Honda XR350
Welcome to my Honda XR350R webpage. I made this site because there is so little information about this very special XR. With just a three year production run, Honda was without a mid-displacement four stroke trail bike until the introduction of the XR400 in 1996. Simply put, it is a great size bike because it has the light wieght of a 250 class machine with more guts to pull you through any situation.
My love affair with it has just started, I picked up my 1984 XR350R just a month ago, and have yet to take it out to the trails! The wheelies around the neighborhood already tell me it is going to be a good bike (always considering my budget restraint...I am no fool, this is a 17 year old bike!). It set me back a cool $850 here in the SF Bay Area, which is not a bad price for a running registered dirt bike, let alone a worthy trail bike. This should do wonders for me over my current beastly behemoth, the mighty 1983 Honda CR480R (look here too!). Yes, you read that right. It was what got me back into dirt biking after a four year haitus from dirt biking, ending with a very capable 1990 Suzuki RMX250. So, being in grad school, student loan money was and is scarce, and I just needed to get a dirt bike that would run and pull wheelies. The CR set me back $600, but it was in great shape. I wish I had found the XR at that time, I am sure it would have saved me a few launches off cliffs and other things that went along with the power to suspension ratio of that old CR!
Anyway, enough disk space for the CR480R, this page will be dedicated to the XR350R, and hopefully will eventually include a plethora of links and articles and stories for your browsing pleasure. Also, check out my other pages dedicated to some of the rest of my motorcycling passion.
First Impressions: Well, next to the old open beast CR480, you could say it might have been lacking in throttle response. This was my first four stroke dirt bike in years...uhh, I guess I forgot what to expect. As I played with the bike more, the elegence of the suspension made me real happy. They call it plush, and thats exactly how it feels. Even with the chunky knobs up front and fading lugs in the rear, the bike tracked super solid and tight, almost as if it had a steering stabilizer! No headshake to speak of, though speeds were mainly kept below 50 mph. The old tires did show up their gremlins though, as she would wash out easily with just a little too much push on the bars.....time to make sure the front fluids are up to snuff, stuff on a new tire up front.
After getting used to the handling on the bike, I started wringing it out for some power...and was very impressed!! My last nice handling bike was an RMX250, still a pipey two stroke, so the explosive power off the road was something I had really gotten used to in the past five or so years... I was quick to remember how to use that four stroke power, as my first ride was a KLR250, and to my disbelief, the 350 kept dishing more and more and more power...bunny style! Hill climbs were no problem, second gear could pull up anything....The bike seemed a lot more sticky, too, and the smooth oozing power kept the bike in good control. Wheelies were easy to figure out, and I was very happy with the way I could quickly pop the front end up at speed...popping over ruts and potholes with ease approaching that of the two strokes I had been riding. Not quite, though....In second, I would merely jab the throttle from low rpms, look up a bit, and here comes the sky!
Once I got used to the feel of the motor, and how to utilize a clutch an a dirt bike again, I was very excited with the potential this bike had for me....just a few hazardous and wreckless runs showed me that the bike handled well, responsive, and consistent for me, and was nowhere near the point of cramping my ability! Hooray for the XR350, and another low buck find that is just loads of fun!!
