Mint XR600 RG

[FourstrokeForever]

The XR6's were (are) a great bike that do everything very well. I loved my old XR's and had the starting routine down pat. Just like Mick D stated. I could leave my XR600RF for weeks without touching it (I was racing my CR250RF at the time) and decide to take the big girl for a ride. It started 1st or 2nd kick every time, without fail. My 500RE was the same. Never a drama. One trick I learnt along the way was to adjust the cam that actuated both carbs so that the motor ran on the first carb for a bit longer before the 2nd carb kicked in. It was as easy as bending the linkage with a pair of pliers and the bike lost any hesitation it had when giving it a fistful of throttle. Great Bikes that will forever hold a happy place in my memory....

[PE sicko]

I have known the seller Scott for a long time and have sold him some road bikes. He is a great guy and his XR's (this is one of a few) are absolutely amazing.

[mark1076]

I know this is an old thread folks, but it looks as if the same bike (XR600RG) could have been listed again. I saw the bidding top out at about $12K recently (wow!)...and didn't reach reserve. Here she is-

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/131929516088?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT\

It seems these monsters are worth a bit these days, what do you guys reckon?

[80-85 husky]

a brand new husky 510 84 model went for sub 10k recently, makes the xr a boat anchor and worth 5k I rekon. but xr's arnt my cup of tea. I recognize they were a perfect bike for 80% of riders and riding and everyone has had one at one stage (cept me... I graduated from early xl's to two strokes) and apart from the xr 200, i never got to like em. Honda picked their market target beautifully though as the stats don't lie.

rode lots but found they lacked the two things you needed in an enduro bike. good torque and light weight. (im no arnie )

For a lounge lizard you cant go past the looks... (just like a Thai lady boy) looks sensational...performance not as expected.

if it was a new rc model, be worth every cent as they really were the lady boy xr.
I know why the late G. Eldridge had one in his lounge room...pure art.

[FourstrokeForever]

There's no doubt that the big XR's hold a special place in the annals of off road racing history. Multiple desert race wins all over the world and rock solid reliability that the average punter could ride with minimum of fuss.
As for the bike that's for sale, while it is a very nice low hour example of an iconic machine, I think the seller might be looking through rose coloured glasses when bids fetch $12k without reserve being met.
No offense to the seller, but it's not a race bred C&J or White Brothers XR.

[Rossvickicampbell]

I had a later model 650 when in Africa - my god that thing could pull red wood trees out of the ground and was awesomely reliable - but yes - wee bit heavy and tiring after a short time of trying to motocross one

[mark1076]

There's no doubt that the big XR's hold a special place in the annals of off road racing history. Multiple desert race wins all over the world and rock solid reliability that the average punter could ride with minimum of fuss.
As for the bike that's for sale, while it is a very nice low hour example of an iconic machine, I think the seller might be looking through rose coloured glasses when bids fetch $12k without reserve being met.
No offense to the seller, but it's not a race bred C&J or White Brothers XR.

Yep I have to agree, the price is a bit unrealistic. I've had a good look (the seller has provided lots of good pics), and the bike is a U.S model, so there is no ADR compliance, which may or may not be a problem if you want to red plate or rego the bike. 

@80-85 Husky-  I respect that you like Huskies, and let's face it, if all of us loved the same brand of bike the world would be a very boring place! Some of the earlier XR's I agree didn't handle particularly well, but Honda were putting more R&D into their CR's, so the XR's received gradual updates and improvements.

By the time the XR600RF (the same as the RG model except for graphics) was released, Honda more or less had it sorted out. Although the bike looked a lot like the XR500RE that preceeded it, the XR600RF was all new. I have an old ADB test (written by Geoff Eldridge), in which he makes sure to iterate that he raced the XR600RF and liked it, and that the only thing left to upgrade was the suspension. By that time, the XR350 had turned into a ripper of a trailbike, and the XR250RG (single carby, oil cooled model) was only months from release. 

As well as race successes overseas in the Baja and such, the XR600 certainly had success here in events like the Australian Safari.

Steve Chapman won in 1985/1987/1988 I believe. Then John Hederics won no less than 6 times (1990,1991,1992,1994,1995 & 1996). Steve Greenfield also had a big win in 1999 on the big beast against KTM640's and the like. Steve Riley, Fred Collett, Tim Scriven, Russell Yeats, Peter Macdonald and many others also campaigned the bike with success in the OZ Safari.

Geoff Ballard tore into the open class of the ISDE on his XR630 in 1992. Geoff Ballard and Glen Bell campaigned modified XR600's in the Thumper Nats in the 90's, with successes too. (I think Belly actually won the Pro class in 96)

The bike was never the fastest out of the box, but did everything very well, responded very well to mods, and could do anything from a trip down the street, to enduro/desert racing and everything in between. It's biggest appeal was it's flexibility and reliability, with some race pedigree thrown in.

[80-85 husky]

cant argue with race wins but those bikes were far from stock.

In 85 a mate took his std 510 to sealake desert rally (after several weeks all night plowing on the farm) and sat on the two Honda aust riders arses for third place. we could never get out of the Honda boys just what had been done to the Honda bikes but it was a bit (factory forks, new shock, motor blueprinted, big exhaust etc . but so saying, I wouldn't mind a RC 500 in my pool room ....nicest looking disappointment I ever saw.

I think we have done this  to death...interesting to see if he can get a  punter over the line on that xr

[kdx Geoff]

For a lounge lizard you cant go past the looks... (just like a Thai lady boy) looks sensational...performance not as expected.

 

[mark1076]

cant argue with race wins but those bikes were far from stock.

