Gonna bump the ol' thread yet again. Have been really enjoying tooling around on this 30 year old XR650L. Even on 50/50 Kendas with kinda-tall gearing, I continue to be impressed by it. It's definitely more then the sum of it's parts and spec sheet, as are many old-style air-cooled off-road bikes I feel....
Maybe I like it so much because it's the spiritual equivalent of my 30'ish year old pickup truck... Nothing to write home about, outdated to the max, reliable as hell (except for the starter) but hilariously effective in the right hands... or so I tell myself. 🤣
