Hello,
I'm looking at the Honda XR650R as my second bike. My other Bike is a Triumph Speed Triple, which is just a sweet and great ride with lots of torque, power and fun!

However I'm planing on visiting Romania and Eastern Europe next year (including the Enduromania) and at some point a trip to Morocco is also on the plate and after this lots more of dust biting on dirt roads

So what I'm looking for is a (second) bike with lots of off-road fun, reliability and at least somewhat of a travel ability.

So far I really like the XR650R. It's a Honda so I expect great reliability. The engine seems to be great, with lots of power and a smooth torque curve. There's also some aftermarket parts available that you need on a travel bike (like luggage racks, bigger tank [24 liters from acerbis],...).

In contrast to the XR650L it doesn't have an electrical starter (one less thing to break I guess), but I think I can handle the kick start. I have ridden (rented) XR250s extensively in South Eastern Asia and they were great as well (little underpowered though).

What I haven't been able to find out so far is what the street legal version includes and if there's anything missing, for example one review pointed out that there was no ignition lock on the bike, while another source said there was.

The only catch I see so far is that in Germany the only XR650Rs are grey imports, so there are not that many second hand bikes around. The subframe seems to be an issue as well, but I haven't found a lot about that either. So far I'm not planing to go rtw and not more than three or four weeks, so I'll probably be packing 20kgs (or so)... Would there be need for reinforcement?

At the moment there's one bike on the market with about 25.000km (little more than 15.000 miles). My gut says that's nothing for a Honda, right?

So has anybody any additional comments about that bike? Information about it in general (and especially about the ones imported into Germany) are pretty sparse so I would be grateful for anything at this point.

Thanks!!!

P.S.: Note that I'm talking about the XR650R, which is a watercooled single bike, developed from a Baja racebike. The XR650L on contrast is an air cooled single and an entirely different animal.

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Edit: Typos and some small stuff

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Projekt Balkan
www.buebo.de - Der tägliche Wahnsinn

Im not sure about germany but here in the states the Xr650L is a street legal dual sport from the factory with horn, directional, electric start and is Air cooled. I have ridden it and would consider it an On-road bike that is semi-capable offroad. Had a soft suspension that was weak at best also constantly overheated in tight single track.

That being said the XRR (xr650R) comes from the factory as a dirtbike, no directionals, horn, or electric start and it does not come with a ignition key but it can be easily wired into the kill switch. I now own an XRR after selling my L. Was lucky enough to buy it with the dualsport kit already on. Where im from (mass) they are very strict on dualsports and require front directionals, high and low beams horn rear directional front rear brake lights and street legal dualsport tires. Im sure Germany isnt as strict. The XRR is a beast offroad will tractor through anything, and go 100mph without hesitation. As far as on road its pretty much what u would expect from a dirtbike, highspeed shakes(75mph+) and the seat isnt really that comfortable, after market seats are avaible but i heard they dont fit so well. Forget a seat tho its not a lazy boy stand up if ur ass hurts haha.

I heard rumors floating around about the frames on these and i assure you they are just that rumors. I'm 6' 5'' 250 and land off 15 foot kickers alot i certianly dont ride it like a panzy. My bike curently has around 6,000 hours and runs perfect(bulletproof). Im sure it will be able to take as much weight as u can fit on it. The XRR will definitly need to be greased the factroy is very cheap with it and a larger tank is a HUGE improvment, the XRRs isnt scared off gas probaly 20mpg on singletrack and 35-40mpg on the roads. the stock tanks only holds 2.8gal so it goes awfully quick.

Also XR'S ONLY -- HONDA ATV DIRT BIKE -- CRF TRX XR - MAIN PAGE is a great site for aftermarket parts and Baja Designs, Dual Sport Kits, Dual Sport, Lighting, Motorcycle, Trucks, Prerunners, Offroad carry the dualsport and HID light packages there are a few other cheaper alternative to the baja designs kit tho.

Thanks, that helps a lot and I will definitely check out one or two of those big red beasts. From the looks of it do really like this bike!

So far it's pretty much a decision between the KTM LC4 and the Honda XR650R. The KTM needs servicing every 5000km (including the valves). How about the Honda?

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Projekt Balkan
www.buebo.de - Der tägliche Wahnsinn

excellent bikes l took mine on a 6,000 mile trip to Russia, the most important modifications would be a better seat or use a sheeps skin and have the rear wheel rebuilt with heavy duty spokes as the stock wheel will be shagged after 8,000-10,000 miles.

My mods were

uni biker rad guards
KTM cooling fan
turbo city rack
sheeps skin
simpson detour twin 55w headlamp
250w stator with reg and battery
fat bars
touratech gps mount and socket plus a screen extender
trailtec speedo with temp senor
British army issue gas mask bags as tank painners
25L acerbis tank
TM40 pumper carb
CRD bash plate with a old flare holder to store tools
scott oiler
indicators plus a extra led brakelamp with a front and rear brake switch







heres my write up

Russia and back on a XR650R - ADVrider

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Morocco 2012
Morocco 2010

Hello,
just managed to read your trip report. Awesome! I'm really envious at the moment. I guess the XR650R seems to be the right bike for me!

Did you use any how-to or something for the elektrical stuff (stator, battery and wiring) on your 650r? I've been looking for some detail about this but haven't found much so far...

And by the way: How often did you change the oil on this trip (if ever)?

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Projekt Balkan
www.buebo.de - Der tägliche Wahnsinn

I wound the stator my self from a guide l found on thumpertalk forums and used a small 1.5ah leadacid alarm battery and a 25 amp single phase regulator from a old British bike parts shop, total cost was around £40 best.

Best thing about the setup is that you keep the two ignition poles on the stator which means theres a separate AC circuit for the ignition and a separate DC one so you can have a complete electrical failure on the DC circuit lights,clocks,gps etc but the bike will still run.


Oil changes were every 1500 miles and filter/valve clearances (screw locknut type) at 3,000. never needed to top the oil up between changes too.


Its a prefect bike for touring on bad terrain but lacks luggage capacity on the rear l was using about 10kg on the rack and 10kg in each saddle bag and 5kg in each tank bag.

Currently selling mine on ebay without the 25L tank and rack as l,ve brought a R100GS for a trip to japan next year.

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Morocco 2012
Morocco 2010