From 650L to R and R to L.

[Huffa 2]

Anyone that has a L, did you ever wish you had got an R instead?

Anyone that has a R, did you ever wish you had got an L instead?

I have neither and do plan on getting a used 00-02 or so Baja street legal kitted R but am wondering since I will be just using it on back roads and very mild trail riding (really easy going, nothing aggressive) if I would be just as happy on the L where it has ES and everything as far as lights, switches, etc. is production?

I just keep thinking it's sort of like buying a 10-15 year old bike technology wise if I get an L model. The extra weight is not that big of factor considering the type riding I will be doing.

? What would you do ?

[52wheelz]

I've owned both. For the riding you described, I would go with the L because in addition to the trail riding you describe, you can also ride it to the store or anywhere else. In my opinion, the L is a more comfortable on-road bike than the R. The R is better off-road but the L is pretty good off-road too. The gyroscopic effect of the R motor makes it less than nimble off-road but you can ride it 110 mph on a dry lake bed. The L will only do about 85 mph but that is good enough for me and it is nimble enough for off-road use.

[hypersthenos]

Yep, I too have owned both & have to agree that for what you want to do the L is more suitable. I've ridden my L 1,000 mi round trip in a weekend fairly comfortably. Just add a larger capacity tank & go. Currently I own a street legal R & would not consider such a trip on it with the stock seat. The L has just enough road going amenities to make it better for what you want. I took my L on some pretty tight trails & did just fine. You just have to keep its soft suspension & weight in mind while doing so.

[Huffa 2]

Oops.......... I forgot to mention it will be a street legal R with baja kit. I'll update my post.

" The L will only do about 85 mph " - Are you talking a stock L with none of the minor mods that are talked about so much on here??

Reason I ask is because I had a 83 XL 600 and it would do darn close to a 100. Now that was really pusing it but it was very close to a 100 for sure. It would cruise all day at 80 so top speed of 85 seems doggish to me.

[Huffa 2]

Yep, I too have owned both & have to agree that for what you want to do the L is more suitable. I've ridden my L 1,000 mi round trip in a weekend fairly comfortably. Just add a larger capacity tank & go. Currently I own a street legal R & would not consider such a trip on it with the stock seat. The L has just enough road going amenities to make it better for what you want. I took my L on some pretty tight trails & did just fine. You just have to keep its soft suspension & weight in mind while doing so.

Your L was stock motor wise or modded a bit?

Stock seat is that much firmer on a R or are you talking width or maybe even the slope of it? .......... ? or maybe all three?

[BajaBoundMoto]

Here's another vote that you'd probably enjoy the L more.

I have both R and L. Both are fantastic, love 'em both.

[Huffa 2]

Here's another vote that you'd probably enjoy the L more.

I have both R and L. Both are fantastic, love 'em both.

Both at the same time and is the R street legal baja kitted?

[BajaBoundMoto]

Yes at the same time.

The only street registered one I have is the L. Big IMS tank, Precision Concepts susp., pumper carb, handlebar/clamp change, and that's about it.

The 650R I do typical off-road stuff - IMS tank, Applied clamps, fat bars, Cycras, Precision C., GPR, etc...

Pending where and with whom I'm riding I'll decide which one. And ya know, I've gotten so used to riding the L I just love the thing. Takes more work at times, but really comfortable for long multi-day rides.

[SniperTeamBravo]

Oops.......... I forgot to mention it will be a street legal R with baja kit. I'll update my post.

" The L will only do about 85 mph " - Are you talking a stock L with none of the minor mods that are talked about so much on here??

Reason I ask is because I had a 83 XL 600 and it would do darn close to a 100. Now that was really pusing it but it was very close to a 100 for sure. It would cruise all day at 80 so top speed of 85 seems doggish to me.

It IS doggish, but you can build one to do 100. It'll be fairly expensive as you'd need a cam, big bore, carb and header. I have 2 R's, both 600 based, one 610cc, the other 630. Both are plated, and the monster motored 630 is still reliable as a rock. I never miss E start but probably will when I start to ride the 630 off road more often. Its funny that the time Id miss electric start is OFF road!

[52wheelz]

I owned both L and R at the same time and the R I owned was street legal with a Trick Dual Sport Kit. I had done the same mods to both bikes:

- Applied Triple Clamp with Renthals

- Skid Plate

- Dyno Jet Carb mods including pilot jet, main jet and needle

- Smog Block off on both bikes

- Stock muffler on the L with the stinger removed

- FMF Q muffler on the R

- IMS 4 Gal fuel tank on both bikes

I could never quite get either bike jetted to my satisfaction with the stock carbs. My rides would take me from 250 ft. above sea level to over 8,000 ft and neither bike ran that well on these types of rides. My Yamaha WR450 does fine on the same ride with only a mod to the pilot jet but the seat is horrible on the WR for long dual sport rides. Even a "Guts" seat with soft or medium foam is not as comfortable as the L seat because of the width and shape of this seat.

