Man, you are so blessed to have this bike around in the US. If we had that bike available here in Germany, I would instantly buy it. What a great, simple, Japanese masterpiece! Enjoy, guys! On the contrary I am glad that I had a chance to buy a Troopy (Landcruiser GRJ 78) here in Germany. You can't beat Japanese reliability and masterful engineering.

I've been riding one of these since purchased new in 2002, so I think I might have a few comments that could help you out. First and foremost, you really do not need to swap the carb for a Lektron. The stock carb is fine. It is, however (as you have discovered) jetted far too lean. It's not just the jetting however, there are a few other issues with it that allow room for improvement. Rather than re-hash all of it here, I'll just encourage you to look up "Dave's mods", the ubiquitous, go-to step by step instructions for modifying the stock carb to perform up to its full potential. Take that money saved and buy the JE piston kit for it instead. The JE piston raises compression up to 10:1, a very useful boost from the extremely low stock compression (8:1 I think?). Leave everything else internally stock, do not swap the camshaft or anything like that. The stock cam provides a very nice power band for general use. The rest is personal preference. I run an XR's Only head pipe and muffler, some prefer FMF and others. I like the big 6.0 gallon Acerbis tank, although it is, admittedly, pretty darn big. But - I can go over 250 miles on it which, for the kind of wilderness riding I like to do, is important to me. Moose Racing makes a nice big rear rack, which coupled with some Giant Loop saddle bags gives me some real wilderness camping carrying capacity. Lastly, living and riding in the Pacific Northwest, I spend a good deal of time on pretty technical single track. I found the height (even though I'm 6'1" with some pretty long legs) a problem. "Dabbing" was almost impossible. So, I lowered it with a Soupy's lowering link. The beauty of Soupy's is that it's adjustable, so I can raise it back up for some open country desert bombing. Best of both worlds. Anyway, awesome bike. I'm looking forward to watching your relationship with it grow. Have fun!!!

I love this bike. I'm 71. I used to ride the 350 XL's in 1974 and 1976. Loved jumping, hill climbing and running through creeks. I'm buying one. I love Honda. They never break. I also love Ducati's as well but my wife says hell no!

It looks great in white with the black seat. I really like that model, and a friend of mine used to have one years ago, great bike. A little too tall for me, so I have a DR650 instead, also a really good dual sport.

I had a Honda XR100 in 1993 when I was 13, loved it. Rode it for about 15yrs off and on before getting my 2012 Yamaha Raider S in 2018, now I love that bike

My local dealer said mine should be in this week!! Super exited for it

I had the very first one as the 93' model and I loved it! I was doing mile long wheelies on it at that time because I got bored riding on the street! LOL! I changed the handlebars to Renthal bars and had a Supertrapp silencer on it. Loved it! I was young at the time and missed racing motocross and had to sell it. Hard times for me back then. Now I have a new 2022 Honda CRF450R Works Edition motocross bike. I'm just surprised that Honda has made the XR650L this long and still be legit!

I had a 86, and a 96 xr600r. I plated both of them. Rode the wheels of of both of them, in the Mojave Desert. Never let me down. In '07...I drank the orange cool aid. I have 2 KTMs now. A 450, and a 520. They rip, and they have both proven to be very reliable. I am happy with them. That being said...the biggest mistake, that I have ever made, in my 40 plus years of riding, was selling my 96 XR. I miss it. I am currently selling my street cruiser, and WILL be buying a new XR. Best all round bike ever.

I had a 2008 XR650L and had installed a big gun full exhaust, rejeted the carb, and took the smog block off kit on it. Then took the spark arrestor out of the exhaust, to let it breathe. Man it Really brought it to life! It added about 6hp but the top speed remained the same. Still 97mph, but improved the bike’s sound and take off great!

