Long Term Review of the Honda SLR 650

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I got me one of these, and what an odd bike, kinda great and kinda rough

This information is from my own experience and knowledge, do NOT take this as gospel truth

I bought this not due to great desire to own this model of bike, but due to it being in the right place, at the right time and at the right deal. For some time I've fancied an off-road bike, but I was looking for something a little smaller and easier to handle through the mud.

After my accident I bought the CMX 250 due to its undemanding size and the forward pegs so my knee would not need to bend too much. The SLR, when I first sat on it, did require a little more knee bend but it was still comfortable. And more importantly it's seat height was fine, it seems to be one of the lowest big off-roader's around. There was a good offer in exchange for the 250 so a deal was struck.

Riding the thing for the first time was quite a pleasant shock. Man was this thing quick after the 250. Not stupidly so, not wild and out of control, but it does pull like a steam train. It is comfortable, easy to manage and high up which gives good visibilty. It was also very very lumpy. I've owned 100cc singles, 400cc twins and 400cc fours. This does not prepare you for the 100mm wide piston lurching around beneath your nether regions and delivering great thumps of power every now and then. If the silky smooth life is for you, then don't get a big single. Oh but what joy lies in torque. It's not at all powerful, just a mere 39 bhp, but torque is the thing for me now. I can "phut phut phut" along low in the revs, crack open the throttle and BLAM!, things happen quickly. No gear changes, no waiting on revs and a massive forward surge.

That said...I've just replaced the chain and it has transformed the bike. OK, so it's not silky smooth like a four cylinder bike but it's much more managable now and easier to ride. What a difference a chain makes...

My biggest bugbear with the SLR ownership experience is that it's not a popular model. I'm not bothered about meeting other owners, I like the individuality. It's finding aftermarket parts for it. It is a genuine UK model and as such your local Honda dealer can provide all spares. But try to find engine bars, aftermaket exhausts or Givi rack kits and you might as well pee into the wind. Nope, if Honda don't make it and you can't make one off another model fit, then you're stuffed. My current project is to make some sort of frame to keep my throwovers off the high up exhaust, 'cos you canny buy one!

Off-roading this thing is actually quite pleasant so long as you don't try to go mud plugging through a boggy marsh. The 19 inch front wheel, the tiny bash plate and the rubber footpegs tell you this is a road bike with off-road styling. But don't let that stop you traversing the green lanes and farm tracks. It will cope as well as any big trailie and the low seat height for this class gives me some more confidence to hold the thing upright. Then when you're back on the road it's back to normal.

I like it. But then again I've liked every bike I've owned. It's an all-rounder in an off-road stylie. It's not fast, but not slow, it's not a mud-plugger, but not averse to muddy lanes, it's not a tourer, but comfy enough for distance and it's a good commuter, but uses more fuel than a 125 would. A jack of all trades and master of nothing. Could I recommend it? Yes, but not for any particular purpose.

2 Years and 29,000 miles later...

What a bike. I love this bike. It now has 36,000 miles on it's clock, and it is getting tired. What problems have had?

The rear shock totally lost the plot at 20,000. Off road, 2 up and suddenly the back end felt like a cheap pogo stick, at first I though I had a flat. I bounced home. Hagon required the release of over 250 quid before they would send a suitable replacement. And it's a fiddly old job too. The Hagon works equally well as the original and is more adjustable. Please bear in mind that there was probably 2,000 miles of 2 up off road on the original shock, it had taken some serious hammer.

At the same time the rear wheel bearings decided to give up the ghost. The job of replacement is no better or worse than any other set of bearings I've done, but the first set only lasted 500 miles. I suspect there was a dodgy bearing or perhaps a dodgy person fitting them. The current set at the time of writing now has 16,000 on them, I think I got the fitting right second time round.

The rear suspension linkage bearings collapsed at 32,000. A remarkably easy job to replace them requiring no more thean a good vice and some suitably sized socket pieces for pressing in and out. The cost for genuine honda is extortionate. Be careful during dissassembly to get the bearing numbers and you might save yourself a fortune by buying from a bearing supplier.

The front brake gave me major headaches, it was sticking. I tried all the usual cleaning, lubricating, bleeding and cursing, to no avail. It took me 3 months of messing about and frying front brake pads until it got it right. A combination of old fluid, sticky parts and poor re-assembly on my behalf lead to all the confusion. Again I cannot blame the bike, most of the trouble was my mechanical inability. Works a treat now though.

Other than these things, which considering the mileage, the bike is sorted. Chain and sprockets wear out at 10,000 to 15,000 miles with good care. Tyres about 8,000 for the rear, 15,000 for the front. Fuel runs at 52 to 58 mpg.

So why do I love it? Cos it has more character than any other bike. It is not fast or stylish or cool. It is now very dirty, very rattly and very tired. But when I ride it, it speaks to me. It tells me what the tyres are up to, in miniscule detail. The motor pulls and pulls and pulls with no effort, whatever the load or the hill. It goes very well over farm tracks and easy trails, and with effort can be persuaded over rougher terrain. It will also sit on the motorway 2 up at 80mph for 300 miles and still leave the passengers functional and happy afterwards. It will then scrub the back roads better that the plastic rockets.

I'm gonna miss this bike when it finally gives up. But right now it seems it will never give up. 1,000 miles round Scotland, 2,000 miles in Spain and Portugal, and another 1,000 miles round Cornwall this year might kill the bike and cause me to hate it. Time will tell.

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