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I picked up a 2008 XR650L new in 2010. Not a good year for the 650L. Seems they had problems with the cylinder liner in the cylinder as I burnt her up at 1600 miles and again at 3500 (but less sever). Honda electrical on this bike are low bid crap. With about 4500 miles on her I think I have her sorted - knock on wood. Check out ThumperTalk for all the good and bad (funny thing, the bad is not mentioned as much....).
Anyhow, I got it as I wanted a lighter bike for dirt. Meh, still to heavy for my skill set. A buddy has a DR-350 and as ridden the snot off of it. Even wore out his first, I think he's on his second one. He rides it from Phoenix to Canada on dirt - takes roads back so he can get to work again. Big guy too.
Myself; perhaps I need a 250.
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If I end up picking her up tomorrow, ThumperTalk seems like the place to go from what I gathered as well.
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I've been spending some time on Thumpertalk as I just picked up an '01 cr80rb to play with. I've gone through the top end and am now doing caliper rebuilds and bearings. As I've mentioned on that site I'm pretty sure this bike is gonna kill me.
2 stroke for life!
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Well, went and looked at the WR450 today. Was getting bad vibes off it and the seller, so walked away from it. Several little things from the street legal modifications were done very poorly, which led me to believe that other aspects of the bike were also not top notch. Dealer tried to pull me away from the bike cause he knew I would notice the stuff upon closer inspection, and seller was being dishonest. I was able to ride it around a bit though, and dang that motor is a blast!! Total torque monster. Will definitely be on the lookout for another one.
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Take a look at the KTM 500 EXC-F.
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I just read your updated post. If you can find a good one, an XR 400 is the AK-47 of dirtbikes. It is kickstart only, but you can throw it off of a cliff and she will fire right up.
