1977 Honda XR75
What can be said about the mighty Honda XR75?? What a bike - it probably started more people riding than any other single bike in History. 1977 saw the little XR get forward mounted rear shocks and a different colour scheme. It also got a few tweaks to the engine.
I have got one of these to restore as well, and its getting restored in parallel to the 1976 Model.
What changes were made to the 1976 XR to produce the 77?
1: Engine & Performance
- Cylinder Head & Porting Changes
- The 1977 model had slightly different porting in the cylinder head for better fuel/air mixture flow, improving performance.
2: Ignition System Changes
- The 1976 XR75 had a different ignition coil and condenser setup compared to 1977.On the 76, the condensor was mounted inside the engine in the usual position on the stator plate. One the '77 model, the condensore was mounted up under the Fuel Tank, attached to the Ignition Coil.
- The 1977 XR75 used a different coil mounting position, making it slightly easier to access.
3: Carburetor Jetting Changes
- The 1977 model had revised carburetor jetting for improved throttle response.
4: Chassis & Suspension
- Rear Shock Spring Rate Adjustments
- Honda slightly stiffened the rear shocks on the 1977 model to improve handling.
- Swingarm Changes
- The 1977 model had a slightly revised swingarm design for better durability.
5: Frame & Bodywork
- Fuel Tank Graphics & Decals
- The 1976 XR75 had gold Honda wing decals on the tank.
- The 1977 XR75 introduced a new tank decal design, with a slightly larger Honda logo.
- The "XR75" side cover decals had a different font style on the 1977 model.
- Seat Cover Material & Logo Placement
- The Honda logo placement on the seat was slightly repositioned in 1977.
- The seat material changed slightly for better durability.
6: Miscellaneous Small Differences
- Handlebar & Lever Adjustments
- The 1977 model had minor tweaks to the handlebar angle for a more comfortable riding position.
- Kickstarter & Shift Lever
- The kickstarter angle and design were slightly modified.
- The shift lever had a more rounded tip for improved feel.
- Minor Wiring Changes
- Some small electrical routing differences between the two years.
What DID NOT Change?
- Engine displacement (72cc, 4-stroke, SOHC) remained the same.>
- Frame geometry remained the same.
- Wheel sizes (14" rear, 16" front) stayed identical.
- Drum brakes were unchanged.
- Weight remained about the same (~135 lbs dry).
Final Thoughts
The 1977 Honda XR75 was more of a refinement than a redesign. Honda improved ignition, suspension, and styling, but the core engine and frame remained unchanged.Saturday 6 March 2025
So I've got myself another little XR75 - This one is a 1977 (the other is a 1976), so I will restore them in parallel.
Here's some pictures of the 77 as I received it. ie: before I got stuck into it.
It came apart relatively easily with no real shocks. Although, having said that the steering head must have been a bit loose, or the seals/races failed or something as the steering head had quite a lot of dried mud inside it. I'm not really sure how it could have got in there, but it did!!
A few observations of my bike prior to restoration:
- The Fuel Tank looks really good
- The Front Forks look really bad.
- Seat looks OK, just one small hole, so Iguess it will still need a new cover, the seat plan is good.
- Exhaust is obviously not standard, but it looks like it can be salvaged
- Rear fender is gone, or at least half of it is gone
- Tyres, sprockets and chain are all shot and will need replacing, Actually, the chain is missing
- The Ignition Coil is missing - notice the lack of a hightension spark plug lead in the photos
- There are small holes worn through the side nunmber plate covers.
And here is a video of today's work - disassembling it, ready to get styuck into the restorations.
Sunday 9 March 2025
Just some initial thngs.
It doesn't look like it is going to be easy to find an original ignition Coil. CMSNL and all my other regular parts places listthem as discontinued and not available. I see a few on eBay in the US for ridiculos money, like $300 onces it's converted into Aussie Dollar. I'm not paying that. I only paid $750 for the whole bike!! I'll keep looking, something will come up, and it's going to be a qhile before I need it. The trouble is it changed significantly from the 1976 model. The condensor, which was mounted down inthe engine, attached to the stator plate on the 76 model, is now attached to the coil on the 77 model. I guess if I really have to, I can use a 76 model coil and wire in a condensor myself. But ony if I have to.
The Front Forks are rough....
Not just a little bit of pitting, but significant rust along much of their length. And there is lots of dried oil down on the sliders, so I suspet the seals have been completely destroyed for quite some time so they ill have to be replaed, but of course they would have been replaced anyway, so that's no big deal. The Fork Tubes will need to be re-chromed. So....do I buy a new set, or do I get these re-chromed. I like to keep things as original as I can, so re-chroming will be my first choice. But the Forks on my other XR cost $400 to hard chrome, and I suspet the price may have gone up sine then, and I know i can buy a new set for $280, That's a big difference. I'll just have to wait and see the price of hard chroming. I'm thinking hard chroming, as the hard chroming is so much better than the stuff that comes out of the factories. I've had a few sets hard chromed now, and they are always flawless and will last for ever (given even a token attempt at care)
Thursday 20 March 2025
I've been doing a bit of research and I can't get the frame powder coated for a reasonable price. The Honda Tahitian red powder has to be imported from the US and it comes in a 5kg minimum - so that's out.
What I've decided it to spray it in 2 pack. I can easily get the Tahitian Red in basecoat and I can get that put into Spray cans quite cheaply, so that is the plan. Then I will give it a few coats of 2K Clear from the SprayMAX 2K Gloss cans.
I've started on the swingarm and I'll see how that goes before I get stuck into the full frame.
I've also got a new set of bushes for the Swingarm and pulled out the old set, awaiting painting and insertion of the new ones.
Monday 28 April 2025
The frame is now totally stripped, all the grommets are out, its been degreased and washed and so today it was off to the Sandblaster.
I was quoted $110 to sandblast the frame and I was tempted not to do it for $110, I could spend that on other items and I could paint strip the frame myself. But the Sandblaster owes me $30 from the last time I was there - he didn't have change so I just told him to keep the $30 and take it off my next job - so in fact I'll only be paying $80 for the blasting - I can live with that.
Tuesday 29 April 2025
Well that was a pleasant surprise - got a message from the Sandblaster that the Frame has already been done. Great!! And it looks good too - not much rust, just the tiniest amount of pitting, nothing that won;t be hidden by some high build promer. All good!
So here's how its looking now.
