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What to change? XR650, CRF450, CRF230

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Thrasherg

Thrasherg

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Joined
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Location
Princeton, Texas
First Name
Gary
Last Name
Waugh
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Next year my wife and I are planning to ride the Trans-America-Trail (will purchase maps from Sam). For the moment we are trying to decide on what bikes to get and have a short list. My wife rides a lot of off road on a CRF230 which she loves, so given her height (She's short!) I think a CRF230L is the obvious choice. I ride a YZ426 and for this holiday am trying to decide between an XR650L (a bit heavy) or a CRF450X (modern and powerful).
Given that I have not ridden either the 450 or 650 I thought I would ask for advise from people on this list that have either tried both bikes, or have ridden the trail and can give recommendations?
Also given that no bike is perfect, what should we look at changing/adding to these bikes before riding the trail? I was thinking a larger gas tank for the 650 (Not sure if bigger tanks exist for the 450 and 230?), LED lights as they are less likely to fail due to all the vibration, hand guards, etc.. Should we be looking at any kind of tuning (air filters, exhausts, jet klits, etc) for these bikes? We won't be doing this ride for another 12 months, but planning is half the fun so wanted to start getting ideas..

Regards Gary
 
NOT a modern 450. They are too high-strung, too high maintenance, and too small small to carry enough stuff for a long trip. Plus they are meant to haul butt and do it well. They aren't built to putt along for hours on end, so they will beat the crap out of you as a result.

I have a WR450 that was plated and dual sported. I let the registration and inspection lapse because it was such a horrid dual sport bike. I now have it as my dirt bike and have a KLR as my dual sport bike and couldn't be happier. That WR will NEVER see pavement again...LOL
 
Thanks Bill, that was my concern, my YZ needs a lot of maintenance to keep it running sweet and I was worried the CRF450 would also need a lot.. We are hoping to not carry too much stuff on the bikes, (we hate camping) so are planning to hotel it along the route, this means we need to carry jerry cans, tools, clothes, maps and some electronic parts, but I want to keep weight to a minimum as we know excessive weight kills you very quickly.
Sounds like the XR650L is probably the way to go.. What are good mods for this bike? Anyone ridden a CRF230L long distance and would care to chime in with updates that are worth while?

Gary
 
The XR650L is very cold natured. Myself and many others have fixed this problem with re-jetting the carb. Some people rejet and leave the air filter and exhaust stock and others do the whole thing. It runs much better after I did the air filter jet kit and exhaust on my XRL but it still ran before hand it just took alot longer to warm up. Check out the XR650L thread for alot of great mod info if you are interested in that. Lots of options for luggage racks/gear and stuff so I've been realy happy with my XR650L as a dual sport so far.

The seat height doesn't bother me because I'm 6'6" and it is the lightest bike i've ever ridden so I can't tell you about the others. I do know that I wouldn't want to ride anything smaller/buzzyer than the big XR is so I'd be apprehensive toward riding a smaller bike for long miles.
 
Thanks Tall Gears, I am 6'2" & 175lbs so the height doesn't bother me, the XR650 seems to have been around with Noah's ARK so it seems a well proven bike with a good reputation.. I was thinking about fitting a free flowing exhaust, better air filter and jet kit and leave it at that for tuning.. A larger gas tank and a cycleracks to fit the gear on!! and am still looking at tyres..
The CRF230L bothers me more as so little seems to be known about it for reliability. My wife is 5'1" tall and is on tip toe with this bike so I am trying to keep it as light as possible, not planning to put much on her's maybe a small rack, but most of our stuff will be on the 650 (along with a small jerry can and tools).

