Well I couldn't help myself - 1983 500 XC

[jo360]

i fitted an old style 36 to my air cooled 430 but could not get it to run correctly, 36mm was just too small, so i put the 36 on my gg200 and the gg200 pwk38 on the 430 and happy days, the 430 has been ported and is now a 450, don't know what year or application the carb was originally set up for as i bought it second hand off ebay as an experiment, the carb has the old style metering rod.
the 430 lectron would fire up and idle fine but would not pull hard on top and lean out on decel, best carb i have had on the gg had to putt home 15kms with a set of broken bars literally jogging/walking pace for an hour, removed plug just to check and nice tan colour no sign of fouling.

 

[oregonsage]

They are used on Vintage Cross Country bikes quite a bit, but the MX guys dont use them. Typically, bikes with poor low PRM response or with abrupt power delivery, especially piston port engines, are the ones most helped by adding a Lectron. Since Husky's have neither of those problems you dont see Lectrons on them very often.




This ONLY applies to Pre '75, Lectron carbs are legal in all AHRMA Post Vintage classes, which is '75-up.

That second quote was from the Post Vintage rules section......Im by no means an expert on their byzantine rules, but that one doesnt seem to leave much wiggle room. It matters little since AHRMA doesnt run Post Vintage Races in the Northwest where Kelly and I are....There is another Vintage org here that is a bit more flexible.

 

[Kartwheel68]

That is from an old rule book, they changed it several years ago. The PV section now reads:

d) CARBURETORS: Period-type carburetors are strongly encouraged. Period flatslide
carbs are allowed on Historic and Gran Prix class motorcycles. Examples
include Lake, Lectron, Posa and other period-type flat-slides. Active acceleratorpump-
equipped carburetors are allowed only on Ultima-class motorcycles; all others
must be disconnected or removed, even if OEM-equipped. Dell’Orto accelerator
pump carburetors are allowed in the Historic and Gran Prix classes only if the
accelerator pump mechanism is disconnected or removed. Period flat-slide Mikuni
carburetors are allowed only on Ultima class motorcycles. Keihin flat-slide carburetors
are not permitted. No modern D-shape-slide or similar equivalent carburetors
are allowed in AHRMA Post Vintage off-road competition.

 

[oregonsage]

http://dev.ahrma.org/?page_id=1715

Well.....I downloaded the pdf today. This may very well be an error one way or another.

 

[husqyhamm]

eXCellent project.. Watching it keenly

1) The pipe is aftermarket, would love to know how it performs.
2) A few months ago i communicated with Lectron concerning carb for same machine and they recommended 44mm. My impression is their carbs are taper bore which would give venturi size of 42mm, im i mistaken in this??
3) Tried the boyesen power reeds some years back and didn't like them on a 500XC. Went back to original.

Perhaps an idea to do full pressure test on engine before it all fires up for running and testing.
http://klemmvintage.com/airleaks.htm

Good luck

 

[Motosportz]

1) The pipe is aftermarket, would love to know how it performs.

it is? Looks stock to me but I know little about these bikes. It is very well built, big and strong and fits very nice. This thing is less crude than I originally thought. Actually kinda like the simplicity and directness of the design.

Perhaps an idea to do full pressure test on engine before it all fires up for running and testing.
http://klemmvintage.com/airleaks.htm

Good luck

good info but to late, already ran and rode it. Idles perfect and low and does not hunt around so seems pretty solid to me at this point. Will keep working at it and sorting it out. Solid bike at this point.

 

[justintendo]

you have discovered the beauty of these bikes...while appearing crude, after being around them and understanding them, the crudeness goes away...almost elegant sometimes..

 

[Motosportz]

...almost elegant sometimes..

When I light this thing off I don't feel that is the right term for this motorcycle

 

[troy deck]

When I light this thing off I don't feel that is the right term for this motorcycle

sledge hammers... can be elegant and i assure you it is a sledge used to drive things into the ground or beat sumpin flat

 

[husqyhamm]

Definitely not stock pipe, weld seams, upper dia. The stock 83 500 CR and XC shared the same pipe, partno i believe 15-14-182-01

Quite likely one of these, which would be beyond cool...
http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/1983-pro-circuit-500cr.2069/

 

[Motosportz]

Definitely not stock pipe, weld seams, upper dia. The stock 83 500 CR and XC shared the same pipe, partno i believe 15-14-182-01

Quite likely one of these, which would be beyond cool...
http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/1983-pro-circuit-500cr.2069/

Interesting, thanks. It is nicely built and thick. Also looks like the part the slips onto the head has been modified / welded on. Bike came from an estate sale where it had sat in a barn for a good while. Supposedly the guy whom owned it was a top local Vet racer. No idea if that was true or not. Has Boysen 2 stage reeds to so some work was done.

