Is the thing on the left of my motor the secondary air injection system? If so can I remove it?
You likely are referring to the smog and emissions control units which are now part of all the XR650L bikes when new from the factory. They are commonly removed and their ports blocked off. There are some great articles about this on the net. You’ll also end up re-jetting slightly to compromise.
This is the very first thing that should be done if you are attempting to ‘uncork’ your bike.