Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128024
Honda XR650R hensive test. While spending a day with me riding, near the site of the aforementioned enduro, he let me switch bikes back and forth between a 2000-model XR650R and a 2000model XR600R. I initially rode the 650, and then tried out the 600. I immediately wanted the 650 back. It was then that I realized just how different the bikes were, and how making a comparison between the two just wouldn't be fair. With that said, I decided to test the XR650R as what it really is - a brand new motorcycle, and not a revised version of the XR600R. After all, the air-cooled 600s are still being produced for the year 2000, and every year Honda sells as many of them as they can make. After riding the 650, I can assure the folks at Honda that they won't have any problems selling this bike in big numbers either. Here's why. Normally when riding or racing a motorcycle, there are concerns with the weight of the machine. While the 650 weighs in at a claimed dry weight of 277 pounds, it really doesn't feel that heavy, largely due to its slim design. While the engine is big, the stock exhaust is big and the gas tank is big, the bike feels comfortably slim for an off-road four-stroke. The enduro that I competed in was approximately 70 miles in length, made up of a variety of terrain. A majority of the trails featured narrow and deep sand washes with big rocks scattered throughout. Negotiating your way through such terrain on a wide, heavy machine isn't easy, but of Johnny Campbell. But while the present-day, air-cooled XR600R has an incredible win record with help from Campbell and Scott Summers, it just wasn't the most modem of motorcycles. With the introduction of the XR650R, Honda now has a very modern race machine - a motorcycle that is competitive in some conditions right out of the crate. Comparing the XR600R to the new XR650R is not a fair comparison, though everyone will certainly do so. I brought the stock XR650R to an enduro held in Barstow, California, and everybody who strolled by stopped and had something to say. "How does it compare to the old MATT FREEMAN PHOTOS BY GRUMPY AND FREEMAN here is a long line of brand new high-performance fourstrokes due to hit showroom floors in 2000. Some are motocrossers, some are off-road bikes, some are new models, some are evolved models - and one is even being manufactured (we think) by a company that builds bicycles. Honda's installment to the four-stroke wars for 2000 has been long awaited - and it was worth the wait. The only three major characteristics that the XR650R and the XR600R share is that they're both four-strokes, they're both Hondas, and they have both won the Baja 1000 at the hands 16 JANUARY 19, 2000' cue • e It looks slimmer. It looks stronger." Those were just a few of the questions and comments we fielded when they all laid eyes on the new 650. I'll admit it was a bit difficult to answer all the questions. After all, even though I had ridden the bike some 200 miles before even starting the enduro, they were trail riding miles only and I wasn't 100 percent sure on all the aspects of the 650. Hey, that's why I was here, competing in the District 37 Checkpoints MC Enduro. I wanted to give the bike a real world test from the viewpoint of an average A Enduro rider. Honda Baja race winner/boss Bruce Ogilvie gave me the 650, with with the 650 it is extremely simple. It handles well in such situations, allowing you to slice through sandy corners as if you were riding motocross. In my opinion, the aluminum frame may the best thing that Honda could have added to the new machine. Because of said frame, the 650 feels sturdy, yet not overly rigid. Less frame flex makes you feel more secure, especially when attacking obstacles at speed. The course I rode on also took riders through many high-speed, chewed-up trails that test a motorcycle's straight-on handling traits rather well. Again, the 650 passed with flying colors.More than one rider who bike? Is it as reliable? It looks bigger. By the intent of us giving it a com pre- was following me in the enduro com- n e vv s