2025 Honda XR650L Dual Sport Preview

Honda’s long-popular do-it-all dual sport, the XR650L remains steadfast in the family for 2025, staying unchanged on all fronts. This one hasn’t been touched by inflation either, carrying over last year’s $6,999 price tag.

The bike is long-in-the-tooth, to be sure, but that’s also one of its appealing traits. It’s mechanically simple by today’s standards, reliable, easy to wrench on, and fully capable of handling all manner of terrain. Here’s how American Honda describes the model in its recent press statement:

“The legendary model remains an affordable, user-friendly option for riders who want to inject a little off-road action into what might otherwise be an uninspired daily commute. Versatile, dependable and with plenty of performance on tap, each XR650L has the potential to continue delivering the dual-sport goods for years to come.”

At its heart is an air-cooled 644cc single, which puts torque-rich power to the ground via a five-speed transmission. The bike remains carbureted, it incorporates a gear-driven counterbalancer to help smooth out vibrations, and it utilizes a 2-into-1 exhaust system that’s compliant with forest service guidelines.

The internals are held together with a semi-double cradle steel frame which is suspended on a 43mm Showa cartridge fork and a Pro-Link Showa rear setup. Travel front and rear is 11.6 inches and 11 inches, respectively, and out front you even get the benefit of 16-position compression damping adjustability while at the back you benefit from 20-position compression and rebound damping along with spring preload adjustability. The 21-inch front and 18-inch rear wheel configuration is perfect for off-road duty, and disc brakes front and rear provide all the stopping power you need.

The XR650L remains a prime example of how good a bike can be when it’s everything you need and nothing you don’t.