Honda XR600R Overland Travel Review & Modifications
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- Опубликовано: 23 авг 2023
- In this video we talk about why we choose our Honda XR00r’s and the modifications performed to make them suitable for African overland travel.
We hope you enjoy following along on the journey. Feel free to comment with any questions. Remember to subscribe and give us a thumbs up if you like it, Cheers!
#xr600r #XrsOnly #advrider #advlife #advpulse #dualsport#greenchileadventuregear #seatconcepts #atlasthrottlelock #imsfootpegs #mitase07 #acerbis #rockymountainatvmc #cyclopsadventuresports #thumperjockey #kubalink #mikuni #supertrap
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Thanks for the bike rundown. My first bike was an XL 250, Followed by XL 500... similar engine. Great bikes. Well done. Our best trip was 8000 km Namibia South Africa trip in 1980s... enjoy our Africa!!!
Very cool John thank you for your comment. We have a ‘74 XL250 we need to put back together someday. The XL500 is a great bike. There seems to be a lot of them in South Africa still. It must’ve been a great great adventure to experience Africa in the 80’s.
We are doing a ride around the Rockies while we figure out our route North through Africa so stay tuned. Cheers!
Just came across your channel, good on you two for the travels, I myself do travels on an 08 GSA bmw but recently picked up a XL650L and am loving it for the simplicity, ease of maintenance and suspension travel.. I'll stay tuned for more adventures...😊
Thanks for watching William! Love a nice BMW but hard to beat the Honda's for Africa. Back in Africa now with some fun off-road adventures planned. Putting up our first video back today with some maintenance and upgrades that will also work on your bike. Hope you enjoy it. Cheers!
Fantastic channel. Thank you so much for sharing!
Thanks for watching Clint. We appreciate it. Cheers!
Great vide! Thanks!
Thank you for your comment piotrzielinski! We hope that our trip helps people figure out their bikes and modifications necessary to cross Africa. We will be posting more videos in Africa soon. Cheers!
😀XR is the beast 👊
Thanks for the comment! Yes, it’s the most versatile off-road bike ever. Cheers!
Awesome video. Thank you. Subscribed.
Thanks for your comment adildewji! We’re coming out with a new series of videos very soon riding through the Rocky Mountains so stay tuned. Cheers!
Great to watch your videos.
Myself and friend have each XR600R's and Mongolia is the goal in 2025.
Currently both undergoing full rebuild ready.
Good luck folks. Keep it simple. 👍
Thanks again for watching Vinny. Sounds like a fantastic adventure for some XR600's. Cheers!
Wow this experience information is amazing thanks
Thank you for your comment Angel. We hope that our experiences help other people to do a similar journey. Cheers!
You guys are awesome and thanks for sharing your amazing travels! Love the reviews of the bikes ✅🏆
Thank you for watching MrTebi7. We are putting out a ride around the Rocky Mts soon so stay tuned. Cheers!
It's been an adventure. Bon voyage.
Thanks for the comment Webza. Adventure is not over yet. We are planning a ride around the Rocky Mountains while we figure out our route north through Africa. Stay tuned. Cheers!
Quite interesting review of the bikes. I like it.
Thank you, sir and ma'am.
Thank you again for watching Youme. We are putting out a ride around the Rocky Mts soon so stay tuned. Cheers!
@@2kickaround Okay. That would be great to see.
Thank you, sir and ma'am once again.
Amazing bikes, i had One a few years ago.
Very Strong.
Thanks for your comment heldercruz! Yes, we love the XR600R for Africa. I don’t think there’s a better bike for this trip. The XR650L would be a close second but when the battery goes dead or you have other problems with the electrical system.. it’s 30 pounds heavier to push start. Cheers, and thanks for following along!
Excellent!! and analog does not broke, well a 1000 times less than digital.
Thanks for your comment paranorick. We’ll take a big analog speedometer over an electronic speedo any day. Cheers!
Really awesome watching your adventure unfold. Truly authentic and inspiring. The xr600 is a fantastic machine. It’s amazing how it’s basically the same bike for 20 plus years. Also seems because of its simplicity any good mechanic around the world can work on it. I know you touched on this a bit, but do you have any data on how much better the TM 40 is on gas mileage. I’ve been thinking about that mod on my 600, but also don’t really have a problem with my stock one either.
Thanks again for watching and commenting MrSkian1! Definitely one of the reasons we chose those bikes. If you include the 650L, which is nearly the same with electric start, this model has been produced for nearly 40 years. Parts should be available for at least another 40 years.
