xr650r/l comparison questions

[adam574]

i am looking for a bike for the street. obviously the l is street legal and comes with all the lights. but the r is alot faster and lighter. my question is will they both last the same for lots of street riding. will i need to change the oil more often with the r compared to the l. will motor compents both last the same amount of time or is the l more mild which will let it last alot longer. any info on why i should pick one over the other would be great. and i am not looking for you l and r guys to fight with each other try to keep this to the point please.

adam

[don87xr600]

A cbr600 would be better on the street.

[adam574]

i bet you a car would be even better then the cbr but that isn't my question now is it?

[HondaXR650L]

All the lights already on is cool, but the problem with making the R street is the hubs. They are not designed for the street. The heaver weight on the L is better for the freeway and for windy conditions. I have ridden a R that has been made street legal and it is good, but I choose to buy the L and would again. The R is of course great off-road, but if your are looking for more of a street bike then go with the L. If your going with even more street then off-road then might I suggest the KLR 650? It is about 75% street and 25% off road. It of course depends on where you want to do most of your ridding.

[creeky]

If you are just going to ride on the street, go with the L. If you do, you might want to consider a fork brace, makes a big handling improvement.

[wr450fyamaha]

The l will give you many more maintenance free years than the r. the l is designed to just keep on goin. the r isnt really any faster when it comes to top speed. off road, it wins but on the street there pretty close.

[kehale]

Electric start...kick start...hmm...

You said street bike, right?

L all the way.

I have an R, but I have a STREET bike for the STREET. (works for me)

[XR650L_Dave]

the r isnt really any faster when it comes to top speed. off road, it wins but on the street there pretty close.

Practically speaking, this may be somewhat true given gearing choices to make either usable off-road.

But generally, more HP = higher top-speed, dontcha think?.

D

[wr450fyamaha]

Practically speaking, this may be somewhat true given gearing choices to make either usable off-road.

But generally, more HP = higher top-speed, dontcha think?.

D

Not really, my car does about 200 hp and the average big rig does around 500, its all in the gearing. The r has a much closer ratio tranny compared to the L which has both a very low first and a very high fifth.

Its all about what the bike is made for: for example, my cousin has a drz 400 and i cant even ride it because every time i take off in first moving pretty slow, i just stall it because first is so much higher than on the L, but when your in fifth on the drz, it feels like maybe 3rd on the L. I cant even feel the difference between the gears on the drz because they are so close.....but when it comes to pure acceleration, the drz wins up until about 60.

[Roll_it_on]

To your original question both are very reliable. The 650R has more of a grin factor when you get on the gas but the L is very smooth, electric start and already set up. I have a buddy with over 20K of street miles on his R and it is going strong. Depends on what you want out of a bike. My 650R is set up for street now that I got a 450X for the trails and I love riding it all over the place mostly due to to throttle response and the ability to loft the front wheel at will. The L is more civilized for street riding but for my preferences if I was after civilized I would get a pure street bike.

[adam574]

thanks for the info guys. i guess it will have to be the l. i do have a crf450 that i race so if i want i will just have to ride that. i guess it is just the fact that who doesn't want more power if they can have it. in all reality i will probably be doing like 90/10 more stree then dirt so i guess the l is where it's at for me.

one more question. i am looking for a used bike and the local wantad around here really doesn't have much only about 2 650 in there and they aren't what i am loooking for and ebay has things that are way to far away. any other ideas on where i should be looking to buy a used bike?

[wr450fyamaha]

www.cycletrader.com