Honda XL600v Transalp Engine Repair, clunking / knocking

Aves

Aves

New Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2026
Total Posts
8
Total likes
5
Location
The Netherlands
Heyo,

I was hoping someone here can provide me with some expertise and feedback regarding my engine repair,

I know it might not be as vintage as the other bikes here, but technically my '97 Honda XL600v has the same engine that was first produced in '87 (same 583cc v-twin as the Honda Shadow VT600)

Here's the situation: last time I rode, I started noticing an engine knock so severe that I could feel the vibrations in my footpegs. By the end of the day (I rode about 50 gutwrenching miles) it felt as it was only getting worse. It was a heavy clunking in the lower engine that sped up as I accelerated. Next day I put the bike on the centrestand and put it in gear, but there was no knocking... I put a long screwdriver against my ear and on different places of the engine but couldnt hear any obvious knocks. It only happens when moving. I wish I video'd it in hindsight, but it seemed like a challenge to do that alone so I just took the bike inside and stripped and drained the bike for inspection and have been working on it since then.
I suspect there's something with the crankshaft causing the clunk, but having the engine opened up I've started noticing a few other things. The rockers are slightly pitted and I can feel the dents with my fingernail, the rear cylinder exhaust valve has a thick layer of white residue (coolant? or oil?) and the cylinder head has some scratches and gouges from possibly mine or a previous owners attempt at removing gasket residue.

A few questions:
Has anyone had any experience with a engine knock, or clunking like this before?

Are any of these issues relatable to eachother?

Can I assume a good seal on the cylinders with a new gasket and some honda bond?


I'm working through the steps according to the Haynes manual and have not yet fully dissassembled the engine, but considering it's my first time doing this I feel like some guidance would be helpful.
My next steps are inspecting the valves and measuring everything to check for wear (currently waiting for a order of a valve dissassembly kit and some micrometers)


I wish I knew half of the stuff the previous owners messed with... So I figured I'd be a better example for the next owner and keep a maintenance log, if you want more insight in my journey to fixing this thing, I update everything on this google drive:
docs.google.com

Honda XL600V PD10 Maintenance Log

docs.google.com docs.google.com

Stay in tune,

Nino
 

Attachments

  • FrontCylinderXL600v.jpg
    FrontCylinderXL600v.jpg
    613.5 KB · Views: 44
  • RearCylinderXL600v.jpg
    RearCylinderXL600v.jpg
    486.4 KB · Views: 39
  • RockersXL600v.jpg
    RockersXL600v.jpg
    523.7 KB · Views: 41
Last edited:
Aves said:
Heyo,

I was hoping someone here can provide me with some expertise and feedback regarding my engine repair,

I know it might not be as vintage as the other bikes here, but technically my '97 Honda XL600v has the same engine that was first produced in '87 (same 583cc v-twin as the Honda Shadow VT600)

Here's the situation: last time I rode, I started noticing an engine knock so severe that I could feel the vibrations in my footpegs. By the end of the day (I rode about 50 gutwrenching miles) it felt as it was only getting worse. It was a heavy clunking in the lower engine that sped up as I accelerated. Next day I put the bike on the centrestand and put it in gear, but there was no knocking... I put a long screwdriver against my ear and on different places of the engine but couldnt hear any obvious knocks. It only happens when moving. I wish I video'd it in hindsight, but it seemed like a challenge to do that alone so I just took the bike inside and stripped and drained the bike for inspection and have been working on it since then.
I suspect there's something with the crankshaft causing the clunk, but having the engine opened up I've started noticing a few other things. The rockers are slightly pitted and I can feel the dents with my fingernail, the rear cylinder exhaust valve has a thick layer of white residue (coolant? or oil?) and the cylinder head has some scratches and gouges from possibly mine or a previous owners attempt at removing gasket residue.

A few questions:
Has anyone had any experience with a engine knock, or clunking like this before?

Are any of these issues relatable to eachother?

Can I assume a good seal on the cylinders with a new gasket and some honda bond?

I'm working through the steps according to the Haynes manual and have not yet fully dissassembled the engine, but considering it's my first time doing this I feel like some guidance would be helpful.
My next steps are inspecting the valves and measuring everything to check for wear (currently waiting for a order of a valve dissassembly kit and some micrometers)

I wish I knew half of the stuff the previous owners messed with... So I figured I'd be a better example for the next owner and keep a maintenance log, if you want more insight in my journey to fixing this thing, I update everything on this google drive:
docs.google.com

Honda XL600V PD10 Maintenance Log

docs.google.com docs.google.com

Stay in tune,

Nino
Click to expand...
Moved to Non-Parallel Twins section, it was late last night when I replied to your introduction and I forgot to change the new thread location in my reply.
 
