Best bike ever made, period. I cant say that it runs like new, I must say that it runs better every year... Unbelievable. (I'm 50, 24 bikes owned in 40 years)
This is the best bike ever made hands down. The only two things that suck are no electric start and the lights are dim. So buy some kicking boots and change the lights. Uncork it and laugh at everyone else as you pass them with flying colors.... Red and white💯👍😎👋
This bike is a tractor, the rear tire is a machine gun, none wants to ride behind you, this bike still make the 450 bite dust. On the sand this is a king, this bike become light from second gear and up. Love it, still have 2.
Yeah I get between 28 and 32 mpg on my 00 xr650r sumo. It's my weekend warrior now that I got an 07 ninja 250. The only good thing about commuting on the xr650r was being able to see over most cars. I ride 94 miles round trip everyday. The pregen ninja 250 does great while getting 60-65 mpg. Thanks for the vid. Keep up the great work brother.
I have a 2003, bought last year. First time starting the bike I struggled really hard. So i can relate to this bike not being a commuter bike in a lot of traffic if you should stall it. But I am amazed how good this bike is for it age, meaning it is an old model bike and it keep up pretty well I would say. Maybe I am lucky, mine have only 300 miles on it, so that has off course something to say. Thank!
I have that bike too. I bought in 2003 and never road it. Bought for BDR riding and never did it. Finally will take time off and do it. My friend just bought a KM 890 ADV R so now have a partner. I have the Baja Design street legal kit and a ca. plate. Bought the new LED Squadron Pro LED and had the Stator rewound by them. Stock is 80 watt. Now I have 2 circuits of 125 watts. Will also have twin LED Thumper Jockey lights. Tailtech radiator fan and their Vapor spedo, temp, RPM, clock display. I just ordered the Cush drive rear wheel made (hub) by Haan in Netherlands and Excel rim assembled by Dubya inc. in socal. Honda has no more counter shafts to sell and welding up the splines and remachining to fit the chain sprocket could cost the $1,045.00 they are charging for the wheel assembly. Street use without a cush drive rear hub is hard on the drive train. Adding rear sub frame supporting to carry the Giant loop soft luggage with rack. Rebuilt the carb and will have new Motoz Rally tires. 20 year old rubber that is in new condition is not happening, Hard as a rock. Oh, and Seat Concepts touring seat and IMS 3.8 gal. tank. Can't wait!
"I really like the 650R, but it's not a perfect bike" Says the guy with street tires on a bike that was purpose built to race the BAJA 1000 at wot! ??????? Comparing an R to an L is like comparing a top fuel funny car to a Prius. Hey, they both say Toyota!?
Owned a 2005 bike and rode it for over 10,000 kms before regrettably trading it in. Once the bike was uncorked, you need to raise the handlebars and short out the hard seat, and a bigger fuel tank. A fan on the radiator is a must if you are going to be in traffic. Kick stating the bike was not an issue. Changing the oil every 1,000kms was a bit of pain.
Every year I look on the market to see what can replace my brp with and I just end up upgrading it and riding the shit out of it. I am ok with kicking and added a better stator. I can’t believe is 20 years old and still riding like new
I was really drawn to this bike and I'm very torn because I want to get it but at the same time I don't because I also like the XR650L it's just much more efficient still just as cool has electric start I'm really great gas mileage BUT the R was the latest XR platform that existed, it's a second generation XR platform with the aluminum frame rather than the chromoly steel frame making it 50 lb lighter than the L. Or about the same weight does my 1994 XR250L but with just more power evidently the practicality of the L and the fact that it's still in production Swayze my decision in this video kind of helps me Keep On Track because I did fall in love with the XR650L first
This is a ongoing argument, but I’ve had two XRR’s - both with a stock carb. A well tuned stocker that is’t worn out is awesome on this bike. I would like to ride a bike with a FCR one day to see if I notice any difference, but the XR gives me all I can handle most days.
The 650 is a great bike. My brother had one and he wished that he still had it. That said it is heavy. On the trails I would rather ride my 1995 CR250. There is always a compromise when you try to ride a bike on the trails and the street. Although it does the best it can on both. Also, I like the sound of my two stroke better.
Hi Vehicle Hunter, what is your rear tyre size ? I've been having some "troubles" with the width of the tyre being too close to the chain route (causing some cuts into the tyre), i'm pretty sure it was a "bad-made" arrangement for the supermotard style by the ex-owner, now i'm just exploring alternatives to avoid chain cutting the tyre in the side (i even offset the chain guide, the rear and front sprocket also) Notes : i now have pirelli rally str (rear : 140/80 R17 , front : 120/70 R 17 ) but always had this problemas with any rear tyre wider than 130+.
