2012 Honda XR™ 650L
User Reviews
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Hiigh engine weight causes problems.
By (I am an Owner) on Jun 28, 2012I bought an XL650R in 2007 and found it to be a decent bike on pavement rides but got in trouble a number of times dues to the air cooled high heavy engine. If you start to lose balance even on a slow rocky trail, the high center of gravity makes it feel like a 500 lb. bike. Once it starts to tip ... over there is no turning back. I have been waiting for years for a liquid version since Honda has had a liquid cooled off road only version for many years. Why they have never used this engine for so many years is beyond me--apparently price since it is the cheapest bike in this category.
I finally had to quit off road riding due to injuries so bought a 2012 for strictly street riding because I like the ergonomics and the high center of gravity is not much of a problem on the road. Bu the bike is virtually unchanged from my 2007 which was very similar to the 2002 my buddy had. How a bike with 10 year old technology placed 3rd is beyond me. I also own the 2nd place Kawasaki KLR and the 4th place Suzuki 400 DRZ. They certainly deserve their top 5 ratings. But the Honda-no way. I would not even put it in the top 10.
Rating breakdown
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2012 xr650l
By (I am an Owner) on Feb 22, 2012great bike runs great handles great tooo
tall from factory must bo lowered at least 4 inches in rear it is 6 inches taller that the 2000 model in seat hight
Rating breakdown