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Before Pics: |Side View | Side View, close up | Front View, Stock | Rear View, Stock

1993 Honda XR650L Dual Sport Project After I finished (well sort of) the XR650RR supermoto project I decided I'd look for another 650 to do a dual sport project with. I placed a "XR deal wanted" ad on craigslist.com and after wading through the usual crap replies from guys with beater who think their junk is worth double because it's Bay Area Junk, I located this cherry '93 XR650L for a very reasonable price. It had 4000 original miles on the clock and was totally stock & unmolested, with the exception of the Maier hand guards. It had been a garage queen for the last several years and the former owner had taken really great care of her. Well, so much for a life of leisure...


Project Pics: |Side View | Front View | Rear View

Drop Weight. Increase Range. Make it Handle Better. Make it Pretty. Although the XR650L is a pretty good ride out of the box, it has some serious issues. At 340+ lbs she's a big girl, and with the early 90's paint scheme, she ain't all that purty either. She also lacks personality, as the stock airbox & pipe make her sound more like a Honda generator than a big dual sport thumper. She also lacks range. The stock 2.9 gallon tank is a joke, and it's real heavy, too.

Weight/Appearance Mods | I dropped about 30lbs with the following:

  • Baja Designs enduro tail light
  • Lockhart Phillips Mini rear turn signals
  • Handguard-mount LED sealed front signals a.k.a. WalMart truck/trailer marker lights
  • SuperTrapp ID2 slip-on exhaust
  • K&N filter and uncorked stock airbox
  • Acerbis Blitz 50W/50W headlight assembly
  • IMS 4.1 gal tank (big increase in range, and about 6lbs lighter than stock)
  • IMS Smog Block-Off kit - off with the stupid air pump, canister, and all the plumbing
  • Dominator Bars & Moto Pad

    Appearance Mods | Just for looks:

  • Baja Designs Gripper seat cover - black. God did not intend seats to be red. I swear.
  • RTD tank graphics
  • Acerbis SuperMoto front fender. Looks great and flows more cooling air.
  • Transit Epic tail bag

    Handling Mods | A work in process:

  • Pirelli Scorpian AT Dual Sport Tires

    I'm in the process of sourcing a decent luggage rack and adding some soft luggage for some planned back road touring this spring. I'm also working on suspension mods, including adding an inverted fork off a CR500 to stiffen the front end up a bit and a WP rear shock.