On average, the TM-40 gets about 20% better fuel economy than the stock carb. The only problem with this info is that Sal and her bike are lighter than my bike with the stock carb. I also have a high-performance piston, so not sure how that effects the economy. In other words, I’m not sure if everyone that puts on a T-40 will get better economy, but what I do know is after you get the jetting right it does feel much quicker than my bike with a high-performance piston. I would do a pumper carb before I did any other engine performance modifications.
As a sidenote, my favorite aftermarket parts are my wider handlebars, more comfortable seat and bigger gas tank. If I were to do it all over again performance wise, I would leave the engine stock, put on a pumper carb, and put some money into upgrading/dialing in the suspension.
Hope that helps. Cheers!
Nice video!
Thanks! We appreciate you watching.
i see yall have been shopping at the local clothing stores.....but still have those hats......love it....jajajajaja.
Thanks Jay yeah we finally started picking up some of the local clothing since were heading back to the states. You can’t pack too many souvenirs on overloaded motorbikes.
We’re planning on doing a ride around the Rockies while we figure out our route North through Africa. Stay tuned we will have some new videos out soon in your old home, Colorado. Cheers!
I like the simple old bikes. I'm riding a Honda NX4 Falcon in Argentina. Motor from a XR400 but with electric start. Wish I had a kickstart for when the battery goes dead. All the larger bikes here are way too expensive.
Thanks for commenting Richard. We know the NX4 Falcon well. We’ve ridden one all over Mexico & Baja. Did have to push start it a few times.
Comparable bikes tho. Falcon is a little better on the highway and the 600R is better off-road. Love both bikes and wouldn’t hesitate to ride them both anywhere! Cheers
You didn't directly answer the question in your thumbnail! 😜
The e07 is a great tire. Love how you're improvising around the various issues. Simple is just simply better (analogue); I've got a vapor digital Odo in a box and been wondering if I want to fit it, the standard DR unit is unbelievably heavy! Enjoy your trip back home, can't wait for your return
Thanks for your comment Going Nowhere Slowly. And no we didn’t lol. We are partial to XR’s, DR’s, XT’s and KLR’s… simple, and reliable bikes.
At this point in our travels, we’re not trying to add any other things that take batteries.
Stay tuned, we’re planning a ride around the Rockies while we figure out our route North through Africa. Cheers!
@@2kickaround 😯 the Rockies, another dream destination! Can't wait 🙌
What are you using for turn signals? Great video, thanks for sharing!
Thanks for your comment Nathan. Turn signals are LED front and rear from Rocky Mt ATV. The front ones we mounted into the hand guards and the rears onto the fender to protect them.
We are putting out a ride around the Rocky Mts soon so stay tuned. Cheers!
Great setups just wondered do youv ever have any over heating problems at all and how long in kms or miles do you go between oil and filter changes. Thanks
Thanks for watching bush600r2! No, never had any new overheating problems. We looked into oil coolers and decided against them. Then we thought maybe we should get those dipstick thermometers, but then what? If we see the bikes getting really hot in the middle of the desert in Namibia, what are we gonna do? Probably just scare us for no reason. In the end, we decided that Honda engineers are very smart. We just try to change the oil every 3k or 4k kms, with a filtered change every other oil change. Hope that helps. Cheers!
@@2kickaround Thanks that's really interesting, I would have thought that's a decent amount of kms between services in the dusty hot conditions you must have over there but I guess it obviously works fine as you've proved it works and getting decent enough kms between rebuilds. Thanks I've subbed to your channel and think it's great after recent find. I love the old 600 bikes too as you may have guessed lol and a few months ago also got a 650r which is new to me never had one before, I was going to set up for adventure riding but I actually prefer the way the 600 feels over the 650r as they seem to suit me better for lots reasons I won't get into but think I'll probably sell it and get another 600 which I'll set up for the job instead. I like the way the 600 handles more as well as not having the water cooler just another thing to get damaged off road and cause issues. 600 allot more comfortable riding too, better stronger sub frame for gear and I think better suspension travel and set up. Over all the 600 just feels better to me while riding even prefer it on the roads, both models can get hot off road but the 650r you can add fan for slow riding etc to prevent that and yes I've seen people add oil coolers etc to 600 but I'm with you just be mindful and monitor what your doing with it as to how hot its getting and ride according. I guess a majority of the time you guys are able to keep a bit of speed up to keep the air running through anyhow.
I have a 600 where previous owner either got it to hot or didn't adjust valves, lots possible reasons but from what I've researched is a common problem from getting too hot on them and they have cracked in this spot before for others. It has a 2cm diameter cracked hole just behind spark plug around the bolt area of cylinder head and valve cover, hole goes half over both pieces. Anyhow keep up the fun adventures and I'll follow what your up to from time to time. Thanks from New Zealand.