Love the bike man! I’m excited to see all the mods you do to it, keep it up 👍

I have a 2009. I did rebuild engine with high compression piston and 2nd and 5th gear mod and did Dave's mods to carb. It's the perfect bike for me. Live on a farm and tons of places to ride and great for running to town. It was down to this or dr650, never rode a dr650 but extremely joyful with xr650l. Will be changing bars and adding sutton oil cooler, have already changed pegs

Keep the videos coming! Love the XR. I’d recommend the JNS Engineering LED headlight. Looks great and so much brighter.

I’m a big fan of air & oil cooled motorcycles for short rides and just playing. I looked at this bike, the Suzuki DR and the KLR as well before I bought my T7. I bought the T7 instead of any of the others because I value the combination of light off road duty and light short touring. When I say short touring I mean 300-400 miles in a day. Riding from deep East Texas to say, the Texas Hill Country on a big thumper is pretty much Torture and I know this because I did it when I was younger and more inclined to insanity!🤣 If I had the finances I’d own one of these XR650L’s for my daily play riding. I hope you enjoy your XR Man and encourage other young people to ride as well! If we as Motorcyclists don’t involve others and get them riding, our way of life will disappear! Ride On!

Great bike! I have the predissor to this bike the 1983 XL 600R. It's 40 years old and still going strong.

Great video man! I enjoyed it to the end.

I love to see more updates if you’ve done the battery relocation mod in the last few months. Such a great bike!

Nice review, appreciate the info, I'll be watching out for your other videos on the mods!

I miss my xr400, it's sitting apart collecting dust in my dads garage. My first street legal dirtbike. I have a husaberg fe570 now and it's everything i ever imagined the xr to be back in 2005!

I still rip my XR400R good ole 97 but I did the front fork CRF250F conversion with triple clamps man now you can really fly over ditches now... Front end change made it a new beast does everything

When this bike first appeared, I wondered why such a large dirt bike. I thought 350's were too huge. But over the last 30 years I've come to love this bike. I have a few friends making cross country adventures in their 60's or older on 650cc bikes. 346 pounds is better than the 600 pounds of my Super Tenere. I'm thinking it was a 600 and came out before 1993. I was still riding Honda trail bikes in the early 80's.

Love that black and white combo. I’d love to have one. Simplistic and reliable

I bought a low mile 94 last year and I absolutely love it.

I absolutely love the white color scheme. Man, it’s beautiful.

Thank you - great video and good points. Nice too, that the comments also shed their views. I also agree that DS bikes have gotten too complex lately - or at least more than they need to be. Looking forward to more videos of your adventures and mod builds. 👍

My buddy had an XR650L years ago, and what a fun bike to ride! So torquey and plush around town. The two of us with not much experience working on bikes removed, jetted, and reinstalled his carb for the FMF exhaust he had on it. He did some weight reduction for ORV trail riding, but that bike kicked his behind in the sand we have in Michigan.

I had a hard time finding a 2023 here in PA, but I secured one today! I’ve owned a lot of XRs/XLs, and I’m excited to get back on one.

I had the XL 600 back in 1985 and loved it .

These bikes are classics! This, the DR, and KLR650 are still my favorites. For those who claim that any one of these 3 are "too heavy" as an ADV bike, probably should not own one. Just a heads up for those who are interested in getting one. They're NOT a dirtbike. They've never claimed to be. Great video by the way!

Got mine! Best looking 650 ever made 100%

U cant beat a XR ! One of the most reliable bikes made ! I love the white on this 22 yr model . Im like u...its good to see something change on them . 😂 Killer video !

I have owned the XR650L, and DR-650 and prefer the DR. The engine on the XR is a total dog above 70mph, and the DR cruises at 75 easily, and will blast right up to 100mph when passing a semi truck, and still feels smooth, like you aren't hurting it doing so. It also has better cooling with the oil cooler if you live in Tucson as I do. The XR is also really twitchy above 70mph on dirt, where the DR is stable even at 90mph on wide open dirt roads. The XR has slightly better suspension off road, but it is top heavy and a taller center of gravity than the DR. I also had a KLR, and it is a heavy pig. The only thing the KLR has is a comfy seat and big tank. The DR is actually smoother at 75mph, and runs up to top speed much more willingly. The KLR is also twitchy above 70mph on dirt like the XR650L. I would go with the DR, put on a good seat, and bigger tank, and it will stomp the KLR on the street or dirt. And then with just a bit of suspension work it is totally on par with the XRL on the dirt while still just absolutely walking all over the XRL on the street. And the DR does get right around 50mpg most of the time.

