This is what I missed if anyone's curious...
www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/780972599138041

When I was a kid, one of my friends occasionally snuck out his Dad's (or older brother's, can't remember) XL175 to ride the trails up in the hills with us. It was pretty. I don't remember the year model but this was in about 1975 or 76. He always fell behind and I was on an LT2 which was not exactly a fast bike. We just thought it was because it was a four stroke (had the rep of being "heavy and slow") and he didn't ride as much as we did.

One time when he couldn't make it up one of the hills, Jeff, who had a Kawasaki 175 which had great power, tried to ride it up thinking it was the rider because while they had the rep of being "slow" the four stroke also had the rep of being a "tractor" that could go anywhere.

It wasn't the rider. The trail was pretty rutted after a recent rain so you couldn't hit the hill as fast as we normally did and the XL just ran out of steam near the top. Three or four of us managed to drag it to the top. That's the only time I remember it not making a hill.

I don't remember it fouling plugs. I do remember that the ignition failed when we were what seemed like 100 miles away up in the hills... (it was probably 3 miles but we had to take turns pushing it home). Got home WAY after dark... needless to say that was the last time he snuck it out to go riding with us. And we all caught hell for being out on the trails after dark.

I vaguely remember him saying it was a bad battery that caused the no spark which we didn't understand because all our bikes had magnetos and didn't need batteries for spark... and we thought all dirt-capable bikes were that way. As teenagers we knew everything of course.

Someone here probably knows if the XL175 needs a battery for spark.

It was the battery if it's consistent with what I just read after you suggested research on the specific bike. Many people have said the battery is required to start them. That was also the main issue that stopped my AT3 from starting, real pain. I am not concerned about stuff like batteries since they're easily replaced, my main concern is just overall longevity of the bike. I figure I can get it nice enough to where I'm able to both turn a profit when/if I want something else and not be ashamed of its condition. I thought the 1973 XL175 could push about 70 mph at the absolute max??

Better choice??
seattle.craigslist.org/sno/for/d/snohomi...t175/7223589310.html
Kinda a pain cause of location but it's sure nice.

Would the hill climbing and torque from this bike be considered bad??

Batteries are not easy to get when out on the trail or highway... maybe Amazon will someday be able to deliver by drone anywhere though??

We didn't ride on the street but there was a long really wide trail that was slightly uphill that we used to race up and down... my LT2 was slightly faster off the line than the XL175 but then XL would creep up on me slowly towards the end so I'd guess an XL175 of that era is more along the lines of 55-60 mph practical top speed? The F7 Jeff had flat ran away from all of us.

Yeah you're right of course, but I figure bump starting is always an option. Probably not that bad with a 175, but what do I know. I suppose I figure this isn't going to be an ADV bike going 600 miles at once with no access to a new battery, and the batteries shouldn't just up and die instantly. It seems to be a slower process, like when people forget to storage charge their lipos or something. I suppose the XL is a bit slow.

Did you watch the hill climb videos though? Should I look for something that does better than that or is that considered decent performance?

You don't understand. XL175 is not electric start. No battery = no spark. Period. Push it home. Not going to run until you change the battery. And batteries do fail from vibration and other causes. I've had it happen many times...

On the videos those hills don't look that steep... but cameras can be deceptive. Certainly does not seem like a very powerful bike?

I've had 2 '74 XL175's. Personally I like the look, the color, the low then upswept pipe. The bike is slow...I'll bet your AT3 gives it a run for it's money. It's heavy, not light t all. And the engine makes Honda 4-stroke "noises" that to my ear aren't pleasing...not "there's something wrong" noises, just noises that are normal for the engine. And...really isn't a great handler on the street, neither one I had was very confidence inspiring.

The successor model, the XL185 however is a GREAT bike, with all the power missing from the XL175, sweet sounding 4 stroke and a great on/off road bike. They are harder to find.

Just about all Honda's need a battery to power the ignition, as Mark said. No battery = no go.

Nevermind, I realize I'm being stupid and almost moving into modern territory, exactly where I didn't want to be. I won't be very happy unless I have the enduro, but it is definitely hard to sit at home bored and have nothing to ride... Makes me want to pick up practically anything I can afford and ride it I guess.

What I need to know though is if I can use these RT2 forks or at least the nice metal dust boot pieces on the CT2. I'd like to use whatever parts are best from both bikes. The CT2 is the keeper of course, the main (irreplaceable) pieces on it are pristine, just a few things are missing. I figure all the controls should be interchangeable and the same size, plus all of the peripheral pieces.

Can anybody provide a resource or list of what I can use?