Gary
 
I have actually had both the 230l and the 650l. I would think the 230l would be just fine for your wife. Mine topped out at about 65mph on the hiway with me being about 200lbs. It is a great bike. I currently still own the 650 great bike bone stock or modded. It is a lil on the heavy side but once u get the feel of it you will be fine. My only suggestion to you would be to put the biggest gas tank you can find on the Xr. The stock one just doesn't hold enough fuel. Best I can remember my 230 got about 120 mile before reserve
 
XR650L or DR650 would be sweet for that trip. The CRF230L is a good choice for your wife considering that she is already comfortable enough to ride it with confidence and competence. No need to throw her on a faster bike in prep for a trip.
 
trasherg.. this is mine 2007 xr650l with stock tank/wing's..and the acerbis 5.8 (jumbo-tank :thumb:

lonnies009.jpg


P7231376.jpg


lonnies007.jpg
i like it..so will you.!!!:thumb:
 
Thanks Guys, I figured if I put a larger tank on the XR, then I can carry an empty container and if the wife was to run out, we could take gas from the XR and get her going, that way I don't have to carry a full jerry can (An XR with big tank should have no trouble making 200 miles to a tank?). I'm guessing that we will need to plan fuel stops every 100 miles or so.. Will have to try an XR650 to get an idea of the weight, I used to own a WR400 so am trying to imagine how much heavier an XR650 would be..

Thanks Hancock, that is exactly what I am thinking off, how do you like the rack? They look seriously strong to me.. I see you are running the stock exhaust? I thought it would be heavy and restrictive so was planning to change for an aftermarket system.. Did the tank come red in colour or did you paint it? I have only seen white/transparent tanks (And don't like the look!!). You look to have raised the handelbars? Does it make a difference? what raisers have you used?

Tallgear, do you do much riding standing up on your XR? If yes, have you done anything to raise the handlebars to make for a more comfortable position? I find all dirt bikes make me bend over and lean forward too much!! Gets very uncomfortable after 30 minutes or so?

Gary
 
I'm surprised nobody has stated the conversion option yet - If you wife likes the crf230 then why not plate the one you already own? It is a fairly simple process in TX and would be cheaper than buying another bike.

I know a guy that rides his plated crf230 all over, He geared it up 1 tooth larger on counter-shaft, it will do 70+ but he says it is happiest around 60 or less.

You may only be considering Honda but if your not, then for her I'll throw in the suggestion of the TW200 - These make good D/S bikes and work well for those challenged in height. Their biggest drawback (like the 650L) is small stock tank.
 
Thanks for the suggestion, I have registered 4 of my bikes that I brought from France to the USA so I am familiar with the process. We are considering it but I wasn't sure if a 230cc engine would be too small for a long trip like the TAT. Now it seems like it's okay I will seriously look at registering it.. Of course that will now let the wife complain that I will have an extra bike (The XR650) so I need to sell my YZ and use the 650 for off-road and D/S!!:lol2: I will not sell my YZ!!
 
Thrasherg said:
Tallgear, do you do much riding standing up on your XR? If yes, have you done anything to raise the handlebars to make for a more comfortable position? I find all dirt bikes make me bend over and lean forward too much!! Gets very uncomfortable after 30 minutes or so?

Gary
Click to expand...

I have a clarke 4.7 gallon tank and get over 200 miles per tank without even hitting reserve. Yes I like to stand up alot when I ride and yes I had to raise the handlebars as much as I could. I first went with Rox 3" risers, then protaper Pastrana FMX bars to finish the highest rise combo I could find. The Pastrana bars are the tallest and least bent toward the rider making for the most comfortable standing riding position. they are also the 1 1/8th "fatbar" With this combo you'll have to get aftermarket clutch and throttle cables. I ordered custom length cables from motionpro... I went with wrap around bark busters too.

I also have the Cyclerack like Hancock and it is very sturdy and great help when trying to pick up the BRP after it takes a dirt nap!

Raised bars with bark busters..
2011-03-05182728.jpg


Cyclerack and FMF Q4 exhaust.. still quiet for the remote places out there but still unrestricted!
2011-03-05182708.jpg
 
Thanks guys,

you really have been a great help, now I know exactly what I want to do to my XR, but I have to buy the bike first!! Will start looking in September/October unless the better half gives permission to start the hunt earlier:rofl:

Will also look into getting the better halfs CRF230 road legal and registered.. She agrees it's a better idea than buying a CRF230L!! Thanks for the suggestion EnduroRdr..

Gary
 
Thrasherg said:
Will also look into getting the better halfs CRF230 road legal and registered..
Click to expand...

