Regulars Rides: Luke's Honda XR600 Thumper

[@InvidiousIgnoramus]

Man, I DO love the sound of an old thumper, especially a large capacity one like this.

[@gregp.t.8473]

Sounds good, looks stupid. 😂

[@cornish_boy6235]

Man that’s nice, had an xr400 for about 4 years and still one of my favourite bikes.

[@chrisredfield3240]

I love the black ones, were they factory or did people buy the black plastics and change them over

[@worktravelplay3071]

Great to see. Inspiration. I have an old 83 XR500 that has been sitting around for years and have been debating what to do with it.

[@BikeShedMotoCo]

Happy we can help Inspire!

[@MindTheBigGap]

Such a beautiful bulid! Fun, beautiful and with those suttle details🙌🏻

[@davidwilliam5558]

Absolute beauty, well done! It sounds amazing too

[@iiCeltix]

imagine drinking your tea or eating breakfast peacefully and suddently someone passes by with an 80's bike and fills up your lungs with smoke lmaoo

[@HooptieDoodle]

I do love a civilized Enduro bike. Makes me want to run over stuff and hit gravel roads. Beautiful bike! Love the lights, license plate holder, and key.

[@ljaysperspective1775]

Looks good and its a project that was built to be used. Its definitely a keeper! Nicely done...thx for sharing

[@flangmasterj]

Very very cool. The oil breather doubling as a chain oiler was smart as.

[@tortron]

Keeps the dust down on the cobbles too apparently

[@thatguycalledart6270]

really cool simple build absolutely love it

[@joeward828]

I’m just building a dual Sport Xr600r but I love the blow by chain lube idea and using it on my bike thank showing those details.. awesome bike there’s great craftsmanship there

[@MeijaJanis]

damn man, this is sweet. turn lights are something i have never seen before, interesting implementation.

[@Jackfslater]

They could do a whole series with your bikes alone Luke.

[@ironridgeoutdoors]

I had a fully built Xr600 that I was tempted to do a similar build on. It was a handful on the tight single tracks, but on the pavement it still left a bit to be desired. Wheelies were fun around town, but after 40mph it was still a dog compared to more street oriented bikes, and the vibes on the freeway were crazy. Plus, that thing was an absolute bear to kick over; I shredded a good pair of shoes starting it up. At 200lbs I could stand on the kick lever at tdc, and the compression would hold me up.

[@jaydmhearne]

This is amazing...I’m so jealous!

[@dtaylo4517]

These XR600 builds are starting to sway me, was never really interested but there are some cracking looking builds of late

[@midgetman4206]

"Builds"

[@justinturner4850]

Yep! 👍 I’ll never get tired of that sound.

[@mohammadtaha9829]

Definitely one of the coolest bikes featured here

[@harrisdoesthings]

Never thought of using the breather as chain lube! Adding this to my mod list >:)

[@jimsz0100]

British bikes of the 1960's came from the factory with that chain oiler.

[@darronjknight]

My xl600lmh has this, the pipe is part of the passenger footpeg braket.

[@MauGino]

Bevel out a groove in the ignition key and glue in a magnet so hopefully you won't lose it.

[@alexcoker5816]

Great bike nice to see another tall bike with monster folks 🖖

[@ravitarakesh]

Love the Bike & love the way you have built it Brother 😊, this is the kind of bike am looking for which is nimble agile & fun to ride Bike , Ride Safe Buddy 😊

[@ashleyrhodes9974]

Lovely job. Congratulations! Bears a passing resemblance to my Desert Sled.

[@thomasjefferson1457]

Where is the rear fender? Doesn't it ever rain over there!

[@cyclhed]

He doesn’t ride in the rain 🤔

[@soilspace999]

the seat is long enough to tread off the water

[@pemuda7075]

Soil Space good luck with that

[@jasons44]

He never rides it

[@johnnyboy1586]

My first bike I bought new was a Yamaha 550 xt 1982 model.loved that machine🙂

[@fzlsalim]

Beautiful, absolutely beautiful.

