So I ask the Honda NA guy...

I went to the Chicago IMS 2 days, with 2 different groups of people. Each day I found different Honda reps working their bike area and asked; Why has the XR650R been discontinued? Was there any sort of official reasoning?

#1 said he had no clue.

#2 said he had no clue.

#3 &4 said they were not selling.


OK, so where are all these supposedly leftover NOS BRPs?

I like to putz through dealerships and really look at the entire selection of floor models, posters, gadgets, suspension stuff, wheel builds, etc.. Can't remember in the last few years where I saw an XR650R sitting brand new in a showroom. I'm not lookin to stir up a conspiracy theory or anything but I call BS on these NA guys, #3 &#4, who were of course men a smaller stature whom have zero clue as to the needs of us Clydedale class riders!

ANybody else ask this question or have some insight here?

I tend to believe poor sales.

Why sales were poor is another question - mainly Honda decided the 450 market was where the action was & concentrated on making the CRF "the" bike in every arena, & while the XR was designed from a blank sheet of paper with one purpose in mind (to beat the snot out of the KX500 that had stolen Baja from the XR600) when the factory dropped the R in favor of the CRF, the public slowly took notice & moved to what they perceied as a better bike (must be better, look, the factory's riding it - right?)

So... The R's a fab. desert bike, but, it's not the greatest other places - big & heavy for the woods or hard-core trail, NOT EPA legal - so it's not a D/S. Factor in the revised laws implemented by many states re plating a "green sticker" bike & the R's fate was sealed. How many people really have a use for a 300lb, pure dirt bike, that has tobe hauled everywhere you want to ride? The answer? Well, the people in the SW USA where sales remained storng thoughout it's production - unfortunatley that's also a very small segment in a global market. Remember the USA got all of the R production the last year (07), many parts of the world the R died in 05, the few remaining areas it went away on 06 & as mentioned it was USA only in 07. The 07's still sold at or above retail in the SW USA in 07, but dealers E of the rockies had a hard time giving them away even with deep discounts. ( I know this because I was shopping then for another & the dealers that still had one in CA were asking retail+, but there were many dealers on the E coast offering them around $4000 OTD, making buying & shipping west an atractive idea at the time)

OK, I've lost my train of thought

Anyway - poor sales IMO - a factory bastard child in the racing world, limited design use, & a bike that you couldn't get a plate for.

JMO

+1 well put

Yes well put

Yep win on Sunday sell on Monday. If only the sheepeople new what a kick butt bike the BR is.

OK, sales might have been an issue.
Where's the NOS? I'll come and get them!!

Production was about 2500 a year. Most of those were sold in California. Corporate Japan never really wanted to make the bike in the first place, and felt it was shoved down their throat by Ogilvie, et. al. I think there was at least some bad blood on the bike because Honda America (Ogilvie) refused the first protoype outright. But Marketing did not consider the final bike user friendly.

Heard that from Bob Bell.

hairy dog wrote:OK, sales might have been an issue.
Where's the NOS? I'll come and get them!!

Bump wrote:Production was about 2500 a year. Most of those were sold in California. Corporate Japan never really wanted to make the bike in the first place, and felt it was shoved down their throat by Ogilvie, et. al. I think there was at least some bad blood on the bike because Honda America (Ogilvie) refused the first protoype outright. Marketing did not consider the bike user friendly.

Heard that from Bob Bell.

Hmm, thanks for the insight.

There is still a market for the 650R. As the Adventure bike market grows, it would fit in for several reasons.

1. It is inexpensive compared to beemers and the such.
2. It is bullet proof when properly prepped.
3. It has been a winner in some of the most hostile enviroments known. Look at how Johnny did in the Dakar Rally.
4. Compared to other ADV bikes it is light weight.
5. Easily modified.

The drawback, no E button. Other than that I enjoy it for long dualsport rides.

Plus "it's a honda"......

But they are still in showrooms and people aren't buying them. It's really a cult bike. Too much of a race bike for the market. Not enough of a race bike for the core racers.

Honda shidcanned it because you don't trade up each season or every second season.
The thing is bombproof and a planned osolescence corporation like Honda can't have that,it's all about sales and spares.

If that's their decision process then why have the XR250, 400, and 650L, among others, been around for decades relatively un-evolved?

badcooky wrote:Honda shidcanned it because you don't trade up each season or every second season.
The thing is bombproof and a planned osolescence corporation like Honda can't have that,it's all about sales and spares.

Bump wrote:But they are still in showrooms and people aren't buying them. It's really a cult bike. Too much of a race bike for the market. Not enough of a race bike for the core racers.

I agree it does have a following that you could refer to as a "cult". I think people under estimate the potential of this machine. If it had an "E" button more people would have them.

I like the bike so much for the type of riding I do on it that I really don't mind having to kick it over.

When tuned properly they are easy to start even on a cold morning.

But I have a friend who sold dirt bikes for years and his attitude is that most of the people who come in a by a bike aren't like us! :~) Also, I think the KTMs are sold with the idea they are pretty trick as stock bikes. But the BRP is sold with the idea of their being a list of things to do to fix it. I remember when they came out and several of us went to look at them. The ales guy was like, "Hey, here's what you do to fix this bike..." Just the wrong message there.

My wannabe friends who talk of getting a dirt bike someday all say "If won the lottery I'd have one of theose 450Xs!" I'm wondering if it is becoming the stand-up jet ski, or Kawasaki X-2 , of the personal watercraft world. It's just not an "Any idiot can ..." sort of bike.

baja brother wrote:

Bump wrote:But they are still in showrooms and people aren't buying them. It's really a cult bike. Too much of a race bike for the market. Not enough of a race bike for the core racers.

I agree it does have a following that you could refer to as a "cult". I think people under estimate the potential of this machine. If it had an "E" button more people would have them.

I like the bike so much for the type of riding I do on it that I really don't mind having to kick it over.

When tuned properly they are easy to start even on a cold morning.

Bump wrote:But they are still in showrooms and people aren't buying them. It's really a cult bike. Too much of a race bike for the market. Not enough of a race bike for the core racers.

Well, part of my original comment on disbelieving the Shpiel about "... they didn't/don't sell well""... is that I have never seen one in a showroom! I've been dirt bikin for a looooong time and have yet to see one in BFN condition. West Coast? Maybe you have them lying around like Ninja 250s, I don't know?

no they aren't collecting dust at the stealerships out here - but you've got to remember that last year production numbers were low & they've been out of producution for what ...2 or 3 model years now? That's a long time to move one out the door.

However, there is still one that turns up occasionally on flea-bay at soem dealership in Kansas. The price is right, BUT you have to go there to sign papers in person at the sale (why? I don't know) Figure in the price of a plane ticket & a rental truck, the price ain't so great.

When I bought mine in 2005 it was new and had been swapped around a couple different dealers. The salesman told me that was the last one they would be getting and if you came in wanting one they would order it because they sit on the floor to long.