Just bought a new XR650R and facing a dilemma!!

[TriFire]

Well i bought this bike brand new 3 weeks ago, in the beginning i was not very happy with the bike, i thought it was under powered and a little odd to ride for a XR. After 40 minutes of riding my ass started to ache so much i had to stand up half the time riding the damn thing, im not over weight or anything its just the seat is a little to hard for a eduro type bike. My bike is the DK export verison so its not corked. My next thought was to order the HRC kit. I ordered the kit and its now sitting in a box next to my bike. I went to see a old buddy of mine that works at a honda show room near where i live, he says the CRF450R is much a better bike than the XR, in the conversation he said a CRF450 would be able to pass a XR650 doing a wheely, and all in all the CRF was a much better all round bike. My freind told be if i wanted to trade in my bike, it would be better not to fit the HRC kit in, my bike has only 32km's on the clock. So the questions arise...

1

Is there much difference in power with the HRC kit installed??

2

Would i be able to beat a CRF in a drag race on tarmac with the HRC kit??

3

Is it worth trading in such a new bike for a new CRF450R??

Any HRC bike owners???

Taken last week

[frankstr]

Welcome to Thumpertalk, TriFire, Sorry to hear your unhappy

with your XR...

?

[dangerranger21]

Sounds like you need NOS...

[TriFire]

Thank you very much, well i have a love hate relationship with my bike, if spend some money i can refine the bike, but is it worth dumping for a CRF450R???

[dangerranger21]

Go ride a 450... Now the 450X would be SWEET!

[creeky]

All depends what type of riding you do, let us know what your riding interests are.

[TriFire]

I hear bad reviews with the X, My friend says the X is not a strong performer in pulling wheelys in all gears and stuff like that.

Hmm my riding styles, well im interested in a far more hard hitting power, cruising with a group of bikes, i want a bike that has a hell alot of power when you need it. Pulling wheelys in 5th gear, stuff like that. My XR just manages to pull a wheely in forth with a hard dip on the clutch. The CRF450 pulls up in 5th just on gas. Do you understand what i meen?? guys?

[dangerranger21]

I hear bad reviews with the X, My friend says the X is not a strong performer in pulling wheelys in all gears and stuff like that.

hmmm... Thats too bad to hear.. I was excited about that bike, I guess I dont need to research anymore into it!

[chpxr]

well i wouldn't say the cfr450r is that fast i raced my buddy on his on a dry lake bed and we stayed even till forth gear i pulled away from pretty quick. this was in a straight line tho and he is a better rider then me i will admitt that.here's something my dealership mechanic told me was the cfr's use a very short piston skirt that is a inch from top of the piston to bottom and he gets alot that piston tilts side ways and takes out the valves he also said that if you race it you should rebuild the top end every 16 races or you will be spending lots of money in repairs.he called the xr's old relaible. he said they see very little of them in for repairs. the reason i found all this out was i was thinking of getting cfr450 my self for a while he changed my mind tho. now i have to say this they are very light and handle great tho compared to my pig

ok thats just my 2 cents

rob

[Mojave Monster]

Reliability is a whole new issue. If you just want to "race and replace" get the 450. If you want to go faster than the 450 keep the XRR. If you want ride faster than most mortals AND have longevity keep the XRR. Personaly I would keep the XRR, do the standard mods (uncork it.. open intake manifold, air box mod, at least open the stock pipe, change the jet). Then consider installing the HRC kit, maybe even a 680 overbore with a cam. If that doesnt do "it" for you, PM me, I'd love to get another XR650R already done up!!!

Oh yea, if you have not done the standard mods you will be pleasently supprised!!

[dangerranger21]

yah thats understandable "race and replace" I have owned a 426 YZF not the 450 but hey its "kinda" close in comparison. My XRR I have now is soo much better, it just keeps running, my 426 had problems here and there, but had a great punch! Im pretty sure my 426 would get to a certian speed quicker but i know for a fact my XRR is faster over all... and never have to replace anything, and when I do have to things are hard to get off just becuz they are on their soo long HAHA...

[Ferdinand]

Get the "faster, better all around crf450" and send that slow, uncorfortable, fat pig to me.?

[motivater]

I say if you want something that fast get a sport bike.........lolol.....

[JKL]

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.

[pgiinc]

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

[gaspipe]

I have a couple XR650Rs, both now pretty well dialed in. One bike is running 15/45 gears and will do 100+ mph. The other has 14/48 and it is just plain old fast.

If the XR650R isn't fast enough, bite the bullet, but skip the CRF and get Service Honda to build you a CR500AF, or rustle up one of the ATK/Maico 620/700's monsters. Those things rip, but keep a gas truck on your heels.

[wickedsprint]

if a CRF450 is anything like a WR/YZ450 in the power department the XRR will absolutely leave it for dead in a drag race. I have ridden a YZ450f and it felt not even close to our pigs and I absolutely dusted a WR450 in a quick drag to about 70 ish.

[Potts228]

Well i bought this bike brand new 3 weeks ago, in the beginning i was not very happy with the bike, i thought it was under powered and a little odd to ride for a XR. After 40 minutes of riding my ass started to ache so much i had to stand up half the time riding the damn thing, im not over weight or anything its just the seat is a little to hard for a eduro type bike. My bike is the DK export verison so its not corked. My next thought was to order the HRC kit. I ordered the kit and its now sitting in a box next to my bike. I went to see a old buddy of mine that works at a honda show room near where i live, he says the CRF450R is much a better bike than the XR, in the conversation he said a CRF450 would be able to pass a XR650 doing a wheely, and all in all the CRF was a much better all round bike. My freind told be if i wanted to trade in my bike, it would be better not to fit the HRC kit in, my bike has only 32km's on the clock. So the questions arise...

1

Is there much difference in power with the HRC kit installed??

2

Would i be able to beat a CRF in a drag race on tarmac with the HRC kit??

3

Is it worth trading in such a new bike for a new CRF450R??

Any HRC bike owners???

Taken last week

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!!!

[Kenaroo]

I traded my CRf450 for an XR650.. Completely happy with the XR650..

The guy I traded already opened her up with a performance pipe. I just added tHe stage 1 hot cam and can say I'm really satisfied with the bike. I'm as fast on it as I was on my CRF 450

[BWP Jockey]

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!