[@tazyt3388]

Very cool twist on a classic beast man I just posted 4 vids of my 91 bigbore XR600 thrashing with some mates years ago luv the big pigs keep em coming cheers

[@stepheneldridge6998]

Great bike....looks and sounds great! Steve

[@shaneweightman]

Very nice ,,like everything about this bike the way you have done it cheersbshane UK

[@alexisf9572]

Guys I just found ur channel after watching videos about the v7 moto Guzzi because I think about buying one. I came across Alex's one and definitely fell in love with it. But then I started looking at ur other videos and now I'm lost... I want a LOT of them^^ Anyways I'm enjoying ur channel right now :D

[@mobiledetail4you]

Great bike! If you do it right, kick back should never be an issue. Cycle through the kick slowly, once you reach the hard spot, you should be at top of compression stroke, release. Give firm strong kick. Should fire right up.

[@adildewji]

Awesome! Love the thumper.

[@Sarfarazalam654]

the whole bike is awesome , love the key idea

[@willswanson2145]

he doesnt want to say he got the levers off of ebay. lol

[@Ritalie]

Is there another place to buy motorcycles parts? Lol. If you're a mechanic, you basically live on eBay I think.

[@LordHolley]

Yes Avs copies lol, I've bought them as well.

[@ridehead8771]

Hahahaha

[@bigharrykochenbauls4567]

Just after he says, fender and speedo are from Ebay... 😵

[@chadwells7562]

@@Ritalie I’m pretty sure there literally isn’t anywhere else to buy parts 🤣

[@jamiehofland7875]

That oil breather/chain luber is so smart!

[@johna6968]

Quite a common thing on old thumpers

[@ride4funnomg103]

Never thought I would see a version of my old farm bike all dolled up in London.

[@midgetman4206]

Well, It's cheap

[@davidcarroll2035]

I had a 1981 XL 500 Honda. Now that kicked back. Plus if I tried to use the de-compression lever it wouldn’t start. The times I’ve spent sweating and cursing or rubbing my shin i lost track of. It did a proper job of laming me for months when it kicked back and bent my whole foot upwards as it did so! Trust me it’s not made to bend that way. It always made me wonder why they made it with such a little part to actually put your foot on, solid metal, cruel and unforgettable x

[@davidcarroll2035]

It sounds very familiar lol. If only it had been more civilised on the start up I may still have it. I loved the ease of pulling away at the traffic lights and it’s tone and looks. Nothing like the Old thumpers. I’m 60 now, back then I was in my 20s

[@czar2321]

Got to love a big Honda single 👍🏼

[@humanbean123]

Awesome build! :)

[@drewdavis4614]

I have a 1988 xr600r and it's still all a dirt bike and I won't change it at all, I'm not a purist but I want to be able to blast done dirt trails as well as riding on the road. Nice job on this bike though.😊❤

[@TWaz-ys5fb]

Work of art!!!

[@TheHomeExpert5]

Awesome bike, thanks for sharing.

[@Hoos]

That is absolutely stunning :(

[@rrobotman]

Grrr big singles stir the blood! Good stuff!

[@boataxe4605]

It’s a twin.

[@tomanycooks]

well done mate. love it

[@Willieswheels]

Love that oil breather pipe

[@patrickfoster4586]

Easily one of the coolest thumpers I've ever seen! Cheers from Louisiana P[>

[@davidwalker6640]

Sweet looking ride that,Luke.Just right for urban/off road lunacy 👍👍

[@fgcp2964]

This bike is now all I want.

[@ilyacheban6975]

I like ur style man! 👍🏼

[@boataxe4605]

If you think she’s a man you need to get out more.

[@tamirtamir5170]

amazing what you made from the xr

[@karmapolice5532]

This is my all time favorite.

[@Freeagent-4-life]

Looks great mate.

[@englishsteve1465]

Honda CG125 tanks must be going up in value nowadays. Every second hipster sled I see has one. (small tank makes engine look bigger)

[@OGTylerP]

so what's the second lever on the clutch lever side? rear break for wheelies? or choke? great build... looks sick..

[@jakewithak7526]

You probably found out already but it's a decompression lever before kicking it over

[@steve-wu7jp]

I would buy that, looks great.

[@highplainshollarhomestead3188]

Ive got a 2008 XR650. I might do this also. Very good looking bike. Id love to get my hands on a late model Guzzi V7 90deg twin motor and trans and make it work in an XR chassis.

[@Wasagoodyear-qf8wj]

This isn't a comment telling you what you should or shouldn't do to your bike....its 'your' bike and you have it however you like mate. XR600s are the bomb whatever the style. I do have a hot tip for the Honda XR/NX though......you can(if you want to) get rid of the fuckin' 'horrible standard decompression lever by fitting a Honda CRF450 lever and perch. The type with the hot start lever built into the perch. You can connect the decompressor cable to the hot start lever and have a nice neat setup that makes for a cleaner look on the bars and gets rid of that ugly standard Honda lever that always looks ready to stab you if you have a spill!! It's usually a straight swap over from the standard clutch/decomp levers with just cable adjustments needed. All sorts of CRF450/WR450 levers on Ebay, from £20 pattern ones to much tricker stuff. Works well and looks much better on my XR600.

[@AndrewBoundy]

Like the front forks - looks tough. 2:50 - two levers on the left bar - porque?

[@AndrewBoundy]

@@matthewmuellner Thanks man! Not had a larger-bore kicker (yet - don't tell wife :-)

[@adriancaldwell]

looks great fun nice job

[@BlightHeart]

Could anyone tell me what’s the headlight brand name is? Please thanks

[@derekwhyle1884]

As a kid we’d buy whatever we could get and strip/saw/ chop it so we could thrash it around an improvised track on our local fields. Most of them eventually resembled this bike but in the 1960’s cost was circa £5 . I guess I’m missing the point here

[@TheBennyboy1984]

Headlight - anyone know what it is?

[@turdferguson5108]

Proper wheelie machine…. Love it.👍

[@ericweber1969]

Sweet machine, I’m looking for an XR650L to build in a similar manner in the US. Fortunately, they’re still available new, and have electric starters. Very similar otherwise.

[@sonnyjaxgang6675]

How do you know what petrol tanks fit ?

[@kylemcmahon9192]

Im curious on how that cg125 fits the xr600 frame. New brackets to mount it?

[@adamprawiranegara5800]

stunning bike

[@Tolmalion]

OK this might be a stupid question as I'm pretty much a bike noob, but what is the second small lever for at 2:50 ?

[@robertpaulson6304]

decompression lever, opens up a exhaust valve if you flood it or need to get to TDC easily you can do so

[@Tolmalion]

@@robertpaulson6304 thanks

[@domenicocavo6182]

Why is there a second lever near the clutch one?

[@tyronelee6235]

I was thinking that myself, I was just looking through the comments to find out

[@eliastopler6889]

Hey Guys i got a question and if somebody could answer this i thought it would be you guys. So 2 stroke engines are light and deliver great power. But in low rpm they sound annoying for a daily. 4 Cylinders like the cbr600, cb400 or cb550 deliver a great sound. But they are heavy and they destroy the mobility of the bike. Is there any chance to generate the sound of a 4 cylinder with a single or twin engine??

[@brocky78]

Thats a proper looking motorcycle i luv it!

[@IshwaraYogaNET]

Nice down to earth video Luke ! I had a stock yamaha SRX600 single. Does that count as a thumper ? It was a little bit meek power wise and the design worked in parts and not in other parts but I liked it a lot and it drew a fait bit of attention.

[@NathanWhiteway]

anyone know where i could get a tail light like that? would love one for my CB project, really like the rear hoop on it and want to leave it as unadulterated as possible

[@TheMrmattreeves]

I'm keen to find that aswell

[@mikeydaniel9478]

stunning build really is but i have to question the pipes id say they are restricting the engine i would consider a slight wider pipe but its beautiful tho very welldone

[@panuser5928]

That's a beauty !!!!!!

[@skandix]

Nice, i wouldn't use hot oil/steam from breather to lube chain.

[@highplainshollarhomestead3188]

Its not to lube the chain....it is to lube and extend the life of the sprockets. O-ring chains dont need lube.

[@skandix]

@@highplainshollarhomestead3188 At 5:57 states it is used to lube chain!

[@blackwersus]

@@skandix why is it bad?

[@skandix]

@@blackwersus The heat will destroy o rings, and the chain was not designed to be oiled with used dirty oil.

[@carmarusso3869]

I love it! I would like to have a bike set up like that

[@WilliamsThomas-d3m]

Very cool my friend.

