the XRL is a completely different bike than the R. Its heavier, has a steel frame, battery, air cooled engine, weaker suspension. Its not a bad bike, but more of a beast offroad than the XRR. The DRZ will do you well if you are looking for offroad capability. In totally stock form, it BLOWS GOATS on highways. 70mph feels like you are beating the engine mercilessly. But if you do the 3x3 airbox mod, the FCR carb, and exhaust, the bike is an all new animal. Rolls at 70 just fine, and will go up to 104mph (107 if you tuck in behind someone at the track with one hand on the fork like a flat tracker.)
Note: the restricting part of the exhaust on the DRZ is the header. A lot of people put slip on's on the bike, but all that does is make noise, no performance advantage. You can get away with doing new jets in the carb, but the best thing to do is the FCRMX carb.
If you really want to get ballsy, get an old XR400R and motard it. More reliable than the XR650R, tons of parts, lighter than the DRZ, and cheap! The engine is a little laggy on the top end, but it makes gobs of torque.