Honda XR650L reviews

I am the happy owner of a 94XR 650L. It has basically the same specs as the 2000 model, and I am here to tell you that this is one serious machine. It handles city traffic with Much Power Available when you need it as well as in the woods where the Dirt Bike Profile really shines. But be careful getting on it cause it's a Dreadnought Coming out of the Hole, and with all the Power In this beast you better know what your doin' when you twist this throttle. This is one great Machine in my opinion, and I've gotten thumbs ups from Harley Guys as well as Rocket Racers, they seem to show respect for this bad boy, and for good reason. If your on a budget like me and cant afford a Harley for the road and a CR for the Dirt this is the answer. Also Honda four strokes are nearly indestructible, and this I tell ya from racing XRs in Eastern Enduro Circuits all my life, they just keep on churnin out the torque. I plan on doing the Appalachian Trail on my 650next summer. I cant wait to tame that trail, this Bike can do, no prob, and the best part is Its a legally licensed motor vehicle and can be ridden on a lot of those endless mountain dirt roads that are off limits to 4 wheelers. Show less

I own a 94 650l. I have 9,000 miles on it. Almost have of the miles are street ridden. I am 6.0'tall and 300lbs. I've ridden my bike through some of the knarliest terrain that Washington State has, including the Mattuwa desert 100. I went down a tooth on the countershaft sprocket, and removed the baffle in the exhaust and the emissions. The cam chain tensioner coil has broken once and the valve cover tends to leak oil. It has really good brakes and is very reliable. This is a mans bike if you cant bench over 250 buy a smaller lighter bike. Happy trails! Show less

Not a good dual purpose bike. This bike rides like a dirt bike on the street and a street bike in the dirt. If you want a better dual purpose bike for the street get a KLR650. If you want a better dual purpose for the dirt get the DRz400s. Honda still has the best quality for the money, and their XR650R dirt only bike is awesome. But this bike falls short of a real dual-purpose bike. Show less

Since I bought my XR650L in March 2000, it has given me 3000 miles of trouble free riding so far. I do a lot of freeway riding 70-80 mph so I had to make a small windshield to make those fast rides more comfortable (something similar to a KLR650). This is not in any way a motocross. It is very heavy, and the gearing is high making it impossible to get out of first gear in narrow twisty forest trails. The seat is too narrow for extended rides, but if you remove the passenger strap, it is a bit more comfortable. I measure 5' 9" and have no difficulty touching the ground, plus the seat height is an advantage in traffic. Where the bike really shines is, when you load it up with all your favorite camping gear and head out north on old logging roads like we find so many of up here in Canada. For that, you will need a larger gas tank. 5 gallons will get you about 200 miles at 45 mph. Honda only needs to make a few modifications to this bike if this is to be become a perfect S.U.V. "Ride the freeway until it ends then jump onto the dirt and leave civilization." Show less

I looked at a lot of bikes before buying the Honda XR650L mostly because of its reputation for being trouble free. At first the bike was underpowered but seemed to loosen up at about 800 miles. It's a great around town bike and dirt road blaster. It needs lower gearing to perform in the woods and the tall seat height combined with need for lower first gear has led to a couple of low speed get-offs. But blowing by 4x4 trucks on the long bumpy dirt roads here makes for big grins. Friends ask why I did not buy a crotch rocket street bike. I tell them I can go anywhere they can and a bunch of places they can't. Show less

I recently acquired a Honda XR650L. I have ridden off-road most of my life but decided to look for a bike that would have the versatility of being agile in the dirt and powerful enough for the highway. Happily, I found both in this bike. As I looked for a dual-purpose machine I found that the higher I went in displacement, the mushier I found the suspension to be. For the road I wanted a four-stroke but for the trail I wanted response. The Honda is a very strong four-stroke with unbelievable torque. The suspension is similar to that of a cross country bike. This bike will fly on the road or off a jump into the sky. It lands more like a dirt bike and the torque makes it easy to pull the front end up when having fun coming off a burm or out of a corner. The only drawbacks I have found are the tall height of the saddle and high 1st gear ratio that I have not been able to counter down. These two factors together hinder my agility on tight mountain trails where I ride. But, all-in-all the 650 is an excellent overall machine that I found to be the best dual-purpose of its size on the market. Show less