XL500/600/FT500

Engine: 500-600cc four-stroke, four-valve OHC singles Weight: 140-175kg Year: 1979-1986 Honda’s responses to Yamaha’s XT & SR big singles. Less competent on the rough, but easier to start. Later 500/600 XLs technically advanced, some ran radial valves. FT, aka flat tracker, gained a bad reputation for breaking its electric starter mechanisms. Hard to find good examples of any now.