Motorcycles

The HD Sportster

Buying the Honda XR650L

The Trip from Salt Lake City to Virginia

Early Motorcycle Interest

First Motorcycle License 

Big Singles

Early Motorcycles

Five Hondas

Two Yamahas

XR650L Users Group

Rolling Thunder XV

AJS and Matchless Owners Club

Honda
 

Honda XR650L Page

    I've long enjoyed dual-sport motorcycles.  Years ago we called them trail bikes, or enduros, or street-trail, and more recently, dual purpose.  The name doesn't matter.  I like serious trail riding, but I want a motorcycle that is at home on the street, too.  Magazine writers used to say that a good dirt bike won't handle well on the street, but I discovered that wasn't true at all.  Hard motocross knobbies don't handle well on the street because the rubber is too hard to grip well on pavement.  Trials universal tires, on the other hand, are meant to grip on wet rocks and mud; and on pavement they are equal to all but the stickiest street tires.  With trials universal tires or equivalent, a good dual-sport or trail bike handles on the street as well as any road machine.  I personally like the nimble response of a lighter weight motorcycle.  I'm happiest if it weighs around 200 pounds, and anything up to 350 pounds is acceptable.  Someday, I may try an 800-pound something or other, but not this year.

    I also have a preference for four-stroke single-cylinder motors 350 cubic centimeter (cc) displacement and larger.  More on that on the Big Singles page.

    When dual-sport motorcycles with 600 cc and 650 cc engines appeared on the market, I decided one of those would be my next motorcycle, but a few years went by until I could afford to buy one.  I started looking in February of this year, and it didn't take long to pick the Honda XR650L.  The other brands are no doubt good motorcycles; but they feel a bit heavier, and my excellent experience with four previous Hondas gives me a strong preference for Honda.

    I first saw a Honda XR650L up close at Long Beach Honda while in Southern California on business.  The people at Long Beach Honda were very nice and answered all my questions.  However, when I began shopping in Virginia in the metropolitan Washington, DC, area, the local dealers did not have any XR650Ls in stock.  They told me that model was back-ordered and they had deposits on the next ones to arrive.  I heard the same story from dealers in Maryland.  I began to get worried when a dealer in Syracuse, NY (another business trip), told me production had ended for the year 2000 - no more XR650Ls this year.  Worse yet, when my wife and I visited our family in Florida, dealers there said the same thing.  A desperation call to Long Beach Honda revealed that they had three deposits on XR650Ls and no forecast for the next shipment. 

    At that point I was walking around under a cloud of doom, ruining life for all around me because I was thinking I couldn't buy the motorcycle I wanted.  My wife suggested that, since we were already planning to visit my son in Salt Lake City, Utah, I ask him to check his local dealer.  The next day he called to say Honda-Suzuki of Salt Lake had two Honda XR650Ls.  It took me about one second to make up my mind - buy the motorcycle in Salt Lake City and ride it back to Virginia.  Next day the folks at Honda-Suzuki of Salt Lake took my deposit over the phone, and we concluded the sale two weeks later by mail.  I got my Virginia title and registration before we left for Salt Lake City.

    A windshield on a dual-sport motorcycle may seem unusual, but it is a blessing on a four-day trip on the Interstates, which was my plan to return from Salt Lake City to Virginia.  It worked perfectly.  For trail riding two inch-wide knobs quickly detach it from the handlebar.

   To get the 600-mile checkup done before I left Salt Lake City meant putting close to 600 miles on the new motorcycle on Friday, 12 May, and getting the checkup done Saturday.  Rain and lightning threatened in the morning, but by 10 AM the weather cleared and my first long day (490 miles) on the XR650L went without a hitch.  Photo on the right above is just before leaving my son's home in Salt Lake City.

