xr650r.. good for motocross

[EXracer14]

is a xr650 able to do any motocross.. does any one do motocross with there 650's.. any one with pics... thanks ?

[dukeryder]

The XR650R is effectively known as the Big Red Pig, why would you wanna MX a PIG? A tuned CRF450R comes close in HP and is MUCH lighter

[XR_mad]

but has nowhere near as much torque as a BRP, but no i wouldnt take it motocrossing

[wcorbett]

i dont technicly MX it but i ride my track 8 gallons of gas no prob

[XR4DEZ]

An NFL linebacker could probably moto the 650.

[ogrider650]

so let me ask this question: take a grand prix race like elsinore or adelanto or pretty much any of those, some of those courses have sections of them on motocross tracks. how do the pigs handle those ? i ask this becasue i plan to do the lake elsinore GP (harvey mushman) this year?

[DGA]

I moto mine in the open class at the local track and usually come in first place against a slew of bikes including KTM 525's. The only bike that gives me trouble is my buddy and he is on a cr500. If you got the nuts and the strength the 650 can do it all. Next season im going to use a helmet cam and I plan to post each video on here. I cannot believe how people discredit this wonderful bike. Sometimes I get the holeshot sometimes I have to let off or drag the rear brake to keep from flipping over backwards. I usually start in 2nd or 3rd gear depending on track condition. I have yet to find anything except trials that the 650r wouldnt do good in. You just have to get used to this bike and get the feel for it. People say the 450's are faster but I dont beleive it. I have drag raced against plenty of 450's, I used to have one. I got a buddy with a crf450 and in a straight line drag I beat him by about a bike length sometimes less. He weighs 165 and I weigh over 200 not to mention bike weight diff. We swap bikes and he beats me on my 650. Once again the bike that I am most neck and neck with is my buds 88 cr500. On the street when we drag its whoever gets the best start usually wins its that close.

I love my 650r. I plan to buy another to setup strictly for track use. I can keep the one I got now to setup for woods.

I decided not to dualsport them as Ive got a VTX1800 for that with quite a few mods. It will smoke the XR650 and the cr500 believe it or not. Its funny to see a big cruiser lift the front wheel in 1st and 2nd gear when the tire isnt spinning.

[BWB63]

so let me ask this question: take a grand prix race like elsinore or adelanto or pretty much any of those, some of those courses have sections of them on motocross tracks. how do the pigs handle those ? I ask this becasue i plan to do the lake elsinore GP (harvey mushman) this year?

Adelanto GP has been won with a XR650R many times.

http://xr650r.borynack.com/

There are a few video's of the XR650R jumping 55' table tops and a video of one clearing a lot more then that up and over.

, it takes a real well tuned suspension to pull of MX style whoops and once I over shot the 60' doubles that was enough for me for the rest of time....table tops, step-ups, up&over but no more doubles for me. I think getting old sucks but, it happens. If you don't have the suspension don't try it in a race ? that would be sure death.

[Johnnybmoto]

My friends dad races his XR500

[ogrider650]

Adelanto GP has been won with a XR650R many times.

http://xr650r.borynack.com/

There are a few video's of the XR650R jumping 55' table tops and a video of one clearing a lot more then that up and over.

, it takes a real well tuned suspension to pull of MX style whoops and once I over shot the 60' doubles that was enough for me for the rest of time....table tops, step-ups, up&over but no more doubles for me. I think getting old sucks but, it happens. If you don't have the suspension don't try it in a race ? that would be sure death.

that's what i figured i know it can be done, and iv'e seen your videos before they're pretty legendary. so i have been doing D-37 races with stock suspension and have looked into getting the suspension done by barnums or PC (just waiting for money to do it) but would you suggest i not do the elsinore until i have the suspension done? or shoud i try it and just adjust it to be super stiff?

[weskc35k]

Ogrider here in Oz an xr650 dominated and won the 01 thumper nationals it was not stock but hey what is.It was killer on the big uphill stretches threw rocks the size of house bricks.

The way i have my BRP set up it feels like a big MX bike,i run it on my MX trak at home and can give the boys a run on it.

Onya DGA it's good to hear that someone is giving it to them on the BRP and you are right where there is trction and an uphill the 650 will walk away from most bikes on the planet.

[DGA]

Its priceless the looks I used to get when I'd roll up for the Sunday races with a big XR650. Some people would laugh and shake their head. No one laughs now. The first time I raced it and won I had a few people come over to look at the bike. They just couldnt believe it. They said it was definetly an entertaining race, one fella said the 650 looked like a "pregnant cow" doing the jumps, albeit a very fast pregnant cow ?

I inspired a few converts to the 650 from crfs and a few 2 strokes. They dont race though which is fine by me I like being the only one on the track with the piggy.

[eastreich]

I race mine in MX (Vet Pro) and can hold my own. I don't ride MX enough to beat the die hard MXer's out there, but I sure don't embarass myself when I do it.

