Just bought a new XR650R and facing a dilemma!!

[dangerranger21]

1. Yes ,with the jetting dialed in and exhaust.That bike will haul & the weight will not be as evident 2.Who cares,do you plan to be on Pinks.If you do don't let the dumbass host ride your bike ,cause he'll take off his shirt after he crashes.anyone else see that?lol. Your sore ass is surrounded by sand anyways. 3.No way .Seems you have more dollars than sense.Pour some of that cash into that steed and it will take you anywhere you want to go.A 450= maintanance. So the 450 won Baja by one hour,not a big margine in a race of that magnatude.No one can deny the xr's are bomb proof.I beat my 600 like a dog and it keeps com'in back wag'in its tale for more.This bike is still the KING of desert in my opinion and always will be. Hale & long live the KING!

Amen for the 600/650XRR

[Big Red Paul]

"DK export verison" so it's not corked ? I thought all the 650s came corked. I'd look into that. Never seen a front light on a stock bike like yours neither (or either).

My 650r was an Auz export, street legal. Did the necessary uncorking, and it's a madman.

I posted on this forum the same gripe about how uncomfortable the seat is. You get used to it after a while, but still not fun on rides over a couple of hours.

Hang in there. Have a little faith.

[2XR650s]

I am on my second and third XR650. My 06 has 1500 miles, and the motor is still loosening up. It felt a lot slower than the other two, but started to loosen up a bit after 300 miles. The more miles, the faster it seems to get. Same with the suspension. They are all identical bikes and jetted the same. My 02 is scary fast. I would get some miles on your bike, work on getting the jetting perfect for you, then dial in the shock and fork for the type of terrain you ride in. If you think a 650 with the suspension not broken in yet is hard on the butt, wait till you try a long ride on a motocross bike. I know, I have an 01 CR250. I can ride for 8 or 9 hours on my 650s. I try and get 4 hours in on my CR and I am ready for a cookie, a nap, and a chiropractor. I love my 650s and would not trade them for any other bike I have ridden, for the type of riding that I do. Flawless reliability, low maintenance, the most stable bike I have ever ridden at high speed, and fast enough to spin the back tire everywhere I go until its time for a new one. I hope your bike works out for you. Steven.

[XR_RON]

This is a no brainer,your not gonna find another bike that will take you as far as a XR for as few dollars,and no,a KTM wont cut it either,I seen a post where someone bought a KTM LC4 enduro and it was in the shop for 8 of the 9 months he owned it,every time he took it out something else would break on it untill he just got disgusted and sold it.Dude,Im still riding a 86 XR600 I bought In San Diego when I was stationed there in the army,It still goes out with all the new 4-strokes and comes back home with no break downs,can anyone say the same about any bike?dude,this bike is 20 years old!Before you make a rushed decision and get rid of that XR,think about what you are doing,no crfr-x is ever gonna have the staying power of a XR.

[adam574]

I have all three and I would keep the crf450x if I could only have one.

I think you need to dail in you 650r better

remove the backfire screen and a better filter and jet it,hrc tip

and I lot has to do with the sprockets they run on these bikes

but a 51 in rear and 13 front on your 650R like a 450x has and what whos fast now?

or put a 15 front 45 rear on like my 650L and looks who better wide open now?

450x 3.90

650R 3.42

650L 3.00

i think this guy makes a really good point, a crf450 probably only goes 60mph so either gear yours down or gear the 450 up so it will do 100 and see how much of a dog it feels like

[TriFire]

Thank you very much guys for your posts, I have made up my mind, im gona keep the bike and gona modify it to the max

I was really feeling depresed with getting rid of the XR , iv always wanted a CRF and i found it hard for me to depart from the pig. Iv taken your words for it and i feel much happyier with this decision. Im just gona wait a couple of months to gather up some money and just buy a CRF and keep the pig.

[TriFire]

If your XRR does not haul then something is not right.

First of all the motor is not even broken in yet so you should be taking it easy. It needs an oil change after 100 miles or less.

Has the uncorking been done properly? What needles and jet are in the carb?

If a XRR does not have enough power for you, a CRF450 will not enough power either. You should be looking at a Husaberg ar an Aprilia and you will have 70hp to shred tires and do engine overhauls every month.

Well when i first took it out from the show room the engine used to roast my legs alot from the heat it generated, after about 10km's it started to run alot cooler. So i started to red line it gently as the break is procdure states.

[TriFire]

The first thing you need to do is get the bars in the right position! If you can afford the HRC kit then spring for a new upper clamp from Scotts with the sub mount for their stabilizer. I don't know how tall you are but I'm 6' and I use the "Windham" Pro Tapers. This gets my body in a good comfortable position.

Now that your not in a constant endo position you need to consider the suspension. If you are fast at all and you weigh more than 165 pounds then get the suspension setup for your weight and ability. I see you are not in the USA so not sure what you are going to do. At least get the springs changed for your weight (try the Race Tech web site).

Now... power. The HRC kit will give you a boost over stock for sure but it will not have the quickness of the CRF450 or the CRF450X. The 450's are lighter and the new 07' X is as fast in top speed as the HRC kitted XR650R (both bikes with 15/47 gearing). Also, the 650's have a setup in the clutch (jutter springs) that cushion the clutch engagement and this makes the 650R feel less quick when dropping or using the clutch (this is a good thing for most of us). You can keep spending money and make the 650R faster by getting the Pro Circut pipe and the Edlebrock carb. You can have the head ported and all kinds of stuff like big bore kits etc. All of this though, in my opinion, is taking away from the reason the PIG exists. Do some minor mods liker the HRC kit and a pipe and this bike will run for ever and ever! The 650 is all about reliability!

