In the February, 2000 print problem of Dirt bike, we take a look at what would go down in historical past as the best Baja bike ever constructed: the liquid-cooled XR650R. Today, we all know that such a motorbike may by no means survive within the market. Baja is simply too specialised for mainstream USA. On prime of that, the bike’s timing was horrible. It was sandwiched between the Yamaha YZ426F and the Honda CRF450R. Those bikes had been recreation changers in each method. Nonetheless, we had been blown away by the XR650R. Here’s what we needed to say when in our first take a look at.

Here’s how this story ends: The Honda XR650R is a really nice XR600R. That’s what it was meant to be all alongside. But by no means earlier than have so many individuals needed a motorbike to be one thing else. There are the moto-crazies who need it to be a Yamaha YZ400. There are the cross-country guys who need it to be a Japanese Husaberg. There are even the pinnacle circumstances who need it to be a Scott Summers reproduction (in different phrases, a worn-out XR600 with humorous bars).
When the bike was lastly introduced final September, the response was unusual. It was completely predictable that the bike would match proper into the XR600’s market, however some individuals had been nonetheless shocked. It wasn’t what they needed, in order that they needed it to be a failure.

Forget all that “Honda’s answer to the YZ426” stuff. The XR650R was designed from the begin to be the reply to the XR600R. Never thoughts that the 600 remains to be round in Honda’s line-up; that was only a measure to fill the time hole earlier than the 650’s late arrival. You most likely keep in mind the hoopla final yr. Honda introduced that the 600 was discontinued, then modified its thoughts. The new 650 wasn’t but prepared. From that clue, individuals ought to have discovered that the brand new bike was going to be a big western path bike, not a motocrosser and never a race bike.
Heaven is aware of there was loads of room for enchancment on the 600. We’re probably not positive how lengthy the 600 had gone unchanged, none of us have reminiscences that return that far. We assume it was most likely dropped into the Garden of Eden in its current type. By trendy requirements, it had lengthy been thought of gradual, heavy and unreliable if hopped up. Long in the past, Honda’s Baja crew had found all its faults and amassed a listing of advisable modifications if the bike had been ever to be up to date. But the manufacturing facility didn’t see any purpose for that. Honda offered each XR600 it constructed (and it constructed so much). The bike had a following. Then, in 1996, the XR400R was launched and it instantly surpassed the 600 in gross sales. That satisfied Honda to go forward with a brand new model of the 600.
Here it’s. Nothing is identical besides the aim. The liquid-cooled engine nonetheless makes use of a single overhead cam, but it surely not has the radial four-valve design. There are two more-or-less standard rocker arms working the 4 valves. The metal cylinder liner is gone in favor of Nikasil-coated aluminum. If you had been anticipating some new know-how from the engine, overlook it. Remember, it is a substitute for the XR600, which implies conservative, dependable designs. Just placing radiators on the bike was a giant inner controversy at Honda. So there are not any throttle place sensors, no laptop chip devices and no large surprises. Double over-head cams had been even rejected as being too gimmicky for the conservative XR market. One function that we haven’t seen earlier than on a Honda is a Husaberg-like reed valve within the crankcase, which permits engine strain to push oil into the gearbox, though the engine nonetheless makes use of a standard pump to maneuver oil as much as the highest finish. Honda additionally needed to cope with the American feds. The firm did it within the regular methods, with restrictions within the consumption manifold, airbox and exhaust. Honda affords what it calls “full power” components to exchange the usual consumption manifold and exhaust baffle, and you’ll take away the airbox restrictor in seconds. We did all that earlier than testing the bike. That’s just about customary process with Japanese off-road bikes nowadays.