@bush600r2 interesting about your comments on the 650R. We started out with an Xr650L and Xr600R for the trip but the got L was stolen. We thought about replacing it with a 650R, but then decided that it was important to have the exact same bikes for the trip to carry one set of spare parts. We were also concerned about the radiator.
I think we made the right decision as the 600R’s are excellent for Africa. We’ve never had any overheating and knowing what we’ve put them through I think most people shouldn’t have any problems. We’ve ridden through some sandy deserts going very slow and revving up the engines all the way so don’t think an oil cooler is necessary. Haven’t heard of any cracking in the cylinders or heads. We do know that they burn some oil, especially on the highway. That can be an issue if you don’t keep an eye on it.
Would love to ride a New Zealand someday. Thanks again for watching. Cheers!
I also was wondering how much it cost to ship your bikes and what service did you use.
Thanks for your question. We were fortunate that Sal worked with a shipping company back home that made it more reasonable otherwise it would be about the value of our bikes to ship to Africa. I would pass on the information, but they do not usually ship motorcycles.
I can tell you that air shipping even though seemingly expensive it can turn out to be about the same price as shipping by boat after all the hidden port fees. Horizons Unlimited seems to have a pretty good database of motorcycle shipping information. Cheers!
Hy, the final ratio you use seems to be 15/46 or 44 is it correct? how did it go?
Thanks for the question Giuseppefrigo. We are both running 15/45 same as the XR650L stock sprockets which seems to be fine. I think next time we might try a 44 on the back to get the rpm’s down a bit on the highway. Hope that helps. Cheers!
Apologies if you have answered these questions elsewhere, but...(1) would it have been cheaper to buy a second hand bike in Africa? (2) you mentioned that you would be leaving your bikes in Kenya. Is it safe and viable to put into storage? (3) which were your top 3 countries on the trip so far and why? (4) which countries might you avoid passing through if you did the trip again, and you were able to, and why?
Thank you for your questions, Ernest. 1)Yes, I think it would definitely be cheaper to purchased a bike in Africa. South Africa specifically has a great used bike market. I think it’s a bit tricky to get it in your name but I think it’s totally doable if you have the time. Take into consideration the value of the bike for the Carnet’s deposit if you choose to ride in countries that require it.
2)Yes, we have found a safe and reliable vehicle storage in Nairobi at a camp called Jungle Junction.
3) Namibia stands out as a very unpopulated country with amazing riding. We also loved riding in Kenya and Tanzania for the great people and landscapes. We would also love to explore South Africa’s riding more in the future. Because of our engine problems while we were there we didn’t get to see as much on the bikes as we would have liked.
Hope that helps. Cheers!
And as for number 4) We loved every country went through and wouldn’t want to miss any of the ones we saw. Each country we went through has extremely friendly people and each their own interesting places to visit. Cheers!
@@2kickaround I did note that Itchyboots managed it in her season 5, but she only drove the bike in 5 South African countries, so she didn't need a Carnet. Was the Carnet expensive for you both? I'm guessing the attraction for 2nd hand bikes is because of the Carnet overhead?
@@2kickaround Regards leaving your bikes in Kenya, wouldn't that mean you lose your Carnet deposit (assuming it's only valid 12 months?) Or you would need to rejoin the journey well within the year to ensure the Carnet is still valid?
@@ernest3074I know that you need a Carnet to ship your bike to South Africa, but you don’t need one if you purchase one there. I believe the countries she went to only required a temporary import permit. This might be because her bike was registered in South Africa.
The Blue Book value of your bike determines how much your Carnet deposit is. Our bikes are valued at under $1000 US and the minimum value that can be determined is $1000. So that was an important factor in our decision about which bikes to take. Most countries require a 200% deposit with your Carnet, although Egypt requires a 300% deposit. We looked into getting DRZ400s for the trip but the resale value was almost double that of the XR600’s. So to answer your question, yes, the Carnets are expensive and your motorcycle choice will determine the cost of your Carnet.
Lekker, when were you in Nairobi?
Thanks for your comment Lars. We were in Nairobi a few weeks ago. We’re heading to the states to ride a loop of the Rocky Mountains while we figure out our route north through Africa. Stay tuned for more videos soon. Cheers!
That's not an xl600r header. It's most probably an aftermarket xr600r header. The xl600r one doesn't have a twist for its inlets.
Thank you for your comment Faissal. That makes sense, we were unsure. From what I've read that the stock header outperforms most of the aftermarket ones. Cheers!
@@2kickaround You're welcome. Yes you are right. That's why I left it and changed the muffler only on my xr650l.
How do I find a woman like this
You wait a very long time & then just get lucky 🤠Cheers!