In 85 a mate took his std 510 to sealake desert rally (after several weeks all night plowing on the farm) and sat on the two Honda aust riders arses for third place. we could never get out of the Honda boys just what had been done to the Honda bikes but it was a bit (factory forks, new shock, motor blueprinted, big exhaust etc . but so saying, I wouldn't mind a RC 500 in my pool room ....nicest looking disappointment I ever saw.

I think we have done this  to death...interesting to see if he can get a  punter over the line on that xr

Just for the record I'm not looking for a blue here, but i think you may have missed one of the main points I made in my last post.

Let me quote my last paragraph on the XR600 --  "The bike was never the fastest out of the box, but did everything very well, responded very well to mods, and could do anything from a trip down the street, to enduro/desert racing and everything in between. It's biggest appeal was it's flexibility and reliability, with some race pedigree thrown in."

Talking about faster bikes out of the box, there's no doubt when you compare apples with apples, a standard Husky 510TE or 610TE had more raw performance than the XR600R's, and had better suspension to boot, albeit with a much higher asking price (at the time an XR600 retailed at $8200, the Husqvarna 610TE was around $10,000). 

However, the Huskies' reliability, especially over long distance events was never as good as the XR600's. For a long period of time, the Husqvarna 510/610 engines did not have pressure lubricated engines (this eventually changed in the late 90's), premature big-end failures and stator failures were common, and the big Huskies, although fast, tended not to be used often for long distance events, and as a testament to what I've just said, certainly can't claim any long distance event wins.

So it's horses for courses really. In a nutshell, Husky is faster than Honda point to point (unless the Honda is worked over, which you could have done seeing they were cheaper to buy), but Honda XR600's were more reliable and flexible, they had the blend of performance and reliability that meant they were taylor made for long distance events.

It also interests me how you say, and I quote--  "could never get out of the Honda boys just what had been done to the Honda bikes but it was a bit (factory forks, new shock, motor blueprinted, big exhaust etc"  -- How do you know all this stuff was done to the bikes if "the Honda boys" would/could not tell you, isn't what you have said just speculation?

[Rossvickicampbell]

as an outsider on this conversation I like it - I see different points of view put across well - nothing sinister in that - I am enjoying the different points as I was a Honda fanatic at the time.

[Rookie#1]

cant argue with race wins but those bikes were far from stock.

In 85 a mate took his std 510 to sealake desert rally (after several weeks all night plowing on the farm) and sat on the two Honda aust riders arses for third place. we could never get out of the Honda boys just what had been done to the Honda bikes but it was a bit (factory forks, new shock, motor blueprinted, big exhaust etc . but so saying, I wouldn't mind a RC 500 in my pool room ....nicest looking disappointment I ever saw.

I think we have done this  to death...interesting to see if he can get a  punter over the line on that xr

Just for the record I'm not looking for a blue here, but i think you may have missed one of the main points I made in my last post.

Let me quote my last paragraph on the XR600 --  "The bike was never the fastest out of the box, but did everything very well, responded very well to mods, and could do anything from a trip down the street, to enduro/desert racing and everything in between. It's biggest appeal was it's flexibility and reliability, with some race pedigree thrown in."

Talking about faster bikes out of the box, there's no doubt when you compare apples with apples, a standard Husky 510TE or 610TE had more raw performance than the XR600R's, and had better suspension to boot, albeit with a much higher asking price (at the time an XR600 retailed at $8200, the Husqvarna 610TE was around $10,000). 

However, the Huskies' reliability, especially over long distance events was never as good as the XR600's. For a long period of time, the Husqvarna 510/610 engines did not have pressure lubricated engines (this eventually changed in the late 90's), premature big-end failures and stator failures were common, and the big Huskies, although fast, tended not to be used often for long distance events, and as a testament to what I've just said, certainly can't claim any long distance event wins.

So it's horses for courses really. In a nutshell, Husky is faster than Honda point to point (unless the Honda is worked over, which you could have done seeing they were cheaper to buy), but Honda XR600's were more reliable and flexible, they had the blend of performance and reliability that meant they were taylor made for long distance events.

It also interests me how you say, and I quote--  "could never get out of the Honda boys just what had been done to the Honda bikes but it was a bit (factory forks, new shock, motor blueprinted, big exhaust etc"  -- How do you know all this stuff was done to the bikes if "the Honda boys" would/could not tell you, isn't what you have said just speculation?

Mark, can I ask a simple question?? Is the bike this post relates to yours??

[mark1076]

No it's not mine mate, I have been taking interest in the maximum it has been bid up to in the many times it has been relisted on Feebay though 

[FourstrokeForever]

I don't think it's fair on the Husky 4st to compare it to the XR6's......The XR has the runs on the board to PROVE it's race pedigree in the most bike destroying races all around the globe, unlike the faster (amend that to more powerful) Husky which had a habit of destroying itself in no thanks to the pitiful lack of oil pressure! In order to finish first, first you must finish. No doubt there's a good reason why alot of the mid 80's 4st Huskies left in Europe now have Honda XR motors shoe horned into the brilliant chassis.... 

[80-85 husky]

no doubt the early husky motor was a dud, the SEM ign would melt down (on the twoies as well) and the two part valve seats used to part company with the head at high revs. From 84 the a/c wernt bad and like mine have done 30+ years in std trim. yes xr's have all the big wins on the boards and Honda wants those wins for its advertising and some times money was no object. mate did a few safaris with ktm's years ago and noted the "winning xr" would be on its #x motor (x being a number btw 1- 10). was not uncommon to replace the motor on a regular basis in the big multi day events.

lets wrap this up...the xr is a better all roundbike than the husky.