The body, alternatively, is something however customary; we’ve by no means seen something prefer it earlier than. It’s manufactured from huge aluminum box-section tubing with a single spine that carries the oil provide for the dry-sump motor. The CR-style twin-spar aluminum body was poo-pooed as a result of it limits gasoline capability an excessive amount of. As it’s, the brand new XR carries the identical quantity of gasoline because the 600, however between the massive spine and the radiators there may be little area left over. We don’t have any thought how the aftermarket guys like IMS and Clarke are going to construct these huge Baja tanks, however we’re positive they’ll. The aluminum body is painted simply to maintain corrosion underneath management in the long term. Remember, that is imagined to be a put- it-away-wet sort of motorcycle.
Honda execs determined to make use of KYB suspension for the XR650. How do they make these choices? Dart board, so far as we all know. The 600’s Showa fork was ridiculously dated, although. There was a lot underhang under the axle that it could virtually drag on stage floor. The new KYB fork relies on the 1989 Kawasaki standard fork that everybody preferred a lot. Underhang has been lowered since then, and the world across the axle has been strengthened so the bike goes considerably straight in ruts. The rear shock is CR-like, except for the lacking high-speed compression adjuster. The XR nonetheless has a loopy quantity of leverage on the rear shock, which implies it has to have an excellent stiff spring.

HOW XR IS IT?
Can you think about what would occur if we waited all this time for a brand new XR and it sucked? It simply wouldn’t occur. This is Honda we’re speaking about. The bike has an superior motor. First of all, it begins simpler than the outdated 600. Yes, we might nonetheless relatively have an electrical starter, however that is the subsequent neatest thing. There is not any beginning drill to follow, no top-dead-center to search out. You simply kick and let the automated decompressor do the work. How concerning the energy? Frankly it couldn’t be higher. It’s quick however not nasty. Big, highly effective four-strokes are often brutes; they run badly off the underside, they stall, they vibrate, they backfire, they’ve horrible engine braking, they pull your arms out of their sockets and basically haven’t any manners. An uncorked 650 Honda has all the great traits of a giant thumper and not one of the dangerous ones. The powerband is so large that you could possibly experience all day in prime gear. It pulls and pulls and pulls. And it has simply sufficient of successful to be enjoyable. The entrance finish comes up for those who yank the throttle cable in virtually any gear, however for those who roll it on gently, the bike is tremendous straightforward to manage. In outright energy, the bike is method stronger than an XR600. We know, that’s not saying a lot. A barely hopped-up XR400 is stronger than a 600, too. But the 650’s energy output might be in comparison with a European four-stroke. A Husaberg 501 or a VOR 503 in enduro trim are in the identical league because the Honda, though we have to say {that a} Husaberg 600 would wax all of them. But the XR has straightforward potential for extra roost. Even with the baffle and consumption restrictor eliminated, it’s tremendous quiet, so you could possibly at all times commerce decibels for horsepower for those who want extra juice. Only factor is, we are able to’t think about why. In real-world acceleration on pavement, the bike will outpull a 250cc motocross bike. On prime, it should contact 99 mph. Johnny Campbell’s Baja-winning 650 had a special exhaust, greater compression and a 45-tooth rear sprocket. That bike was clocked at 105. Actually, Johnny Campbell experiences that the gearing alone would supply that prime pace. The exhaust and the compression simply assist acceleration.

Back in the actual world, the record of issues {that a} inventory XR650 doesn’t do is fairly spectacular. It doesn’t cough and die while you seize a handful of fuel. It doesn’t vibrate. It doesn’t require two palms to twist the throttle. It doesn’t have unmanageable quantities of engine braking. It does have manners.

OKAY, LET’S TALK POUNDS
We anticipated the bike to have a terrific motor. We didn’t anticipate it to weigh a lot. The XR650R suggestions the Dirt Bike tremendous scale at 287 kilos with out gasoline. That’s so much. Just think about if it had a metal body, or double overhead cams, or worse but, an electrical starter! That form of weight would have been okay a couple of years in the past, however not now. When you have a look at the motor, it’s straightforward to see the place the load is. It’s enormous! In all of the years of technological development because the XR600 was designed it’s wonderful that Honda hasn’t discovered any approach to shave off bulk. The motor is narrower, not less than, than a 600. But while you experience the XR you may’t escape the load. You really feel each pound.

