#hondaxr150l #xr150l #dualsport
First off, thanks to the boys at MNNTHBX (mnnthbx.com/) for inviting me to their amazing Barber Small Bore event at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham Alabama to ride this bike! Not only is the event a blast overall, it was extra special of them to offer me the opportunity to take this bike for a little while and test it out!
So the 2023 Honda XR150L is a new addition to the Honda lineup, and it's an exciting one for many of small bore enthusiasts out there. There is no shortage of small bore Honda bikes to choose from, but not all of them are fully street legal or sized appropriately for some riders desired use. For instance, you can choose from about a dozen different offroad and motocross bikes in Honda's lineup, but only 2 of them are street legal (300L and 450RL). The 300L is a nice option for those who don't want the ripping motocross-like performance of the 450RL, but for some, the 300L is a bit more - both in terms of size and weight - than a casual small bore-type rider would really want. The beauty of small bore motorcycles is that they are super easy to ride, lightweight, not intimidating, and focused purely on leisurely fun local riding. Honda captures the "local fun riding" perfectly with their mini-moto lineup (Grom, Monkey, Trail 125, Cub, Navi), but if you plan to go offroad or your local riding conditions primarily include dirt or gravel roads, the mini-moto's will leave you needing to make modifications to accomplish this (ask me how I know!). So, this is where the XR150L comes in! It perfectly fills the gaps between the non-street legal smaller bore offroad bikes, the mini-motos, and the larger dual-sports.
The most interesting and attractive aspect of the XR150L is the price. There's no denying this. You can't ignore it or dismiss the fact that for less than $3000, you can have a genuine Honda that can tackle offroad riding conditions and on-road in the same ride, AND be street legal! In comparison, the mini-moto's all (except the Navi) come in at north of $3500-4000. So how is this bike so affordable and does that make it "cheap" in nature?
The key to the affordability of the 150L is apparent when you take a look at the engine. Feeding the air cooled cylinder is a good old fashioned Keihn carburetor. No sophisticated fuel injection with corresponding ECU and all of the engine programming that comes with such a system. This alone will slice tons of development time and cost off of a vehicle!
Glance over from the carb and notice there's no radiators for engine cooling. A simple air cooled cylinder is all this bike needs, so no radiators, water pumps, hoses, thermostats, and so on. So subtract that from the cost.
Sit on the bike and notice the simple dial gauges. No ECU and associated electronics means simpler methods of displaying speed and fuel.
Take a look at the brakes. Notice that the rear is a drum brake? This eliminates the need for fluid control and the master cylinders needed to push it. Not a huge cost in these items, but it counts when you can just use an $5 cable to activate your brakes!
Now scan over the suspension. Traditional upright forks, non-remote reservoir rear shock, and box steel swingarm all maintain simplicity and proven "trail bike" designs. Simple and affordable, are you getting the idea with this bike yet? It's actually enlightening and amazing to me that the price of the mini-moto's are what they are considering they HAVE all of those above items (maybe not the suspension, but...). It's also no wonder that the 300L is $5400 and the 450RL is $10k, as they have all of the above (with the super high tech stuff going on the 450RL).
Ok, so we get that this bike is a bargain, right? It is, and that shouldn't be forgotten when we consider this bike. So what is is like and how does it feel? Watch the video and find out!
Негізгі бет Автокөліктер мен көлік құралдары FIRST RIDE: 2023 Honda XR150L | Ride Review and Initial Impressions
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