Honda XL500R

1982–1984

The Pro-Link replacement for the XL500S — same 497cc 4-valve desert single at heart, but a genuinely different chassis: monoshock rear suspension, bigger 21/17-inch wheels and 12V electrics in place of the XL500S's twin-shock, 23/18-inch, 6V running gear.

Honda XL500R

Overview

Engine
497cc air-cooled SOHC single, 4 valves, 89 x 80mm bore/stroke, 8.6:1 compression, 32mm Keihin carburettor, kickstart only (compression release, no electric start)
Power
32bhp (23.8kW) @ 6500rpm
Torque
37Nm @ 5000rpm
Transmission
5-speed, chain final drive
Frame
Unknown
Suspension (front)
Air-adjustable telescopic forks, 216mm (8.5in) travel
Suspension (rear)
Pro-Link monoshock, preload-adjustable, box-section swingarm on needle bearings, 190mm (7.5in) travel
Brakes (front)
Double-leading-shoe drum, 140mm
Brakes (rear)
Single-leading-shoe drum, 130mm
Tyres (front)
3.00-21
Tyres (rear)
4.60-17
Weight (dry)
139kg
Weight (wet)
Unknown
Seat height
Unknown
Fuel capacity
10 litres
Top speed
101mph

Price guide

good
£2,800.00–£4,000.00
rough
£1,500.00–£2,500.00
excellent
£4,500.00–£6,500.00

Known issues

  • Air-adjustable front fork seals and air retention (Check)

    The front forks are air-adjustable rather than the XL500S's plain coil-spring units, which adds one more thing to go wrong: perished seals that weep oil and won't hold air pressure. Check for oil staining on the fork legs and, if the bike has schrader valves fitted, whether the forks actually hold air overnight rather than sagging back to atmospheric.

  • Cam chain tensioner adjustment (Check)

    The SOHC 4-valve top end carries over from the XL500S and uses the same manually-adjusted cam chain tensioner rather than an automatic one. Listen for chain rattle from the top of the engine on cold start and ask when the tensioner was last adjusted. Rattle that persists after a fresh adjustment points at a stretched chain or worn tensioner blade rather than a simple setting issue.

  • Carburettor condition and state of tune (Check)

    The single 32mm Keihin carburettor suffers the same perished diaphragms, worn float needles and gummed jets as any single-carb Honda of this era after decades of intermittent use and ethanol-blended fuel — confirm clean idling and no hesitation off idle. Separately, quoted power varies by year and market (as high as 32bhp for early US-spec bikes, as low as 27bhp for some later/export versions), so don't treat a flat-feeling bike as automatically undertuned — check what jetting and state of tune the seller believes it's running before assuming a fault.

  • Frame, subframe and cycle-part corrosion (Dealbreaker)

    Every surviving XL500R is now 40+ years old and, like the XL500S, was sold as a trail/enduro bike ridden off-road and stored outdoors more than most road bikes of the era. Inspect the steel frame closely around the headstock and swingarm pivot, the footrest hangers, and the exhaust downpipes for rust-through or poor-quality previous welded repairs. Pitting or cracking in these areas is a walk-away.

  • Import history and paperwork (Check)

    Like its XL500S predecessor, the XL500R was chiefly a US/export-market bike rather than something Honda UK catalogued and sold new in numbers — most surviving UK examples carry an import history of some kind. Check the V5C, confirm the recorded mileage is consistent once you allow for a km/h speedo, and ask for any import paperwork the seller holds.

  • Pro-Link rear suspension linkage bearing wear (Check)

    The XL500R's headline change over the XL500S is a Pro-Link monoshock rear end — a needle-bearing linkage between the swingarm and shock that, unlike the XL500S's simple twin shocks, needs periodic stripping and greasing to stay free. Decades of neglect leaves the linkage seized, notchy, or full of play. With the bike on a stand, check for vertical play at the rear wheel with the shock disconnected and listen for grinding as the swingarm is worked through its travel — a linkage that's seized solid rides harshly and wears the shock and swingarm bushes faster.

Upgrades

History

The Pro-Link replacement for the XL500S

For 1982 Honda replaced the XL500S with the XL500R — badged as a new model rather than a facelift, and mechanically it earns that: the same 497cc, 4-valve SOHC single carries over, but almost everything around it changed. Out went the twin-shock rear end in favour of Pro-Link, a rising-rate monoshock linkage borrowed down from Honda's motocrossers; out went the 23-inch front and 18-inch rear wheels in favour of a 21-inch front and 17-inch rear; and out went the 6V electrics in favour of a proper 12V system. The result is a bike that feels closer to the big-bore enduros of the mid-80s than to the XL500S it replaced, even though the two share a family resemblance and the same basic engine.

Honda kept the XL500R in production for the 1982, 1983 and 1984 model years (frame code PD02, with some later parts fitment references also citing PE03) before it was overshadowed by the radial-four-valve XL600R that arrived alongside it for 1983. If you're shopping listings, the two XL500s are easy to mix up — sellers and even some parts catalogues use "XL500" loosely — so confirm the frame code (PD01 for the twin-shock, 6V XL500S; PD02 for this Pro-Link, 12V XL500R) rather than trusting a model year alone. The XL500S has its own separate guide on this site.

What it's like to own

The Pro-Link monoshock and bigger front wheel make the XL500R noticeably more capable off-road than the XL500S it replaced, with longer travel at both ends and a chassis that shrugs off rough going with less drama. Quoted power varies by year and market — as high as 32bhp for early US-spec bikes, down to around 27bhp for some later or more emissions-conscious markets — but even at the lower end it's a genuinely quick, tractable big single, helped by 12V electrics that make the lighting and ignition far less marginal than the XL500S's 6V setup ever was. The trade-off for the extra sophistication is exactly what you'd expect: one more suspension linkage to maintain, air-adjustable forks that can weep and lose pressure, and a bike that's ultimately still a 40-plus-year-old Honda single underneath the upgrades.

As with the XL500S, most UK examples arrived as private imports rather than through official Honda UK channels, so read the V5C and mileage history carefully before you buy — the way you would for any privately imported classic.

What to check mechanically, the common upgrades that address the XL500R's known weak points, and realistic current UK prices all live in their own sections on this page, below — see Known issues, Upgrades, and Price guide.

Sources

If anything on this page is believed incorrect, please let us know and we will update it accordingly.