exhaust system . Remember , not much prior to introduction of the XL , many off-road bikes still featured no silencer at all – straight stingers on the two-strokes , and open pipes on four-strokes . Ever been around an old two-stroke running an unsilenced stinger ? Piercing . And as a result , noise issues were impacting our sport hard around about that time . A nice , quiet bike like the XL by comparison was a welcome relief .
Other excellent features included alloy rims , lightweight plastic fenders , a modest skid plate , and a whole host of other top-quality components , as had become the hallmark of Honda products . There were however of bunch of extraneous pieces too , as the XL was of course fully street legal . Battery , lights , horn , key switch , light switches , speedometer and tachometer (!), and a 2.5 gallon steel tank , not to mention that big-ol ’ four-stroke engine , all contributed to the XL ’ s significant overall weight .
And yet , by comparison to what had come before , and even to what the XL ’ s competition was at the time it was introduced , this was a pretty awesome bike . For example , while Honda itself had been offering “ scramblers ” since 1962 , those models were just street bikes with high pipes . Didn ’ t stop guys from modifying and racing the crap out of them , but those machines were really a handful . Twin cylinder engines , big frames , lots of steel , and heavy , heavy , heavy . At the opposite end of the spectrum were quality , dedicated off-road race bikes , such as the early Huskys . However , such machines were expensive , much more singlepurpose , required considerable maintenance , and included none of the convenience features which abounded on the XL . Plus , there weren ’ t Husky dealers on just every street corner . Even other bikes marketed , like the XL , as Enduros , had comparable shortcomings . For example , except for a few olderdesign British bikes , and some quirky Italian models , all other such machines on the market at the time were two-strokes . And , unlike Japanese models , virtually none of the European Enduros featured oil-injection . Ah yes . Oil Injection . Arguably one of the best features ever to be applied to engines which fire on every other stroke . What ’ s that ? You say premixing isn ’ t all that big a deal ? Well , sure – not when your premix can , along with more gas , and more oil , and your Ratio Rite are all half a lap away back at your pit , and the total amount of riding time you ’ re going to put in is maybe two hours max . However , if you ’ re riding a two-stroke every day , like commuting on it , and / or take the thing on an extended ride , or a trip , premixing becomes a major league pain in the butt . Just keep the oil tank topped up , and the bike ’ s little
ON THE PEGS // PAGE 54