It was around 1990 when an employee of American Honda’s R&D department showed up at the Cycle World Trek – an annual industry ride organized by the magazine’s advertising department – aboard a Frankenstein motorcycle with some familiar hardware. It had an XR600 off-road bike frame that had been fitted with the electric starter motor from Honda’s “pre-ADV” NX650. Once CW employees had ridden it, they were convinced that it wasn’t just a weekend passion project of a Honda employee; they were sure that it was nothing less than the prototype of a future production model.
Two years later, Honda officially unveiled the XR650L as a 1993 model, now one of the oldest and least changed models in the entire world of motorcycling. Thirty-one years of production have turned the XR650L into an air-cooled, carburetor-powered anachronism. For some, the XR-L is a nostalgia trip – they can’t look at it without remembering the XR600R, which achieved unlikely racing success at the hands of the great Scott Summers. For others, it has a timeless appeal. As a simple, utilitarian and reliable motorcycle, it’s the bike they want to ride around the world. Who can blame them? If you have a breakdown in the Nyainqêntanglha mountains of Tibet, you’d probably prefer it to happen on an XR-L that you can recover with a push, a tube of J-B Weld and a few laps on a nearby prayer wheel.
The XR650L uses a 644 cc SOHC air-cooled single-cylinder that produced 34.5 hp at 6,120 rpm and 42.5 Nm of torque at 5,320 rpm when it was on CW’s dynamometer. Derived from the NX650 (long discontinued), the engine uses a different cam to increase torque. It is fed by a 42.5 mm constant velocity (CV) carburetor and has a five-speed transmission. A dry sump lubrication system uses the frame tubes to store the oil; the filler cap is located on the spine, in front of the fuel tank.
Last year marked 30 years of production of the faithful XR650L. It probably passed with very little notice. As long as there are those who value simplicity over technical innovation, durability over preciousness and functionality over detail, there will always be a need for a bike like the XR650L.
So far, there is no official word on whether the Japanese model will be produced in Europe again. We’ll keep an eye out for any news.