Honda XR650L reviews

This bike is fun in its stock form but is a great / awesome wheelie bike after you uncork the in-let & exhaust, re-jet, and add three more teeth to the rear gear. Best dual purpose bike on the planet in my opinion. Show less

Well since I picked this bike up 2 weeks ago I have been slowly breaking it in. It's been about 60% street and 40% dirt for right now. Well today I just got done putting on renthal bars and removing the baffle. When I pulled the beast in from a test ride I was pretty surprised on the slight power increase. Ever since I started riding the bike it just kept getting stronger, more powerful and more top end. Since it's all stock I am only topping out at about the 105-110mph range. This is a great improvement since the first few days he bike was so tight it was having a hard time pushing past 80. I can roll up the front end in 1st and 2nd gears and clutch it up in 3rd and 4th gears. The bike is nicely balanced for me on one wheel and can give you a nice wheelie run. Now everyone knows this bike is on the heavy side as are all big bore stock enduros, but this bike has that legendary honda dirtbike feel. Every time I pull out I feel illegal!!! I haven't done any hard core off roading with it yet but I have easily gotten 5-6 feet of clean air and it lands nice and smooth. Excellent suspension. The Xr650L handles the whoops alright you just have to ride it hard and be strong. It's a little different than riding a motocrosser or a street bike but I think honda has put together the best of both worlds. I can really say nothing bad, but that's just because the bike is perfect for what it was made for. I will work it into upgrades for about 20 more HP after I fully break it in. I mean, who doesn't want a super motard??? Thanks Honda!! Show less

I'm 41 years old and I love riding motorcycles. I wanted something that I could ride to work and go off road on the weekends. The XRL is the perfect bike for me. I've had it up to 90mph on the freeway with plenty more than that available. That is fast enough for me on a dirt bike. It is right at home at 75. Off road it has great manners too. I have gotten some good air with it. The engine is very powerful. 0-60 is fast. If you like off roading and want a machine you can ride on the street too, The XRL is a great choice. The only drawback is that the gas tank is too small, 2.8 gals. But I can live with that. Acerbis makes a bigger tank but it's ugly. Show less

When I got my new 2003 machine last spring, I was a bit disappointed at first. Everything people say about it coming from the factory choked up for emissions purposes are true. It seemed as if it was a track star trying to run flat out while breathing through a soda straw. Never having been one to try and out-think engineers, even I was driven to do something about it. I changed the gearing from 15-45 to 14-48, put in the Baja Designs smog pump block off kit, re-jetted it with a Dyno-jet stage 1 kit, put in a K&N filter and finally topped it off with a White Brothers E-Series exhaust. I would urge you not to do some of the above, but all. Each step alone will not make a huge difference, but let me tell you, the night I bolted on the White Brothers exhaust (the last mod) and took it out on a back road, she tried to peel my fingers off the grips. It looks like the bike I bought, but doesn't act like it. Honda made a wonderful machine and these mods are the lightning bolt that will bring it to life. It jumps, it wheelies, it climbs like a beast and other than being a bit tall and heavy, I can't imagine a better dual sport. I know you can't buy one. In short, buy it, but if you don't do the mods, you will never hear her roar. Show less

This is my first bike since 1980. I have owned many dual purpose bike's in the past. I am 59 year's old and cannot belive how wonderful the springs are on this bike. Could someone put me in touch with a vendor for a bigger gas tank and a sugestion for a little better gearing. We will be retiring to Bradenton, FL in about 15 mounths so I would like to look at jetting for the sea level area. I will alos be using my bike to go to and from work a lot so is there any seat options for a more comfortable seat? Show less

Very good power stock.I spent a lot of $'s and didn't really increase power that much. Very good choice for a tall rider, very comfortable for me a 6-03. I would recommend it. Show less

I recently purchased this bike in April of 2003. Overall I think it is an excellent do anything all around bike. But? My minor quibbles are that the gearing is too high. One of the first mods will be a gearing change. Other reviewers have complained about the bike running lean, I have only noticed a minor problem there. Long warm ups and some coughing when you snap the throttle open even after it warms up. This bike is very tall, reminds me of riding a real motocrosser. Although once you get used to it, it's no bother (I'm about 5'11"). Eventually, I will do something with the intake and exhaust system and when the tires are gone, will invest in a set of Metzler Karoo's. Current handling in the dirt on the stock Bridgstone Trailmaster tires is marginal, although street handling is pretty good. Fuel range is poor about 100 miles on a tank full. If you have this bike check out dirtrodders.com for a listing of mods that he has done. I would recommend this bike to others interested in a dual sport bike over the competition. Other purchases considered were the KLR650, DR650, DR400. I chose the Honda because I have experience with Honda in the past (although I think all of the bikes now a days are pretty good on quality) and they had good reviews in the magazines and internet sites. Also, Honda had a great financing program with 0,0, and 6.9%. I am almost to the 600 mile point for my first oil change and am looking forward to many years of service. Happy Trails. Dean Show less

I bought this 2002 model in the uk in 2003 new. I have owned an XR600 among other 9 less significant bikes. Here in the UK we do not have the land to use our off road bikes as we would like to -overpopulated and over built on. However this bike makes a great all round dual purpose machine, its practical with an aftermarket tank. It comes strangled with smog gear and lean jetting and pipe that is welded which means that you cant just undo the spark arester. Simple- junk smog gear, buy an aftermarket pipe tune carb richer by turning screw and raising needle by sliding two small washers over needle to seat it slightly higher (OR BUY JETTING KIT FROM BAJA RACING)also block ports in barrel where smog pipes feed to. This bike has no click raising ability in the needle to raise it so my method with the washers is the kind of cheap instant way of remedying the problem but is limited as if richer jetting is applied still more than 2 small washers wont fit. This bike is one tough piece of engineering and beautifully simple by some unnecessary standards, it will one day be a classic but id love to see the big H continue with this design. The whole bike is balanced, powerful (enough, how much do you need to have a blast and maintain a durable usable sensible package). You can make these bikes into what you want and that is what is so great about them, Theres bars, pipes, bashplates, tanks power up kits -you name it, but leave the engine as it is in my opinion for reliability. Why the Big H dont officially import these to the UK is a mystery to me -I know handfulls of people who would buy this bike over any other big single as it is not laden with plastic crap and boggy suspension like the Dominator yet has enough road legality to be practical and safe, and most of all the electric boot. This bike uses the Dominator engine in an XR600 frame - I love it- I never owned anything like it that has pleased me as much because when you buy a bike like this its not all about top speed, its about practical freedom and usability and all year function in all weather including snow.For street and A road riding its lovely -for motorway use it will cope but of course its not its environment- take the A roads. I really cant say a bad thing about it exept Honda could have sold it to us with stainless headerpipes if nothing else, id pay the extra no problem,Keep the Honda quality comming....... Show less

I own and race a 2002 XR650L. This is a very good bike that requies only minor maintence to keep it at peak performance. I race GP's and motocross with this bike. Change the tires, metal gas tank to plastic, do a little suspension work, take off smog pump and air canister, change handle bars add a muffler and it's a different animal. Show less

After having 3 XR600R's I tried the XR650L, the majik button is nice... (elec start)its better on the road but not so in the off road conditions, it will tire you out in the desert, I prefer the XR600R made street legal, 60 pounds less and twice the fun, both low maint. and reliable, looking forward to getting the new liquid cooled XR. Show less