Honda Xr650l
HONDA XR650L
CYCLE WORLD TEST
THE FUTURE IS NOW FOR DUAL-PURPOSE BIKES
IN CASE YOU’VE BEEN TOO BUSY TO NOTICE, THERE’S an environmental revolution underway. Everywhere you turn, you’ll note its effects: in recycling programs, in fast-food restaurants’ abandonment of styrofoam, in the vapor-recovery shrouds on gas-station nozzles.
In some cases, this is a good thing; we’d all like to see the world a better place to live. But in others, it’s bad, particularly if you’re an off-road motorcyclist, because there are a number of environmental groups-the Sierra Club in particular-that would like to see off-road vehicles offed.
The effects of these concerns are already apparent in the growing dual-purpose, or dual-sport, boom. Many off-road riders, tired of trucking their bikes to legal riding areas hours from home, are turning to street-legal “dirtbikes” that can legally travel anywhere there are roads-dirt or paved. The manufacturers realize this, and have responded with increasingly dirt-worthy dual-purpose mounts. Suzuki’s line of DR/Ss and the Honda XR250L are good examples. Honda’s new 1993 XR650L is an even better one.
Two years ago, an employee of American Honda’s R&D department showed up at the Cycle World Trek-an annual industry ride hosted by this magazine’s advertising department-with a hybrid motorcycle, an XR600 dirtbike chassis fitted with the electric-start motor from a dual-purpose NX650. We had the opportunity to ride that bike, and came away with the impression that it was nothing less than the prototype for a future production model, one that would likely set the dual-purpose world on its ear.
We were right. Honda has finally released a production version of that very bike, and it is every bit as good as the prototype hinted it would be.
Considering that the XR650L is built on an XR600 chassis, this is hardly a surprise. But there’s more to it than that; much of the XR-L’s dirt abilities is attributable to Honda’s testing methods. According to Bruce Ogilvie of American Honda’s off-road R&D team, the goal of the project was to create a dual-purpose motorcycle that matched, as closely as possible, the performance of the offroad-only XR. All suspension testing was done in aggressive, off-road terrain, with knobby tires fitted, and always with an XR along for direct comparison.
The project was definitely a success-albeit with a couple of qualifications.
First, while the XR-L does feel very much like an XR, it is-with its full complement of street equipment and electric starter-some 50 pounds heavier. This is most noticeable in a slow-speed sandwash, where the XR-L feels a bit top-heavy and steers truckishly, or when picking the bike up from a tip-over. Still, at 330 pounds dry, this new Honda is the lightest bike in its class.
Second, the XR-L sets new levels for seat height. While the 650 employs the same frame and suspension components as the XR, its suspension is valved differently and sprung more stiffly. Therefore, although both bikes’ seats measure a little over 37 inches tall while unladen, the XR-L’s suspension sacks less with the rider aboard, resulting in an effectively taller seat height. Even our longest-legged testers sometimes toppled over when they failed to find footing on uneven ground.
Once up to speed, however, the XR650L is a joy to ride-especially in the dirt. It’s balanced like a dirtbike should be, which means it flies straight off jumps and slides predictably on flreroads. Its nicely padded, medium-width, motocross-style seat and short fuel tank allow the rider to get his weight over the front end of the bike in corners, rather than positioning him rearward and leaving him with a vague feeling for what the front tire is doing, like the other bikes in this class do. Front and rear suspension systems are excellent, and the brakes are equally up to snuff.
On the street, the XR-L also works pretty much like an XR would. Its tall seat height gives unparalleled visibility, as all but 4x4 and tractor-trailer drivers are down around knee-level. Street handling is much like that of other bigbore dual-purpose bikes-surprisingly good, especially on a tight, twisty, bumpy backroad, where the leverage afforded by a wide handlebar and the plushness of long-travel suspension let the XR-L humble most sportbikes. As expected, the XR650L’s Dunlop tires work better on the street than they do in the dirt; serious off-road riders will want to fit some of the new DOT-approved knobbies just now hitting the market.
As good as the XR-L’s chassis is, however, it has nothing on the engine-even if Honda did leave the NX650 motor virtually unchanged in the interest of hitting a $4000 target price. (It missed; the bike will sell for $4399.) Thus the new bike is powered by the same air-cooled, sohc, four-valve Single, its oversquare 100.0 x 82.0mm bore-andstroke figures yielding 644cc displacement. The only change from the NX is a different cam, in the interest of increasing torque.
As on the XR, a drysump lubrication system uses the frame tubes to store oil, its filler cap located on cap the backbone ahead of the fuel tank. Carburetion is handled by a single, 40mm Keihin breathing through a paper filter housed in the under-seat airbox. Though the filter element is smaller than that of an XR600, the XR’s more off-road-worthy foam element will fit.
As it was on the NX, the XR-L’s engine is smooth-running, thanks to a counterbalancer that lets just a little vibration trickle through to the solid-mounted, serrated-metal footpegs. There’s abundant torque throughout the rev range, and an extremely broad spread of usable power. It’s a good thing, too, because there’s no tachometer to help you decide when to shift. When the motor runs out of steam, you just click it up a notch.
