Honda XR650L Adventure Bike Build

Since its introduction in 1993, Honda’s XR650L has been a favorite of many adventure riders. Its tall seat height and high ground clearance appeal to off-roaders, while a reliable engine and nimble handling make it popular with road riders. Unsurprisingly, the XR650L is one of the most popular dual-sport motorcycles ever produced. But does the XR650L make a good adventure bike? It looks promising at first glance, but to know for sure, we picked up an XR650L for ourselves and started making changes. If you want to see the results, watch our video as Chance goes over all the parts and accessories he added to his XR650L to make it a more capable adventure machine.

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[jesseg]

I like the simplicity of the bike not having a radiator and just being simple for more survivability. I think I want to build one just like this.

[mohba]

the most badass bike... Have one here in India, I think the Air cooled, Carburetored, steel framed, 'lightweight' and easy to self-service/repair adventure bike is a dying breed. Lots might disagree, But.. Lets say, someone wants to do a 5 year RTW and doesn't want to ride a bike that they don't have to plug in every few months to keep running or needs a NASA qualified technician to diagnose; or spend ridiculous amounts of cash on parts, then it's these bikes they will be looking to. Back in the days, being a motorcycle traveler used to be about using your creativity to take a basket case old hag and using only grit and ingenuity, turning it into a "one of a kind eye dazzler", then risking your life on the asphalt on a bike you made yourself out of pride... You can do this still with the XR series. This bike is a time capsule! once the CDI is swapped with an Ignitech one, and oil cooler installed, there is no stopping the PIG...

[dwayneharris]

Wow! Your bike is a custom model based on an XR650L. I had no idea so many custom parts were available for the bike. You had a clear idea what you wanted and made the bike to work for you. Well done!

[marcosolo]

Funny, I bought a 2017 XR about two months ago, put on an Acerbis 5.8 gal. tank, racks, subframe supports, and bags, and did 1400 miles of CDR - Montana/Wyoming. I then rode 1350 miles of two lane back-roads home with everything else bone stock. The stock pegs did not hurt my feet, my stock battery did not fail, my stock lighting was more than adequate, the stock bars worked fine and neither my turn signals nor my mirrors were damaged. The mentality that all of this is something we have to do to make the bike work properly is silliness. Yes, some of these changes would improve the bike's cosmetics or comfort, but functionality is not really affected. This is just trying to make a silk purse out of a perfectly good pig's ear.

[MichaelAbramo]

Highly recommend the USD fork conversion. Major upgrade for this bike. The seat concepts seat, because it is wider in the back, gives you better grip for your knees during standup riding.

Shoutout to DirtBikeAfrica, they're doing a lot of good work for the XR650L. I have their "Adventure Kit" which gives you a rally tower and fairing as well as an oil cooler.

[lenwenzel]

Now that's a bike build to be proud of.

[bjj]

Honda XR 650 L = The queen of the Baja 1000 is the best bike for any adventure, and this one in the video is a beast !! congrats for the modifications and thanks for sharing. Awesome ride.

[tahirusman]

Great stuff!650L rider here across the globe in Pakistan

[tonyrichengod]

These bikes are MAD! I just got a chance to test one yesterday and WOW! Freakin punchy thing! Roll on and INSTANT torque! Thinking of it as my next tourer after my romance with my DRZ is over.

[basedury]

I think the huge OEM fender actually looks awesome, along with the stock small square headlight.

[SarupSingh-mcgk]

One of the best builds i have come across...gonna consider this for my 2018 xr650l

[borkfork]

Really appreciate this. I won't do all these mods but it's still helpful to see them.

[desertseat]

Great video! You’ve got it dialed. The only thing you missed is a fork brace. You’d be surprised at how much those things flex.

[ForsheeCircus]

Great video but you wounded my soul when you talked about the front fender! I love that old school vibe!

[khaccanhle]

THAT my friends is a REAL adventure bike. I'd like to see these 1, 200cc low-slung Highway hog "Adv" bikes compete off road with this thing.
A real adventure bike is a dual sport with soft bags.

[orangelion]

Excellent build! Ticked off all the boxes! My old 93 is about 75% there. You didnt mention it, but it is obvious that those hand guards have built in turn signals...an excellent way to get rid of the front OEM signals (you have to relocate them anyway if you use the big Accerbis tank). I used LED tape on mine, but this is a cleaner, tidier way to do it.

[andyderby]

I went to the dealership and they wanted almost 8k out the door, so I got on the net and found a decent’97 it wasn’t beat up but it was tired so I restored it from the ground up with mostly new parts and paint for $4320.00 it’s beautiful and runs fantastic I got it lowered with dual sport tires I wanted it to burn up back roads my Harley stays parked now, I grew up on Hondas so I’ve come full circle 👍

[JohnDillon-zhjs]

Nice bike I have a 2000 with a lot of modifications. Still a blast today.

[socaladventuresdavidt]

2017 XR650L. All I need is re jetting, 4.7 gallon tank and jns lights and auxiliary light mount. Oh and bar buster lever saver things.

[telcobilly]

Fantastic review and narration. Very detailed and comprehensive. Makes me want to run out and get a XR650L and do it up like yours. I've had a '93/'03 DR 650s in the past and rode my brother's XR650L. Very tall bike, so it's a good thing I'm 6'3"..