The name Bill Bell goes hand-in-hand with the Baja 500 (and 1000). For more than a decade, the legendary tuner churned out countless purpose-built racers that gave deep-pocketed factory works teams a good run for their money, and with the occasional exception of Husqvarna, Bell’s Hondas were the machines to beat at the Baja 500.
Bill first partnered with Glen Hogan in 1972 to tinker with four-valve engine designs, running XL250’s on the dyno in an effort to squeeze out as much power as possible. Dozens of different setups were tested, exploring an array of cylinder port designs and spring and valve train setups. Eventually Bell landed on a design that used a modified camshaft in which horsepower and temperature regulated a needle-roller bearing setup on the exhaust-side of the cam. Bell’s 1975 XL350 was bored out to 409ccs, given higher lift, longer cam timing, an increased compression ratio, and 36mm Mikuni carbs, enabling the Honda to put down a claimed 49 horsepower at the 9,000rpm mark.
In the early years, Bell primarily focused on the power plant and suspension, without paying too much attention to the chassis, but in later years nearly every stock component on Bell’s bikes was replaced with upgraded units. CJ Engineering frames, Curnutt shocks, and CR250 front ends all became go-to components for Bell.
The machines that Bell modified presumably came in their stock form from Long Beach Honda in Southern California. Bell partnered with the dealership to first create the race-winning machines used in the Baja events, but after achieving success in Mexico and gaining some notoriety, Bell and LBH joined forces to start offering replica racers – machines that LBH supposedly sold a lot of. Old advertising materials from LBH depicted a rider on a bike and the words “Our Hondas Are Faster Than Yours”.
Bell’s Hondas were also piloted to victory at a number of prestigious MX, GP, dirt track, and TT Scrambles, where time and time again factory works machines were bested by Bell’s bikes. Even the most hardcore riders couldn’t usually get their hands on a factory works MXer, though Bell changed this. For just $2,800 (in 1974, a figure that equates to $13.5K in 2018), anyone could order one of Bill Bell’s 240 lb, 440cc, four-stroke “Baja Bullet” MXers. In fact, Bell offered to build replica versions of literally any of the race machines he’d previously built.
Fun fact: in ’62 motorcycle legend Bud Ekins (and Bill Robertson) piloted a Honda CL72 to a successful first timed run from Tijuana to La Paz in just under 40 hours. In 1968, one of Bell’s specially prepped Honda CL350 racers became the first ever motorcycle to claim an overall win at the iconic Mexican event, as well as reportedly taking first at the Las Vegas Stardust 711.
This particular example is a 1974 XL250, reportedly stuffed with a Bill Bell 432cc engine that is said to be in excellent condition. The so-called “hybrid” supposedly boasts “works shocks, Maico forks, 46 Mikuni, Elsinore tank and seat, etc”. This is by no means a museum-quality Bill Bell build, but it’s (supposedly) a Bill Bell Honda, which is pretty darn cool in and of itself. For a much more detailed writeup on Bell’s Hondas, there’s a full length article archived on XLintPerformance.com.
You can find this 1974 Honda XL 432 Bill Bell “Hybrid” for sale here on Craigslist in Los Angeles, California with a price of $2,600.