Source: Just XR
Here's a brief chronology of the big XR's. It seems that they only make significant changes every 3-4 years:
1979 (or '78?) - XR500 introduced. Dual shocks on rear. 7-9" travel
each end. Honda's first pure dirt 4-stroke. Somewhat heavy, but good handling with stiffer springs. Drum brakes at both ends.
Funky 23" front wheel for the first couple of years.
1983 - Single shock rear suspension. Front disk brake. Approx 11" travel both ends. Dual carb setup. I owned a 1983 for about 6 years and really liked it. A little heavy, but stiffer fork springs made it a nice handling bike.
1985 - Displacement increased to 600cc. Little else changed. Bigger displacement added quite a bit more torque. '85/86 models had some problems with 3rd gear breakage.
1988 - Nickasil cylinder, single carb, and stainless steel exhaust. Weight decreased about 10 pounds over the '87. Rear wheel changed from 17" to 18". The decompresion mechanism was changed from a kick starter actuated system to a cam speed actuated system to prevent the nasty kickback of earlier XR's.
1991 - Cartridge front forks (still too soft) and disk rear brake.
1992 - Unchanged except for larger diameter front axle
1993-97, little or no changes.
1998-2009 (added by the blog author), Increased displacement to 650 cc, more street legal features (XR 650L), tank shrouds, electric starter.
