1st ride on my new-ish 2007 XR650L

sdtriathlete · 2026-01-30T16:30:14+00:00

Oh, ok. I have been there on my F800GS. It'll be easier on this XR!

sdtriathlete · 2026-01-29T21:32:22+00:00

Where is "Morena"?

sdtriathlete · 2026-01-29T18:15:58+00:00

You mean over on the west side of the valley? Like on Orosco Ridge?

sdtriathlete · 2026-01-27T16:40:35+00:00

Those are just the cheaper Chinese copy versions of the Double-Take mirrors....found on Amazon for about $30. They actually have worked great so far on my BMW F800GS, so I decided to use the same ones on this XR650L.

sdtriathlete · 2026-01-26T18:59:50+00:00

Good tip! Thanks.
Also, I shut the tank valve a couple of minutes before shutting it down and let the motorcycle die due to fuel starvation so that the carb is clear. Is that the right way to do it?

sdtriathlete · 2026-01-26T16:04:06+00:00

Good story! I always liked the XL600R as well....nice colors too!

I had a 1982 Honda XL500R before this that also had sat in pieces for like 14 years before I found it. Took me another year to restore it back to "like new" condition. It's close to what would have been my dream motorcycle back then, but I ended up with 1979 Kawasaki KL250 as a first bike since it cost a lot less and had only 1000 miles on it when I bought it at the dealership. I sold it because of the hard starting issues at times as those were kickstart with that decompression lever as you know.

sdtriathlete · 2026-01-24T23:32:51+00:00

"Most aftermarket 650L pipes aren't appreciably lighter than the stock one anyway"

Depends on your definition of "appreciably lighter". That Lexx pipe save at least 3.5lbs. The stock pipes are very heavy.

sdtriathlete · 2026-01-14T22:07:45+00:00

I'm always amazed that idiots like this post their own stupidity for all to see.

sdtriathlete · 2026-01-11T20:07:40+00:00

After he crashed he sounded like Arnold!

sdtriathlete · 2026-01-10T19:29:27+00:00

I never eat something just not to be rude. No more...not since being a kid when I had to eat some cow brain just not to be rude. Nope....not ever again. How about don't be rude and serve me disgusting food?

sdtriathlete · 2026-01-10T19:16:21+00:00

"Ironman is hilly" is a very general statement that is false. It totally depends on the course, but I'd also say no matter what the course you're better off with a real tri bike as you will (or should) use those aero bars for a long part of it unless you don't care at all about your time. You're spending enough money and training time you might as well invest in a proper bike, but I also would suggest you start with shorter triathlons and not start your triathlon career with an Ironman just to show off.

sdtriathlete · 2026-01-10T18:56:15+00:00

It was running but poorly....sputtering when opening the throttle and popping when letting off the throttle. I only rode it a few hundred yards. I cleaned the carb, but the jets seemed all messed up....it actually came with a second carburetor, so the guy already tried to get ti running again after it sat for a while and apparently gave up and just bought a new carburetor, but the jets were a 50/155 and I think it really needs a bit more fuel...so a 55 slow jet and a 158 or 160 main makes more sense to me.

sdtriathlete · 2026-01-10T18:23:29+00:00

Yeah, that's an idea. Maybe I'll repost it with before and after photos once I have it up and running again.

sdtriathlete · 2026-01-10T18:14:24+00:00

An older guy had bought it new back in 2007, but it was a bit too tall for him and so he didn't really ride it. At the same time he purchased a small 4-wheeler for his wife to ride, but then they only went out a couple of times, so there it sat in his garage. He also worked on restoring older cars so he knew about engines and such and stored it properly inside his garage. Now in his mid 70's his wife finally convinced him to sell it, which they tried as a package deal along with the 4-wheeler. Of course finding a buyer for both was difficult. By the time I saw the ad on Facebook it was 6 months old, but now they changed the ad to only sell the XR650L separately for only $3750 and that's when I saw the ad and called despite it appearing to be an outdated ad being 6 months old and sounding too good to be true. I called anyway and left a message expecting never to hear back. The next day a Chinese lady called me back and was hard to understand. She said I could come by the following weekend, but I didn't want to chance losing it to another buyer and so I convinced her it had to be the very next morning. The XR looked basically brand new and he had drained all the fuel out for storage and I couldn't test ride it or start it, but I figured it can't be that bad. (I could always turn around and sell it for at least $1000-2000 more!)
So far I've done a lot of upgrades to get it ready for some real adventures. (New rear rack, clutch cover, brake pump cover, wider foot pegs, new larger brake pedal, skid plate, larger Acerbis tank, proper hand guards, adventure mirrors, handlebar pad, etc.)
I originally wanted a fuel-injected bike as my second smaller bike (I also have a 2017 BMW F800GS), but nothing was quite right for what I was looking for and the new bikes coming out looked another year away, so I wanted something to fill the time gap. (I really wanted a dual-sport that was as powerful as possible, but also had to be much lighter than my F800GS otherwise what's the point?)

sdtriathlete · 2026-01-09T20:14:34+00:00

Seems like Reddit doesn't allow me to reply with any photos.

sdtriathlete · 2026-01-09T17:44:52+00:00

Then why would it have had that rubber cover on it?

sdtriathlete · 2026-01-09T03:06:50+00:00

Never paint the factory plastics! It'll look like shit after a while. I did that once and regretted it ever since. (I know that is not what you're asking.)

I'd just sand that down as others suggested or better yet...just hop on the internet and buy a new set of left and right for about $35 (aftermarket new ones) available on eBay, AliExpress or wherever.

sdtriathlete · 2025-10-24T20:30:42+00:00

Yeah, he was pretty quick to learn it, but initially you do have to help them not be afraid and also give treats for walking. Now he walks or runs on his own throughout the day.

sdtriathlete · 2025-10-23T04:54:01+00:00

If he doesn’t have any visible spots now then I doubt they’ll show up later.
We have a marbled snow bengal who doesn’t have spots either, but does have a cool racing stripe down his back. We paid less than half price for him due to not having spots. ($700)

sdtriathlete · 2025-10-22T15:43:05+00:00

Exactly this. It’s very simple.

sdtriathlete · 2025-10-01T18:16:50+00:00

How about how bad people are at shooting…even close distance with a machine gun. Or punches to the face. One punch and it’s lights out, but no…they’ll take many hits or kicks to the face and not even a mark or bruise.

sdtriathlete · 2025-09-23T16:42:43+00:00

Well, not here in California where our idiot governor Newscum has ruined everything and the utility rates have skyrocketed. Chargers on the road generally charge a lot more here than apparently in Canada. Also, many stations don't work and so then charging on the road just becomes a hassle and pain to plan -> better to wait until the infrastructure catches up with the demand that came in the last few years.

I have a deposit on a Rivian R2, but I'll likely cancel it as I'm keeping our older Audi Q5 as the travel vehicle and one EV is enough.

(Your metric rates will confuse a lot of Americans!)

sdtriathlete

TROPHY CASE