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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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.

Honda XR650L Maintenance Schedule

Below is the maintenance schedule for the Honda XR650L.

Honda’s difficulty levels in maintenance (in the manual): Look, these are suggestions only. Many XR650L owners do their own thing, and you should feel free to, too.

• X: Should be serviced by your Honda dealer, unless you have the proper tools and service data and are mechanically qualified.
• XX: In the interest of safety, we (Honda) recommend these items be serviced only by your Honda dealer.

You’ll need these items to service your Honda XR650L:

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.

Maintenance Procedures:

• I: inspect and clean, adjust, lubricate, or replace, if necessary
• C: clean
• L: lubricate
• R: replace

Remember, service your chain and air filter more frequently if you ride off-road and/or in dusty areas.

Notes:

• At higher odometer readings, repeat at the frequency interval established here
• [AF]: Service air filter more frequently if the motorcycle is ridden in unusually wet or dusty areas
• [OR] Service wheels, tyres, steering head bearings, and chain more frequently when riding off-road.
• Replace brake fluid every 2 years, or at indicated odometer interval, whichever comes first.

Items		x 1000 mi	0.6	4	8	12	16	20	24
Emission Related Items		x 1000 km	1	6.4	12.8	19.2	25.6	32	38.4
Fuel Line	X				I		I		I
Fuel Strainer Screen	X			C	C	C	C	C	C
Throttle Operation	X				I		I		I
Carburetor Choke	X				I		I		I
Air Cleaner [AF] (HA-6592)						R			R
Spark Plug (DPR8EA-9)				I	R	I	R	I	R
Valve Clearance	X		I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Engine Oil (Pro Honda GN4)			R	INITIAL=600mi (1000km) or 1 month: R REGULAR=Every 2000mi (3200 km) or 6 months: R
Engine Oil Filter (HF112)			R		R		R		R
Engine Idle Speed	X		I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Secondary Air Supply System	X				I		I		I
Evaporative Emission Control System (CA only)	X					I			I
Non-Emission Related Items
Drive Chain (Motul chain care kit) [OR]			Every 500 mi (800 km) I, L
Drive Chain Slider				I	I	I	I	I	I
Brake Fluid (Honda DOT 4)				I	I	R	I	I	R
Brake Pad Wear				I	I	I	I	I	I
Brake System			I		I		I		I
Brake Light Switch	X				I		I		I
Headlight Aim	X				I		I		I
Clutch System			I	I	I	I	I	I	I
Side Stand			I		I		I		I
Suspension	X				I		I		I
Spark Arrester/Muffler	X			C	C	C	C	C	C
Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners	X		I		I		I		I
Wheels/Tires [OR]	XX		I	I	I		I		I
Steering Head Bearings [OR]	XX		I		I		I		I

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 kgf/cm2)
Rear	4.60-18 63S	DUNLOP K850 / BRIDGESTONE TW52	22 psi (150 kPa, 1.50 kgf/cm2)

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”.

Manual for the Honda XR650L

The above maintenance schedule comes directly from the user’s manual for the Honda XR650L.

You can download it from here.