With their eyes firmly set on endurance racing, Honda handed the HRC team a project to create a machine that would be competitive on the toughest rallies in the world. Competitive it was, Honda won four Dakar titles in a row between 1986 and 1989. The NXR750 and 800 might have been pure rally machines, but the production bikes they inspired were just as good. In 1988, to celebrate their second Dakar title they released the XRV650 kitted out in HRC colors, it was met with rave reviews as the bike delivered in every respect. Power was mediocre by today’s standards but the way the V-twin made its power meant there was always more than enough torque to go around.

It Was A Rally Replica

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Easily one of the bikes’ biggest draw cards was its design, in HRC colors it really looks the part and can easily be mistaken for one of the real rally bikes of the time.

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Although it didn’t have the raw power of the real Dakar bike it was immensely capable off-road, able to go anywhere a contemporary dual-sport would without any fuss. It had the added bonus of being that much more comfortable and could be ridden for hours on end both on and off-road. At the time there was nothing else quite like it on the market, even the BMW bikes were more off-road oriented and the Honda had them beat in every respect.

V-Twin Torque Was Awesome

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When it came out it was ahead of its time, with a water-cooled V-twin that delivered smooth power. Its 57 horsepower might not sound like much by modern standards, but the 40 lb-ft of torque was delivered in a typically smooth manner, meaning to say the bike was more predictable and still had more than enough power to get in and out of trouble. It was also more than enough power to get up the steepest of slopes, or out of tricky fine sand dunes. Where it made even more sense was on the road, as the bike could get up to highway speeds with ease and could cruise for days at a time.

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First Adventure Tourer

Honda XRV650 Africa Twin
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Up until this point, the closest thing on the market to an Adventure bike was the BMW GS, which was excellent but wasn’t exactly ideal for touring when you compare it to more modern bikes.

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At the time it was much closer to an advanced dual sport bike, whereas the Honda was truly one of the first modern Adventure bikes that mated excellent off-road ability with polite road manners. It beat the more powerful Yamaha Super Tenere to the market by a year and had a very short production life of only two years before getting replaced by the XRV750.

Although the 750 was an upgrade, the original 650 was by no means outclassed and is now the bike that is getting rarer, anyone interested in classic Honda HRC bikes will love this one for its trademark color scheme and distinctive rally roots.