The XR650R can jump almost anything on an MX track with the right setup. Very technical jump sections can be challenging with the stock carb bogging on hard landings. You need to really perfect your timing and be super smooth. It will outpull everything uphill, except for the ocassional KX500 (but only if that rider isn't afraid to hold it wide open). And any rider that you are in front of has twice as hard of a time passing you. This is due to the 6 inch chunks of terra firma that get launched from the tire like guided rockets. Most of my friends (except the masochistic ones) will not ride with me when we are practicing on the track for this reason.

The only truly difficult part of an MX track for the 650R is whoops. If you've got the stock flex-o-matic forks and carb you sure aren't going to get on top and blitz a whoop section. With inverted forks and a pumper carb (I've got both) it is a possiblilty if you check you're sensibilities at the door. Just remember that when a 280+ lb bike gets out of shape it is a little more difficult to get back in line than an actual MX bike.

I will admit that racing it in MX is doing things the hard way. But when you beat some schmuck with $5,000 in mods on his new 450 motocrosser it makes everything worth while.

[BWB63]

Suspension,

I wouldn't go to stiff on the compression, you don't want the suspension hydrolicing, that will feel the same as bottoming. I would at least change the fluid in the forks to ultra light fluid to respond faster and help your timing in the whoops. I would rather have some bottoming on the big jumps and have a suspension that can soak up the whoops so I can stay on the bike. The bike needed to be re-sprung for most of the beef eaters out there. Adjusting your suspension stiff to make up for light springs is not the best way to go . You will need more rebound front and back to tame any spring you do have. You will find much more control with the compression adjusters softer, and the rebound somewhere around 11~12 clicks out. We have tons of video of this bike going through the whoops then slowing down to almost frame by frame to find what works and what does not. If the bike is ripping you apart, it will not be much fun and you might recieve some knobbie marks up your back rut while laying face down ?

[jbird710]

When I raced back in '89 & '90, there was a guy who was maybe 5'6" and might have weighed 140 pounds sopping wet that raced an XR600R in the open class - and usually won. One of the local tracks allowed him to race with the 2 stroke 250s and he always finished in the top 5. He eventually switched to a RM 250 but was always competitive when he raced the XR. I was impressed that anyone that small could do so well on a bike not designed for what he used it for, especially in the southeast Texas summer heat. Also, he ran stock suspension.

[justicedone]

Use th R for motocross and the L for supercross

or you could just punch yourself in the nutsack, much easier

I would go with an CRF450 honda and get real.....lol

Or you could flat track this one around the course and get some laughs

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/mcy/212728944.html

[captb]

Ogrider here in Oz an xr650 dominated and won the 01 thumper nationals it was not stock but hey what is.It was killer on the big uphill stretches threw rocks the size of house bricks.

The way i have my BRP set up it feels like a big MX bike,i run it on my MX trak at home and can give the boys a run on it.

Onya DGA it's good to hear that someone is giving it to them on the BRP and you are right where there is trction and an uphill the 650 will walk away from most bikes on the planet.

I can verify it does throw big rocks very well, I was headed out in the desert on a 65mph paved road when a prick in a taurus passed me in my lane 1 foot from me and cut in, I figured he thought I should be off road (I aim to please) so I drifted over and blew by Mr. Ahole at 90mph off road and gave it a little head shake as I went by, there was a cloud of dust and a debris feild on the road, (Maxxis IT worked very well) I went about 400 yards into the desert and enjoyed a smoke, he was on the side of the road inspecting the damage to the front of the ford and windshield, best ride I had in a long time. ?

[Huffa 2]

Sure it will work with mods and you could have a lot of fun (I DID WITH A XL 600), but being (I know you didn't ask) competitive with what's on the track now a days, NO WAY.

If your just out to have fun, go for it ! ?

[Rokatt88]

I've taken mine out to Cahuilla on the main track! Mine has RaceTech Gold Valves and suspension mods. I had just put my D/S kit on and the only problem was the rear tail light getting banged around. As far as handling I have always loved how my BRP handles anywhere. Jumps are no problem. But the big rush is all that torque! I wish I could get low end torque like that out of my 450!

[eastreich]

Sure it will work with mods and you could have a lot of fun (I DID WITH A XL 600), but being (I know you didn't ask) competitive with what's on the track now a days, NO WAY.

If your just out to have fun, go for it ! ?

I beg to differ with the being competitive comment. Unless you can finish in the points in an AMA national, you can't use every last bit of performance that a new motocross bike has. Especially in a class lower than pro/expert. In the lower classes, everyone can still jump, they just can't corner worth a #$%^. If you can carry more speed into and out of the corners on your 650 (and remember that you have all that mass to keep the wheels planted!), you can more than hold your own.

RC and JS would still wax the field at a national if they were on 650's (or a CRF150R). It is all in how bad you want it!