With all of this said, if your bike is setup correctly it will ride better and be much better for longer distances. After 250 miles of desert riding here in Southern California or Baja the last thing I would do is switch to a 450X. The XR650R is like riding a fast couch!!!

Yes Potts228, i was thinking of doing that, XRSonly also sell the soft high seat for the XR which is supposed to make the seat alot softer, any word on that? have you tryed it out??

[TriFire]

"DK export verison" so it's not corked ? I thought all the 650s came corked. I'd look into that. Never seen a front light on a stock bike like yours neither (or either).

My 650r was an Auz export, street legal. Did the necessary uncorking, and it's a madman.

I posted on this forum the same gripe about how uncomfortable the seat is. You get used to it after a while, but still not fun on rides over a couple of hours.

Hang in there. Have a little faith.

Big Red Paul, the DK export is none corked, i read all the problems you guys have in the US and Austrailia. The DK export comes with the huge ugly glass light that you Auz guys get, i bought a UFO front light in the show room and they changed it over, i also changed the ugly rear tire from the IRC tire to a dunlop D739 tire, looks a little thinner but makes the bike look alot more sexier.

looks good dont it

[bens25au]

A mate of mine over here bought a 650r not that long ago and had kinda the same feeling about it that you did. He has now fitted a P.C pipe rejetted etc and changed the sprockets and now he is happy.

[uncleroby]

Dear TriFire,

I owned a XR650R 2000 model that I sold 3 months ago in perfect condition.

I dual sport so no race, a lot of road use.

I did 42.500 kilometers, just changed oil and filter every 5.000 kms and cleaned air filter. I checked valves just once at 29.000 kms: they were perfect!

Do that with a CRF450R.

By the way they have both around 49 CV uncorked but the 650 has bigger torque.

The CRF is a great bike, great racer, ligher, better suspensions, great engine, etc. But it si not use-and-forget, needs a lot more maintainance even expensive one (oil change, piston change,...).

It is not a all-around bike.

[TriFire]

Before i install the HRC kit i need to get a couple of things before the XR can be fully modified.

1. XRs Only Exhaust System Race Team Edition

2. XRs Only High-Flow Side Panel - WHITE

3. Ricky Stator High Output Stator - 200 Watts

4. XRs Only Hi-Rev CDI - Honda XR650R

5. Mikuni Pumper Carburetor 40mm Kit or edelbrock, still hung on this one

6. K&N Air Filter - Honda XR650R

Anything you guys see listed here think might be questionable dont hesitate to tell me..

I estimate 3 weeks till the parts are in my hands, ill keep you guys updated with pics if you want.

[JKL]

I have the Edelbrook carb and it works great with an Akrapovic exhaust.

It is easy to start especially after dumping it -usually it just keeps running even when laying down.

The power is smooth and instant and very controlable.

A steering damper makes the bike much more stable and has saved me from going down a few times. The Scotts submount is a nice set up.

The Mikuni is a good carb, but will require more work to get tuned. Check Borynacks site he has tried them all.

You will get used to the seat and when it gets uncomfortable just stand up.

[2000 xr650r]

I am not pleased with the k&n filter. They let fine dust into the engine even when oiled properly. I am not the first to discover this and you can read the numerous threads about them. Some swear by them saying they are great if you use them on-road. The UNI is a great filter that many people have, including me. Its nearly flows the same yet filters better. Just a thought.

[swm007]

Hello,

Is that a stock headlight in the pictures, or is it aftermarket?..Oh yeah, Keep the R..It is more reliable...

[adam574]

i say don't by the cdi or stator... not serious performance gains and i know my lights are already plenty bright enough so i don't think the stator is needed. i am also another one against the k&n filter.. go with a uni or something.. they don't let as much dirt through as stated before... maybe instead of the exhaust you can get a scotts stainless reusable oil filter and some nice clamps and bars.

[JKL]

I use NoToil air filters - they are easy to use, because they wash out with water and a soap powder that dissolves the oil in the filter.

[tommyj92028]

Trifire, Please dont't take this the wrong way. I rode motocross through my teenage years on an RM250. Great bike, I'm even thinking about getting a 2 smoker in addition to the pig for a playbike. I'v been riding in general for 17 years. That being said, I have yet to use every ounce of the stock-uncorked bikes power in the normal (single and double track) stuff. I bought the power-up kit with my bike, but I rode it for about 20 minutes without uncorking it. I did this so that I could appreciate the power up when done. I am an experienced, aggressive rider and the power is great. Maybe if I dragged sand dunes all day it would be different, but thats what nitrous is for. And you don't need reliability when you parked your truck next to competition hill. It just seems a little premature to buy every aftermarket part you can find to bolt on, even before you got any seat time on it. If thats the case you need to put CBR600RR engine in that frame (look into the hill climbers bikes). Again, I'm not saying this in a demeaning way, but if you want to pull fifth gear power wheelies, you need to look at a streetbike. Tommy

[Potts228]

Yes Potts228, i was thinking of doing that, XRSonly also sell the soft high seat for the XR which is supposed to make the seat alot softer, any word on that? have you tryed it out??

I ride with a friend who has the tall seat and it helps in two ways: #1. If you have long legs it makes it easier to stand up on the pegs and of course, #2. it is softer on your butt when sitting down. I have kept my stock seat on mine for one reason... on tight single track stuff I like being lower to the ground to put me feet down. For Baja only I would consider the taller seat for sure.

[khelton]

No need for the CDI, the K&N lets more air flow in by letting more dirt and dust flow in. The pumper carb is nice but far from necessary...the XR will run well and for a very long time by just re-restricting. If you are used to a sport bike, it isn;'t going to run with a sport bike...I personally think my Rickey Stator was worth the money but it too isn't crtitical.

I didn't see exactly what kind of riding you are going to do ??