When the NX was introduced in 1988, many manufacturers were attempting to cash-in on the popularity of the ParisDakar Rally by building street-biased dual-purpose mounts. > The NX was one such example. Though it could be ridden off-road, the NX was geared for the street-figuratively and literally. One side-effect of leaving the NX motor unchanged, then, is that the five-speed transmission is better suited to street riding. Not only are the ratios too widely spaced for optimal off-road performance, but the XR-L’s overall gearing-with a 15-tooth countershaft and 45-tooth rear sprocket compared to the XR’s 14/48—is too tall. We replaced the stock countershaft with a 14-tooth unit and were rewarded with better off-road performance-even if it did make the street ride a bit buzzy.
To the chagrin of our staff off-roaders, the XR-L has no kickstarter; it fires with the push of a button, and with the aid of a handlebar-mounted choke lever and a split-lobe camshaft that holds one exhaust valve open at cranking rpm to reduce compression.
With no kickstarter, maintaining adequate battery voltage becomes a priority. Thus the XR-L features a large battery, housed along with the fuses in a box behind the bike’s left numberplate. Though the unit looks bulbous, it’s mounted far enough rearward that it doesn’t interfere with the rider. Why is the battery so big? According to Ogilvie, it’s because Honda had to consider that the bike would be ridden by less-experienced riders, some of whom would spend long days stalling and restarting, and running at engine speeds too slow for the alternator to recharge the battery. Better riders could certainly fit a smaller battery-say, one from an XR250L.
If there’s a problem with having no kickstarter, it is this: Damage to the battery or to any of the electric starter’s ancillary components could leave you stranded-as we discovered after comprehensively endoing our testbike. The XR-L’s starter button stuck in the “On” position after the crash, at first refusing to fire and then-after an abortive attempt at push-starting in the dirt-cycling repeatedly. It did eventually start, but it could just as easily have resulted in a long tow home.
One option would be to fit an XR kickstarter assembly, the parts for which total about $250. We’re told that it is a bolt-on conversion, but don’t know anyone who’s yet made this modification, so we can’t rule out the possibility of the need for machine work.
Odd features on the XR-L are the two elephant-eared scoops jutting out from the fuel tank. These, according to Ogilvie, were added in the interest of long-term reliability, as they increase the amount of air reaching the cylinder at freeway speeds; the high-mounted front fender blocks the normal flow of air. The serious off-roader could remove these without dire consequences or, better yet, replace them and the stock fuel tank with a larger-capacity fuel tank. The stock, 2.5-gallon unit leaves you high and dry in less than 100 miles, unacceptable on a bike designed for exploring the back-country.
So the XR650L has some shortcomings, a couple of compromises made in the interest of keeping cost down and in broadening the bike’s appeal. So what? It is, far and away, the best mass-produced dual-purpose motorcycle yet built.
With the XR650L, Honda has ushered in a new chapter in dual-purpose motorcycling. And whether you’re a fan of allaround motorcycles, a lover of big Singles, or just an average off-road rider looking for a little relief from the Sierra Club, that’s very good news. □
HONDA XR650L
SPECIFICATIONS
$4399
EDITORS' NOTES
THERE WAS NO DOUBT IN MY MIND AS I watched Managing Editor Brian Catterson work up a sweat trying to kick-start the big Suzuki Single that Ed thrown a leg over the right dualpurpose machine.
“Hey, Doggerson!” I yelled while thumbing the XR650L’s electric-start button, effortlessly bringing it to life. “Having a little trouble there?” I
couldn’t quite make out his profane growl over the thumpthump of the Honda’s motor.
1 was also quite sure that I had an advantage over Catterson as we rode the twisty Ortega Highway. The XR650L feels more stable and sure-footed on the street than any dual-purpose bike I’ve ever ridden. And once we reached the fireroads and I discovered that the XR-L’s exemplary behavior carries onto the dirt, I began making riding plans for the coming weekend.
They just didn’t include Catterson. We only have one XR650L in the CW garage, and he’s bigger than me.
-Don Canet, Associate Editor
THE WORST THING ABOUT A TALL BIKE IS that it’s that much farther to fall.
There I was, making like the wind across the northern-Arizona desert, a plume of dust behind me a mile long. The XR650L was working wonderfully, its long-travel suspension soaking up the bumps and rocks, the bike running arrow-straight at an indicated 85 mph. At that moment, there was not another bike I would rather have been on.
Then it happened.
Approaching a set of uphill esses with a hump in the middle, I slowed so as not to fly over the top. But I didn’t slow enough. Not nearly. The bike got air, and landed at the base of a rock where its suspension bottomed. Hard. And the subsequent endo-well, suffice to say that I have not been myself as of late, and the XR-L looks a lot better in the photos than it does in real life.
The XR650L may be the best dual-purpose bike going, but for those few split-seconds while it was pounding me into the ground, I really would rather have been on a -Brian Catterson, Managing Editor
CR 125.
MY FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH THE XR650L occurred nearly three years ago. After I sampled American Honda’s prototype XR250L, Honda’s Bruce Ogilvie asked me for my opinion of three Open-class XR-based four-stroke Singles, their engine sizes and state of tune a closely guarded secret. The first of the trio eventually became the 1991 XR600R dirtbike. The second, substantially more powerful than the first, was fitted with what became known as the 628 Power Up Kit. The third XR was blessed with an NX650 engine, complete with its electric starter.
The NX-engined bike was my favorite, with a flat, seamless powerband that let the 300-pound machine flat zip through the tight stuff and up hills.
The transition from prototype to production added several pounds of fat in the form of a larger battery, air scoops and smog-control junk, but that’s okay, the XR650L still gets my vote as the best Open-class dual-purpose bike ever.
-Ron Griewe, Senior Editor
