Author Topic: Just purchased a 1998 Xbr500  (Read 983 times)

guest1853

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Just purchased a 1998 Xbr500
« on: August 18, 2014, 05:15:58 PM »
Hi I've just purchased a 1998 Honda XBR 500 it's quite tidy and has had dome work done to it. I've got no service history with it.  It has 33,000 miles showing on it, this seems to be genuine looking at the old MOT's.
Can anybody point me in the right direction regarding  do's and dont's regarding servicing and maintenance . I don't have a service book and apparently checking the oil level is a bit of a faff to get it right ?
I live in the North West can anybody recommend a good mechanic that is familiar with the bike in this area.
Regards
John

SteveC#222

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Re: Just purchased a 1998 Xbr500
« Reply #1 on: August 18, 2014, 10:37:37 PM »
Hi there, welcome to the forum.

The XBR is really easy to live with and has few real problems.

The big maintainence item is regular oil changes - forget what the manual says, you need to change the oil every 1000-1500 miles as the top end is prone to wear if your run old dirty oil - 1.4 lires of 10w 40 or 15w 40 at a change or 1.6L with a filter change - change the filter every other oil change.

Oil level check - warm the engine up with the bike on the centre stand.  Once it's warm let it tick over for 3 minutes then switch off and dip the oil tank without screwing the dipstick in.
 
valve clearances are inlet 0.10mm and exhaust 0.12mm - at the same time check the free play on the decompressor lever on the head - it should be 1-3mm - if this is set wrongly it will be a bugger to kickstart! Valves don't need doing very often.

Otherwise it's pretty reliable. Front brake caliper can tend to stick and will need cleaning up occasionally. You can get stainless brake pistons and slider pins which help. If you can feel the back brake pulsing through the pedal then the drum lining may have gone oval - this is a problem as the liner is pressed in and very thin so you can't skim it round. Get a chain oiler as big single can wear chains  quickly although the XBR is too bad.

There are downloads for the manual online . For Spares try Wemoto.co.uk or David Silver Spares.  Most spares are still available though some bits are getting scarce.

If you need any specific part of the manual let me know and I can email it to you.

They are a nice bike, you'll enjoy it.

« Last Edit: August 19, 2014, 08:28:40 AM by SteveC#222 »
Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional!

guest1853

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Re: Just purchased a 1998 Xbr500
« Reply #2 on: August 19, 2014, 08:45:38 PM »
Thanks for your reply Steve that helps me a lot I will be changing the oil and filter this weekend. What do people do when it comes to replacing the exhaust system. What is available for them.
Regards
John

SteveC#222

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Re: Just purchased a 1998 Xbr500
« Reply #3 on: August 20, 2014, 07:31:03 AM »
Thanks for your reply Steve that helps me a lot I will be changing the oil and filter this weekend. What do people do when it comes to replacing the exhaust system. What is available for them.
Regards
John

The original systems are no longer available new and are rare as hens teeth though they occasionally come up on Ebay secondhand but tend to go for silly prices. If the downpipes are OK then you can fit a varity of aftermarket silencers - Peashooters, Dunstall even Goldstar replicas. If the whole system has gone then the only other available options are a stainless steel one from Predator which is a 2 into 1.
http://predatormotorsport.co.uk/XBR500-and-GB500-HONDA-all-models-Predator-2-1-Road-Legal-Exhaust-System/

Or a Micron system available through David Silver spares which is pretty close copy of the original 2 into 2.

http://www.davidsilverspares.co.uk/XBR500/part_220489/

Both cost about £350.

If you put www.xbr.de into Google search it will bring up a German site with the option to translate - translate it and there are a lot of really useful articles about the XBR/GB including one about checking the valves and servicing the brake caliper.


Just found out someone is selling stainless downpipes at £170 a pair that you could add silencers of your choice. See Recommended services section.



« Last Edit: August 20, 2014, 10:36:29 AM by SteveC#222 »
Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional!

Moto63

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Re: Just purchased a 1998 Xbr500
« Reply #4 on: August 20, 2014, 08:09:22 AM »
Morning.
I ran a predator stainless two into one system on my XBR for a year when I first bought it, found it very heavy and it kept coming loose on the pinch bolts where the two down pipes joined the intermediate pipe. Got to the point I was having to tighten them up after every ride, in the end I took it off and sold it on.

chris22

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Re: Just purchased a 1998 Xbr500
« Reply #5 on: August 20, 2014, 06:09:47 PM »
If you are looking for end cans try this company:
http://www.classicbikeshop.co.uk/silencers/universal-custom.html?p=2

I bought a pair of reverse cone megas - good quality and cheaper than those on fleabay.

guest1830

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Re: Just purchased a 1998 Xbr500
« Reply #6 on: September 20, 2014, 10:31:58 PM »
hi..ran one of mine for over 15 year..done 1 oil change, 1 filter and treat it to a new spark plug about 8 years ago...still goes like stink and has over 90 thousand miles on it....However the other one has had everything done and has only got 5000 original miles and is a piece of shit

welland99

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Re: Just purchased a 1998 Xbr500
« Reply #7 on: November 28, 2014, 12:14:46 AM »
hi..ran one of mine for over 15 year..done 1 oil change, 1 filter and treat it to a new spark plug about 8 years ago...still goes like stink and has over 90 thousand miles on it....However the other one has had everything done and has only got 5000 original miles and is a piece of *******
Only one oil change in 15 years, and done 90k miles?   :o  That suggests that reports of a weak top end that needs very regular oil changes may be exaggerated.   :-\

SteveC#222

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Re: Just purchased a 1998 Xbr500
« Reply #8 on: November 29, 2014, 09:14:00 AM »
hi..ran one of mine for over 15 year..done 1 oil change, 1 filter and treat it to a new spark plug about 8 years ago...still goes like stink and has over 90 thousand miles on it....However the other one has had everything done and has only got 5000 original miles and is a piece of *******
Only one oil change in 15 years, and done 90k miles?   :o  That suggests that reports of a weak top end that needs very regular oil changes may be exaggerated.   :-\

I wouldn't say the top end is 'weak' - generally the XBR engine is a very strong unit. That said, all the Honda singles need care taking with the top end or you can get excessive wear in the cam/ followers. The usual receipe for XBR happiness is 1500 mile oil changes and 3000 mile filter changes working on the principle that oil changes are cheaper than engine rebuilds!

The only engine I never changed the oil on was my old GN250- mainly because it drank so much of the damn stuff it was practically a two stroke! weekly topping up effectively gave it a complete oil change every 4 weeks!
Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional!