XR650R Thread!

[BHW]

Originally Posted by jesusgatos

Damn, that battery mount looks like it's begging to be destroyed.

Yep. I'd tear that off on the first ride.

[Blakebird]

Originally Posted by BHW

Yep. I'd tear that off on the first ride.

would not last long on the rocky desert terrain we ride.


btw - the XR650R was raced, and quite successfully....but it is not a "race engine", especially compared to it's Baja successor, the CRF450.
The XR never spec'd top end teardowns and rebuilds at 20 or 30 hour intervals, and doesn't have a slipper skirt piston, etc.

It's a very robust, and very overbuilt engine, designed and built to last.

If you're burning oil at low rpms....( is there really room for a 16t in there?!), then your valve guide seals are the first place I'd look....not the rings.

[header]

Originally Posted by Blakebird

btw - the XR650R was raced, and quite successfully....but it is not a "race engine", It's a very robust, and very overbuilt engine, designed and built to last.

Because (an educated guess here) it was never intended to race the 1000 in its stock configuration but rather the HRC specs. Even then it will still last but for the rest of us who don't need that much power it will go well beyond "long lasting".

[jesusgatos]

Yeah, I don't think many people would classify this as a race engine. Know it wasn't designed for the type of highway miles I've been racking up lately, but can't see how that's really much different than WFO through the desert for miles on end. Seems like these should be easy miles. Going to test as suggested to see if it might be the rings or the seals. Thanks.

[af300e]

Originally Posted by harcus

Actually there are 2 paths to oil consumption:
- Piston rings as noted
- valve seals

3 ways. Those two as mentioned plus oil mist from crankcase breather going into the airbox, then through the carby and on to the chamber.

[jesusgatos]

Thought about the crankcase vent, but just cleaned my air filter (and pulled out the backfire screen - clean) and thought it'd be obvious if that had anything to do with it.

[rocketmanphil]

hi all !

slight dis mount

can someone post a template for venting the Left side cover ?

thank you in advance

[Blakebird]

Originally Posted by rocketmanphil

hi all !

slight dis mount

can someone post a template for venting the Left side cover ?

thank you in advance

[BikePilot]

Originally Posted by jesusgatos

Really? Nothing else could account for that? Hmmm, guess a leakdown test would tell me what kind of condition my rings are in, right? What kind of results should I expect/hope for?

as everyone said, there are many ways of burning/loosing oil other than it going by the rings - it can get blown out the crankcase vent (which ordinarily is routed to the airbox), it can get too hot and evaporate (not uncommon on air cooled XR's that are ridden in anger), it can go past the valve stem seals, it can enter the combustion chamber through a bad head gasket (or cracked head etc), on CRF's the motor oil can leak into the gearbox - anyway, all this to say that there's no reason to jump straight to the rings.

I've never spent long periods on the freeway with my XR, but it didn't use a noticeable amount of oil in Vegas to Reno and I ran it quite hard for those 534 miles.

Rings and valve stem seals are probably the least likely culprets - they wouldn't really be any worse at freeway speeds than any other time. One quick and dirty check for these is to run it up to speed then chop the throttle and let it engine brake for a bit then roll the throttle back on and look for smoke. When an engine is braking it makes a huge amount of vacuum inside and will suck in extra oil if seals or rings are bad. When you open the oil it all gets burnt and you'll see a puff of blue smoke if they are particularly bad.

The crank case breather setup is where I'd look first. I haven't messed with it on the XR though so can't offer any specific advice there.

[pixelcodex]

Originally Posted by Shibby!

Coyote bag.

It is quite large. I had to put my MSR tent and shoes in the dry bag though.

I wish I could pack lighter, but I can't leave the camping gear at home. I'm not one for sleeping in my riding gear under the stars.

I hear you about packing lighter... can't do it myself. The Coyote looks the right size. I had asked them about the big basin and they told me it would be well... too big for our bikes. Do you have the subframe reinforcement, or it does ok with this setup without one?

[Blakebird]

Originally Posted by pixelcodex

I hear you about packing lighter... can't do it myself. The Coyote looks the right size. I had asked them about the big basin and they told me it would be well... too big for our bikes. Do you have the subframe reinforcement, or it does ok with this setup without one?

I used the Dirtbagz (and their duffel) on my XR628, worked well carrying my backpacker-sized tent and bag for a week's camping in Baja.

I still have the Dirtbagz, but due to concerns about the XR650R's subframe in rough conditions and hard, fast riding.... I chose the Giant Loop Coyote.
It puts the weight right where you want it.

[Shibby!]

Originally Posted by Blakebird

I used the Dirtbagz (and their duffel) on my XR628, worked well carrying my backpacker-sized tent and bag for a week's camping in Baja.

I still have the Dirtbagz, but due to concerns about the XR650R's subframe in rough conditions and hard, fast riding.... I chose the Giant Loop Coyote.
It puts the weight right where you want it.

I do not have a reinforced subframe, but as mentioned the bag doesn't sit that far back. Much less then a rack would. I stand 99% of the time when the going gets rough so I hope that puts less stress on the subframe.

The bags have not been weighed however they are quite heavy, but not rediculously heavy. I would estimate 40-50lbs? I hope I have no issues. I know it's an issue with aluminum subframes.

I would still like to argue the engine is still a race, or high performance engine. It was a robust design for robust racing, but it's not made to do miles. If it were you'd have an engine much like the XR, DR, DRZ, and KLR, etc. It's a robust high performance engine and through good engineering and robust design capable of doing higher milleage, but at the same time not designed for it.

And yes, few other options for oil burning. All of those (except crank case mist) are signs this engine isn't designed for high milleage use, even though it will with proper maintenance and the odd issue arrising. Treat it well and it will last a long while, just don't expect to have no issues along the way.

A perfect comparison are street bikes. Performance designed, but with good designs capable of much higher mileage then most think. I've seen lots of extremely well running sport bikes in the 60,000-100,000+ km's. Those same engines designed to rev to 15,000+ RPM and produce amazing HP/displacement ratios.

[jesusgatos]

How is the 650R engine any different than a DRZ engine? Obviously 250cc's...

But seriously, what makes you think this is such a high performance engine? I'd say all signs point to it being more similar to the older air-cooled XR engines than then newer CRF's (which is what I'd call a race engine).

[BikePilot]

From a technical standpoint the DRZ engine is more likely to qualify as the nebulous "race" engine with its shim-under-bucket valve train and all that. Anyway, it doesn't really matter.


I am also curious about the 16T sprocket - any issues with fitment and is there a case saver available that fits?

[jesusgatos]

Originally Posted by BikePilot

From a technical standpoint the DRZ engine is more likely to qualify as the nebulous "race" engine with its shim-under-bucket valve train and all that. Anyway, it doesn't really matter.


I am also curious about the 16T sprocket - any issues with fitment and is there a case saver available that fits?

No fitment issues, except I had to clearance a 15T XR's Only case saver.