riding with an XR650R, any pointers to keep in front?

[wrkaholic]

Hey guys,

Anyone ridden with an XR650R? Planning a ride with one and I am wondering how much the PIG will pull on my bike. The trails are fairly open, so, I think the XR650R will have an advantage over me and my bike. Anyone mixed it up with one of these bikes over some fairly open trails or loose sandy riverbed conditions? Will the guy pull pretty good on my bike? Thanks in advance for any feedback. ?

[wrkaholic]

BTW, the other guy has an older XR600. Never ridden with one of those either, but, I think these bikes are much more down on power compared to the XR650R. Can anyone validate? Thanks in advance for any feedback ?

[jwriott]

The guy I ride with has an XR650R and I've ridden that a lot. The only place he should be able to pull you is at top speed once you've run out of gears. Keep your speed up in the corners and get on it sooner than him. We run out in Moab in the sand washes and I have absolutely no problem staying in front anywhere. If the sections are really wide open, I'd gear up one tooth on the front. I'm going to do this next time. I also ride with a guy who has a KTM 520 MXC and he's got a little more top end as well. We are fairly equal in riding skill so I feel this is a reasonable accessment.

The XR600's feel quite a bit slower to me than the XR650R's. Don't be fooled though, as they move out in the open as well.

I just changed mine to YZ timing yesterday so I'm anxious to get back out there and run these guys again. We'll see how much of a difference it makes.

Have fun.

[Matt96xr6]

Stay in the tighter stuff!

The XR6 and Xr650 are both good bikes for more open fast track trails, fire roads and desert. Get them into the woods and their weight begins to slow them down. They carry a LOT of weight on the front wheels. Anything that is wet and muddy can be a handful on these bikes! Also if your friends have anything like a fork brace on the red pigs, that will really make them handle better than you think.

If things are dry, you should have a lot of fun dicing it up. I find that it really is not the bike, but the rider. When things are wet, the red pigs are a handful and since we are not all scott summers capable, most of us slow down or crash out on them. You should have no problems in the tigther, wetter parts of the trail.

[blireef]

My riding partner has an XR650R in Baja, If your bike is YZ timed and you're not going to be going over 90 MPH you'll do just fine. Your bike is much more nimble but the XR just runs over small items like rocks, trees etc. As our dear president says "make no mistake" the XR is a Bad mother in the desert, but most of us are not Johnny Campbell and a lot of the sucess the XR has enjoyed has been due to him and Steve H. Forget the 600, he's not in the same ballpark. Have fun, keep that blue bike in front! ?

[blue_beast_wins]

I've had some good fun out there with a 650 or two, with my 15/50 sprockets they have just a little more top end (generally speaking) most other places thay won't touch you unless the rider is some sort of enduro champion, if nothing else they will run out of fuel first, around 100 k's to the tank i beleive ?

[Indy_WR450]

You are going to need YZ timing and 15/42 gearing and a steering damper to keep the XR650R in sight in the wide open desert. I hear they can hit 120 mph! You will be lucky to hit 105 mph.

[wrkaholic]

OK Indy, I thought those PIGs could hit 140 mph :D

Anyway, no matter what they pull, I'll do my best to hold the blue flag in front. ?

[blireef]

Indy450, Do YOU ride with anyone or know anyone who rides 120 in the desert on anything but a road. I've only seen a couple of them go by and just watching scared me..90 is my limit and I don't feel bold enough to do that often..Call me a whimp! If you do ride that fast, come on down to Baja this Winter I love to ride with someone that fast! ?

[Indy_WR450]

I am coming! Lets get some dates and TT members to do a Baha trip! 88 mph is my top speed WFO with my gearing and I do not need a dirt road to hit that! Sand is just fine.