Hi there,

After doing africa on an Africa Twin, I'm now looking for something lighter, more suitable for heavy offroad stuff.

As the XR 650 L is not available in Holland or in Germany (good import!), I'm thinking of buying a XR 650 R. I want the bike to do some serious offroad, desert and some occasional long distance travels.

I know the R is not particularly suited for roadstreches, but I'm more worried about the capabilities of the alloy rearframe carring any luggage. I saw some companies that sell pannierracks, but I wonder: is the rearframe strong enough?

Cheers,
corné

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hi corné
bought last year the XR650R (after having driven a 1991 suzuki DR650 for years throught all kinds of terrain...with success I should add...) but this machine is something else..... indeed the best off-roader at the moment imho. had a testdrive through marocco for 3 weeks in april/may and had no trouble whatsoever. a bit hard on tarmac, but than again that's what we all try to avoid. this bike is made to open throttle or not to open throttle.... anyway I loved it. I have the acerbis 24ltr tank mounted which gives you abt 450km authonomy. (if not all driven in soft sand that is.) i swear on a softluggage system : far more compact than panniers but a bit of a hassle sometimes. but once you know how to fix it all, it doesn't go anywhere anymore. indeed, the subframe seems a bit fragile and needs some strengtening i think, when with a full load....but than again maybe not!!! anyway, we're planning another southmarocco trip next year and we're going to adjust/strengthen the subframe, make a rack for two sidebags and on top one small size ortlieb! have allready a rack on the front of the bike, on top of the light, where one can attach sleeping bag/mat/tent, etc....light stuff. did this on a previous sandy voyage whitout any steering problems. i will keep you posted on the works, but it won't be soon....
cheers
filip

Hi Fillip,

thanx for the info. Any pictures or links to the front luggage rack (interested in that as well!).

Corné

if you write to Ernie at Overland Solutions, he can send pictures of the rear tanks and front racks that he made for Martin and me. Martin previously used soft luggage without obiously damaging the ally subframe.
for this trip, we need a lot of fuel and water so we got Ernie to fabricate rear racks and tanks, the basic design of rear rack could work, but it is expensive and I don't yet know how well it alleviates the load on the aluminium subframe.
give us 6 weeks and we'll know how well they go with 50 litres of fuel, 11 litres of water and all our gear - credit card and toothbrush!

Hi there,

Sounds great! Keep me posted! By the time you have any picture, please send them.

Cheers,
Corné

I sent some pictures of an XR650-R with rear custom luggage rack, Zega aluminium cases and some material dimensions to Corné.

If anybody else wants them, drop me a mail.

Regards,

Ian

Looking good!

Thanx!
Corné

Richlees

50 litres of fuel and 11 litres of water? where are you going?

heard about your bikes being prepared at ernies. how do you fit soft luggage.?

he also prepped my xr650r last year. im going libya in feb.05

cheers
Karim

__________________
www.desertbiking.co.uk

Filip
I would be keen to get some more info on the way you attach your bags.
I have an xr65r and have been strapping gear onto the back with various results, often having to end up with too much weight on my back in a pack.

15+kg of luggage in a 35 litre back pack on the rear fender and 8-15kg in an ortlieb drybag on the front rack.
rear tanks weigh 18kg empty and 40kg full!! so, we had stiffer springs made.
can anyone remind me how to adjust rebound damping on the rear?
Karim - we were doing the canning stock route in australia, but I also carried 50 litres into Zimbabwe the other day and we were both on reserve getting out today

just returned from a two week intensive south morocco trip on xr650 packed with soft luggage. have some pics to share on the rear and front racks I made to fix the luggage. if interested pls contact me on f.deblende@pandora.be
greetzz

Hey guys. Does anyone have pictures of their soft luggage setup on the xr?

Dirt bagz panniers, Kreiga 20 litre pack on the Whipps rack, plus a Kriega rucksack.

DIrt bagz come from the USA and have small side frames to stop the panniers flapping about and getting in the wheel, Panniers are not waterproof. Kreiga 20 litre pack is 100% dust and waterproof so good for clothes and straps down tight onto the rack. Whipps alloy rack came from Australia, quality kit, mounts well and is sturdy. Fits with the European sub frame in place that holds the back light and mudguard extension. The alloy XR's only rack needs modifying to fit with the Euro/Aussie spec bikes with the extra sub frame. This sub frame is not there to give extra support for carrying luggage, its for fitting the bigger back light/indicators and mudguard extension. The Kreiga (Kiega) rucksacks are the most comfortable ones i've found for off roading and also have a pocket for a 2.75 litre camel back type drink system

I was very pleased with all of the kit but only used for Morocco not RTW type trip.

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If it is the African Queens rack system, then I believe the pannier frame braces down to the main frame, thus taking a lot (all?) of the weight off the seat subframe...

However, having used a Touratech top box on an XRs Only rack with some success last year, it started to cause problems this time, and I too have to agree with what BDG says - on the 650R, I think soft luggage (with or without a lightweight rack) is the way to go, especially if you want to ride rough/dirt roads trails. And if it doesn't fit, don't take it!

As an alternative to Ortlieb/Kriga etc. also have a look at the Wolfman Exedition series Alpha/Beta bags - an all in one duffle and side panniers bag.

xxx