Looks like a cool little run around.... 2023 XR150L

Clifton

Clifton

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Not sure if you have this motorcycle already but we're now getting them here. They've been sold in Thailand for years. It seems a little odd that it's carbureted while Cub/Trails are FI? But compared to them it has a 25cc larger 4V motor, much more suspension, wider tyres with larger 19" front wheel, double the petrol capacity, and at under $3,000 is about 25% less expensive than a Cub/Trail.

https://powersports.honda.com/motorcycle/dual-sport/xr150l
 
Looks great for wondering around local lanes, wonder if it will be sub 3k in UK
 
It does. It is priced 20% less than a Super Cub 125 here.
 
You mention XR400 and I'm still trying to figure out why Honda quit offering that bike here years ago? It's the perfect size dual sport IMO. But yes a 150, especially with a light rider, should be able to run with that pack everywhere other than highways at 60+ mph.
 
I doubt they'll ever sell it in the UK, as Dean says, ruled out for learners who are stuck with up to 125cc and as we have so very few green lanes for it to be ridden on, it makes little sense
 
New riders are prohibited from learning on a 150cc motorcycle?

edit; just saw Davey's post.
 
Looks like a big bore XR125L to me with the two valve engine and rear drum brake, I'd guess there's no ABS or Euro5 compliance and no chance of it being sold in the UK. I see the XR125L has been dropped from the range.
 
They show it as having 4 valves, but yes drum rear brake. Also kick start, in addition to a button. No, no ABS which really isn't necessary on a little bike like this IMO.

I might take issue with this statement "The XR650L has set an example of reliability that the XR150L strives to emulate..." . I hope it proves more reliable than the XR650L
 
Davey B said:
I doubt they'll ever sell it in the UK, as Dean says, ruled out for learners who are stuck with up to 125cc and as we have so very few green lanes for it to be ridden on, it makes little sense
Click to expand...

The UK has enough green lanes to support an industry selling enduro bikes and kit, however those lanes are not equally spread and some areas have virtually no lanes.
 
A green lane is a dirt road (grass growing on it) I presume?
 
Pretty much, yes. A legal right of way for motorised vehicles as well as walkers, horse riders and cyclists. (About 5000 miles of them apparently)
 
Green laning is pretty much a UK term (I see you're in the USA). It can be anything that is not hard sealed but is legally classed as a road or byway, some of these are centuries old and have never been upgraded to modern specifications. Some have eroded or been water damaged making them challenging for anything but 4x4's and motorcycles. A trail or enduro bike is the best way to explore them but you have to link them via tarmac roads and the bike needs to be road legal. A typical day green laning would probably be 120+ miles and take in rural roads and maybe 50-100 green lanes.
This youtube channel records many of these routes.
https://www.youtube.com/@WiltshireByways
 
The video illustrates them well, thanks. They look ideal for something like an XR150L and remind me somewhat of backroad discovery routes here (which I need to take more advantage of).

A person, whom I never met before, contacted me somehow from a discussion on Yamaha XT250's. He was just finishing a leg of BDR from New York down through Pennsylvania and was in West Virginia near me, and just wanted to know if I'd like to ride with him a little around the area before he had to ride home somewhere in Maryland. I said "sure" so we met up near my house and we rode around the area for a couple hours before he headed home.
He was an interesting fellow who had retired from the Electric Boat Company and took advantage of his time to ride his little XT250. I say little because at 6'-8" it was for him, but he made it work with a sheep skin over a pad, on the seat. It was his only motorcycle but he rode the thing all over the place including out to Montana the year prior just staying on little roads. I took this image before he took off for home.

 
There's a lot to be said for small bikes, I wonder at how much fun the folks who've bought in to the monster "adventure" bikes are missing out on.
 
I think a lot. Most of us begin on smaller motorcycles then move "up" to larger ones and loose sight of how easy and fun small, basic motorcycles are to ride.
 
I bet it won't be brought into the UK.

The superb CRF230 was only a UK supplied bike for a couple of years, then we had to source them from overseas, for the tour company I used to run.
Unburstable engines and surprisingly capable, especially on gnarly technical trails. A bit weedy on highways but most of the tarmac roads linking up the green lanes are narrow and twisty, so there's no point in having a more powerful bike.
The XR150 looks okay, but we won't be seeing it I think
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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