XR650L - Buy new or used?

[Jeephoto]

Would there be any advantages/disadvantages in buying a new XR650L or a used one?

Other than the price and a few cosmetic differences, it doesn't look like the XRL has changed much over the years. I kind of like the idea of "breaking in" a new bike myself.

Any comments/suggestions?

[klmmicro]

I bought a new one as I did not want to purchase someone elses problem. If you know the person you are going to buy the used one from and you are familiar with their bike, it might not be too big a deal to buy used. The problem is 9 out of 10 times you would be buying from a complete stranger. Was the bike mistreated? Run low on oil? Oil ever changed? I just could not tell, so I bought one with no history.

The advantage to buying used is a lot of times your can get one that has some mods put on it (light kit, larger tank, jetting) for substantially less than if you were buying the parts new. Not to be overlooked is the price of the bike is less as well. You just have to be cautious and look the bike over well to make sure it is not burned out.

[goblin127]

I bought my 04 L used 700mi.from a dealer. I could tell that 1st owner was an adult and it was obvious that the bike had been taken care of. No mods had been performed, other than a brand new clark 4.3 tank un installed. I saved 1500 overnew.

[XRsteve]

If you can afford it, buy new. The last two used bikes I bought had hidden problems. I got lucky on both bikes and it didn't end up costing too much. But buying new is the best way to go, especially if you plan on keeping the bike.

[ghoti]

Plus, when you buy new you get the privilege of putting the first scratches on it.

[Xr650LMartin]

Buy a used one from someone here on Thumpertalk... We all know how to do maintenance on a bike!!!??

Seriously, I think the L is one of the safest bike to buy used.. It's so simple and reliable.. Buy a recent one with low mileage. You'll save a few thousands$$ . I bought my 00 L last year from the 2nd owner of the bike. Could'nt go wrong with a bike that clean!! https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/garage.php?do=viewattachment&attachmentid=7908

That pic was taken after my first ride on the bike in august 04.

I'm sure there is lots of used 650L's out there that are very clean. Do a test ride, check for oil leaks on engine and forks. The air filter condition is usually a good sign of how the bike was maintened. People who only change oil every 10000 miles wont even think of cleaning the air filter.?

You will enjoy the bike more knowing you paid so little for such a wonderful machine!!? Go used, that's what I would do.

[captb]

If I can find a adult owned low miles, riden mostly on the road and near showroom condition for a good price without taking a world tour I buy it, otherwise I hagle for a low price on a new one.

[Dual_Dog]

Would there be any advantages/disadvantages in buying a new XR650L or a used one?

Any comments/suggestions?

Shoots, buy a used one. Lots of guys buy these and then either upgrade or lose interest and let them go for a whole lot less than they paid at the dealer.

I haven't bought a new bike since '86. All my dirt & DP toys are used, were purchased at a substantial savings over new and they are all running great. My L is no exception. I found my bone stock '98 in the fall of '03 with less than 1.8K miles, it had street tires on it and never was ridden off-road. It runs better now because it's finally broken in!

Sure there's a risk, modded or stock. But if they've only been ridden a little bit and they've been taken care of (which most bikes are), there's not much that can be or go wrong with these Japanese bikes unless they really were always redlined or ridden without oil. Test 'em out and you'll be able to tell. Believe it or not, sometimes the used ones ride better than new.

[XRsteve]

In my post above, I said I got lucky. I didn't have time then to explain what I meant, but this is why I won't buy a used bike anymore. I bought my 99XR650L from a Honda dealer. I rode it twenty miles, then a loud knocking noise started. I brought it back to the dealer and after checking it they said I would have to pay for half of whatever it needed. I took it to a different dealer and they found proof that the place I bought it from had put the oil filter in backwards! The place ended up buying the parts. If I had bought it from a private party, I would have had to spend another $1700 to replace the cam, head, head cover, piston, rockers, chain and all the other little parts that got wiped out from having no oil to the top end. All I ended up spending was about $200 for labor. Granted, something like this is rare, but I really don't want to go through something like that again.

[captb]

That's the reason I havn't taken any of the 35 bikes I've had in for the dealer to work on, too hi of a moron percentage rate in the shops.

[Steve Pace]

Hi I found a number of used XR650L's on cycle trader.com if you look you can find many with less than 1000mi on them for a great deal. I got mine out of AZ a 2005 with 900mi a Clarke 4ga tank guards and all the stock parts fore 4,300 I was checking it out last night and there are more great deals on there

Happy Biking

[goblin127]

Yea do as much as you can by your self. Get a manual it can pay for it self real quick when you need it.

[Dagwood_55]

Check out EBay, full of 'em. Just bought mine there, but hav'ent got it yet....

[Metalwkr]

I bought a 96 with 4100 miles for $2300. I've had it for 7 months now and I got a little over 9,000 miles on it with no probs at all.

[Jeephoto]

I've been constantly watching eBay and CycleTrader for XRLs. Some really nice used ones have come up in my area, some with mods I would like done.

My time frame for buying is next June (the Jeep gets paid off and finances free up for a bike). I'll continue watching for a good used one with my preferred mods; lowering kit/link & oversize tank. Hopefully, one will come up. If not, I will plan on trying the new route.

I'm just impatient and want one NOW.

[pwrpapa]

Check out EBay, full of 'em. Just bought mine there, but hav'ent got it yet....

I've been watching e-bay too. Was thinking about putting mine on there.

Concrats on the new bike.

[XRKING]

I bought a 1993 XR650L with 5000 miles and paid $3100 about 10 years ago. Who knows how the bike was treated, but I did a basic inspection. Found no problems. Now the bike has just hit 84,000 miles and besides adjusting the valves and changing the oil, the bike still runs like the day I bought it. I run the Honda Synthetic Blend oil. At 75,000 miles I decided to replace some top end engine parts, but after removing the valve cover and cylinder head I found virtually no wear. So I put new gaskets because I destroyed the old ones taking it apart, and put it back together. However, the only negative is that I've had to rebuild the front forks quiet a few times. But I do ride really hard.

[wr450fyamaha]

yeah man, go used......its a bike that u cant ride very hard or race so u know its not beat to shit.....i got my 1998 650l.......check out the garage........ for 2 grand and its got like 2 grand in am stuff....no problems yet!!!

[arrowhead]

I found a 2005 with 126 miles on it for $4100 and local dealer has an 05 with 16 miles on it for $4700. I'm sure happy with mine....even smells new.

[Nailpounder]

I would buy a used one with low miles. Then use the difference to mod it the way you want it.