That dictates the bike’s mission. It is a motorbike for going quick in large open areas, similar to the outdated XR. And it does that extraordinarily properly. The 650 is tremendous secure. We don’t know why, however the brand new XR, similar to the outdated XR, by no means has head shake. It ought to. It has mushy, soft suspension and sharp cornering manners. That’s the recipe for a wild experience with loopy wet-dog-like head shake. But the bike is so regular at pace that you simply actually don’t notice how briskly you’re going. At the opposite excessive, the bike is, as soon as once more, similar to an XR600. The approach for getting round turns is as follows: Point the entrance wheel the place you wish to go, then go there gently. You don’t have to slip the again finish across the entrance wheel, you simply steer it with out the exercise. The weight solely turns into an element for those who get in a rush. Then the entrance finish pushes, the brakes lock up and you are feeling just like the bike simply grew in each dimension. Scott Summers manages to defy the legal guidelines of physics by profitable races in tight terrain on his XR, however that doesn’t imply a lot. Scott is one in every of a form, and now we have little doubt that he’ll proceed to win races when he trades in his 600 for a 650 subsequent season.
Kayaba did a superb job with the suspension. It’s by no means an element, irrespective of the place you experience. At excessive pace, there’s no mushiness, but the XR is superior in first-gear rocky sections. It’s exhausting to do each. The rear finish, specifically is tremendous versatile. You can deal with killer San Felipe whoops after which choose your method via bomb craters with out altering a factor. The entrance fork handles the rocks simply in addition to the rear, however you may backside it exhausting for those who hit one thing at pace. That’s effective with us. We wouldn’t wish to commerce away the tremendous soft experience simply to keep away from listening to one or two clunks on any given experience.

WHAT’S SO SUPER?
Honda isn’t infallible within the element division. Just ask any first-year XR400 proprietor. In this case, although, Honda paid significantly better consideration to the little stuff. The kickstarter, as an illustration, doesn’t flop out, the shifter isn’t tremendous flexy and the carburetion is flawless. We are barely dissatisfied by the spindly rear brake lever, the slim footpegs and the tacky plastic skid plate, however we’ll recover from it. So was it well worth the wait? Good grief, no; not for those who’ve been ready for over ten years for a greater XR600. Nothing may very well be value that form of wait. There is nothing on this bike apart from the aluminum body that wasn’t widespread know-how again in 1990. But you might want to keep in mind that a part of the unique XR’s enchantment was that it had old-world, confirmed designs. In 1990, that meant an air-cooled, barely chubby bike with a terrific character. In 2000, it means a liquid-cooled, barely chubby bike with a terrific character. If you like the XR system, you received’t be dissatisfied by the most recent one. We all fall into that class. As we mentioned up entrance, the Honda XR650R is a really nice XR600R. If you need one thing else, you’ll should look someplace else.

XR vs XR
How did the XR600R final so lengthy? Maybe it was as a result of it did its job so properly. Frankly, even in any case these years, there was no bike that was so comfort- ready for prime pace and lengthy distances. There had been actually higher race bikes, however the 600 was the last word western playbike. Can the 650 do higher?
• POWER: Yes. The 650 has extra energy in every single place and it’s simply as straightforward to make use of. Usually horsepower comes with a penalty someplace. Not on this case. The new 650 is even simpler to begin.
• SUSPENSION: Yes, the 650 wins once more. The new XR’s fork is an enormous step ahead. It flex- es much less and gives higher motion at excessive pace and low pace. The rear suspension on the outdated 600 is surprisingly good by trendy requirements, but it surely nonetheless provides up a bit of at race pace to the 650.
• WEIGHT: No. The outdated 600 is not any light-weight, but it surely feels and is lighter than the brand new 650, if solely by a tiny margin.
• HANDLING: Yes. Both bikes will beat you up at race pace, however the brand new XR’s suspension benefit makes it a bit of simpler to handle.
• COMFORT: It relies upon. The 600 has old-world ergonomics. With loads of rearward sweep within the bars and a giant, soft seat, the 600 is a sit-down bike. If that’s what you want, that’s what you want. It’s simpler to face up on the 650, and the smoother tank/seat junction makes transferring round simpler.
• RELIABILITY: Only time will inform. The 600 had a status for being unbreakable, however solely when left inventory. If it had been hopped as much as the extent of a inventory 650, be careful! Chances are that the identical shall be true of the brand new bike: go away it alone and it’ll by no means break. And with this a lot energy, leaving it alone is not any downside.

So there you may have it. The 650 is a worthy successor to the preferred dust bike of our time. Will the 600 proceed to be accessible? For now, sure. But as quickly because the 650 eats into the 600’s gross sales figures, which is inevitable, Honda will drop the outdated XR like a sizzling rock. The enterprise of bike gross sales leaves little room for sentimentality.