That’s gotta be one of the nicest looking tail tidies I’ve ever seen yet , it really enhances the overall appearance.

Great review! Can’t wait to see what you do with it!

Awesome video, just getting into research on a dual sport! Nice work letting that front tire have some spirit 🤟🏼

The best motorcycle produced so far. Amazing gear and great engine. Design retro, but is great to me.

I don't know how many likes I would give to your video. Calling the beast "machine" couldn't be more accurate.

Right on bud!!! Look forward to watching this journey. Subscribed

Thanks for this video, man. Love it. 🙂

Awesome Video I had a 1979 xl 250 loved it back in the Day sounds the same

Had one in the early 90s and sold it wanted another one ever since I sold it, finally got another one 3 days ago a 2024 so happy, I’m keeping this one forever

Just picked up a 2001 Xr650L with only 4,400 miles. Original Owner and all. Just had a blast!

I rode my friends 07 XR650L when helping him move across town, about 25 minutes. I decided I had to have it, going to get the loan next week. It has either FMF or PC pipe and silencer and is loud and thumpy, he was in his Ram TRX and I had no problem keeping up with him, luckily he didn’t go anywhere like highway or interstate, just back roads

Nice looking bike!! I'm waiting for mine to get to the shop here in CA its supposed to come this month. .. I currently have a 2007 XR650l its the best bike ever!!

Honda is Pure Genius with the XR650L! Cool Simplicity ! All this cool for a great price, that Famous Honda Engine, Honda Style and just Super Fun to Ride! Excellent review for all to get an overview of this Bike!

I have an 2018, after my IT 250 Yamaha & CR250 back in the mid 80s, the weight was something to get used to, 100 lbs heavier than my old bikes, off road had some tip overs off-road, if it gets away from you just let it go it’s too heavy to fight it, I’m 6”2 210lbs. Id get about 80-90 miles before hitting reserve. Dropped a tooth in front with aftermarket wider sprocket, still plenty of top end .

Thanks for sharing, great ride along and motovlog of your new XR. Do you have any video's coming out of any of the mods you've done to it?

I used to live in Virginia Beach VA..for 16yrs! It's not what it seems. There are no companies to work for. It's all military, medical field or hospitality. High cost of living & low pay scale. Glad I left! Went to Upper Midwest an never looked bk. Enjoy the new bike!

If you want a great set of adv/dual sport tires, the Continental TKC80's are great knobbies that still do great on the street, the Michelin Anakees are good too

I have the 2021 XR650L and it is an awesome machine. I really like the black on white for this year. I've added on dirt racks with Rotopax on the sides. Also a precision rear rack. I strap a Zebco Dock Demon under a Rotopax for the odd fishing stop. I have a lot of guys loving the fact that it is carbureted. I'm 6'2" and just stand flat footed on the big red pig. The only thing I wish Honda would update is to have a newer electronic dash with RPM. I'd also like to have 4 way flasher option. And if someone could figure out a way to turn my signals off that would be great. Other than that it's a good deal of fun.

Im in love with the new color. I have a '00 650l and I am really tempted to get rid of it for one if those new ones

Impressive review of the XR650L! I looked at this one but chose the 2022 KLR650 and have been happy with my choice. Despite the much larger size, I have been able to navigate even some of the more technical terrain with that beast. I posted a recent video or 2 of the trails I have been hitting here in AZ. I will say that when I lay it down, it is difficult to pick up at times... I will consider getting an XR650 next, thanks!

I'm 52 years old and got a 2002 xr650r street legal and I love riding it it's a Kickstart she's a beast but I love riding it

Mostro moto your comments are popping off!!! Love the video :)))

Nice vid man I would like to see you do the battery mod. I have a big gun full exhaust on mine and she rips

Great videos! This is my next purchase

Picked up a super clean 97 XR650L in that classic white ….Thought about an aftermarket tank but I love the graphics and want to leave it that way. Great bike 👊

The old saying "if a ain't broke don't fix it" apples to this bike.

Nice bike! I have a 1985 XR. I think I have the third year big bore XR that Honda bragged about the single cylinder engine using 4 valves by casting the letters RFVC into the valve cover or cylinder head. It used to be that all XR's were off road use only and the XL models were dual sport.

CRF outta here" XR is the Beast" Pure Power!

Great job on the review 👍

Very good bike. my brother had a 2016 model and a DR650, the XR was more like a dirt bike, you could ride wheelies and tire up dirt roads, but the height and being slighty overweight was a little bit of an issue, but only in tight single track terrain. The dr was a little smoother and lower to the ground and typically the one I rode, due to the fact that everytime I got on the XR I was riding wheelies and riding it more like a motocross bike, which got scary at times. Also, the jetting back then was not as good as the new ones, it sometimes refused to start. But, it was a fun bike and had lots of potential. I chose the New KLR b/c I do more long distance riding, back country roads and dirt roads and the KLR is perfectly suited for that. The XR for me was not the most comfortable on longer trips, one reason being was that it didn't have a cush drive on the rear wheel, maybe it does now. I intend on keepijng the KLR, but getting either the DR or XR for more off road capabilities. The 450 lb KLR is quite a handful for me in real tough off road situations.

I like the return of the white plastics on the XR 650, though personally I prefer the old red white and blue color scheme.

It looks good in these colors but I'm a sucker for the red//white/blue with gold rims like the africa twin. It takes me back to my youth when I had a trx250r quad with that scheme. Those gold rims just stood out.

I absolutely love my 2018 bike. It's 100% stock except for the 4.7 gal Clarke gas tank to get more range. I've taken it on a few multi-day trips and it was awesome.

My dads buying one in a couple days. The black and white is stunning.

Excellent review !

Nice video bro. I love the look of that bike!

beautiful bike! i have a 2021 xr and i love it.. only has 700 miles still new... also thanks for that location im in the are im gonna check it out. 👍

Fun video. I Love the ability to buy a bike that has been made the same for decades. The problems are known and remedies and Mods are out there. I may buy another Honda 650.

Ive got an 2015 i bought it new. I wouldn't want anything else. It is tall. I put a 5 gallon gas tank on it . The factory one holds 2.6 gallons and that doesn't get you far if your heavy on the gas. I i jetted the carburetor abd installed a fmf pipe. Very loud now but noticeable faster. I love it even though had someone hit me and they amputated my leg. The driver of the didn't stop. It was there fault for pulling out in front of me. Anyway i still ride the same bike didn't hurt the bike at all. Very tough bikes and super easy to work on.

Really like ur video thanks for share ur info definitely i will buy this bike bro, i have HONDA 2014 CRF250L and is very capable and surprise me going up on the hill and light on trails also I have the Honda 2003 XR650R for down Baja with the big tank to ride in the desert very good bike the only thing is you have to kick it to start the bike, really live Honda's and I think my next bike will be 2023 Honda XR650L thanks for your advice my friend and we say hi to you from San Diego, CA. The close border from USA to Down Baja 1000 Races i give u 5 stars for your video,

You are so blessed to have that take care of that beauty. That's my dream endura right there 🤤. Every time I have to go into the Honda dealership here in Florida they have one on the Showroom floor and I love to just sit on it, the dealer comes out asking me if I'm interested in purchasing it and of course I don't have the credit nor do I have the money for it. 🥺😥😥😥. So right now I'm stuck with a TaoTao Enduro 250 Chinese.

Totally new design since 93...its now white with a black seat and tool bag. Honda sure got their money back on tooling. I own an 07 that I bought new and still love but can tell you, the way and where your riding it in the video is the best use of this bike.

I think this is the one I'm going to go with assuming I can find one. I'd even be willing to wait if I'm able to order one assuming it's a semi reasonable wait time. Such a simple looking and functioning bike 🙏🏽 wish me luck on my hunt y'all lol

Well I used to stunt for fun and race snowmobiles and I can tell you these bikes take you places even four wheelers get stuck. I have had more fun using this bike trail riding with my kids and discovering new trails better then any street ride. I also owned a Gold Wing .

Had a 1986 model, gold iodized wheels red motor, kick only,no electric start, but it was a beast of a bike back then, sure it still is

Love the look. It’s clean looking.

I've heard alot of people mention they don't like the white color scheme, I personally love it, I'm on my second xr650L 06 and 21

looks sick!!!! needs some decals on the scoops💨💨

It took me a little while to realize you can cold start the XR and just leave the choke pulled if you don't feel like waiting for it to warm up and you just want to ride. It will run richer and not stall out. Just deactivate the choke after a few minutes.

It looks great in those colors

I LOVED THIS VIDEO AND THE BIKE

Had 1979 xl 500 thumper it was an excellent dual purpose bike 🏍 lots of low end torque fun on and off road

Great bike great video really enjoy the bike content with a mix of scenery and information, do you still have the desert sled or did you sell.

Love the white and black. I think it looks mean as hell with the black wheels and the white looks so clean. Mean & clean. Damn good looking bike.

cant wait to see al the mods you're gonna do im thinking to do ta few modifications with mine too, maybe we can go for a ride one day brother i think we're in the same town.. thanks for the videos

I have an 89 XR600 RK since 1992 and basically the same bike but with kickstart only. Your 2022 is only a more modern version of one of Honda's best ever off road bikes. Bark busters and sump gard/ bash plate and larger nomad tank is all you need. (Plus knobbies for full dirt and single track.) Get out there and enjoy whilst you can. Oh and to increase road speed with little issue go up a tooth on front sprocket and down a tooth for hard trail Can change sprocket on side of road in under 10 minutes if you carry second sprocket and socket and wrench in toolbar

I'm waiting for the next video about this bike. Greetings from Ecuador

Hey man just about to buy this bike I live in the mountains in Colorado and I live on a dirty road but wanna be able to drive in the city so gettin a dual sport rather than a cruiser! Great and entertaining and fun review

I just bought a 2023 xrL its a fantastic bike

I have a 2018 that i took on a road trip today, got 41.8 mpg, it has an aftermarket fuel tank and got me 146 miles before i had to switch to my reserve. Very nice bike ! It has knobby so it vibrates. Thinking of going back to stock tires

I love the color scheme.. its amazing

Yeah great bike and it looks awesome in white. I have considered getting a dual sport and if I ever do the XR 650 L and the WR 250 R are the ones I may get. I mostly ride mx 2 stroke bikes and I do have a 400 EX that I barely use but won't get rid of. The XR 650 might be a little too heavy for where I would be riding which is why I have given the WR 250 R some thought. There's a lot of soft sand by me and the XR is pretty heavy. I have never ridden either bike but I would like to try both of them.

Looks like you have some ideal roads for that bike. Enjoy! New color scheme looks cool!

The Dr has its place the klr has its place and so does the 650L!!! I prefer the Honda all day any day over the others for my needs/liking. Always loved these, great purchase. I love to new look, I'd I get one that light is gone! Rubber side down buddy!

You were mentioning the carburetor and simplicity in repair. You later were commenting on cold starts- it’s likely lean for air pollution from the factory but just a quick jet adjustment will cure that 👍

Great vid, thank you!

I love white bikes,so I was psyched when I saw Honda come out with the XR in white

helpful video thanks!

Good review I subscribed I have a 02 xr650l with 20k + miles and it is a great bike