The seat on the L is best of the three because it is wide, soft but still firm enough for 7 hour rides. I weigh about 190 and am 5'10".

The R is faster than the L in stock condition or when modified. You could ride the L faster than 85 mph but because it has a shorter wheelbase than the R, I preferred to keep it under 85 on dirt roads. The shorter wheelbase did make the L nimble enough for me to enjoy it off road.

With a bike like my WR450, I feel like I can ride in a zip, zip, zip fashion and go around any obsticle at speed. With the R and its long wheelbase and the gyroscopic effect I felt from the motor, I would blast right through obsticles at speed instead of going around them in a BRAAAAAAAAAAAA type of style. It is a very fast and a great "straight line" off-road bike that you can ride all day long at 100 mpg, like the best riders do in Baja, but I don't happen to be one of those great riders.

Without a stator mod on the R, the dual sport kit sometimes would have a problem keeping the dual sport kit battery charged or things like my GPS running if I had it directly attached. The battery on the L and WR450 give those bikes the edge for me because I like to run a Trail Tek electronic speedo and GPS directly connected to the motorcycle battery. You can't do that on an R without some extra modifications.

With the L, I felt I could take it almost anywhere on or off road but I would ride it slower than the R or the WR when off-road but still fast enough to have as much fun as I could stand.

If you hill climb big hills, the R has the advantage. The L was a very poor big hill climber but I hardly do that any more.

All three are great bikes but are also very different.

[oneshot]

interesting thread....i logged on here to ask basically the same question....r vs L. i will buying one of the other in the next few dys and have decided on the r....because of the power and the ligher weight. but then i changed my mind and decided on the l model for the on-road capabilities and the elect start....now i am even more confused.

a little background on me.....i have ridden a lot of dirtbikes, raced cc, and currently do a lot of practice days the local motocross tracks w/ my kid. i have a klx400r for that.

what i am looking for is a good powerful dirtbike, that i can trailor places like the bigbend country in s. texas, or to carson national forest in new mexico, and ride the backroads and trails, and scoot down the highway for a spell to get to more trails. also will be using the bike for short trips around town.

your opinions please?

[Huffa 2]

interesting thread....i logged on here to ask basically the same question....r vs L. i will buying one of the other in the next few dys and have decided on the r....because of the power and the ligher weight. but then i changed my mind and decided on the l model for the on-road capabilities and the elect start....now i am even more confused.

a little background on me.....i have ridden a lot of dirtbikes, raced cc, and currently do a lot of practice days the local motocross tracks w/ my kid. i have a klx400r for that.

what i am looking for is a good powerful dirtbike, that i can trailor places like the bigbend country in s. texas, or to carson national forest in new mexico, and ride the backroads and trails, and scoot down the highway for a spell to get to more trails. also will be using the bike for short trips around town.

your opinions please?

Don't feel bad on being confused as I am too BUT am surprising myself that I am now leaning more toward the sensible choice, which is the L. I like the fact that all the electrics, switches, lights, battery is all stock from Honda. I also like the fact that it has ES too. It just matches much more the type riding I will be doing and I know I should not have any problem with it in those categories at all. Just yesterday I was an R man and now today I'm a L man ?

If I lived in more of a western type, open her up in the desert type of terrain then i think i would go with the R but I don't so the L is really starting to win me over + what all you TT guys had to say. So I guess I can delete the dozen R's I had saved in my bookmarks!

[Ferdinand]

Hey, I'm in the same boat too, just a bit different, I have 3'L's and was planning on selling one, but have been very happy and content with L's I've had four all together over the past 9 years. Was planning on dumping one and getting an R for something different, but I go back and forth too. I pretty much do the same type of riding as Huffa described, so maybe I should stay where I'm at, but that R sure is tempting ? BTW a stock L will still go 90-95 and cruise 65 70 all day. Jetting will get you there a little quicker and smoother depending on bike and how choked up it is stock IMO. How is an R for long distance with some seat improvements, I put a buttbuffer in L seat and I can ride 100-200+ miles a day no problem best mod I did, would be the first thing I would do if I got an R, besides a plate.

[Huffa 2]

Hey, I'm in the same boat too, just a bit different, I have 3'L's and was planning on selling one, but have been very happy and content with L's I've had four all together over the past 9 years. Was planning on dumping one and getting an R for something different, but I go back and forth too. I pretty much do the same type of riding as Huffa described, so maybe I should stay where I'm at, but that R sure is tempting ? BTW a stock L will still go 90-95 and cruise 65 70 all day. Jetting will get you there a little quicker and smoother depending on bike and how choked up it is stock IMO.

Hey 3L man (that should have been your TT name), maybe we can hook up and go riding once I get a L myself.

Wanna sell me one of your L's? What are you doing with 3 of them, you can only ride one at a time you know

It's got to be nice though. Have pictures of your "family"? Where in PA are you from??

