Torture Test Magazine's 1987 XR600R

Torture Test Magazine's 1987 XR600R

This is the 1987 XR600R that the fans of TTM purchased for the channel through sticker sponsorships. This was the first bike to be purchased by the fans of the channel. It was purchased in decent condition, but got roughed up pretty badly at the 2021 Glen Helen 6 Hour Endurance Race. It needs a lot of work before I would be willing to race it again. The plan is to fix it up to work very well, so I can go out and be competitive on it. I should be doing a lot more with this bike, but for now the focus is to fix it up and get it dialed in.

Sponsor spots for this bike are currently sold out.

Races and events this bike has completed:

  • 2021 Glen Helen 6 Hour Endurance Race (Ironman)

Videos and other media:

Bike Setup

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Suspension, Steering, Controls, and Brakes

Primary wheel front tire: Dunlop Geomax MX52F 80/100-21

  • Justification: This tire was sitting in my friend's side yard, un-used. I decided to try it out. I won't be mounting another one of these tires. They seem to be discontinued.

Primary wheel front tube: Tubliss 21" - Available at Rocky Mountain ATV/MC

  • Justification: I generally prefer Tubliss over tubes, simply because when it goes flat, it stays on the rim. This is great to have during a race. At the next tire change I will mount a Nitromousse because the 600 required far too much air pressure to not pinch the tire with tubes or tubliss. 

Primary front wheel: Unmarked 21x1.60. Appears to be OEM.

Primary front wheel brake rotor: OEM

Secondary wheel front tire: MotOz Tractionator Desert H/T 90/100-21 - Available at Rocky Mountain ATV/MC

  • Justification: This tire was already mounted to my spare race wheel, in good condition, so I kept it on there.

Secondary wheel front tube: TBD (it's just some random tube)

Secondary front wheel: 1991 XR250L front wheel assembly

  • Justification: This wheel was being used on my CRF230F. I tried to bolt it up to the XR600R just to see if it would fit, and it was a perfect match.

Secondary front wheel brake rotor: OEM rotor from a 2008 CRF230F - Available at Rocky Mountain ATV/MC (45351-KPS-900)

  • Justification: The 1991 XR250L front wheel did not fit on the CRF230F using the 1991 XR250L brake rotor, so I put the CRF230F brake rotor on and it fit perfectly. Therefore, it would not fit the XR600R without this brake rotor swap either.

Front brake pads: Tusk Brake Pad - Sintered Metal - Available at Rocky Mountain ATV/MC

  • Justification: Decided to give these inexpensive pads a try when I first fixed up the XR600R. They worked very, very well. It felt like a brand new brake. I will continue to use these pads on this bike.

Front brake line: OEM

Front fork springs: TBD

Front fork oil: 10w Maxima Fork Oil - Available at Rocky Mountain ATV/MC

  • Justification: The bike came with something very thick in the forks. The fork action was awful. It would kick the bars out of my hands from a simple rock in the trail. I didn't know exactly what was in there, so I started with 10w. I might change this. 

Handlebars: Renthal 809 7/8" Aluminum Handlebar - Available at Amazon

  • Justification: The original steel bars were bent and had an unbearable downward sweep to begin with. I needed anything with a regular dirt bike bend, and these were laying around.
  • Previous: OEM

Grips: ODI V2 Half Waffle MX Lock-On Grips - Available at Rocky Mountain ATV/MC

  • Justification: ODI Lock-On grips are just plain easy to install, and they never lose their adherence like glued-on grips do. 
  • Note: These did not fit the original XR600R throttle. I only installed these after switching to a different throttle.

Throttle: Motion Pro Vortex Throttle - Available at Amazon

  • Justification: I had one laying around, and wanted to try the XR600R with a quick-turn throttle. I ended up shaving down the throttle cam to slow down the throttle because the power was a bit much to control when tired. I might switch to a different throttle.
  • Note: The thread size for the throttle cable of the XR600R is different than the thread size on this throttle housing. I had to reduce the thread size of this throttle housing to make it work with the OEM cable.
  • Previous: OEM

Front Brake lever: Unsure what the brand is. I tried to switch it to a Tusk lever, but the Tusk lever listed by Rocky Mountain did not fit my bike. I'm not sure, but I might have an entirely different front brake master cylinder than what is standard for this bike. I think someone did this to have a front brake light switch.

Clutch perch: Tusk Clutch Perch - Available at Rocky Mountain ATV/MC

  • Justification: The bike technically didn't come with a clutch perch. I ordered the Tusk perch and lever and they are nearly exactly how I like my perch and lever to be. This perch doesn't angle the lever out too far to reach with one finger at the long end of the lever. Perfect for one finger operation. I will go straight back to this perch if it ever breaks.
  • Previous: Some random cable front brake perch turned upside down to use as a clutch perch. It was not good.

