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[doug969]

Whats bike should i buy if i wanted to only ride it in desert and 200 miles of Baja 1000 prerun? I have rode all of my life and been racing dez for the last 7 years in cars.
Thanks

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[PBR]

down in baja the xr650 is king, but it's heavy and is a handful on tight techincal stuff... the other bikes i would seriously consider are the crf450x, wr450 and ktm 450/525xc (i ride a ktm myself but they are not for everyone)... i don't think you can go wrong with any of these bikes. if you want to do some more research yourself go to www.thumpertalk.com

[Chango]

(i ride a ktm myself but they are not for everyone)...

I'm curious, what do you mean with that?

[PBR]

(i ride a ktm myself but they are not for everyone)...

I'm curious, what do you mean with that?

i mean that some people say they are to much maintnence (frequent oil changes and valve adjustments), they don't like the suspension, etc... i love my orange bike and there isn't another bike out there that i would buy right now, but not everyone would agree. there is not another bike out there that comes with better fit and finish than a ktm from the factory, hydro clutch, wave rotors, oversized bars, etc...

[ren525]

PBR... I totally agree with you.

I love my KTM 525 and wouldn't buy another bike if I had the choice. I ride with die hard XR650 riders and they are set on the XR650. They all enjoy the KTM and all said that the KTM would be their second choice while me and some of my KTM friends all have all said that the XR650 would be our second choice.

Everyone has their own preferences so my take would be to go test ride a few different bikes and see which one fits you best. Bikes are like shoes, they all fit and feel different. With your experience in riding you should have some preferences by now, so I would just go and test a few.

Someone also mentioned the CRF and the WRF....I used to have a WR 2 stroke and loved that thing. It's all in the feel. Either way you cannot go wrong with any of the 4 bikes already mentioned. Enjoy pre running Baja.....

Ren

[cosmo]

I prerun on a 99' XR600. It's a great bike for baja.I gear it up some,a big tank,glass lense with a 55watt bulb. Not very fancy,but it rides great,I can safely do 100 miles on a tank of gas. Gearing up is important as sometimes you have to pound the pavement.

[Blue Man]

I also would go with an XR 650r, I have two of them. I have a YZ 250 for District 37 races. For the most part you wont be riding totally tech trail all the time so the 650 is cool. IMO the KTM has tranny problems, the CRFs have valve probs, if the BRP is too much I would go with a WR 450. I had a WR426 and a YZ 450, both were reliable as heck, the 650 is very reliable. It is also easy to find parts for an XR in Baja Ive been told.

[FABRICATOR]

Did they put better wheel hubs on the KTM's yet? I know first hand it's not that hard to granade the rear. Upgrading the entire rear wheel can be expen$ive.

[PBR]

Did they put better wheel hubs on the KTM's yet? I know first hand it's not that hard to granade the rear. Upgrading the entire rear wheel can be expen$ive.

the reason that people were blowing up rear wheels is because they had the chain to tight... because the ktm's have a link-less rear suspension you have to adjust the chain way looser than a linked bike. so to answer your question it was not the rear wheel failing but the rider.

[FABRICATOR]

the reason that people were blowing up rear wheels is because they had the chain to tight... because the ktm's have a link-less rear suspension you have to adjust the chain way looser than a linked bike. so to answer your question it was not the rear wheel failing but the rider.

Yea and I have some swamp land for sale, real cheap! Talon is making a fortune from KTM's. They also know how to eliminate the problem, link or no-link.