I'm just outside of Slatington PA.

[Ferdinand]

Hey Huffa,

I'm forty five minutes north of Pittsburgh, but do most of my riding up northern PA in forest, elk, warren, and Mckean counties. Planning on moving that way. If I do sell my L I already have two potential buyers, but who knows don't have any pics yet, but it is in fine shape! ?

[Huffa 2]

Hey Huffa,

I'm forty five minutes north of Pittsburgh, but do most of my riding up northern PA in forest, elk, warren, and Mckean counties. Planning on moving that way. If I do sell my L I already have two potential buyers, but who knows don't have any pics yet, but it is in fine shape! ?

45 minutes N of Pittsburg, Hmmm, do you know if that is close to High Voltage motocross track which is right around that area I think?

I rode there back in 02. Yep, maybe someday I'll get back to you and we can go for a good days ride in your area!

At the moment I have to sell my Huffa prepped, stunning to look at, nicest one in classifieds, perfectly clean, totally awsome, no kid ya can't ride it, CRF 450

https://www.thumpertalk.com/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=15748&sort=1&cat=3&page=3

[desert4seat]

interesting thread....i logged on here to ask basically the same question....r vs L. i will buying one of the other in the next few dys and have decided on the r....because of the power and the ligher weight. but then i changed my mind and decided on the l model for the on-road capabilities and the elect start....now i am even more confused.

a little background on me.....i have ridden a lot of dirtbikes, raced cc, and currently do a lot of practice days the local motocross tracks w/ my kid. i have a klx400r for that.

what i am looking for is a good powerful dirtbike, that i can trailor places like the bigbend country in s. texas, or to carson national forest in new mexico, and ride the backroads and trails, and scoot down the highway for a spell to get to more trails. also will be using the bike for short trips around town.

your opinions please?

yeah, it is an interesting thread…here’s my take

A lot of people don’t like to do too many mods to their bikes…If that is you, the R will Kill the L in an offroad situation, and the L would Kill the R on a long road ride.

With quite a few mods however (jets,filter,tank,pipe,de-smog,tires, fork brace & various weight saver mods, etc), The L will still get spanked…but with the right rider…it’ll definitely keep up respectively. The L is actually the fatter/slower cousin of the xr600, so belive it or not, there is a dirtbike under all that bulls@hit... It just takes some “slight” modifications – and if you really go mod crazy…well you get the picture.

Personally, I chose the L because of it’s other “perks.”

1. It’s street legal out of the box (I live in CA),

2. It has a magic button (which I promise you’re gonna love when you’re on the side of a giant hillclimb, or when you’re exhausted after putting down some serious mileage),

3. And most importantly, it has a low compression air-cooled, non-radiator engine.?

…but this is just me, and my opinion.

The bottom line is simple…

It takes different bikes for different rides, and (IMO) the only way to be truly happy is to have both!

The good news, is that they’re both Honda’s!

…I mean look at the bright side, your not thinking about buying a KTM or anything – so you’ll be happy with either decision you choose.

Good luck!

[Huffa 2]

I'm veering away from the subject just a hair but just got to give the Aprilia SVX 550 a mention.

If $$ was no object and they prove reliable, I'd love to have one!

I think they are worth $8000 + for sure. I just saw the 450 motard and 450 enduro at a shop . I just stared and stared at it in disbelief how nice of a job they did to the frame and body, it's like a sculpture pertaining to how the frame and body flows in to different continuous angles from front to rear. Definitely should be the centerfold of a cycle mag for sure ! ?

Go check them out at your nearest Aprilia dealer, it's worth it.

See the duel (well one side) pipes peeking out of the rear fender, now that's cool!

One twist of those XR air box type of fasteners that are in front of seat (one of them) and the seat comes off exposing the air box and fuel injection. The seat is also sculptured far different then anything I have ever seen.

I think stock (so they say) it is close to 70 horse power. 450 is 60.

http://www.psndealer.com/powersportsdlr/images/NewVehicles/NV36022_1.jpg

[Huffa 2]

y

…I mean look at the bright side, your not thinking about buying a KTM or anything ? – so you’ll be happy with either decision you choose.

Good luck!

Quite honestly I was thinking of a KTM 640 but then chickened out and thought best to stay with Honda as they (most of them) have served me well over the years.

The KtM's just have more of a prehistoric look to them to me, boatier too.

[justicedone]

They are both very capable and worthy bikes. It just depends on how you plan and where your gonna ride.

I am very happy I bought my L model. I did look at some plated R models and considered them seriously. But decided on the L bone stock and wanting to do any work myself. So I would know the history of the bike.

Bottom line for me really...would rather sacrafice the lil more weight, lil less power, suspension etc. For the bulletproof airhog, push button start L model.

I have ZERO regrets.

If I was 25 and not 41, I would have probably bought a plated R...

?