Where to start on making my pig the best.

I thought a thread on what has worked for XR650R's that have raced the big races for the pro's and the average guy that wants to race say the Baja 250 or 1000 or the local AMA desert race.

The most important thing has been setting up suspension for your weight. This will make the big pig a lively squealer. Springs support you and the bikes weight....not valving. Get the right springs for your weight and they should be setup to keep the bike in time through the whoops for your riding style. Valving, adjustment and fluid need to be thought out to control the rate the spring responds to the weight in motion. So, many try to keep the suspension riding in the top of it's stroke. This is not what is always wanted but, to have the suspension soak up as much of the hit so the rider doesn't.
Steering damper! What a joy on the BRP!
Get sprockets and chain that will last!
I love the pumper carburetor Mukuni, Edelbrock, FCR41
Case chain guard and not the cheap one.
DOn't cheap out on tires

Thanks for the tips, XR680R.

We noobs appreciate it, and look forward to more.

My BRP is pretty much a replica of the Team Honda 1000 bikes. I used the same shop and all to do the work. Plus I've added a few things like a Renazco seat, and a BD eStarter (I regret the starter now but at the time I had constant problems starting the bike. PC solved all that.) I built my bike with very long, as in multi-day rides across the deserts, in mind. I'm out of racing and don't use it for any street use and so far don't like to ride it in the forests much. Why? The bike is relatively expensive to maintain if you are used to two-strokes. There's nothing I can't really do on my BRP that I can do on my Cal Plated KDX200. Still, the KDX is so much easier in the technical stuff, practically free to maintain, so light after the BRP that it feels like a skateboard, and I've riddin it for so long I'm really confident on it.

I think you have to decide improvement per dollar in your choice, unless your budget is pretty good, like $6K and then just do it all.
From my experience here are the big things:
1. Suspension is the best value. I recommend getting the Precision Concepts setup and seeing how that works for you. The bike will be cush and it will stay glued to the track. Get everything except the CR500 rear shock mod. Don't be talked into that. Do get the Ti rear spring. The Ti rear spring will make the ride softer and give better race ride at speed. You'll appreciate that after a full day at speed on this relatively heavy bike.
2. HRC cam, T-4 pipe, jetting, open the intake up is my 2nd choice. The cam and the intake work really make the bike bark. The cam is expensive, at around $500 from Honda. If you are going to get the HRC cam then just get the whole kit. If you go with an aftermarket cam then that's different. Some have auto-decompression issues but that may be the mechanic ... Getting the kit saves like 50% over getting each item individually plus you'll get the race parts like the HD cam chain, tensioners, lifters, the HD clutch springs and so forth. Team Honda used the stock carb and that's what I suggest as well. Take that money for a different carb and buy the cam. If the stock carb is properly jetted and all then you won't have any problems. I recommend going with this Team Honda setup for the engine because, although it may not be the fastest in some way (but the bike's undefeated status may not support that), you'll have Precision Concepts on the phone, or Eric Siraton over at JCR now via email, every time you have a problem. They know the setup intimately and that will be a great advantage for you.
3. A Renazco seat is Ass Heaven. IMHO, the XR650R has the most uncomfortable seat I've ever ridden. And I started on a Tote Goat in 1966. If you ride where you are sitting a lot and not often in the attack position, or you are prone to monkey butt, then you will find this seat a smokin deal. I tried the Guts soft foam first but wasn't strongly impressed.

There are a lot of other things you will want depending on your riding area. For example, if you ride or live in elevation about 5000' and up then I'd recommend getting the HRC race piston and having it milled down for pump gas premium. And heck, if you have the HRC cam and the HRC milled race piston, then you might as well avail yourself of the porting that was done on all the race bikes. It's $300 (plus shipping and if you are running aftermarket air filters then you may need intake valves) and the difference is about what the cam is in power. In fact, I'd say the difference in power when jumping from stock, to HRC cam, then ported head (there's only one guy who does it and he's semi-retired), and then milled HRC piston is about the same each time. FYI, the power thing is a bit crazy. But even Team Honda never ran the full race piston, (As an aside the Team Honda mechanic told me that the bike tended to come out from under the riders!) But if you are looking for more two-stroke like performance and hit that barks that front end over stuff then the HRC kit is it.

My Engine Opinions
Stock - unremarkable except in outstanding reliability, bad seat
Cam + Intake - The bike wakes up, easier to wheelie over stuff, very useable power all the way up, still not two-stroke snappy though. MUCh faster than stock.
Ported Head - Wheelies with no effort, dangerous with excellent traction. More power everywhere. The engine is really starting to sing now.
Milled Race Piston - I have this but not installed yet. Still pump gas, kinda has a hit now when you want/need. More power everywhere. Added vibes.
Full Race Piston - Race gas only. Big physical power everywhere. Staying on bike is work. More maintenance. (What I was told)

You may want an IMS style tank. Or Fluidyne radiators. But making a big tank, the big radiators, and the Renazco seat all fit together will require a heat gun massage to the tank and some drilling of the radiator mounts. Or so mine did. I use the 1X radiator guards as they are made for the IMS tank and the bigger rads, and they are a bargain.

