It’s been a dry spell for Throttle Therapy. Business travel, DMV roulette (no appointment, naturally), and grown-up obligations have conspired to keep me off the pegs. I did manage to squeeze in three days chasing light and lens flares in Yosemite, but my throttle hand was starting to twitch like a dog at the sound of a kickstarter.
Funny thing—while I was in Yosemite, I spent more time than I care to admit behind the wheel of my wife’s mini-van, white-knuckling through overcrowded trailhead parking lots and turning circles designed for roller skates. That experience lit a spark: I need the XR600 back. And I need it to be streetable. If I’m going to blend my love of dirt and photography, I need something that can carve mountain pavement, hop dirt roads, and park where only mountain goats and photographers dare tread.
Back at the mountain house, that spark turned into a fire—and I finally got my hands dirty with a little much-needed Garage Therapy. Bonus: it ended with a “test ride” that conveniently detoured through the twisted backroads to my favorite local food stop. But let’s rewind.
The Patient: XR600R
XR600 Dirty Valve Seat
Remember that carb I had rebuilt as part of a barter deal? Yeah, she started leaking out the overflow shortly after I got her back. Life happened. She got parked. And forgotten.
Fast-forward to this morning—crisp mountain air, zero distractions, and that “let’s see what happens if I just pull one thing” kind of motivation. I yanked the carb. Inside? A horror show of decomposing rubber chunks. Apparently, the old petcock had been sprinkling rubber confetti into the bowl like it was celebrating its own retirement.
The fix was simple but satisfying. Soaked the gunk, picked it loose from the needle seat, Q-Tipped the rest like I was cleaning a wound in the wild. Found a few extra bits hiding out in other passages and gave everything a fresh rinse with carb cleaner for good measure.
Reassembled, bolted in, a couple of slow, coaxing kicks, and then boom—she lit up with a single serious kick. Idled steady. Overflow? Dry as a bone. Test burbles up and down the street? Perfect.
Test Ride Disguised as Lunch Run
Mid-afternoon hit, and I hadn’t eaten. So I did what anyone would do—told myself I needed to “test ride” the bike and pointed the front wheel toward my favorite local Adventure Café.
Did I take the highway? Of course not. I zig-zagged through every tight, shoulderless ribbon of mountain asphalt I could find. It’s been a few years since I last rode the XR600, and I gotta say—she still fits like a worn-in pair of moto boots. Heavy, stubborn, but loyal.
Up Next for the Big Girl
This isn’t just a revival. It’s a reinvention. The plan?
- ProTaper bars and fresh levers
- Real dual sport tires (goodbye knobbies, hello compromise)
- NiceCNC and XR’s Only parts from the magic upgrade box
- Soft luggage and maybe a minimalist windscreen
- Full plastic refresh with fresh graphics
She’s going lightweight ADV—vintage muscle wrapped in modern trail-travel vibes. Something that can carry a camera, a tripod, and the stubborn soul of a wandering rider-photographer.
Final Verdict
Garage Therapy? 10/10.
Throttle Therapy Lite? Just what the doc ordered.
The XR600? Alive, leak-free, and on her way to becoming the ultimate photo mule.