 

[Motosportz]

Got a quick ride. Will report later but went something like this...

Started pretty EZ
WFT did I buy?
Where are the brakes?
Why does it feel like I am riding in 2 feet of marshmallows?
Could there possibly be more vibrations?
Ok, dont stand up just sit there.
This thing is a struggle
Not sure how much I'll ride this bike...

Stop adjust and tighten a few things.

Stop fighting the bike
Relax and think old school
Huh, this motor makes power everywhere
Third will work for everything maybe forth
Is it even possible to stall this bike?
3rd gear while idling up hill, EZ.
Stop picking lines and just point straight to where you want to go
Is it even possible to deflect this bike?
Why does it feel so light?
How am I just sitting here and flying along?
How are all those rocks disappearing?
Who designed the 30 year old traction control and why is this not on every bike
Shit, I'm moving and I feel like I'm not doing anything.
I see how Terry Cunningham did it
List of upgrades and things to address start to clutter mind...

Looks at home in the woods.

That Motoz IT worked really nice on the front of this bike.

I drew first mud :>)

Brrrrrrrr brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr seems like you can ride it at 400 rpm everywhere and fast.

It ignores rocks yet still turns good.

 

[justintendo]

guided missile baby!

where your seat cover is loose is where they always tear...pop the staples out there, pull tighter and restaple...seat will last that way until it gets ripped on something..now that i look at it, it kinda looks like an 85-86 cover..

glad to hear you are liking the bike...you can definitely feel some of the baja genes in the 83-84...definitely went to a tighter more woods friendly bike in the single shocks..
the xc is a great model

 

[Motosportz]

.you can definitely feel some of the baja genes in the 83-84...definitely went to a tighter more woods friendly bike in the single shocks.

I dont know, once I let it do its thing and understood it more It seemed as EZ to ride through the woods as my 400. Did not ride anything real tight but it was loose and technical in spots and the bike just marches through. Its so different than modern bikes yet if ridden as designed seems EZ to make time on. Was surprised how light it felt. The motor will crawl up anything and you can just dump the clutch at idle and it walks away. Feels like it has 2 feet of travel. I was jumping it off a small jump and it felt like I was landing in a foam pit. Funny bike. Once I get the brakes working OK and some control / ergonomic stuff sorted its going to be nice. Oddly the vibes seemed to go away, I guess I just got used to it and also you can ride it at insanely low RPMs. Thats said was also surprised how far and hard it reved on top.

I can hardly wait for the Lectron. I think it is going to make the really nice motor that much nicer. I hope, like it does on other bikes, makes the power smooth and liquid and removes the mid range blubbrieness. I also think it will keep it from doing the big bore off throttle load up thing so much.

What kind of MPG do you guys get trail riding with these?

 

[FabOneUp]

I would sure like to see you race it this year. Sounds like it would do a hare scramble nicely. Nice description of the things going through your mind on that first ride.

 

[Kartwheel68]

Motosporz, You are starting to see why these twin shock Husky's won so many races, especially off road. The bikes appear crude, but in reality they were very purposefully designed, very minimalist, there is nothing on them other than what is needed to go fast. The "feel" of these bikes is very different than a modern bike, but in many ways they are BETTER than a modern bike, especially the engines. Once you get used to the bike, you will be able to take advantage of some of its best traits like the ultra smooth power and fantastic stability and go darn near as fast as any 2014 bike, and in some situations even faster. Every time I ride my '82 430WR I wonder why modern bikes dont have power deliveries like it does, and it reminds me that newer is not always better.

 

[86 400 XC]

Thats why i ride 80s bike too, they as fast as any new bikes in the woods. I had friend on a new Husky totally blown away how i passed him sitting down on my bike and just rolled on the throttle and all he could do is stay standing up and pushing his bike hard as he could over a rough trail. I fly by like i am on a paved road sitting back on a cruizer.

