Anybody Dual Sport a 650r ?

[Guest]

I'm planning on getting a Dual Sport kit for my 00 XR650r soon, just wondering if anybody else is doing it also.

[Moredesert]

I haven't but the tour group (Trailboss Tours) I ride with has. They went with Baja Designs. I used BD on my 600 and worked great and was easy to install.

If you want you could buy parts and do it your self but BD has a nice package.

[gtms34]

Kevin,

I have had the Baja Designs kit on since Feb. This was my first dual sport kit and I am very happy with it. I am selling my XR and have removed the kit. If your interested in a used BJD kit with a good fold away mirror, billet mount, extra signals and brake/tail light, let me know. $275 obo

Kevin Beach

gtms34@aol.com

[joe_moto]

I put a baja kit on my 650r and love it, i do alot of single track stuff so i put a 13 tooth counter shaft sprocket on for the tight stuff, works much better( never been able to do 100mph on a tight single track...lol )

[Guest]

gtms34, Whare are you located as far as shiping goes?

How long did you have the kit on your bike?

On a scale of 1-10, what shape is the kit it in?

I might be interested if it's in realy good shape.

[gtms34]

I'm in So Cal. On a 1-10 scale it's 8-9. I made my own stealth signals & brake light so the Baja signals & fender extention have been in the box. I also added wire to the brake light circuit so it will reach the bars. Baja only gives enough wire to put the brake light switch in the rear master cylinder. Kind of dumb since 70% of the braking power is in the front brake. I put the kit on in Feb. The main harness and master switch have always been on the bike.

Let me know,

Kevin

[mmxr650r]

Kevin,

What year was the XR that you had the kit installed on? If Kevin does not want it, I might be interested...

Thanks,

Mitch

[gtms34]

Mitch,

The kit was on my '00 650R. I have no offers on it yet so let me know if your interested.

Happy New Year,

Kevin

[bgorm]

Just put the baja designs kit on my xr650r two week ago. The installation took about 4 hours. The instruction were very well laid out in the kit.

[cyclebob25168]

Hey twin,,,, I have a 00650r with a Baja Designs kit. The kit was very easy to put on, but had to do some work on the tail light to keep it from leaking water in and blowing the blub.What looks I get when I ride this baby down town,,,,and they are all not good. ?

[ January 09, 2002: Message edited by: cyclebob25168 ]

[HOOLPE]

My only complaint about the BD kit is the license

plate frame. The kit comes with an enduro style

frame that hangs below the rear fender which hits the tire when you bottom out. I trimmed the frame and plate and it still would hit and bend the license plate. The light bulb would fall out of the socket and break the bulb too! I finally bought an Acerbis tail light that mounted on top of the fender. This is the same light that is provided in the XR400 kit and I haven't had a problem since.

[M.Stone]

I purchased a '01 Honda XR650R specifically for long distance dual sport. I was originally thinking of installing the Baja Designs kit, but Kevin Hines & Raffi @ E-Line convinced me to use one of their E-Line kits. Their basic kit is intentionally minimal, so Raffi did some upgrades, including installing a Ricky Stators 12 coil set-up(stock USA is 4 coils, but the housing has the mounts for all 12), and an Acerbis 55/100watt H4 headlight instead of a 35/35watt.

I have put 240 hours on the bike (about 10,000 miles), because I rode it all through Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, down to Yaviza Panama (as fas south as you can ride in Central America) and back. Awe-awe-awesome trip, I averaged eight hours of riding per day for over a month. It was my fourth motorcycle ride down through Mexico & Central America, but the first time that I rode all the way to Panama.

The E-Line kit worked excellent. I had one problem with a contact coming loose in the switch assy due to vibration, which I was able to fix on the road. I gave E-Line the info, they will probably make an adhesive or design change. Also, the switch assy buttons do not have as positive tactile feedback as the OEM switches (it is hard to tell if you have successfully pressed a button with gloves on). But I believe the kit is lighter and easier to install/remove than a OEM-style BD kit. All the electronics are in a small module that mounts inside the headlight/numberplate assy.

The XR650R makes a great dual sport bike. I used the stock exhaust, removed the intake restrictors, and the only carb change was a 165 main jet (stock pilot and needle position). The bike started and carbureted perfectly from 0-11,000'. I kept the stock gearing as a compromise, though a six speed would make the bike smoother at high cruising speeds. On open sections of pavement I usually cruised at 70-82 mph, but sometimes as high as 90mph. Over 75mph, I would get into a tuck to avoid the windblast.

The bike ran flawlessly the whole trip. This was not a straight-thru ride, I rode loads of Jeep trails through Alta Verapaz in Guatemala, out to the Sandinista territory of Siuna Nicaragua, and the Moskitia of Honduras. The last 20 miles to Yaviza was a mudbog, I had to help push lifted 4WDs out of the mud so I could get through.

Other mods included a "7 gal" IMS tank with radiator protecting-wings & Mikuni vacuum-operated fuel pump, XR's Only bash plate, XR's Only rear disc guard (similar to Scotts), oil temp gauge dipstick, SRC high temp thermostat & radiator cap, SRC magneto cover vent. I used heavy duty tubes and did not get a single flat. Wore out four OEM-style dual sport rear tires, but the front lasted the whole trip. The chain did not require adjustment until 210 hours, but by the end of the trip the chain & sprockets were wasted, requiring three adjustments the last day.

I had major breakage problems with the SRC rack and rear fender brace, I have forwarded the details to Wade Summers. Of course, SRC makes a lot of great products, but I would avoid this one.

Keep in mind that the XR650R is sold as a dual sport in Canada and Guatemala (probably other countries too). The DS version comes with a speedo/odo, H4 headlight, brakelight, turn signals, & steel rear fender brace. I don't think it has a battery, but I'm not sure. So a l'il cross the border raid is another dual sport option.

[Guest]

M.Stone, Cool post ,lot's of inspiration. ?