KLR650 vs. XR650L: I finally decided.
t
inspection. I thought I was bent on Honda since I had an XL600R about 10
years back.. I loved that and wanted to regain the feeling and certain
quality. During my research, including this group archives, I learned and
have confirmed in person the following.
Honda XR650L:
- General fit/feel is just like a motorcross bike. This was not really
comfortable for street cruising.
- The front brake cable goes right across the pseudo instrument panel, and
blocks some view of panel. This is a very poor design of brake hose routing.
- Instrument panel is very very basic.
- No luggage rack/hook for carrying a day pack.
- Gas tank is WAY tooooooo small (2.8 gallon).
- Engine is air cooled.
Kawasaki KLR650:
- General fit/feel is much more comfortable and less of motorcross. Maybe
this is because seat is 2 inches lower, but seem is wider in front.
- The gas tank is a hair over 6 gallons,
- Dash has a tach and overall more "cockpit" type.
- The engine is liquid cooled.
- Has a luggage rack
- MSRP is $500 less than Honda.
I got the KLR650 for a hair under $4600 (MSRP is $4999) in New Jersey.
Now with about 19 miles on it, my initial feelings confirm the findings of
newsgroup.
1. Front brakes are not happenning. With my wife on back, I squeeze big-time
for regular braking. I will expect to use the engine for stopping assistance
till I at least upgrade the brake hose.
2. Headlight is probably 2.0 watts. With all those BMW and fancy cars
sporting that xeon white light, I want an upgrade. Not sure how/where but
this internet will likely lead me to someone.
3. Pickup and kick are very good with the both of us. We might explore the
jet kit and new exhaust, but not soon. The stock is plenty for now.
4. I believe the ride got a hair smoother after filling the tank. With all
that weight, it has to help somehow.
I hope this helps some folks about to decide. This intends to return the
favor that this group did for me when I was deciding.
Good luck, Tom.
I am:
- 40 years old. 6' tall, 220+ lb's.
- Mellow rider. 85% road, 12% trails, 3% giving rides to others.
- Likely to ride with wife 98% of time. This is the 85% part on roads.
Ken
In fact, if you are under 180 lbs, you should have bought the DRZ.
This is so because it is harder to make an OK dirt bike than an OK
street bike. So, the balance tips heavily to competence in the dirt.
For this reason, the XRL650 is the optimum dual purpose for big,
heavy guys. Some say the XRR (with B-D kit), but the jury is still
out.
Ken
(to reply via email
remove "zz" from address)
Snetscape
He said he was riding 12% dirt. I don't know what 'dirt' means in New
Jersey, but I suspect it doesn't mean MX type riding.
For what he said was his intended use, the KLR is the correct choice. A
DRZ would be much better in dirt, but carrying a passenger on the
street? Come on. The XL would have worked, but the KLR is better for
traffic, since it is water cooled.
I've seen KLR650's on some pretty hairy trails in CO and UT. If the
rider is big enough and they aren't catching air, they work almost
anywhere, with decent tires and smaller gearing. I used to have a Honda
TransAlp, which is way less dirt capable than a KLR650, and I got it
into some nice spots, too. If a jeep went there, I could get there, as
long as you weren't talking rock crawling ledge type of stuff or really
deep mud. I suspect a good, large rider on a KLR650 could follow any
jeep, anywhere.
There are a lot of riders that need true dual-purpose capability,
including the ability to carry luggage and passengers. I think the
market has segmented itself into 'Dual-Sport' (XR650 w/kit,
DRZ400E/DRZ400S for example), and 'Dual-Purpose' (KLR650/KLR250, XL650L,
DRZ650).
Ken
>The XL would have worked, but the KLR is better for
>traffic, since it is water cooled.
This statement is unsupportable. The air-cooled XRL is better in
traffic than the water-cooled XRR -- which overheats. In fact, that
-- and the lack of electric start -- is the principal reason why
riders still prefer the bulletproof XRL for dual purpose riding.
Whoever you saw riding the KLR expertly in the dirt must have been
really tough to be able to stand on the pegs with their knees spread
apart by that wide saddle and still maneuver.
DirtCrashr
that suits you best, right-on!
>Honda XR650L:
>- General fit/feel is just like a motorcross bike. This was not really
>comfortable for street cruising.
IMO - if that were only true, but you might have to scare yourself to death on
an MX track to discover it isn't anything like a motocrosser.
It's huge, lumpy and with a deeply dished, soft saddle and I experienced a
couple 280+ mile (one-way) trips that were plenty enjoyable - but that's
entirely subjective and a windscreen would have been REALLY helpfull by the end
of the ride.
>- The front brake cable goes right across the pseudo instrument panel, and
>blocks some view of panel. This is a very poor design of brake hose routing.
