Going to look at a few 650R's next week. Anything I should be looking out for apart from the usual stuff ??
From all accounts very good bikes that give no trouble,spoke to a rider in nth qld over xmas about his,40k touring/trail ridden,commuted 650,his has been bulletproof....cant wait to get mine
Solid bikes... not much to look for. What year model and how many kms? Check the usual stuff, if its smoking, its burning oil & would need a freshen up soon. You'll have a hoot on it, i love mine. The kick only is no hassle once you get them setup right, and learn how to kick em'
Looking at a few Jake.......2000 with 10,000 kays......an 02 with 10,000 kays......and an 03 with 15,000 kays....(or so they say.... ) Don't mind the kicking thing.........can't be as bad as some of my old shovelheads......:eek1
advjake,do the 650s have any dramas with the steeringhead bearing grease running from heat from the oil in the frame?
yes, in theory most Dry sump bikes with oil in the frame have this problem. but i havent had any problems. When i put the CRF front end on i'll check & regrease.
Apparently stateside they have problems with the rh footpeg snapping off when you stand or land off jumps etc and if you search there is a mod to overcome this and the subframe is supposedly weak when carring any loads like panniers , saying that a mate rode his with Andystrapz pannier bags on his and no problem. Cheers Rick
Mate, just bought one myself, $4500, got the guy down from $5900,(15,000km) apparently the guy's Honda dealer told him "dont sell it for less than six"as they are still in high demand. ..pretty good value adventure bike considering the cost of the latest offerings, (i've got a 950adv as well) Bought the XR to commute on , hard core rides, etc i'm hoping to glean as much as i can from the web to keep mine shmick, planning on Baja light,acerbis tank etc, cant wait to see a 700xx motor in a 650 frame...
I was planning to do that if this motor fails, but then you have a reverse gear... What is real appealing about that motor though, its almost identical except its got a starter motor, EFI, the lot. Probably the perfect dual sport motor in it and they put it in a bloody quad.
check out www.xr650r.us Everything you want to know about the xr650r is here. Eric, the guy who created this site (the pig pen), is the demigod of xr's. They are famous for having a lack of grease ex factory - particularly the swingarm. There is a link to an XR650r yahoo group at Eric's website - join up and start asking question's !!
G'day Jack, I have one, and they really are a top bike with very few problems.. As has been mentioned, the swingarm bearings should be checked and regreased. My steering head bearings had just been done when I bought the bike, so obviously they can give trouble too for the same reasons. One other thing to check would be the choke plate - these things have a tendency to break at inopportune moments and cause nasty engine damage. Well worth doing a search and looking into. Front brake can feel a a bit lacking at times especially with a large fuel tank - that will be next on my list of things to do. Cheers Matt
