1985 Honda XL600R 600cc Motorcycle

Description

Produced from 1983 until 1987, Honda’s dual-purpose XL600R featured a 598cc single cylinder engine running twin carburetors and two head pipes, along with a five-speed gearbox and dry sump lubrication.  With a bore and stroke of 100mm by 75mm, the four-stroke unit employed four-valve per cylinder technology, a 9.00:1 compression ratio and was rated at 45 horsepower at 6500 peak revs.  Suspension consisted of a 39mm Showa air-adjustable front fork with dual Syntallic bushings and a Pro-Link set-up at the rear, while stopping power was provided by a twin piston 240mm single front disc brake and a drum at the rear.  Early examples were sold in Flash Red with blue details while later (1986 on) models were done in Shasta White with blue/red tank decals.  Marketed with the advertising pitch “It makes you king of the mountain or king of the road”, Honda’s XL600R was an extremely rapid dirt bike, capable of hitting 100 mph and a quarter mile time in the high 13 second bracket.