My Recently Acquired, 2005 Honda XR650L

[FastDoc]

The BRP is no ordinary XR650L. Its an XR650LL. The second 'L' is for Lightened. :P

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by FastDoc

The BRP is no ordinary XR650L. Its an XR650LL. The second 'L' is for Lightened. :P

You are correct again, oh wise physician. I weighed the items I removed from my XR650L. However, I have not weighed the items I added to my bike. Therefore, my final, weight reduction figure is an estimate, but I believe it is a fairly accurate estimate. Without further ado, here are my calculations.

Weight of items removed from my XR650L:

Stock Battery & Battery “Suitcase”: 10.25 Lb
Stock Fuel Tank: 7.0 Lb
Stock Exhaust Header, minus heat shield: 3.0 Lb
Stock Headlight and Bracket: 3.0 Lb
SMOG Pump, Hoses, and associated hardware: 2.0 Lb
Stock Tail Light & License Plate Holder: 2.0 Lb
Passenger Foot Pegs: 1.5 Lb
Fuel Tank "Elephant Ears": 1.0 Lb
Engine Guard: 1.0 Lb

Total Weight Removed: 30.75 Lbs

Weight of items added to my XR650L:

Clarke 4.7-gallon Fuel Tank: 3.5 Lbs (estimate)
FMF Hi-Flo Header: 2.5 Lbs (estimate)
Baja Designs Headlight: 2.0 Lbs
Shorai Battery & foam: 1.25 Lbs
WPS Tail Light: 0.5 Lbs (estimate)

Total Weight Added: 9.75 Lbs

Net Weight Loss: 21.0 Lbs

Most of this removed weight was highly placed on the motorcycle. Here are my weight reduction modifications, listed in order of weight removed.

Net Weight Loss Figures

1) Shorai battery relocation: 9.0 Lbs
2) Clarke 4.7-gallon fuel tank replacing the stock fuel tank and air scoops: 4.5 Lbs
3) Removing SMOG pump and associated hardware: 2.0 Lbs
4) Removing Passenger Foot Pegs: 1.5 Lbs
4) WPS tail light replacing the stock tail light and license plate holder: 1.5 Lbs
5) Removing Engine guard: 1.0 Lbs
6) Baja Designs headlight replacing stock headlight and bracket: 1.0 Lbs
7) FMF Hi-Flo Header replacing stock header: 0.5 Lbs

I am very glad I removed the 21 pounds of highly placed weight from my XR650L. My bike feels much more nimble after the weight reduction. In stock form, my XR650L weighed 20 pounds less than a Suzuki DR650SE, and 29 pounds more than a Suzuki DR-Z400S. After shedding 21 pounds, my XR650L weighs 41 pounds less than a Suzuki DR650SE, and only 8 pounds more than a Suzuki DR-Z400.

P.S. If you examine my figures, you will note almost half of the total weight loss from my bike resulted from my Shorai battery relocation.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=666195

Spud

[SpudRider]

So far I have ridden about 16,000 miles on my Honda XR650L; the more I ride this bike, the better I like it!



I'm pleased to report the Dunlop, D952 rear tire I recently installed is working great, and is wearing like iron. I installed the size 110/90-18 tire, and I really enjoy the lower profile, and the resulting, lower saddle height I get from this rear tire.

Spud

[FastDoc]

I gotta hand it to you Brother Spud! You sure do get the mileage in! Enjoy and Ride On! :P

[prisoneruntochrist]

Spud this bike is pure awesomeness !!! I like the red tank,
And u have all the trails you would ever want to ride in!!!
<<---- this guy is jealous-----
Luke :wink:

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by prisoneruntochrist

Spud this bike is pure awesomeness !!! I like the red tank,
And u have all the trails you would ever want to ride in!!!
<<---- this guy is jealous-----
Luke :wink:

Thank you, Luke. Welcome to the XR650L fraternity! You can learn a lot about your recently acquired Honda by reading the XR650L thread at ADVRiders.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114834

I suggest you also check out the XR650L forums at 4Strokes.com.

http://www.4strokes.com/forums/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=156

Finally, you can learn a lot about your bike at the ThumperTalk forum.

http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=22

However, please don't leave us here! Forum members Deputy Gene and myself own XR650L motorcycles, and we would love to have you stay here with us! It's a pleasure to have a Christian brother join us on these forums. I'm sure I also speak for the other members of these forums.

Spud

[FastDoc]

It's a pleasure to have a Christian brother join us on these forums.

+1!

You speak for me in this regard, Brother Spud!

