I have had my honda xr650L for over a year now. Got it as my first street legal bike, and live in an area that has mostly dirt/muddy roads. It is a great bike for that. I also commute with it 30 miles each way on occasion.

I knew it was a tall bike (I am 6', 215lbs and still don't touch flatfoot), but as I take it on more trials ( and loose gravel roads)I am noticing that it pushes the front end around something fierce. The front wanders in soft terrain, and is a bit unstable.

If I use one of the lowering link kits (white bros- kooka link, etc) it will drop the ride height by 1-1.75". Will that help the feel to the front end any? My guess it that all that weight (my fat ass +330lbs of bike) being that high of a center of gravity- is causing this.

Can I adjust the front fork pressure to compensate?
thanks

You will need to have your forks shortened a similar amount. Any good suspension shop can do this.

ounds more like a tire/pressure issue........

Brand new front and rear tire, 80off/20on.

Tire pressure checks fine.

if you are drifting in the front now and you lower the back without lowering the front it will lighten up the front and make it drift even more in turns.

i don't think a rear lowering kit is the answer to your problem but it sounds as if you are adressing another problem with the lowering kit and wandering if it will cure the other problem. it won't.

if you lower the rear you will need to lower the front as well. i would think all you would need to do is drop the clamp down the fork tubes to lower it. but if they need to go down a lot and the tubeds hit the handle bars then you may need to have the tubes shortened like smurfsdad said.

i had a XR650L as well and am 6' weighing in at 190. i hated the height of the bike. i have no idea what honda was thinking with that.

if you just want to adress the front end drift issue you can try lowering thwe triple clamps on the fork tubes as well but just lower them a little bit at a time. i suggest 1/16" at a time. if you drop them too low the front end will dig in on turns and that is bad as well.

plus some of ther D.O.T. approved tires just plain suck in the dirt.

hope i didn't babble too much.

good luck. and keep the rubber side down.

Thanks for the input everyone.
Seems like maybe I just need a more aggressive tire, and may try to drop the front height a bit.
Thanks

a dunlop 606 tire for front and rear is good for more agressive offroading, and
it's good "hard-terrain" tire, but they kinda suck in really soft stuff like sand.
the 606 is still DOT legal. I hear alot of baja riders run them because of their
durability. I have a set on my xr650r now, but I don't street ride it even though it's fully dual-sported.

the 650L is a heavy pig, with alot of weight up high..... the bike just does
what it does by design.......... if you don't like the weight, sell it, and go
buy a 525KTM................

--Sherpa

Brand new front and rear tire, 80off/20on.

Tire pressure checks fine.

???? what pressure in lbs in "fine" :p what does 80off/20on. mean?

I suggest no more then 15lbs front on gravel/dirt roads

Yikes! I guess "fine" is relative. I was at 35, as per the tire spec.

I will try a lower pressure.

80 off/20 on -refers to the way they rate dual sport tires for travel. How much do you ride off road vs. on road.

Yikes! I guess "fine" is relative. I was at 35, as per the tire spec.

I will try a lower pressure.

80 off/20 on -refers to the way they rate dual sport tires for travel. How much do you ride off road vs. on road.

That sounds like MAX PRESSURE, if that is off the sidewall of tire I'm betting it says "MAX 35 PSI"

Right now I ride dirt only, around 12 front 8 rear.
with a DS tire at 35, you front end pushing problem is solved, 35psi is the problem;) try going to 25 right off & see what happens, then work your way down to 15-18:)

Has the squat been set for your weight? If the squat isn't right the weight will not be balanced about the center of the bike. Support the bike so the wheels are off the ground. Make a mark on the exhaust in as straight a line as you can above the center of the rear axle. With the bike supported measure the distance to the mark you made from the center of the rear axle.
Then set the bike on the ground and sit on it with all of your gear on and while someone is holding it up for you. Remeasure from the center of the rear axle to the mark. The rear suspension shouldn't compress any more than about 3" to 3.5". If it colapses more than that you need to tighten the rear shock spring tension rings until the squat is correct.

Setting the squat will put more bias on your front end and help with the pushing problem you describe. Also it will wheelie easier.

Good luck. :beer:

Thanks again, guys.
Will set the squat this weekend, lower the [ressure, and smack her around to see what happens.