the one that came as a spare so i will run with it for awhile...but man is it LOUD!.

ive got another question for you husky gurus. i found the piece for the mid pipe mount for the original 430 finally. it is a strap that clamps around the back bone. but since i swapped to the 500 frame ti does not need that piece. if you see in the second pic of my original post there is a hard mount welded to the frame. from there it has a rubber bushing and the arm that attaches to the pipe. i have not seen this on any other frame pics for any other bikes in the 87-88 era. it looks like a clean factory weld, clean shaped tabs. it looks factory. pipe lines up perfect with the whole setup, so i am not concerned. more curious. the VIN match up for a 430XC or 500XC, so i know it one of the two, and the engine numbers tell me i have a complete 430xc and 500xc bottom.

some updates. was able to drill out the bar clamp holes a bit and run some protaper contour bars with a protaper bar mount. i have to use small stack of washers because the bolt that came with the protaper clamps are pretty long. this will have to work until i can shave down the proper length bolt or make a spacer. but the bars feel good.





also this is the clutch setup that came on the bike. someone made a bracket to run the cable on the right side of the case and built an arm for the clutch. I have no idea what the cable is from, but i have a stock cable and it is much shorter. clutch pull seems fairly smooth and easy. ive read that these bikes are notorious for a heavy pull. never played with one stock, so the best i can compare it too is a KX500. its feels like my 03 KX500 after i rerouted the cable. so we will see how it runs and feels in a few weeks and let you all know.

here is the clutch linkage.

I've heard the cable holder breaking off the left case. Is yours OK? I Just put the 4-stroke clutch arm
p# 16 14 645 01 on my bike. It's a bit longer than the 2-stroke one, seems to help a little.

no the left side cable mount is still good. this is just the setup the bike had when i got it. so im going to give it a shot. if you look at the picture, just to the right of the rubber boot is a bracket someone made. it has a loop for the cable housing to pass threw, and is attached to the case with the allen bolt just below it.

i have a stock cable and clutch arm in case this ends up being horrible. ill let you know how it works once i get the bike back together.

made a little progress over the past weeks. got the back wheel with a good sprocket fitted, new rear brake pads, fenders and seat mounted, ran some cables. waiting for fork seals and will grab a chain from work in the next few days. tossed the shock on so once i get the forks on i can take it for a spin around the block. hopefully order new seals for the shock next week, and after that rebuild take it out for a run in the dirt.

yeah i believe it is the 500 pipe. i have the 430 pipe, but it has some dings and a few sloppy repairs, so i was gonna run this and see how it works out. i have an uptite plate, i just put it on today actually. its been used and abuse and i have to tweek it a bit to curve around the pipe. it looks like it took a good hit at one time flattened out a little. im gonna try and salvage it if it can, worse case i have another MSR plate still, but it offers no pipe protection. if i do take end up taking it somewhere i know is rocky and has a good chance of carnage i will stick the old pipe back on.
do you happen to know performance wise what is lost and gained between the 430 and 500 pipe?

got the bike rolling today. running 10wt fork oil, 640cc and whatever spring spacer came in the bike. seems a bit stiff compared to the rear, so i may need to play with the spacer soon. also found out the master cylinder has a small leak, so add that to the list of repairs. threw the new chain on as well. i did get to take it for a spin and im sure the whole neighborhood saw me cruising around with a big stupid grin on my face. clutches stuck, searched around the site and did the screwdriver in the oil fill trick and worked great. the clutch linkage that is on the bike works great and smooth. i guess i should start tracking down a spare cable for it sooner than later just in case. no idea what it came off of. the kickstand just didnt feel right when the bike leaned into it. took it off and found a crack across almost the entire weld on the back of the bracket. got that welded up today. as mentioned above, i still have to do some work on the skid plate to clear around the pipe, i think the clearance is so small i can hear it vibrate on the seam of the pipe.

also anyone know if there is another brake lever that will work with the stock master cylinder? i cant seem to find one, or a part number. is this a part that is unique to 87-88 huskys? or can i use an earlier year? also with the master cylinder leaking, has anyone ever swapped a newer M/C off of a newer bike? there are always bikes being parted out in my area, was wondering if it would be beneficial to use a modern M/C vs a rebuilt older one. prices would probably be about the same for rebuild kit and a used M/C.

here are some pics as of today.

one more question for the husky gurus who come across this. when i ran all the electrical i noticed unused orange wire. what is this for? can the XC power a light? since i have no number plate and want something in front, thinking about looking for a used headlight off of another bike. would be nice for those late day rides, or just in case. not looking for HID or anything like that, just some light. cause when its dark, any bit of light helps.

I think 500 ml (max) oil per tube on the forks. I use dextron II tranny fluid. It's 7.5wt and 430ml per leg, no air pressure and I bleed the air outseveral times during a day of riding. The Biggest Husky guru is the St Louis Mo area uses tranny fluid in all his forks.

sorry meant to say 440cc

I used a nissin m/c from an early 90's RM250 on my 87 250xc. but i cut off the straight fitting from the line and used a Goodridge banjo and it worked fine and easier to find levers and rebuild kits. an XC will run lights. I have 2 xc's and both have lighting.

thanks for the info WRX. i was eye balling a friends 07 KTM 450XC and it seems to have the same size banjo on the caliper side, which is what i was really concerned about for the swap. and ive been told its the same size for honda CRFs as well. which works just as well since the honda lines are a bit shorter than some of the other manufacturers that had to route their brake lines under the fork leg for how ever many years due to honda patent on how it was routed. i just found an 03 CRF brake line for 10 bucks to see how it fits to the caliper, and how it fits length wise. if everything works out i know for sure my options for master cylinders is YZ and CRF. a lot of YZ guys swap various brake parts with honda CRFs for a more solid feel. i will post whatever info i gather in case someone else has a similar idea.

40mm forks 15oz for lighter riders or 16 oz for heavier riders 5wt for light and 10-15 for heavier(over 185lbs)
Later George

George thanks for the info. WRX, can you tell me what was required for lighting? what is the output for stock stators? ive never added a light to a bike that didnt have one, so this is new territory for me. are there any simple wiring diagrams that i can refer to for adding the light. lets say i want to go all crazy and add blinkers and maybe even get a plate for it, would i be looking into running a battery? if so how would that play into the equation?

This is a wiring diagram that another member sent to me it has European WR and a US WR/XC diagram yours woud be very similar