Excel Black and Tahitian Red is an interesting color combo for this on/off bike. It’s like a 14-horsepower red-winged blackbird, but with a little more bite than chirp. This low-mile 1978 Honda XL175 is listed here on Facebook Marketplace in Chilton, Wisconsin, and they’re asking $3,000 or best offer. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Lothar… of the Hill People for the tip!
We’ve seen a couple of 175s recently, and I like the size. A 250 is nice, and a 125 will work, but a 175 gives a good chunk of the power of a 250 but weighs about the same as a 125, so it’s almost the best of all worlds. Anything above a 250 is too big for me for an off-road bike, but I know a lot of you need around 12,500 horsepower to get your kicks… and that’s ok. It’s a big world. Speaking of big, the gas tank isn’t super big, holding just under two gallons.
This example looks great, and initially I thought, dang, $3,000 for a 175?! Then I remembered how much I paid for my Rokon with a fraction of the power, and a Honda CB200 wasn’t much less than this, and this XL175 may be a much more useful bike for a casual rider like me. I don’t go on road trips, and I don’t really spend too much time off-road either. Wait, what have I been doing with my life?! From 1973 through 1978, the XL175 evolved, and it’s easy to spot a last-year model like this one: they have black hubs.
This bike looks like it’s in outstanding condition, and having traveled just 2,753 miles over the last 48 years, that’s only around 57 miles a year! It’s unfortunate that Honda removed the tachometer after the 1975 model year. I don’t have a clue why they would do that. Honda also fitted a magneto ignition so more serious riders could take out the battery and have at it. They also changed the exhaust routing a bit, and I really like how it goes through the frame here.
The engine is Honda’s 173-cc four-stroke OHC single with 14 or 15 horsepower, 11 lb-ft of torque, and kick start only. There is no electric start on these bikes. Power passes through a 5-speed manual to the rear wheel via a chain as expected, and the seller says it has new tires and starts on the first kick. Not surprising. I love this one, and if the taxman/woman hadn’t handed out a legendary beatdown two days ago, I’d be all over it. Let’s hear those on/off motorcycle stories!
I had a brand-new 1976 leftover in 1977 all Blue. Cost $700 at the time. Sorry I sold it in the mid 80s.
SG we have the perfect starter bike. Don’t allow lack of electric start to deter anyone interested. A breeze to kick over these 175s, and you’ll feel more like a biker right off the bat 👍 Also great ride for older enthusiasts who are interested in some local sight-seeing and getting to the fishing holes. 🎣
Another nice find as usual Lothar, wonder what’s in your collection 🤔
There was a guy using a “cherry sweet” one like this in the pits at a local version of AMA Vintage dirt track awhile back.
His young teenage son was heard to say “dad-look at this guys bike! He put the motor in backwards!”, pointing at the Bultaco Pursang as the rider folded the starter lever off the left side and kicked it forward..
SG, could the tach have been dropped as a cost cutting measure?
We had a summer cottage in NH outside of Laconia and had this same exact bike that we would use to go back and forth to the beach on. It was a great bike! I say that because it was a dirt road and about a mile back and forth to the lake (Lake Winnisquam) and we would take turns “shuttling” people to the beach on it. This bike never failed us! Sure beats walking!
I’d like to change gears from the last bike post I polluted with circumstance, I want to say, in the right setting, these are incredibly fun, simple bikes. It’s not something to have you sliding off the seat due to brutal acceleration, or so dang complicated it takes NASA to repair it. Just a nice leisurely putt down a trail, with a couple buddies, even better, fun you can’t replicate any other way. If your intent is to rub fenders with RAM duallys on 6 lane interstates,, then by all means, get the 500+, but throw these in a pickup, I can say despite that unpleasantness from the last post, trail riding was by far, the most fun I ever had. From sunrise to way after dark, with fuel our only concern. If you can, don’t deny yourself or your kids that kind of fun. They’ll never regret it.
Exactly, Howard. Ever hear anyone say “when I was growing up I’m sure sorry my folks and I used to go out riding in the (desert, forest, mountains, wherever)”? Good family time.
I look at this bike, and my chest hurst. Literally. My pal in high school had an RM 125 (a serious dirt bike) and his dad had this bike. They rented land every year to ride on, and Brad and I went out one day with me on the Honda. There was no way to keep up with him, and i washed the front end out at speed and high-sided. The end of the handlebars speared me in the chest and pole-vaulted me over the bike. It was a great bruise!
Brad and his Dad used to park the bikes in the garage up against the end wall. I recall later that Brad go into the black Mustang 2 in the garage, and started it up whilst in gear. This caused the Mustang to pin the bikes up against the wall pretty hard, and drove the RM’s shifter clear through the Honda’s engine side cover.
Good times. I do miss Brad a lot. And I truly wonder sometimes how we survived!
best,
bt
There is a reason why nature gives out roughly 105 boys for every 100 girls, so every woman is quarantied one guy when the time is ripe for marriage😂
Great starter bike! The crazy prices these Hondas are getting! Basically all classic bikes reallly?
Is it just me?
I was 13 or 14 and my first two-wheeler was a bit smaller. XL100. Had to get one as a month before I had spent a day at a classmates farm and all day we goofed around on his XR75. I was hooked. Some 47 years later I now get my miles on my third Harley. Did have a Honda 450 Nighthawk for a short while to finish out my high school and college years. If I had never spent that day on that little 75; who knows, I may never have become I rider. Perish the thought !!
This is a cool bike, Scotty, but after an hour on the trails and at 6’3 and 240 I’d probably have the have that seat surgically removed from my arse. That’s why I’m trying to be realistic and looking for a 650 dual sport, with a little more cushion.