Icelander's 2000 XRR

Hi there, thought I'd post up a couple photos for you. It's been quite the process to get this XR from N.C. and plated but it finally all came together last night and I got my first ride!!!

My first impression is that the bike has great torque, 3rd gear wheelies pulling the front up at 53 mph It seems to handle great with the CRF450 front forks but with brand new Pilot Powers and it being 2 degrees above zero I kinda took it easy on the corners... The bike saw a true 100mph as I was paced by a friend that verified...the Vapor said 109 mph at 100. Not sure of the RPM at that speed, first ride and all I just glanced at the spedo before I had to slow up for a turn....Next time

So, enough babble this is what this thread is for...

I went out for a ride this morning, thought I'd get to know the bike a bit before I go on rides with my friends. Sitting at a stop light I think I hear my phone go off so when the light turned green I pulled into the first parking lot I come to, maybe 500 feet through the lights. I shut the bike down, swing my leg off and look down for the kickstand and see oil puking off the side of the motor...and its all over the rear tire...why I didn't go down as there were both left and right turns pulling into the lot is beyond be, but I'm really happy about it!

Pushed the bike a couple of km's home, prolly a mile and a half through city streets and found the counter shaft seal failed...

I pulled the drain plug to see what was left in the bike and about a liter came out, maybe a little less...I got lucky and highly doubt any damage was done. By the way, my phone DID NOT go off, no texts, no calls....nothing. Yet I'm positive I heard the damn thing.










Has this happened to anyone else?

Yes , mostly to people whom overfilled the bike with oil ( the bike only takes 1,65 - 1,7 litres of oil ) , if you give it too much oil it will build up to much presure inside the engine and eventualy pushes seals out , or it can just be worn seal ( i dont know how many miles / km have your bike done .
Most importantly you have noticed it and no damage was done , fix it and be happy

Mauser if you read this ( i know you will ) look at icelanders front light , that is excelent unit and it look ice too , exactly what you need to be with the cool kids

I've been doing some research and read that rather than fill the bike to the top of the full line keep it about halfway down the dipstick. I was careful not to overfill the bike, letting it run and a ride and then topped it right to the full mark....obviously before I read NOT to fill it to the top. I think that I'll keep it between the low and halfway point. I'm not sure of total millage but the Vapor says 29972...

I'm VERY happy I caught it before it ran out of oil or I hit the ground...

Mad Frosty wrote:Mauser if you read this ( i know you will ) look at icelanders front light , that is excelent unit and it look ice too , exactly what you need to be with the cool kids

Ha! Bike came with the Trail Tech light, I'm not sure about it as far as looks but I did find out last night that it really doesn't work that well. However on my short ride this morning I must say I did get a lot of smiles and thumbs up from the kids

The low beam is brighter than the high, and it isn't good... I see an upgraded stator and headlight in my near future.

An Angel was watching over you.

Icelander-XR650R wrote:

Mad Frosty wrote:Mauser if you read this ( i know you will ) look at icelanders front light , that is excelent unit and it look ice too , exactly what you need to be with the cool kids

Ha! Bike came with the Trail Tech light, I'm not sure about it as far as looks but I did find out last night that it really doesn't work that well. However on my short ride this morning I must say I did get a lot of smiles and thumbs up from the kids

The low beam is brighter than the high, and it isn't good... I see an upgraded stator and headlight in my near future.

The upgraded stator is the solution , the " high " beam has not enough juice to give the full output .

AURORA wrote:An Angel was watching over you.

Someone or something was. I generally don't stop until I get to my destination, and I should have had the rear come out from under me. I'm thankful and grateful that it happened the way it did.

Mad Frosty wrote:

Icelander-XR650R wrote:

Mad Frosty wrote:Mauser if you read this ( i know you will ) look at icelanders front light , that is excelent unit and it look ice too , exactly what you need to be with the cool kids

Ha! Bike came with the Trail Tech light, I'm not sure about it as far as looks but I did find out last night that it really doesn't work that well. However on my short ride this morning I must say I did get a lot of smiles and thumbs up from the kids

The low beam is brighter than the high, and it isn't good... I see an upgraded stator and headlight in my near future.

The upgraded stator is the solution , the " high " beam has not enough juice to give the full output .

Thanks for that! I've been looking at them and I'm not sure if it'll be Ricky or Baja... I'm not real big on accessories nor do I want to alter the cover to get a stator to fit (Baja). However, it seems as to me that the Baja is a better product from my research. I'm not impressed with reviews on Electrosport, although they may be perfectly fine. I think a DC only system will be what I go with. I'm not sure if I'll go with a single circuit or separate lighting and accessories (horn, signals, vapor, battery charge...)

I have been looking through different bike sites for info on the different stators but really haven't come to a decision yet...I'm open to suggestions though.

I take it the oil didn't come out of the output shaft ?.....these seals are a known place to fail....I think over filling the bike causes it to puke out of the airbox ?.

