SRX600

[Moto nut]

Hey everyone it’s been awhile since I’ve posted, I’ve been busy with a lot of other bikes since my last gl, like my sl350, xl350, superhawk 305, Ducati monza, but I found this 86 srx600 after searching for a few years for a decent price, all my research shows that only 1099 were produced for the usa market in 86 and didn’t sell too well because they were kick start only, because of this one year only and low production number you’d think that the value of these bikes would be thru the roof but they only book for $100 more than a xt600 which were sold by the thousands in 86, anyway I’m going thru this bike that hasn’t ran for about 10 years, seems to be all original except the shocks, if any of you folks have any first hand insight on these bikes I’d appreciate any info...

[Whiskerfish]

Looks like a fun ride. Unfortunately I don't know anything about them to help out!

[pidjones]

All I know is that ten year-old tires need replacement.

[Moto nut]

Yea I’m sure! These are nearly 20 years old

[wingrider]

Looks pretty clean! Knowing how you make bikes look good, I am certain this one will be excellent!

[UK_Andy]

I had the 400cc version. Such a nimble punchy bike. Great on the twistys. Check the exhaust collector, mine fell off once.

[Moto nut]

Thanks, I’ve already had the exhaust off and repainted, waiting on some carb o rings so the forks are off for new seals, brake pads...

[delling3]

Cool bike. Reminiscent of the Honda FT500 Ascot, which preceded it by a few years. I bought a brand new 1982 FT500 off the a dealer's floor in 1984. I rode the wheels off that thing - my last "daily" two-wheel transportation.

The SRX600 was obviously a modernized version of the SR500 - more of a classically styled bike which was also kick-start only. The Ascot was electric start only - and like the SRX was never a commercial success (at least in the North American market). I am sure the kicker scared of some potential buyers, but more likely it was the allure of smoother, larger displacement twins and and fours that doomed the thumper in the States.

[rudolphwolven]

*****
Still living in the Netherlands/Europe, in 1990 I purchased an unused 1986 SRX600 (VIN 000224) with Swiss exhaust specification still in a crate and stored it in my garage until 2014.
That year I gave it to my son and since then he drives it regularly; now approx. 4000 mls.











BTW...Sold in 2008 in the UK:
https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/16230/lot/547/

[Moto nut]

Wow super nice, I love the exhaust and of course your GL is gorgeous

[rudolphwolven]

@ Moto nut,
Thanks for your kind reaction!
Regards, Ruud

[Gowing]

That’s the real deal you have there. They say, in it’s day it was the best handling bike you could buy.
A guy put 75000 miles on one then donated it to barber museum.
Does it have a clicker that tells you when the piston is at TDC to start it?

[Moto nut]

I really haven’t noticed that, I’ve gone thru the valve adjustment a couple of times but had my stereo playing at the time, hopefully I’ll be ready to start it in a week or so and I’ll have to pay more attention, but that would be too cool...

[Moto nut]

I’ve had the front end off so I could replace the fork seals and in the process I found that the inner springs had been replaced with stiffer hagon springs which is cool since the rear also had hagon shocks, I’d like to have the Oem shocks but the ones I find on my searches are expensive and aren’t rebuildable and don’t want to take a chance on getting junk, so the front end is back on along with new wheel bearings, seals and brake pads, the more I work on this bike I find it to be pretty trick, it has a square and rectangular tube frame with removable front sections for engine removal, dual twin puck disk brakes, very easy to remove the exhaust system, aluminum dry sump oil tank, set up for optional oil cooler, everything seems to be accessible and simple in design, hope to have the carbs back on soon and go for start up, then back on the lift to remove the swingarm for service...

[Moto nut]

One step forward two steps back, after getting so close to try to start I decided to go thru the valve adjustment one more time, I kept getting a stiffness at tdc on rotation to the point the engine would not rotate past tdc without a little extra pressure, did I do the valve adjustment wrong, did I have a opened valve, did something fall into the cylinder when I had the carbs or spark plug out, so I took the valves out of play by fully loosening them and made sure they were closed, rotate the engine again and have the same result, so either I’ve got something in the cylinder or a crank bearing is going bad I don’t know, all I know is I have to drop the engine and tear it down, so I do, very easy to remove the engine, take the top part of the cylinder assembly off, the cam and rockers look great, pull the the next section to reveal the top of the Piston and there’s my problem, years of carbon dust packed in the exhaust valve reliefs in the Piston, so since I have it all apart I’m going for bore and a new Piston and valve work....

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