I found these folks very good to deal with, since your crf already has a battery system then you may find it easy to just get the pieces you need for the conversion as opposed to buying an entire kit. Although kits are more economical if you need everything.

http://www.procycle.us/dskits/dskit.htm

I wish I had pictures of my buddies 230 for you. He used his stock headlight and found a hi/lo bulb that fit the stock housing and this tail light - Taillight combo from that same link.
 
TallGears, are you sure about the 3" rise? I can find 2" risers from ROX or 3.5" for ATV but nothing for a Dual sport bike higher than 2"? Am I missing something? :zen:

Gary
 
TallGears, are you sure about the 3" rise? I can find 2" risers from ROX or 3.5" for ATV but nothing for a Dual sport bike higher than 2"? Am I missing something
Click to expand...

Yep. You buy the two inch riser. Then they have an additional 1 inch piece you can add in if you want additional height. Its like 20$ per 1" bar.

Look down at the bottom of Rox's pivoting bar riser section.. Its called a 1" lock spacer.

http://www.roxspeedfx.com/cgi-bin/cart/showitems.cgi?subcat_id=268
 
I was riding the YZ426 today and realised the XR650 weighs almost 80lbs more!! That is a lot of extra weight, If I go the XR650 route I know what I want to do, but I am still toying with taking a CRF450X and registering it for the road. It would mean oil changes every 3 or 4 days on the TAT, but 80 lbs less weight will make a huge difference and I just love the way the modern 450's handle!! Also if I get to join you guys on Galvaston and the sand, the 450 will be much easier than the 650!!
Still trying to decide which way to go.. Got a while to decide.. I think my wife's CRF230F will probably need an oil change every few days as well. I am going to try and register that first for road use and see how complicated it is and then decide 450 or 650.. I suspect I will need to get a new alternator for the 450 to run the headlight, this might also be the case for the 230F, but I could probably fit the alternator from a 230L (Unless Honda made it so they couldn't be interchanged!!). Decisions, decisions!! :giveup:
Honda list the 450X for trail use and have changed the Titanium valves for stainless so that should make the head a bit more reliable..

Gary
 
TallGears said:
I have a clarke 4.7 gallon tank and get over 200 miles per tank without even hitting reserve. Yes I like to stand up alot when I ride and yes I had to raise the handlebars as much as I could. I first went with Rox 3" risers, then protaper Pastrana FMX bars to finish the highest rise combo I could find. The Pastrana bars are the tallest and least bent toward the rider making for the most comfortable standing riding position. they are also the 1 1/8th "fatbar" With this combo you'll have to get aftermarket clutch and throttle cables. I ordered custom length cables from motionpro... I went with wrap around bark busters too.

I also have the Cyclerack like Hancock and it is very sturdy and great help when trying to pick up the BRP after it takes a dirt nap!

Raised bars with bark busters..
2011-03-05182728.jpg


Cyclerack and FMF Q4 exhaust.. still quiet for the remote places out there but still unrestricted!
2011-03-05182708.jpg
Click to expand...

Wow.... Pretty sure I own this bike now. If tall gears is still around, did you sell it to a hung over college student from San Marcos? That'd be the guy I bought it from.
 
Hah.

I sold it to 2 guys that came together. They picked it up from me in Addison.
 
Yeah, a younger college age guy and his buddy.

They went out and partied the night before, apparently (according to him) he said he didn't even ride it, as he was too hung over...just paid you and left.

Anyways, here she is now.....
Same tank, risers, and bars, and exhaust. Still have that giant cyclerack rack too.

IMG_20160509_184421300_HDR_zpsxd2gmgme.jpg
 
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Cyclerack... definitely! On the bikes, I have no advice but if a Tdub (ok - at least Q) can manage 70mph fully loaded and still tractor through things I should never be allowed to do, it could be a fine choice for your wife to have for the trip. The fat tires can be a plus or a minus depending on how much leaning you do or do not want to do.
 
Nice! Good work on the fender and signals etc. Been riding it?

How many miles you have on it now?

Any other mods?
 
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