    I stopped at two snowmobile dealers in Salt Lake City to shop for a new snowmobile suit.  Finding nothing suitable or affordable, I headed south on Interstate 15 towards Provo, resigned to a chilly day at about 42 degrees.  Luckily, I shortly discovered Zeeman Family Sports in Spanish Fork, where I outfitted myself with a two-piece snowmobile suit by Sno Rider.  Needless to say, the rest of the day's ride was very comfortable.  The suit will be good for the coldest weather I may encounter in Virginia any time of year.  Update, 30 January 2001 - the suit works just fine at 15 degrees F.

    Next day Honda-Suzuki of Salt Lake took care of the 600-mile checkup.  Naturally, there was nothing wrong, and the XR650L was ready for the trip east.

    I call the XR650L "Superchuffer."  Obviously, because it really is a super motorcycle.  There is simply no other word for it.  Handling is light and precise and it has the power to pass with just a light roll of the throttle, even uphill and against the wind.  As I ride the familiar streets and highways around Washington, DC, I'm able to compare Superchuffer's performance to previous motorcycles.  It continually surprises me with outstanding ease and comfort of handling on both street and highway.  Unfortunately, at this writing I haven't yet done any trail riding because now nearly all the off-road areas near here are closed, but that will come.

    The "chuffer" part of the nickname comes from the unique sound Japanese big singles have with their very quiet mufflers - definitely a "chuff, chuff, chuff" instead of a "blat, blat, blat."

    This is the motorcycle I've waited for all my life.  The wait was worth it.  The cost was worth it.  And the ride from Salt Lake City to Virginia was the most exciting and pleasing way to break in a new motorcycle I can imagine. 

    In the photo on the left Superchuffer has about 3250 miles on her, as well as most of the bugs and dust from Salt Lake City to Virginia.

    Update, 3 June 2002:

    Superchuffer is now on her second set of tires at about 22,000 miles, and the front brake pads are due to be replaced.  Amazingly, the O-ring chain is still within specs, although it's beginning to make some noise.  I had to replace the throttle cable at about 13,000 miles, so I now carry a spare.  She still looks pretty good (see pic on Rolling Thunder XV page).

    I had a mysterious problem with pre-ignition (knocking) and poor idling that my dealer couldn't fix.  Dealer's advice was to use premium gas, which helped, but it still knocked a bit.  Finally, after several frustrating months, I tried replacing the O-ring between the air intake manifold and the cylinder head (dealer took three weeks to get the O-ring).  That got some improvement, but not a complete solution.  After another several months I replaced the Honda O-ring with a slightly larger one from the local hardware store.  Significant improvement - no more knocking and a steady idle.

    I bought a Dynojet Stage One carbureter kit and a four-gallon gas tank from Baja Designs.  The jet kit gives noticeably more power, and maybe a bit more fuel consumption.  The gas tank will let me go more than an hour between gas stops.  The short range was a major irritant to me.

    Update, 29 February 2004:

    Big Glitch.  My motor began to make a terrible clacking sound when coasting down.  Inspection revealed that the valve guide on the right-hand exhaust valve had moved up about an eighth of an inch and the oil seal had broken.  The noise was probably the valve sticking open and slamming shut.  One intake and one exhaust valve were leaking slightly.  My new dealer (dropped the one spoken of above due to lack of service) thought it had overheated and recommended replacing the whole head, especially after I told him about the knocking experience above.  I replaced the piston rings while I had it apart.  I wrote to Honda about this because I had complained to the (former) dealer during the warranty period about slight clacking while starting.  He said that was normal because of the automatic decompressor, which works on the right-hand exhaust valve.  But now, after this repair, there is no clacking at any time, even when starting.  I think the motor had overheated and damaged the valve guide during the warranty period.  Honda wrote back to say they wouldn't do anything for me now about the cost of repair.

    Update, 1 June 2004:

    I finally had to replace the chain and sprockets at about 34,000 miles.  The new O-ring chains are simply amazing.

    After four years and 37,000 miles I still love this bike.