No experience with the Honda V Twins but from what you have describe, a load knock when riding and then no noise on the center stand when running and in gear I would take a hard look at the rear wheel and hub just to eliminate something worn there that is transmitting the sound through the chain under load. If you find nothing there then it is probably time to pull the cylinders and see if there is any evidence of play in the piston wrist pins or connecting rods. I did a quick Google search for "XL600v Transalp engine knock" and found some posts and videos where connecting rod bearings where the culprit. IIf you are keeping the bike just go for a full engine rebuild.

As for the sealing surfaces I don't think they look that bad, just dress down any ridges sticking up and for the rockers if you decide to do a full engine rebuild and they are available at a reasonable price replace them or if not dressing them lightly with a whet stone just to get rid of ridges.

I believe the white residue is from the rear cylinder running a little leaner or hotter than the front cylinder although the it looks like you have the same residue on the front just not as pronounced. I would see if you can get a copy of the Factory Service Manual (FSM) if possible as well as the Haynes manual you have.

Again no experience on these bikes but if I had one at this state this is what I would do.
 
Holy moly,

Here's the long awaited update:

Had to wait for parts, got burnt out of working on it so didn't put in the fulltime effort that I should've and oh boy did I make some mistakes.

In summary I've been struggling with the crankcase and the crankcase has been fighting back. Here's how:
I stripped the threads of the flywheel by using a bolt that is not a flywheel remover thinking I could skip buying that tool. Big mistake... Ended up taking the angle grinder and cutting it off, tried to cut around it for a while (a long time, that steel is thick) but had to cut the tip of the crankshaft off with it. It was ugly, very very ugly.
Ordered a new crankshaft, guys from the shop gave me a XRV750 crank on accident, had to sent it back before getting the correct one, this whole ordeal took 2 weeks so I atleast got a much needed break from all that grinding.
At some point I figured I might as well do other maintenance so I:
- Replaced the wheelbearings, front and rear
- Replaced a shifter fork
- Replaced the faulty rockers

Put the crankcase back together after the crankshaft arrived, finally relieved thats done I look and I find a washer, with a note that says Transmission Output Shaft because atleast I make sure to somewhat organize the parts, great time to split the case again, no biggie:
Open it up, and I find the oil pipe completely bent out of shape, upon combining the crankcase it hadn't seated properly and bent itself when tightened. Back to ordering more parts I suppose.
Got a oil pump for cheap of a NT700, making sure the part numbers were correct and yea oil pipe is the same. Got it the next week so time to combine the crankcase once again.
Realigned it 4 or 5 times, making sure the oil pipe was seated and it was going in correctly and even.
Nearly there, so close to combining and I hear a pop, flipped it over and the shifter shaft had punctured the crankcase somehow. I really didnt feel like I was overtightening and felt like I was being careful but somehow it got pushed against the crankcase and punched a hole...

Back to the drawing board, just mashed a bunch of metal epoxy on it for now.

And that's where I'm at, currently waiting for the glue to cure and then trying again tomorrow, just gonna reassemble and hope for the best. If you want pictures (warning: engine gore) check the google doc, I do still update that whenever I do something.

Definitely underestimated the process and I still gotta hone the cylinders, time the cams and all that jazz. It's been a good learning experience atleast and very glad the bike is cheap to work on.

Edit: Turns out I had installed the shifter fork shaft upside down, the tapered top is supposed to fit in the other crankcase half, makes alot of sense as to what happened in hindsight, I feel like a dumbass but the epoxy fix seems to be holding up well.
 
Last edited:
Aves said:
Wish I could remove those pictures of my first post at this point, they're taking up an entire page each and those "issues" are the least of my worries
Click to expand...
I can remove those pictures for you if you like. Sorry to hear of the mess since then, but pictures of what all you've been through would be interesting to see. I've never been into one of those engines myself.
 
ancientdad said:
I can remove those pictures for you if you like. Sorry to hear of the mess since then, but pictures of what all you've been through would be interesting to see. I've never been into one of those engines myself.
Click to expand...

I found the edit button, first time posting on a forum so I'm still fiddling around and discovering things :)

the pictures are in the google doc here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14ldycXqFNgbR8NBhYSNsFAFj3pThpdjZ4LBmwbYjTb8/edit?usp=sharing
gotta scroll down a bit and to the right for the mess with the flywheel.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom