Quote:
Originally Posted by Traveldog
In which country can I buy a street legal 650 R(blinkers, speedometer) in Europe?
Planning on doing the TransSiberian Highway.
Thanks for any advice.
TravelDog
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Understand that Honda produces (produced) two bikes called XR650's.
One is still in production ... it's the dual sport Honda XR650L. This is a fully street legal dual sport bike that you can still buy NEW or USED.
Many confuse the XR650L with the XR650R. Note that the R version has been out of production over 10 years. It was originally Honda's premier race bike for off road type races. It won the SCORE Baja 1000 many many times.
It has both a headlight and tail light but is NOT road legal in USA. The main difference between the two is that the old XR650L is an Air Cooled engine and is derived from the old XR600R. It has electric start, a big battery and with a few careful mods can be a decent travel bike. But it has many problems too.
(I owned one in 1993 ... bought new)
The XR650R is a fantastic bike and can be converted to road legal with a Baja Designs kit. Draw back for many is the kick start only ... no electric start.
It also does not put out a lot of elec. power, so can only support modest lighting and accessories. It's also VERY tall. It's a great Desert bike. I never owned one, but several riding friends owned them and I've spent hours riding the XR650R.
The good news is many come up for sale on Craig's list with Baja kits, making them road legal. Many many like this around California at good prices.
Check Craig's list for deals. They usually sell between $3000 and $4000 usd depending on condition/hours.
It is a very good bike is set up correctly. (many used ones are already set up!), but may not be the perfect travel bike.
More reliable and less problematic than the XR650L air cooled dual sport bike.
Also ... 10 times more capable off road. But does not have a strong rear sub frame, not designed to carry much luggage.