As far as the little things ($100 or so):
Fix the jetting.
INSTALL EVANS COOLANT (USE THE R) BEFORE ADDING RADIATORS OR ANYTHING ELSE TO SOLVE HEAT PROBLEMS!
Make certain your pivots are greased properly (swingarm, headstock and so forth).
Open up the intake.
Open up the side cover over the air filter.
Get the fix for the right footpeg (safety). Don't buy Ti footpegs - Team Honda broke them!
I used a combination of Faast Bar Inserts AND Bar Snake GOO (LV4) and my bars really settled down. If you hop up the engine I think you'll see a increase in vibration.
Hit your big toe with a hammer every time you add weight to the bike. The bike is already heavy so it tends to plow through stuff like a Schiada or Hallett Vector. More weight just reduces the fun and makes riding it more work.

Finally, beware of everything you read from people like me posting in forums. This forum is very good - perhaps because it is small and apolitical (unlike the yahoo group). Others are so so. I'm also on the yahoo forum and some others and there's at least some advice on most that I think is counter-productive. And some practices tend to be regional. Other advice is really true only for guys taking their bike completely apart every month. Me? I want to ride and I won't tolerate breakdowns. The riders in the great NW tend to want it a little different than the So Cal Hi Desert guys (like me). But I can see how those guys who ride eastern Oregon and the forests of Washington and BC need a different setup. In fact, I've learned it firsthand as I showed up with all my white vented desert gear, polarized goggles, OEM seat, no jacket, and no GPS for 500 miles of forest trails, 60 degree air temp changes (40-100), and water crossings. I had felony monkey butt I assure you! Don't be in a hurry to mod your BRP. You can save a bunch of money if you are patient and watch ebay, the web, and ADVRider for deals, often on new stuff.

Or, just get out and ride! None of these mods will make up for not riding.

Bump,

Thanks for taking the time to post some good advice!

I really like this forum. Especially the tone and friendly nature you foster. So I'm glad to help build some content.

Thank you for donating the considerable time to provide this for us!

You guys rock. Seriously.

I mean, not as cool as say a Unicorn or a Lawn Gnome, but up there.

The downside is that you are costing me money bigtime.

Off the Grid wrote:You guys rock. Seriously.

I mean, not as cool as say a Unicorn or a Lawn Gnome, but up there.

The downside is that you are costing me money bigtime.

Uh oh, you're passing out money for the BRP?! Me too, aint it great! I just found a Moose XTall seat the other day-heaven!

Bump wrote:
Get the fix for the right footpeg (safety). Don't buy Ti footpegs - Team Honda broke them!

What is the best fix?

The stock one will break without a lot of stress and that could be catastrophic for your leg.

I think there are a few ways to fix this. Summers and some others used a larger bolt and shim kit. Some of the guys who race and are on the Yahoo group like this approach. But they tend to like to make everything themselves, including things like the swingarm wrench. But I don't like that Summers setup myself - like a surprising amount of his stuff the engineering is odd and perhaps different for the sake of different. Summers is a creative guy, a lot like Ty Davis. But Ty's stuff just seems to be a lot better engineered. I think both those guys grew up with machine shops. Summers' dad is a machine guy I think and Ty's uncle Terry is the Terry Cable guy.

Anyone know why Summers just up and closed his shop?

My opinion is that the simplest is to just call Precision Concepts and order the fixed part. They may want to fix yours, or use it as a core like with alternators and starters on cars, as the bike ain't the flavor-of-the-month like it used to be. I think they send it out to a guy who does it. But maybe there are a couple of guys doing it now. Perhaps the original guy was in Vegas. I can't remember. You could do it yourself if you are good at welding. All it is is a bracket that goes from the peg mount over the frame and then the bolts go through it and it fastens between the nuts and the frame. In any case the solution Team Honda used is only a little over $100 and you got what they trusted all season long.

If you google "xr650r right footpeg fix" then you'll find heaps of information on this; far more than you need or want probably.

Also, Team Honda tried the Titanium pegs and broke them.

BehindbarsXRR wrote:

Bump wrote:
Get the fix for the right footpeg (safety). Don't buy Ti footpegs - Team Honda broke them!

What is the best fix?

Thanks Bump. I will do some searching.

BehindbarsXRR wrote:

Bump wrote:
Get the fix for the right footpeg (safety). Don't buy Ti footpegs - Team Honda broke them!

What is the best fix?

Kritter's fix (Animal House Designs): http://www.animalhousedesigns.net/products.htm

Yeah, I think this is the guy.

AURORA wrote:

BehindbarsXRR wrote:

Bump wrote:
Get the fix for the right footpeg (safety). Don't buy Ti footpegs - Team Honda broke them!

What is the best fix?

Kritter's fix (Animal House Designs): http://www.animalhousedesigns.net/products.htm

Kritter's fix (Animal House Designs): http://www.animalhousedesigns.net/products.htm[/quote]


Have you used this one? Price is about half what Precision Concepts wants for there peg.

BehindbarsXRR wrote:Kritter's fix (Animal House Designs): http://www.animalhousedesigns.net/products.htm[/quote]


Have you used this one? Price is about half what Precision Concepts wants for there peg.

I HAVE KRITTER'S FIX ON MY XRR. AROUND $80