70s Style Honda XR650L Scrambler

Sunrise Scrambler: Custom Honda XR650L from Parr Motorcycles…  

A new build from Spencer Parr of Indiana’s Parr Motorcycles is always a cause for celebration. This young builder has one of the most inspiring stories in the industry. Formerly in law enforcement, a bout with ocular cancer (and a very supportive spouse) gave him the courage and perspective to pursue his dream of building custom bikes.

Spencer fast created a signature style that combines modern donor platforms — usually dual-sports or dirt bikes — with the retro style and nostalgia of bygone motocrossers, flat trackers, and vintage roadsters.

His newest build is a perfect example of this vision transformed into glowing, growling, glorious reality. It’s based on a 2024 Honda XR650L, the workhorse dual-sport that’s remained in production for more than 30 years with hardly any changes — a testament to the bike’s bulletproof RFVC engine, rugged chassis (based on the XR600R), and adventure-ready character. 

Spencer was given free rein in terms of the design, and he and the client had similar ideas for the direction of the build.

“A customer reached out wanting me to build a scrambler to tear up the backroads in his town… Goal of this build was to build a bike like it just rolled off the Honda assembly line in the 70’s.”

Spencer has developed some tried and true methods for backdating various models, and he relied on his self-taught expertise with this build. He gives us the full rundown below, but highlights include a modified XL500S tank, 19″/17″ Warp 9 wheels, custom subframe, @plzbeseated saddle, one-off rear fender, modified SL front fender, Lectron carb, Big Gun header with handmade tailpipe, LED-swapped Hella off-road headlight, various Motogadget goodies, and more. 

The paint really hits home on the nostalgia front. It’s Honda’s Flake Sunrise Orange, like you’ve seen on many a 70s CB, shot by Hired Guns Paint. The result is a long-legged retromod scrambler that like we wished the factories would build. Fortunately, we have builders like Spencer to make such machines a reality.

All in all, we’re blown away by the vision and execution of another Parr Motorcycles build. Bravo, Spencer — we’re proud of you, buddy! Below, Spencer gives us the full breakdown of the build with many more details and photos. 

In the Builder’s Words… 

One year ago, a customer reached out wanting me to build a scrambler to tear up the backroads in his town. After going over potential candidates for the donor bike, we ended up going with the tried-and-true Honda XR650L. He spoke with a local dealership close to my shop and after he purchased a brand new 2024 Honda XR650L, I picked it up and got to work. Goal of this build was to build a bike like it just rolled off the Honda assembly line in the 70’s.

Before I started on the build, the customer and I spoke about the overall design of the build. He gave me free rein of the overall design, which is always nice being trusted to produce something that both the customer and I like.

First item was to chop off the rear subframe and go tank shopping. At this point, I have certain parts for each style of build that I buy because I know they work. The tank was no different, and I picked up an old Honda XL500S tank that I have used multiple times on my scrambler builds. The tank did need to be modified to fit but after that was mounted, I started on the subframe.

For the subframe, I used the old mounting points from the OEM subframe to run my tubes. By doing this, you will get closer to keeping the same seat height and the rear brake master cylinder will not need to be moved. I wanted to keep the design simple and to the point, so no crazy curves on this one. Soon an electronics box was made between the subframe to house the electronics and battery.

Once the tank and subframe were complete, I moved to the front of the bike. We spoke about whether to do a CRF fork swap but soon decided to keep the stock forks. Since we kept the stock forks and swingarm, I reached out to Warp 9 and they hooked the build up with a 19”/17” wheel setup wrapped in Shinko 705 tires.

For the front fender, it uses an old aluminum SL fender that was reworked to fit on the XRL. The headlight is a 9” Hella off-road light that was LED swapped.

The exhaust was up next and instead of building a full system like normal, I picked up a Big Gun header and made the tailpipe myself. Building a full setup on these bikes take longer than expected, so this kind of setup saves loads of time and works great. Plus, it is easier to tune the Lectron carb, so it’s a win-win!

For the rear fender, I made it out of aluminum. Similar design as the one I recently made for the 680R build. After the rear fender, I made the seat pan. Like all my seats, it uses a hood latching system located at the bottom of the electronics box. This setup makes it super easy to remove and install the seat if you ever need to get to the battery or electronics.

Dane from @plzbeseated designed and wrapped the seat pan for this build, so huge thanks to him!

For the electronics, it uses the stock XR650L wiring harness and controls. The front uses Motogadget blaze tens run/turn signals, and the rear uses the same signals but integrated for brake/running/ turn. They sit just in front of the license plate holder.

The most important part was the paint. I wanted to make sure I did not build another red and blue Honda, so I used arguably my favorite Honda color, Flake Sunrise Orange. The simple design for the paint was from my favorite Honda CB from the 70’s. In the sun, the flake sparkles just enough! It has to be my favorite part of the bike for sure, so thank you to Hired Guns Paint!

This is one of my favorite builds to date. Goal was to create a bike like it rolled off the assembly line in the 70’s, and I think it hits the mark!

More Photos

Follow the Builder

Website: Parr Motorcycles
Facebook: Parr Motorcycles
Instagram: @parrmotorcycles
Seat: Dane Utech (@plzbeseated)
Paint: Hired Guns Paint

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