Project Xl350, Part 1
Project XL350, Part 1
Tired of riding an overweight? This is the answer.
PICTURE THIS if you can: A fine clear summer day in the Mojave Desert. Ha. Those of us who have been there know better. Summer produces only one kind of day in the Mojave...stiflingly hot, with the sun beating down upon the flora and fauna without respite. It's weather that most camels wouldn't be caught out in. Toward the horizon there is a wisp of dust that grows larger by the minute.
It is soon possible to pinpoint the cause of this disturbance. It's a group of merry men, and sometimes several women, who are out to pit their skills and their machines against the elements and the clock. This is a common enduro during the peak of summer. As the riders approach, it is obvious that the first few bikes are two-strokes. If the event is demanding enough, chances are there won't be many four-strokes finishing high in the standings. This isn't due to any lack of entries. We have followed the enduro scene with interest for the past couple of years and have seen the thumper, in its stock and standard form, increase in number at each event. The reasons for this are numerous.
There is no question that four-strokes generally produce more torque and, because of this, are easier to ride, as long as the terrain isn't too rough. Some people feel that the thumper is more reliable. Then, too, there are riders who just can't stand the sound of the two-stroke exhaust. But there is also the possibility that these adamant four-stroke riders aren't quite sure what they've gotten themselves into. Illusions of excess torque may have overshadowed the realities of poor handling and suspension, not to mention the excess weight. There are, of course, pro and con arguments on both sides of the four-stroke controversy.
What we have just been referring to is the only single-cylinder thumper readily available today, the Honda XL250 and 350. At one time we could feel pity for the poor sucker who chose one of these tractors for serious enduro work. If it didn't throw you down on the ground because of poor handling, it would for sure turn your body into a heap of fatigued muscles after you tried your darnedest to wrestle the overweight sled around.
As any results sheet will tell you, things are changing. There is no new breed of man, no superbeing who can muscle the XL around. The change has come because the popularity of the reliable XL engine has created a need for a super after-market frame, one that handles, steers well, and is light. Voted most-likely-to-succeed is the XL350 model built by C&J Racing Frames, a company well-known in racing circles. They have built frames for such notables as Nixon—Gary, that is—Dave Aldana, Gary Scott, the Kawasaki people and others. In the next few pages the merits of their XL350 frame^^l unfold before your eyes.
By no means is replacing the standard frame on the XL350 an inexpensive undertaking. We have tried to keep everything to the bare minimum, using only the parts that are essential to a competition or play bike that works well. But this has presented us with one big headache after another. We came into this project under the impression that it would be a simple matter of removing the standard parts from one frame and bolting them to the other. We should have known better. As you will see, only a few standard parts are utilized, and some of these must first be modified in order to do the job right. To make our job easier, and consolidate things for you, a list of suppliers and the retail prices of the goods used will be printed in the next installment of this project.