Clutch lever: Tusk Clutch Lever - Available at Rocky Mountain ATV/MC

  • Justification: The lever is long and flat. No fancy curve. This is exactly how I want a clutch lever to be for one finger operation. I want to be able to grab as far away from the fulcrum of the lever as possible, for the easiest clutch pull with one finger. This lever does that job.

Handguards: The name was in Chinese characters... so yeah they're just cheap chinese things, but here's a link on Amazon

  • Justification: Unfortunately Tusk Aluminum Handguards were out of stock at Rocky Mountain, so I had to settle for these. These are nowhere near the quality of the tusk aluminum handguards. These are very cheesy. They got the job done for a few rides and a race, so I'm not disappointed. When they break, I'll switch to Tusk Aluminum Handguards.

 Rear brake pads: EBC Brake Shoe - Organic - Available at Rocky Mountain ATV/MC

  • Justification: These were the only things in stock when I made my order to fix up the bike. They work, but the wear rate is not good. The brake needs to be adjusted every half hour of hard riding. I will switch to something else when these are used up.

Shift lever: Appears to be OEM

Rear brake pedal: Appears to be OEM

Footpegs: OEM

Rear shock: OEM

Rear shock spring: OEM

Seat foam: OEM

Seat cover: OEM

Primary rear wheel: DID 2.15x17. Appears to be OEM.

Primary rear wheel tire: Kenda K760 Trakmaster II 130/90-17 - Available at Rocky Mountain ATV/MC

  • Justification: There aren't many options for this bike, since it has a 17" rear. The trakmaster is cheap and works really well.

Primary rear wheel tube: IRC Heavy Duty Motorcycle Tube 110/100-17 - Available at Rocky Mountain ATV/MC

  • Justification: I've actually just had good luck with these IRC tubes, and bad luck with other tubes. I honestly believe it has come down to luck, but I still just stick with them because they have been so reliable for me. No reason to use other tubes when these work so well.

Secondary rear wheel: DID 2.15x17, 1985 XR600R OEM wheel.

Secondary rear wheel tire: Kenda K760 Trakmaster II 130/90-17 - Available at Rocky Mountain ATV/MC

  • Justification: I don't have any reason to have a different tire on the spare race wheel right now.

Secondary rear wheel tube: Nuetech Nitro Mousse Standard Progressive Platinum Foam Tube - Available at Rocky Mountain ATV/MC

  • Justification: I challenged myself to fit an 18" mousse into a 17" wheel.

 

Electronics

Headlight: Acerbis headlight that I cannot identify. Doesn't seem to be available online anymore.

  • Justification: It came on the bike and I have no reason to change it yet.

Headlight bulb: 35w generic halogen

Tail light: MIA. It exploded and then fell off at the 2021 Glen Helen 6 Hour Endurance Race. 

Spark Plug: NGK DPR8EIX-9 - Available at Amazon

  • Justification: I generally switch to iridium when I replace a spark plug. Maybe it's placebo effect but it feels like the bike runs slightly cleaner with an iridium plug. Yeah, that's probably placebo effect... 

Stator: OEM

Ignition controller: OEM

Regulator/Rectifier: Unsure. It's not OEM.

Coil: TBD

Battery: Unsure. It's a pack of AA size cells of unknown chemistry.

 

Fuel, Intake, and Exhaust systems

Fuel tank: OEM

Petcock: Appears to be OEM

Carburetors: OEM Keihin PH twin stack

Jetting: TBD

Air Filter: Tusk First Line Air Filter - Available at Rocky Mountain ATV/MC

  • Justification: They're the cheapest, so I can order a ton of them.

Exhaust pipe: OEM

Muffler: OEM

 

Engine Components

Camshaft: TBD

Piston: TBD

Clutch: OEM

Clutch springs: OEM

  • Justification: I tried Barnett clutch springs and they were too stiff.
  • Previous: Barnett HD Clutch Springs

Oil filter: Neutron Oil Filter - Available at Rocky Mountain ATV/MC

  • Justification: These things are so incredibly cheap, so I can order a bunch of them.

 

Final Drive

Countershaft sprocket: JT Front Sprocket 13 Tooth - Available at Rocky Mountain ATV/MC

  • Justification: JT steel sprockets just seem to last forever.

Rear sprocket: Primary Drive Rear Steel Sprocket 48 Tooth - Available at Rocky Mountain ATV/MC

  • Justification: These sprockets are inexpensive and last a long, long time.

Drive chain: Primary Drive 520 ORH Gold X-Ring Chain - Available at Rocky Mountain ATV/MC

  • Justification: This was what was in stock. I don't require the gold one, but it's what I ended up with. This chain or the O-ring version are what I prefer on bikes that can fit them. They last a very long time. The break in period requires a few adjustments but I'm okay with that.