About this site

I bought a 1984 Honda XL350R for $800. It did not run. The seller's description and the bike's actual condition had a few differences of opinion, which is how I ended up learning more about this motorcycle than I had planned to.

When I started looking things up I found plenty of people asking the same questions on forums, a lot of dead image links, and almost nothing that showed, clearly, where things go on this specific bike. Which hose runs under which bracket. What the carb linkage looks like when it is right. So I'm documenting mine as I go, including the parts where I get it wrong first.

There seem to be a lot of these turning up in garages lately, and if you've got one on your bench, I hope something here saves you an evening.

How this site is organized

The build log is chronological. The photo atlas is the same photos sorted by region of the bike. Parts & fixes has one page per problem, with part numbers. The library is the manual and the reference tables.

Corrections and questions

If something here is wrong, or you know a part number I'm missing, I'd like to hear it. The easiest way is email: hello@hondaxl350r.com. If you're restoring one too, send a photo.

About me

I work in tech and keep a few other motorcycles around. This is not my first project bike, but it is the first one I've written down.