[SpudRider]

The OEM, XR650L counteshaft sprocket is notorious for stripping the splines from the bike's countershaft. 8O Therefore, about 27,000 miles ago, I switched to a wider C/S sprocket designed for the XR650R motorcyle.

When first installing the wider, XR650R C/S sprocket, the inside portion of the countershaft is higher than the worn splines on the outside of the countershaft. After riding several thousand miles with the XR650 C/S sprocket, the unworn portion of the splines will slowly wear down until the wear is even across the countershaft. At that time it appears the wider, XR650R C/S sprocket greatly reduces, or completely arrests further wear of the countershaft splines. Here’s a photographic review of my experience employing the XR650R C/S sprocket on my XR650L’s countershaft for the last 27,000 miles.

First, here is a photo of my countershaft splines before I started employing the XR650R CS sprocket. I bought my XR650L with 7,800 miles on the odometer, and the previous owner had only employed the OEM, Honda C/S sprocket. My bike had 10,000 miles on the odometer when I captured this photograph, and installed my first, XR650R C/S sprocket.



This is a photo of my countershaft after employing the XRR sprocket for 1,200 miles.



Here is a photograph of my countershaft after employing the XR650R CS sprocket for 4,000 miles.



Here is my XR650L countershaft after employing the XR650R countershaft sprocket for 5,600 miles.



Here is a photograph of my countershaft splines after employing the XR650R CS sprocket for 7,700 miles.



Here is a photograph of my countershaft splines after employing two, XR650R countershaft sprockets for a combined total of 10,400 miles.



Here is a photograph of my countershaft after employing three, XR650R countershaft sprockets for a total of 12,750 miles.



At this point I switched from a PBI, XR650R C/S sprocket to an even wider, Primary Drive, XR650R C/S sprocket. The wider PD sprocket engages the countershaft even deeper, and has worn away some of the inside chamfer on the countershaft itself. This last photograph was taken after employing the XR650R C/S sprockets for 27,000 miles.



My countershaft/bike now has 37,000 miles on the odometer.

Spud

[FastDoc]

It's holding up well. :P

What was the reason Honda went with a different sprocket in the first place?

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by FastDoc

It's holding up well. :P

What was the reason Honda went with a different sprocket in the first place?

The XR650R was designed after the XR650L. Therefore, I believe Honda designed the larger, XR650R C/S sprocket to correct the problems with the XR650L sprocket. :roll:

Spud

[FastDoc]

Makes sense.

[SpudRider]

About a week ago I installed four new items on my XR650L.

Tusk T-10 CR High Bend Handlebars
D-Flex Handguards with Spoilers
Pro Taper Pillow Top Grips
Tusk Grip Heater Kit

http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/p/...usk+handlebars
http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/p/...s%252Fspoilers
http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/p/...rip+heater+kit
http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/p/...llow+top+grips



I really like the Tusk T-10 handlebars; they are very similar in quality to the Pro Taper handlebars I installed on my Zong. The D-Flex Handguards fit the T-10 handlebars very well, and I did not need to castrate my control levers.



The Tusk Grip Heater Kit works great, and I am very pleased with this purchase. I mounted the grip heater switch to the inside of my Baja Designs headlight shroud. I have perviously installed the Pillow Top grips on my Zong, and they are superb.



The Tusk grip heaters kept my hands toasty warm all day long, even while riding on the summit of Big Southern Butte.



Here's a view from the summit looking northwest to Arco.



Arco is 23 aerial miles distant from the butte. You can see the Big Lost Range of mountains in the far background of the following photograph.



I can't believe I waited this long to install grip heaters! The Tusk grip heaters are the greatest thing since sliced bread!

Spud

[FastDoc]

I miss Arco....

I like grip heaters. Next best thing to heated gloves but more convienent and aways there. The Gold Wing has them.

I have considered adding them to the KLX but I run heated gloves on it. The YZ has no electrical system per se, and Little Sweetie has such a small battery I don't trust it, and I don't ride her in cold weather anyways.

[MICRider]

Love love love grip heaters! Some mornings my commute is only a little above zero (Celsius) and the grip heaters make a huge difference!

Only catch 22 with mine is that I bought the Oxford ones where the elements are built right into the supplied grips... I'd like to try some different grips now (like your pillow tops) but I can't. Next time around I will go for the element type ones that you use your own grips with .

[SpudRider]

Besides being able to choose different grips, the Tusk Grip Heater Kit is regularly priced at $20. I just checked the vendor's website, and the Tusk kit is now on sale for $9.99! 8O

http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/p/...rip+heater+kit

Spud