I have been riding my BRP for 16 years, with proper uncorking and correct jetting and proper gearing for what you are doing I am getting 45mpg with stock carb, had a pumper carb on it for a while, got sick of it threw it away cause loss of good idle and easy start up, never could get the pumper carb rich enough in the idle range. Not trying insult your opinion but you might check tuning or valve adjustment if you are getting low 30s MPG
Imagine a 2022 XR650R with all the ameliorations brought to the CRF450R during all these years; injection, 49mm inverted front fork, hydraulic clutch, electric start and so on.
Hey there, Recently i fell in love with the XR 650R (as a super moto and moto in general enthusiast) and plan to buy it some day in the near future. Only disadvantage is the seat height... I hardly am 5' 9" (1.75 in meters) and don't know if i will even be able to hold it still while waiting at a traffic light... Is it really a tall bike? and if it is, will it be an issue for me to ride?
Im sure you'll be fine. Im 5ft 8 & 13st and managed pretty well on the 650R with standard wheels and suspension set slightly firmer for fast off road riding. Being a couple of inches longer in the leg would have made for more comfortable starting though.
Get a ktm 525 exc 2006, a lot lighter than an xr650 and it produces around 50hp stock at the rear wheel. If that isn't enough bore it out to a 540,570 or even a 640 and that'd be a torque monster! I have a 525 in motard set up and it likes to lift the front wheel and tops out around 105mph... Could get 115-120mph with different gearing but to get higher than that you'd need more hp
@@gixxer7907 I ended up purchasing a drz 400 2008 model with Athena 440 kit, fcr 41, yoshi trc full system, E cylinder head and the list goes on... Heard they are very reliable bikes and not hard to learn for a beginner like me. Enjoying every second owing it
@@s.m.9285 Yeah, drz are known for their reliability my brother had one but it was abit too heavy for tight enduro we do so he got a ktm 450 exc rfs. Rfs are really reliable but just more maintenance than drz etc oil changes every 20-25 hours on the ktm
Chains wear out from bad maintenance, not from power, or single cylinder power pulses. I got 87,000km on my KTM 1290 super adventure that has 3 times the hp of this (my 1290 has 180hp, chipped). My chain is still going.
Don't have the bike anymore. But it was a crf450 front end from a early crf. The wheels were from excel. Pretty much a straight fit. The newer crf450's forks don't fit the triple tree
If you don't ride it it doesn't scratch, I could keep tank decals more than 2 weeks . You don't ride a R on the streets anyway. Bunch of posers on here.
Never found the BRP that powerful tbh , great torque but not a lot of power up at the top, starting is easy enough with the auto decomp mech, fuel consumption is poor 35 mpg max, OK bike in supermoto trim but if you want power go foR THE cR450 . The XR is essentially a trail bike in this spec , not a competition bike like the CR that really rips but needs regular servicing. Never had the HRC cam in mine but that could be the power mod I was missing.....if you have one , keep hold and enjoy it!
The 650l doesn't get very good mileage either. There no way I'm getting 45. I had the 650r but wanted electric starter. Mine had a power up kit and it sure was powerful. Just as powerful as my CR500. I got a ticket for wheelies but I couldn't help it.
It's pretty bad. If you ride gently im sure you can do better. But the bike is difficult to ride slowly. It wants to get moving fast. So maybe 35mpg. But ive heard of guys going 45mpg
See my post here. I just bought a cush drive wheel made by Haan in Netherlands and put wheel together by Dubya inc. in ca. with Excel rim. $1,045.00 not cheap but called Honda dealer and Honda does not have anymore counter shafts. Be in my hands in 4 weeks.
Hahahaha The police aren't attracted to it because it's loud, or they can't see your plate! It's because of the enormous set of balls dragging on the ground behind it! You redeemed yourself with the "best bike Honda ever built" line but I would have to qualify that by saying best "off road" bike ever built, because the long lineage of RC bikes, and the CBX are pretty damned cool. Don't scoff at the v45 and v65 either😛
@Alan MacRae I think 450 or 525 exc is a good all round bike :D I have 450 for enduro and my 525 is in supermoto trim. Both u can throw around with them being light and fast. My 525 does 0-60 in like 3-4 seconds and had it geared for 115mph think only got 110mph on flat tho not enough hp to pull to 115 on flat. Aerodynamics on these bikes are shocking
Best bike ever made… Honda screwed up… you can make it street legal with a kit… you can get electric start with a kit… and Acerbis fuel tanks give it some range… Honda could have released it with these upgrades and instead gave us the L… you f… up… I would buy two Rs‘ tomorrow… you could have earned a lot of money Honda with the R instead of the L and we (the riders) know it