Later on he sold the 310 and got into a riding a 79 WR 390 for the win

 

[troy deck]

yep the old bikes can be good very good wonder if we could get Andy to reproduce the whole bike get rid of that fat spot that rubs the back of your knee maybe pull the steering in just a touch lectron it of course could be sweet very sweet look at the job those Brits did on that Maico 350 enduro all branspankin new looks like 1981 all over

 

[Motosportz]

Yeah, was an odd experience and big learning curve that went from "this is an odd bike which might not get ridden much" to " Wow, this thing does stuff other bikes cant do". I had to toss everything I knew about riding a bike out the window and revert back to riding bikes like I did as a kid. Modern bikes you stand, get over the bars and run all the controls like crazy, all the controls work fantastic and instantly. You choose the best lines and marvel that you can put the front end within a 1/2 inch of your spotted line. This bike you completely disregard any line and just draw a straight line to the apex of the next corner, don't worry about any controls other than the throttle, sit and steer with your butt. The 2 feet of 30 year old marshmallow suspension just gobbles everything up, The comparatively flexi frame and forks deflect over and around objects and the bike tracks straight through whatever roots and rocks are there. Was unnerving at first to just aim to slam over stuff but after you realized it makes stuff disappear you are fine and stop caring about trail irregularities and just go. Seems like it cant be deflected off line. The rear suspension feels like it has no damping (shocks are fine, not leaking and you can feel they have damping when bouncing on it) but are actually pretty controlled and glide over everything keeping the back in contact with the ground all the time. It uses the 13 inches of travel unlike modern bikes which use 4 inches in the same section. This bike has a completely worn out and cracking old dunlop on the back. Did not matter, got more traction than a brand new trails tire on my 250. Really weird. I have not ridden my big bore 2 strokes in a long time and forgot how you can literally ride them at idle RPM. That uber soft suspension and idle speed power are the 30 year old traction control I speak of. You would think a 500c bike like this would be a handful. It is not, it is a kitten. A big one. 3rd gear up snotty loose rocky sections is FUN! Clutch is actually not a hard pull and works nice. Not that you need to use it much. I had to learn to stop shifting so much and just ride it in 3rd or 4th. Will get you from walking speed to 35 (guess). Semi lazy handling fits the motor and suspension perfect. It actually turns really nice and the bike feels really light. I was not expecting the light feel. Sit on the big comfy couch of a seat, stick it in 3rd, modulate the throttle about 2mm and your done. Its that EZ. Pick straight lines to your next turn and just glide over stuff. Dont worry about going around anything on the trail, just go over it. Hills are super EZ.

I really look forward to upgrading this bike some. Got brake shoes ordered. Had thoughts of upgrading the front end to upside down forks and disk brake like my WR400 but think I am going to leave it all stock now. Just want them to work better. Figured I'd upgrade the bar mounts and tall bars for a modern feel. Nope, leaving all that now as this is a sit down and pilot it kind of bike. Basically I'm enjoying it for what it is, will adapt to it instead of adapting it to my preconceived ideas of what a bike should be and let it do its thing. It has convinced me "its thing" is good and I need to go with it. Big and EZ is the word. Big EZ seat, suspension, motor etc. Its a cool bike.

things I am going to upgrade and address:

Brakes - Want them to work as best they can
Levers, perches and cables - Want it all smooth, comfortable and working 100%
Lectron - I believe it will make the motor a lot smoother, crisper, not load up as much, EZer pull, better MPG etc. (new throttle cable as well)
Skid plate - dont want to put a rock through the cases

Oh, when I changed the oil there was a tiny spring on the oil magnet. Pretty sure it is off the shifting mechanism. It shifts nice, actually very smooth but the lever does not really snap back into place and there is something up. It all works right but does not feel right. Will address that.

Can hardly wait to get these things addressed and ride it again. I think this bike might get ridden more than I originally thought. Unique, fun and able. Nice. Will be interesting to see if I can still keep my position in the pecking order with my bros on their modern bikes. I think for the most part thats not going to be an issue. My WR400 taught me that and right now I think I might like this bike more than my 400.

 

[Farmer John]

Levers, perches and cables - Want it all smooth, comfortable and working 100%

I'm pretty sure Terrycable still makes all the cables for that bike.