85 XC 500 Resto.

I want to start from the beginning. Good friend calls me up asks "do you want a dirtbike"? I say what kind"? His response is "1987 husqvarna 500". I made an offer without seeing the bike and not knowing anything about husky dirt bikes. But I knew I couldn't go wrong with 500cc of two-stroke power. I'm going to do a full Restoration on it. I encourage advice and tips from anyone. I will not be riding this bike, but everything must be functional. Yes it will have fuel in it and will make smoke!

looking foward to this. Get lots of teardown shots! cheers

Here is the tag from the garage sale. I opted for the "or best offer" sight unseen offered the lady $350 she didn't even blink an eye and agreed over the phone.

itll be a lot of work but should be nice when its done. best of luck to ya on teardown and hopefully you dont find to many suprises!

Here are some basic teardown pics. I have started a parts list to get this project into gear. A couple things I need. clutch lever, throttle cable, spark plug boot. I still need to check spark and compression. My first step in this project is to get it running and functioning. I have also been looking at bike lifts. I am leaning towards a compact scissor style lift. I want the ability to adjust the height. My only concern is stability. What do you guys prefer when doing repairs or restores.

Funny you say that. I looked at a craftsman motorcycle jack last night. Does it get in the way while using it?

I have made a little more progress, I got the carb cleaned and found it to have a 320 main and 55 pilot. I am going to need the rubber carb boot and are the reed pedals available? It wouldn't hurt to put some fresh ones in. Does anyone know what spark plug this beast uses. I prefer NGK. Am I able to but any kind of manuals or books for this bike.

All the manuals are here in the Vintage tech sectio. You can use the 1987 shop manual if the 86 is not complete but parts may be a little different. Halls Husqvarna has all the parts brake down on their web site.
NGK B8ES for cool to cold weather B9ES for hotter temps. I don't ride when its real hot out, so I run a b8es all year.

I did some more research tonight. I was looking on husqvarna-parts.com and was checking engine and frame numbers. It believe I have
86 XC 400 the only numbers that seemed right were the engine numbers. here are my numbers. eng# 2053-0325. frame is xp13075 842251951H. kinda dissapointed if this is right. what do you guys think.

You can also check http://www.huskyclub.com/model.htm
The 400 is supposed to be a more controlable and easier to ride.
The motor size should be stamped on top of the head by the spark plug hole.

LOl i will have to check my XC 400s for the stamp, been all over my rider and never saw it.

No displacement markings on the head. It could be a 400 bottom end with 500cc cylinder? I want to tear it down to measure.

Same with my spare 400, no stamp on the head.

Check the part number on the right side of the cylinder? That would be the easiest.
16 14 574 01 is a 430
16 14 457 01 is a 400
16 14 449 01 is a 500

well going by the part number its a 430. Im sure it will still have plenty of power. where do i stand now?

Well the bike i ride, restored has a 574 cylinder... my spare 400XC bike is a 400 with a 574 and i saw a cylinder on HVA's web site listed as a 574.

You now have a 86 400 i think.

Weird, all my 430s have the 574 cylinder

This is just another good reason to tear it down, inspect jug piston, hone and re ring it. and of course measure bore and stroke.