That seal can be changed without to much trouble....think Burp did his with a screw.....screwed it into the seal and popped it out.... drain oil first or lean bike over helps lol

Mad Frosty wrote:Mauser if you read this ( i know you will ) look at icelanders front light , that is excelent unit and it look ice too , exactly what you need to be with the cool kids

Nahh prefer the stock US version....will keep looking on fleabay since nobody wants to flog me theirs

Hey Mauser, you're still first on the list to contact if I decide to part with the light.... Just sent a part off my old DR650SE to a guy in Australia from ADV Rider Across the pond is a short hop in comparison

Mauser wrote:

I take it the oil didn't come out of the output shaft ?.....these seals are a known place to fail....I think over filling the bike causes it to puke out of the airbox ?.

That seal can be changed without to much trouble....think Burp did his with a screw.....screwed it into the seal and popped it out.... drain oil first or lean bike over helps lol

The oil seal actually ruptured and the garter spring is sticking out, the silver sliver you can see at the top of the counter shaft. I didn't overfill according to the level indicator on the dipstick, but I DID overfill according to info I've read....don't fill it right up to the top full mark. I ran it hard on Thursday night, 3rd gear wheelies picking the front up at about 90km/h and dropping it about 120km/h and a couple runs up to 160 km/h. I checked and I didn't have any oil spew into the airbox.

I've got the oil out of the bike, I wanted to see how much was left in it so I'd know if it may had ran without oil for a bit, had about a liter so I'm good. I was real lucky on a couple fronts. I'll try the screw trick and see how it works, Thanks!

2 screws, two, is better than one.
Eh, what were we talking about?

Two it is Two screws are always better than one

Yep, two screws and the seal popped out surprisingly easy. Cleaned everything up, wrapped the countershaft with tape to protect the new seal when it goes in, covered the side of the motor well and put the cover back over the bike. I was going to wait until I actually received the seal to pull the old one but I wasn't sure if it would be a headache. I didn't want to be struggling to get the old seal out on Thursday to go riding when I had Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to get it done...

Some photos for you...













Thanks for the advice everyone!

Top man for the photo's....can you carry on and take a couple more putting the seal back in....then I can nick the lot for the www.xr650R.co.uk website to go with the excellent carb write up done by Eric....must admit you got to be good to beat his work.....
http://www.xr650r.co.uk/service/carb/carb.shtml

Hey Ice,

be glad you changed it. You have a 2000-model, and this seal has been modified once (or twice?) since, so you should have the correct seal by now.
Mind, you do know how to oil-fill this bike do you? No, no joke. Get a workshop manual off the net asap if you don't have one, all's in there.


Oh, I think you go a bit too far with shining your rear tyre to impress the girls, but hey, if it works for you then it works.....

Mauser, I did plan on taking photos for the install too... I looked around but couldn't find photos of someone changing the seal so thought I'd post it up. I used to photograph and post almost everything I did on the 2001 DR650SE I used to have. Did a big write-up over on TT where I put a DRZ400SM shock on my DR650. Was an awesome improvement!

Feel free to grab any photo's I post, that's why I post them

BuRP, thanks for the info on the updated seal! I do think it was my fault, yeah an old seal but it didn't happen until I got the bike. I do have a PDF Honda service manual and will read the service procedure before refilling motor.

And about the rear tire I need all the help I can get with the ladies

(Actually been scrubbing the hell out of it to get the Rotella T coating off of it. The thing was dripping with oil when I stopped, still not sure how I didn't end up on the ground...I guess the Rotella gives good traction )

Icelander-XR650R wrote:Mauser, I did plan on taking photos for the install too... I looked around but couldn't find photos of someone changing the seal so thought I'd post it up. I used to photograph and post almost everything I did on the 2001 DR650SE I used to have. Did a big write-up over on TT where I put a DRZ400SM shock on my DR650. Was an awesome improvement!

Feel free to grab any photo's I post, that's why I post them

So when is the new seal coming ?.....cannot grab half a story lol.

Mauser wrote:

Icelander-XR650R wrote:Mauser, I did plan on taking photos for the install too... I looked around but couldn't find photos of someone changing the seal so thought I'd post it up. I used to photograph and post almost everything I did on the 2001 DR650SE I used to have. Did a big write-up over on TT where I put a DRZ400SM shock on my DR650. Was an awesome improvement!

Feel free to grab any photo's I post, that's why I post them

So when is the new seal coming ?.....cannot grab half a story lol.

Patience Grasshopper......






Actually it's in, got the call at about 10am. Going to see if I can make it up there after work.....if not then tomorrow they are open late. I'll post up pics later tonight if I get the seal, if not prolly Friday night after 11pm here.....

Don't forget to quote the part number of the seal fitted

Mauser wrote:Don't forget to quote the part number of the seal fitted

Yes Mum....