[@siddheshmundhekar1330]

This bike look so nice

[@stetsonhohman9375]

Anyone know where to find that tail light?

[@reymendoza1916]

nice and simple.

[@aaronvanrensburgcom]

how cushy is that suspension 😍

[@kamilk.7504]

What kind of motorcycle are you sitting in the 0:38 ?

[@BikeShedMotoCo]

Kamil Kałużny that’s not Luke sitting on the bike, but the person sat in the red bike is on a Ducati Desert Sled.

[@andym1535]

Someone make an edit if all his inhales

[@qton._7578]

Kinda unrelated to the video, but what is the intro song :0

[@FunWithAJ]

Looks great, the only thing I dont agree with is the lack of an electric start but hey to each their own.

[@jessbottom9580]

XR-600's are easiest 600 thumper to kickstart. Use the compression release to get the piston just past TDC and kick.

[@jessbottom9580]

Forgot, increase the pilot jet about 4 sizes richer than the stock factory size.

[@chrisredfield3240]

Saves having a massive 14ah battery and a great big starter motor on the front. Also no flat battery jump starting issues. I don't think the xr600 even had a battery anyway. The xr250/400 never did. Also probably saves 10kg off the weight

[@WouterLievense]

awesome bike!

[@Rettungssocke]

Really nice 👏

[@juntjoonunya9216]

Beautiful!

[@yinusabodunrin392]

Lol I love that so loud Enough so people will know I am coming lol I love 🤣🤣🤣

[@Bamboothought]

I would like a short rear fender to balance the look...

[@nadzammohd6782]

Great tires choise,most bike like this often used tractor's tires.

[@johna6968]

Nice bike but those tank badges are following the wrong line. Needs a rear mudguard too for me.

[@carlosandleon]

agreed

[@blownonpurp]

I think it looks spot on

[@soldout1986]

Get fork guards, dirt will destroy the seals really easily on the upside down forks!

[@brianmorrison9066]

I thought the new ones were upside down!

[@nalyd6386]

@@brianmorrison9066 they are? But the new bikes have fork guards and they are higher performance than the older standard forks.

[@mohammadrasoulfard-habibi3066]

@@nalyd6386 Did he say the year of the bike?

[@charlesflaco5037]

Looks great

[@teh_realdeadpoole9036]

This is awesome

[@Fingerling1011]

That's a damn cool bike :)

[@billmoran3219]

Luv my 85 xl600, wish I still had my 81 xl500 a beast of a wheelie machine with a 23 inch front wheel. Like a woman they only hurt you once kicking them over then you learn fast and find the sweet spot.

[@wheaters247]

Hi Luke. Nice bike. I'm currently customising my nx650 domi and having a nightmare fitting the cg125 tank to the top tube near where the old fixings were. Any advice or photos of how you did yours would be really appreciated. Cheers Nic

[@KenmeriCaptain]

Hi Nic, have done this tank on my 98 dommy. The original lugs on the frame have to be removed & if you bought one of those ebay cg125 tanks then the lugs on it need to come off too. On the tap side it needs a bit of reshaping for it sit down enough to be level with rear frame rail. I also had to move the mounting plate towards the rear cos its longer than the standard tank. Hope this is at least a little bit of help, I'm away from the bike atm otherwise I'd provide some pics. Best of luck to you and don't forget to leak test before painting (stupid mistake on my behalf lol)

[@wheaters247]

@@KenmeriCaptainCheers Declan. Yeah though that was the case when looking at mine. I'm just not sure how/where to mount the new lugs. I'll have another look tomorrow night. Thanks again.

[@hammersteve8]

Nice bike but why you'd have an indicator others can't see is just silly. As is having a disguised key and then telling everyone.

[@johntilson2535]

took the words right out of my mouth!

[@notimetoexpIain]

I've spoken to some people that run these impossible to see indicators and apparently they are just to please inspection and they favour using hand signals if needs be. I personally like my indicators to be as visible as possible

[@ClaudeSac]

... but I thought you had @@notimetoexpIain ?

[@notimetoexpIain]

@@ClaudeSac the name really doesn't fit me since I like explaining things, might consider it an anti-name

[@midgetman4206]

They just need to kick start it