This is actually the only or most Motocross aspect of the big pig, there's only
a speedo with a resettable odo.
The brake-hose routing goes Honda motocross-style over the numberplate to the
backside of the fork leg, which riders on YZ have to switch around. It has to
so that the forks can travel un-impeeded throughout their 27-inches of
movement. <vbg> ;-)
>- Instrument panel is very very basic.
No fuel warnign light, emergency flashers, clock, or trip-computer, radio or
anything, I don't think there's even a turn-signal light because it's possible
to leave blinker on for mile after mile annyoing your friends who are behind
you :-) .
>- No luggage rack/hook for carrying a day pack.
There are several fine aftermarket ones available, but you shouldn't overload
the subframe anyhow, not without adding some additional supports.
>- Gas tank is WAY tooooooo small (2.8 gallon).
That and it's metal and will produce nice bark-buster dents on each side when
you drop it.
IMS and Clarke make bigger tanks, Acerbis makes one almost as big as the KLR's
- a size which many believe is too big for offroad finesse but suitable for
refueling other bikes in flight...
>- Engine is air cooled.
No radiators to puncture when you drop off a 4-foot granite ledge and lose
control.
>- Dash has a tach and overall more "cockpit" type.
Tach? Never nedded to know the revs on the big pig - big singles are more
seat-of-the pants and feeling oriented than multis. On a tight rocky single
track in first gear you can feel each powerpulse thrust you forward, when it
runs out of steam you shift or clutch your way back into the powerband...and
it's one less thing to break.
Anyhow I don't want this to come off as criticism, just an alternate way of
looking at the various features.
>1. Front brakes are not happenning. With my wife on back, I squeeze big-time
>for regular braking. I will expect to use the engine for stopping assistance
>till I at least upgrade the brake hose.
Partly this is also related to the small contact-patch on a big, heavily laden
bike. My Iron-Pig did the same thign two up, including a good nutt-busting when
my SO slid down the seat into me - maybe the KLR's passenger-footpegs provide
better opportunity and palcement to prevent helmet smacking and blue-balling -
that would be a major advantage which only a custom seat might offset.
>4. I believe the ride got a hair smoother after filling the tank. With all
>that weight, it has to help somehow.
Maybe but you're also probably riding in the last three inches of travel which
may not have the best damping characteristics - or maybe they valved it for
that.
>Good luck, Tom.
>
>I am:
>- 40 years old. 6' tall, 220+ lb's.
>- Mellow rider. 85% road, 12% trails, 3% giving rides to others.
>- Likely to ride with wife 98% of time. This is the 85% part on roads.
Ride-on!! :-) For my two-up riding I'd like to have an Aprilia Caponord with
color matched sidebags, Alan Cathcart thought it was a pretty bitchin' DS bike
in the heavy-dreadnought class! =8-)
Have fun!
DirtCrashr
Jeff Deeney
has a lot to be desired.
DirtCrashr (dirtc...@aol.comSpammizo) wrote:
: >Honda XR650L:
: couple 280+ mile (one-way) trips that were plenty enjoyable - but that's
: entirely subjective and a windscreen would have been REALLY helpfull by the end
: of the ride.
I have a small plexi-glass screen I have on my 650L most of the time.
: >- Instrument panel is very very basic.
: No fuel warnign light, emergency flashers, clock, or trip-computer, radio or
: anything, I don't think there's even a turn-signal light because it's possible
: to leave blinker on for mile after mile annyoing your friends who are behind
: you :-) .
Yes, it has a turn signal indicator light. I wonder what other
DreamCycle experiences you are surpressing? :-)
: >- No luggage rack/hook for carrying a day pack.
: There are several fine aftermarket ones available, but you shouldn't overload
: the subframe anyhow, not without adding some additional supports.
The 650L has a mongo subframe, in addition to a big steel fender support
to hold the large taillight.
: >- Gas tank is WAY tooooooo small (2.8 gallon).
: IMS and Clarke make bigger tanks, Acerbis makes one almost as big as the KLR's
: - a size which many believe is too big for offroad finesse but suitable for
: refueling other bikes in flight...
The Acerbisi is 6 gallons. That's what I'm running. Really spreads
your legs and is hard to see around on the trail. Before my first trail
ride, I calibrated & marked the big tank. I never want to get on a
tough trail with 6 gallons of gas.
-Jeffrey Deeney- DoD#0498 NCTR UTMA BRC COHVCO AMA
'99 ATK 260LQ-Stink Wheels '94 XR650L-DreamSickle
We don't stop riding because we get old, we get old because we stop riding.
Craig
> For 2-up or longer road trips, the KLR is a better bike. The XRL seat
> has a lot to be desired.
