what type of mods should be done to a honda xr650r for a trip around the world, i am a heavy guy so what should i do with the suspension does it need upgrades as well?

you'll have to help us out, first. what sort of riding do you plan? long days on tar? short days of dirt? long days of hardcore off-roading? most people considering the XRR would fall into the 2nd and 3rd, but the amount of effort needed in prep depends how remote you want to get!
eg do you need 900km range and 8-10 days autonomy? or will you be able to get water and fuel each day?

maybe this link can help you a bit out.
Gerardo Ibarra has converted his bike to a great RTW bike indeed.Soft luggage of course.
Bye
KH

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102842

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http://viento-de-ripio.blogspot.com/

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http://vientoderipio.blogspot.com/
America is a nice continent,not a country.All people who lives in this continent are americans.Discover it in peace!

I plan on going everywhere, canada down to south america then to africa and up to asia and who knows whatelse. i can handle a uncomfortable road on tarmac but would like a very capable offroad bike for trails in south america and africa and would like to do desert trips.

Id get your seat rebuilt.. £150 quid will get you a resculptured gel inserteted seat.

Suspension is your preference but if your heavy then looks like you will need uprated springs.

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

I've been traveling on mine for 12months now. Other than personal mods, here's what I've done.
1.Bark busters, purely for lever protection.
2.26 litre tank, she's a bit thirsty.
3.Alloy bash plate, one that doesn't have a 'T' bar above the frame rails.
4.After market indicators, tucked neatly out of harms way.
5.The bolt that holds the rear subframe onto the main frame next to the top of the shock bent recently. This caused the main frame to crack. Bit of clever welding (not mine) and a new, hardend bolt, seems to have things straight again. I'd replace the bolt before it bends if I were you, it takes alot of stress and deserves to be a hardend one.
6.Just experimenting with opening the airbox up a bit, my soft bags seem to restrict air flow.
7.I'm 75 kilo's and would like a firmer rear spring.

Can't praise my bike enough, I love it.

....How thirsty is 'A BIT' ? What km/l do you get for road/trail/sand?

Ta,

Dave Lomax

I generaly get about 350kms to 26 litres of fuel. I've got over 400 just pottering around town and closer to 250 once when I was riding stood up at 120kmh for ages, (sore arse). Off road doesn't seem to make that much difference really, I rode across the Simpson Desert which was slow going in the deep sand, and 1100 dunes to go up and over and still managed 500kms with 36 litres. I think it's higher speeds that kills the economy.

The Acerbis 26 litre tank has either swolen to around 28 litres in the sun, or all the petrol staions in Oz are on the fiddle. I've heard you can heat plastic tanks and put compressed air in them to make them grow.

Has anyone used soft tanks, like Camelbak bladders?

our bikes (3 off) were much less thirsty. we did 730km of dunes and gravel on 40 litres each.
on the road, we regularly did over 500km at 100kmh on 25 litres.
20kpl is a reasonable average with 17kpl being a sensible off-road score. we were carrying up to 50 litres of fuel and 15 of water with food for 8 days so we were generally riding conservatively. that didn't stop Martin breaking his back and me dislocating my collarbone, though :-(

we used IMS main tanks (28litre), custom rear tanks (13 fuel, 11 water) and Ortlieb 8 litre water bags for fuel. it sounds precarious, but we tested them for months before setting off - I left one soaked in fuel and another part filled in the sun, rain, frost and kicked it around the garden for good measure.

Rich,
I am strongly considering making my next bike an xr650r and I am curious what country your xr650r was made for and what (if any) air box/carb/exhaust mods you may have done to them.
Thanks,
Nate

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BLAME PATAGONIA

Hey Rich

I think I must ride everywhere like an idiot, my bike uses loads more fuel than yours. I wonder if it's running right. Did you change yours about much? Mine has the core taken out of the can, but other than that it's stock (Australian). I've never messed about with carbs much, maybe I'll try adjusting it a bit. The bike runs sweet though.

Where can I get a couple of these Ortlieb bags you're talking about?

I'd get an electric start from XR stuff. I have them on my XR400s and they are invaluable. By the way i think the 650 with all the suggested mods would make a fantastic RTW bike. Why don't Honda produce one specifically for the job, surely there is a market?

I'm not sure why our bikes should run SO differently. two were Euro-spec and one was south african. Aussie import restrictions tend to mess up everything - I've had 2 Aussie XR400s and XR650L and all three had been messed up with exhaust inserts and carb restrictions. usually, the mods are reversible, but I don't know what they did to rob the XR650R of its power and economy. was there a rubber snorkel in the airbox? or perhaps a partial blockage of the inlet. normally, Aussie mods reduce main jets so it might just be the way you ride ;-)
when thrashing it through twisties on tar (ie winding up the superbike heroes), I'd expect 15kpl.

ortlieb bag is http://www.ortlieb.com/_prod.php?lan...=wasserbeutel# - the 10 litre variant (but we only got 8 litres in them cos they're hard to fill from a fuel pump). I didn't like the lid which doubles as a tap so I bought bottles from Nalgene just to get the lid. bit expensive, but they pack away to nothing when not in use and have reasonable handles for tying them on.

as much as the XR650R has some great virtues, I'm not sure that I'd base a project bike on one again. the water cooling was more reliable than I'd expected, but it was still a pain - one radiator cracked on corrugations and had to be re-welded. thereafter, I was paranoid, but had no further trouble.

no bike is perfect. most bikes are reasonable. our project was barely reasonable (eg fuel for 900km, water for 4 days and food for 8 days) so it was going to tax anything and everything - including the rider! if you "only" want to go 500km with 2 days water (assuming there are wells!), then the XR650R with IMS tank is great. I can't vouch for the Acerbis, but its probably pretty good - I'd pass on the underseat tanks as they're fiddly and fragile for hard use.

our mods were mostly about rear tanks so the subframe had to be reinforced and that bolt through the frame near the top of the shock was replaced with a stud to allow us to unbolt either rear tank - they joined the main frame there and at the foot rests as the alloy frame doesn't make it easy to weld bits here and there. the other mods were for comfort and robustness - Dakar high bars with 25mm risers, IMS chunky foot rests ...
there are some photos of the bikes at www.overland-solutions.com under satisfied customers, honda, xr650r, richard & martin

so what would you use then Rich?

I fancy trying the F650GS Dakar with 39 litre tank (£1500?). that bike is so frugal that you'd easily go 1000+km without bladders etc. I'd chop the exhaust mufflers about and use one side for the exhaust and extend the other for water storage. sump guard for some more water + tools and I reckon it should be a great bike.

I've never ridden the F650 so I might be talking rubbish, but I assume the engine performance is somewhere between the XR650L and XR650R which means it'll be ample. I'd put soft luggage on it with a modest rack at the back. tent on the front mudguard and away you go with the usual stuff like GPS, bars, pegs ...

I feel a trip coming on ... ;-)