Honda XR650L (1993-Present) Maintenance Schedule and Service Intervals
This is the maintenance schedule and associated service intervals for the Honda XR650L.
The XR650L is a dual-sport motorcycle manufactured by Honda, part of the Honda XR series. It was released in 1992 as a 1993 model.
The Honda XR650L has a carburettor-fed single-cylinder “thumper” engine in a lightweight, off-road focused chassis. It has been produced virtually unchanged since 1993, almost three decades. If it ain’t broke…!
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Honda XR650L Service Intervals
The Honda XR650L has 2000 miles / 3200 km or 6 months service intervals between oil changes.
But the standard service is at the 4000 mile / 6400 mark, at which point you check the valve clearances and give the motorcycle a once-over.
You only need to change the air cleaner every 12000 miles / 19200 km if riding in normal conditions. But if you use your XR650L off-road, which is likely, you’ll need to replace it more often.
Maintain your chain well. As the chain on off-road bikes gets a lot of abuse, it’s likely you’ll need to clean and maintain it often.
What you need to service your Honda XR650L
What do you need to service an air-cooled single-cylinder engine? Almost nothing! But you do still need some basic motorcycle maintenance tools. But you will need the following items for a basic service.
| Part | Honda XR650L spec |
|---|---|
| Engine Oil | Pro Honda GN4 10W-30 (or another oil, preferably 10W-30 as specified in the manual) |
| Brake fluid | Honda DOT 4 (you can use any DOT 4 fluid) |
| Spark plug | Manual calls for a NGK DPR8EA-9 spark plug. |
| Oil filter | The HF112 (Hiflofiltro) oil filter is a drop-in replacement. |
| Air filter | Use the HA-6592 (K&N) air filter |
| Grease | Generic lithium soap-based grease (for external pivot points, bearings, etc.) |
| Brake pads | Most people like stock Honda brake pads. Front brake pads are 45105-MY6-415, and rear brake pads are 43105-MY6-415. |
Honda XR650L Maintenance Schedule
Below is the maintenance schedule for the Honda XR650L.
Honda recommends you get the wheels and steering head bearings serviced by a qualified mechanic. But everything else can be done by someone with mechanical skills and the proper tools.
Maintenance procedures
- I: inspect and clean, adjust, lubricate, or replace, if necessary
- C: clean
- L: lubricate
- R: replace
Notes:
- Replace the oil between services (every 2000 mi / 3200 km) or every 6 months
- At higher odometer readings, keep following it in the pattern shown.
- [OR] Service wheels, tyres, steering head bearings, a more frequently when riding off-road.
| mi x 1000 | 0.6 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 24 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| km x 1000 | 1 | 6.4 | 12.8 | 19.2 | 25.6 | 32 | 38.4 | Every |
| Fuel Line | I | I | I | |||||
| Fuel Strainer Screen | C | C | C | C | C | C | ||
| Throttle Operation | I | I | I | |||||
| Carburetor Choke | I | I | I | |||||
| Air Cleaner (HA-6592) | R | R | Replace more frequently when riding in dirt or wet conditions. | |||||
| Spark Plug (DPR8EA-9) | I | R | I | R | I | R | ||
| Valve Clearance | I | I | I | I | I | I | I | |
| Engine Oil (Pro Honda GN4) | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | Replace between services (2000 mi / 3200 km) or every 6 months |
| Engine Oil Filter (HF112) | R | R | R | R | ||||
| Engine Idle Speed | I | I | I | I | I | I | I | |
| Secondary Air Supply System | I | I | I | |||||
| Evaporative Emission Control System (if fitted) | I | I | ||||||
| Drive Chain Slider | I | I | I | I | I | I | ||
| Brake Fluid (Honda DOT 4) | I | I | R | I | I | R | Every 2 years (earlier of distance / time interval) | |
| Brake Pad Wear | I | I | I | I | I | I | ||
| Brake System | I | I | I | I | ||||
| Brake Light Switch | I | I | I | |||||
| Headlight Aim | I | I | I | |||||
| Clutch System | I | I | I | I | I | I | I | |
| Side Stand | I | I | I | I | ||||
| Suspension | I | I | I | |||||
| Spark Arrester/Muffler | C | C | C | C | C | C | ||
| Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners | I | I | I | I | ||||
| Wheels/Tires | I | I | I | I | I | Service more often when riding off road | ||
| Steering Head Bearings | I | I | I | I | Service more often when riding off road |
Tyre size and tyre pressure for the Honda XR650L
The Honda XR650L has tubed tyres. These are the sizes, brands it ships with, and recommended tyre pressures (which of course you’ll mess with a lot).
| Wheel | Tyre size | Shipped brands | Pressures (cold) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front | 3.00-21 51S | DUNLOP K850 / BRIDGESTONE TW-301 | 22 psi (150 kPa, 1.50 bar) |
| Rear | 4.60-18 63S | DUNLOP K850 / BRIDGESTONE TW52 | 22 psi (150 kPa, 1.50 bar) |
Maintaining the Chain on the Honda XR650L
It’s important to maintain your chain on the XR650L, as on any chain-driven motorcycle, but particularly on a bike that’s used off-road like an XR bike.
Use a good-quality chain lubricant like Motul chain paste, or a Motul chain care kit which comes with a couple of handy tools to maintain the chain.
Honda recommends you follow the following chain maintenance schedule:
| Chain maintenance item | Every |
|---|---|
| Check drive chain lubrication condition, lubricating if necessary | 600 mi / 1000 km |
| Check drive chain slack, adjusting if necessary | 600 mi / 1000 km |
Notes:
- Do these items (checking/adjusting slack, and checking/applying lubrication) more often if you ride your XR650L in dusty or rainy conditions.
- Always lubricate the chain after washing the motorcycle.
About the Honda XR650L
Honda’s dirt bikes are among the best models in their segment and the XR650L makes no exception.
The XR650L puts off-road performance first and road performance second — though it can deal with both with poise, thanks to a great combination of torque, suspension, durability, and fuel efficiency.
Even though it’s quite an old-fashioned motorcycle, with a single big cylinder and a carburettor to feed it, the XR650L has aged very well. When you put it in its intended work environment — agricultural areas, or going off-road for extended times — it does it with aplomb, and can make a lot of riding pure joy in a way that modern adventure bikes only partially capture (although they do a lot of other things well).
The Honda XR650L also offers all the benefits of light weight, smart electric starter and excellent fuel economy. These things would be harder to come by if the Honda XR650L were redesigned from the ground up.
Power for the Honda XR650L comes from a strong 644cc overhead cam single-cylinder engine that is able to keep the bike lively in any situation.
Meanwhile, the air cooling lessens the maintenance chores along with the engine’s gear-driven counter-balancer, which declines tiring vibrations.
As far as suspension is concerned, the Honda XR650L is packed with a 43mm air-adjustable leading-axle Showa cartridge fork up front and a rear Pro-Link Showa single shock with spring preload, 20-position compression and 20-position rebound damping adjustability. That’s a lot of adjustability for a motorcycle that many describe as “agrarian”.
Maintaining the Honda XR650L is much like maintaining many other dirt bikes. Maintenance intervals are very short — Honda recommends that with normal usage (i.e. a mix of dirt and road) you change the oil every 2000 miles or 3200 km.
On top of that, there’s a valve inspection every 4000 miles or 6400 km. Luckily there’s just one cylinder and it’s easily accessible.
Other than that, keep fluids up to date, check the spark plug periodically and you should be golden.
Manual for the Honda XR650L
The above maintenance schedule comes directly from the user’s manual for the Honda XR650L. A screenshot of one page of it is below.
You can download it from here.