I just finished a 5 day 1,900 road trip[1] on my XRL... yes, the seat
sucked. With my camping gear positioned right, it worked nicely as a
backrest and made the ride not so bad. I've ridden a KLR a bit, and while
it's better, it isn't "better enough" to make up for the significant
weight increase of the KLR for the kind of riding I do. It'd be easier to
get a bigger seat & tank for the XRL than lose weight on the KLR. OTOH,
the KLR is a great bike if it suits your riding style.
I put in about 14 hours of riding one day, including some dirt roads,
deal's gap, the cherahola skyway and a few hours of I81. Surprisingly, I
didn't feel any worse after that day than the shorter ones.
> I have a small plexi-glass screen I have on my 650L most of the time.
A screen and highway pegs from happy trails would've transformed my XRL
into a goldwing... at least that's what I was thinking while droning down
the highway.
> The 650L has a mongo subframe, in addition to a big steel fender support
> to hold the large taillight.
I have an SRC aluminum rack, and between that, the back of my seat and
some eclipse p-38 saddlebags from my sportbike days, I was able to pack
for a week, including a (way too) big tent, thermarest, sleeping bag,
pillow, clothing, spare tube, tools, sundries, etc. I did some light
off-road riding while fully loaded and the subframe didn't seem to
complain.
> The Acerbisi is 6 gallons. That's what I'm running. Really spreads
> your legs and is hard to see around on the trail. Before my first trail
> ride, I calibrated & marked the big tank. I never want to get on a
> tough trail with 6 gallons of gas.
I ran the Acerbis on my 93 XRL - it was huge, but the range was great. If
I bother to change the tank on my current XRL, it'll be an IMS 4 gallon
tank. 4 Gallons of fuel will outlast my butt anyway...
Craig
[1] It was supposed to be a 10 day trip, but after the events on the 11th,
we found it difficult to enjoy ourselves and decided to head home. I'll
probably post a ride report sooner or later.
jacques
you what a KLR can do !
http://www.mcguide.com/yukon1.asp
Jacques
t <t@t.t> wrote in message
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Ken
wrote:
>I think you made a good choice. I came across this article today. Just shows
>you what a KLR can do !
>http://www.mcguide.com/yukon1.asp
As the author said:
"I'd like to give an honorable mention to the Kawasaki KLR while I'm
at it. This bike was perfect for the ride. I was able to load a ton of
stuff on the back and still be able to negotiate the long gravel
roads, the bumpy mining spurs, the deep water crossings and the
rocky stream beds all while getting 50 miles to the gallon. Pretty
hard to beat!"
I didn't see any mention of woods or even trails.
Terry Zechman
You probably picked the most road worthy of the mainline jap bikes. And, if
you're planning on putting some miles on, especially two up, you really
would have hated the XRL. I had an XR650L for a few months, and it was
pretty good off road, but on the road, that small tank sure sucked. It
didn't matter much though, for long before you ran out of gas, your hands
and ass went numb from the vibration. Riding two up was damn near
impossible, and real uncomfortable.
If you end up doing a lot of blacktop and find the KLR wanting when two up,
and still want to hit dirt roads and pole lines, you may want to consider
the big dualies. I got rid of my XRL and purchased a Triumph Tiger, 955cc
fuel injected triple. It's very comfortable two up, I've done several 400+
mile days single and two up. It sure weighs a ton though, 475 pounds dry.
The BMW 1150GS is along the same lines, it feels a little bigger and weighs
more than the Tiger. The BMW is also a few thousand more. There's a couple
of others available in the United States, but these are the most popular
with the largest dealer networks. BMW probably has it's act together better
with support and supplies, or at least that's the feeling I get from talking
with owners on both sides. You'll find these bikes have and the power and
braking for real two up riding.
I've done Deals Gap on both bikes. I did the Parson's Branch road out of
Smoky Mountain National Park (8 miles of gravel and 19 stream crossings) on
the XR, which was great, I'd do it on the Tiger too, only much slower. It
was great flicking that light XR from side to side on 129, but those knobby
tires sure slid, ALOT.
From Knoxville, I took the Tiger on a 500 mile day to Smoky Mt NP, up the
Blue Ridge Parkway to Mt Mitchell NC, and then back to Knoxville. This is
definitely not a trip I would have ever done on the XR. In Canada this
summer, the wife and I did a couple of 400 mile days in Nova Scotia and
Prince Edward Island. We also stopped and took a ride up Mount Washington
on our way home. Lots of dirt roads in Nova Scotia, it was an awesome trip.
Again, not a trip I would have wanted to complete on a thumper.
Anyway, you got yourself a great bike that sure is cheaper and easier to
replace parts on when you go down. There's also a ton of aftermarket
touring and dual sporting accessories available for the KLR.
If you get up my way drop me a note, we'll put some miles on...
Terry, Reading PA
tzec...@cloverfarms.com
2001 Triumph Tiger 955i
1999 KTM 250 EXC
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