Bigger bike?

[Wrench]

Huh? I'm confused. Does your particular bike model NOT... have a chain guide on the swingarm mounted just in front of the rear sprocket? Cause if it does have one.. then the only way you'd have that happen, it pitching a chain? Would be if it was HORRIBLY loose with too much freeplay and slack in the chain. Or you snapped a link.

I raced in the pro class and wrench for money.

If you go ride north Idaho and are the guy breaking trail....it's incredibly thick. I've bombed plenty of parts on the mountain.

For a fire road bike....I like a water cooled bike with better legs. For hunting....I don't want anything that can get ripped off.

 

[Wrench]

I should have taken a picture....my rear wheel looked like a wicker basket. That trail saves me 20 miles of road but I hadn't cut it open that year. I was 10 miles in when it thickens up. I'd sure not to wrestle a 650 with 12 miles of rake and 350lbs.

 

[TheGDog]

As large as you are, I'd go for a Honda 650. They have great aftermarket support, good suspension, electric start, and are tall.

Man... I dunno though... On the one hand.. I firmly believe an 80's-style seating position geometry like you'd have with the saddle on that XR650L would be pretty nice out there and likely appreciated in terms of all-day comfort.... that's just too much weight though man.

Those BRP's ("Big Red Pigs" as they're affectionately called (the XR650R, and some people also refer to XR650L that way) are 346Lbs man! That's heavy, even for somebody in His size range. That's likely too heavy of a vehicle for this task, assuming this task involves really going back in far on a single track goat trail.

Imagine you've rode it in as far as you can ride it, THEN... you Hike in even further, maybe do a harsh climb or two? Get back to that bike all whipped and spent. You ain't gonna wanna be wrestling a 346Lbs machine man. Bottom line.

And remember... you STILL have that pack on too! Ya gotta strike that balance between enough power that the climbs are not sketchy due to lack of power, but not too heavy as to prematurely fatigue you out, which can contribute to a possible crash.

If you're talking mountain hunting, you're talking single-track trails that at some point, are gonna get precarious and sketchy feeling... rutted.. chocked full of rocks... possibly presenting you with tricky abrupt hillclimbs in soft terrain. NOT the time to be riding a 350Lbs bike with 45+ Lbs strapped to your 270Lbs body. At least... not when a 220-250Lbs better suited option is available.

And the only reason why I'm saying that, is because once you start strapping stuff onto your body on a moto out in the dirt?... it starts rapidly limiting what you can do, riding-wise. And what kinda lines you can pull off trying etc.

As you'll be less inclined to properly stand-up on the pegs like you normally would riding thru a particular kind of obstacle type the trail presents with.

Also, not for nothing, but what about when things DON'T go your way.. let's say on a hillclimb line... and shoot!.. you lost fwd momentum, and dug in, so now ya gotta turn it around, on the side of a hill, and ride it back down, bump-starting it back to life... get back down.. to then mount another attempt.

TRUST ME... it's exponentially easier to do that, the lighter that bike is!

 

[TheGDog]

I should have taken a picture....my rear wheel looked like a wicker basket. That trail saves me 20 miles of road but I hadn't cut it open that year. I was 10 miles in when it thickens up. I'd sure not to wrestle a 650 with 12 miles of rake and 350lbs.

Completely agree with this assessment of using a 650 for this task. Think it'd be seriously tempting fate with the fatigue it'd cause being soo heavy.

 

[Wrench]

Don't be afraid to throw springs at your bike. It's not really expensive nor difficult.

 

[jimh406]

Well, we don't know what taking the bike to the mountains means for the OP. I agree that the XR650L isn't optimum for tight "motorcycle" trails, but is that the goal of the OP?

On the other hand, true dirt bikes that aren't street legal can't ride USFS roads. The seats ... assuming sitting some of the time ... are pretty uncomfortable for big guys on true dirt bikes.

That being said, I rode lots of trails with people on XR650s with me on my KDX220 in off-road parks. Not the most technical trails ever, but still, they had no issues riding their XR650s most of the time.

 

[TheGDog]

but still, they had no issues riding their XR650s most of the time.

Oh for sure, but it kinda depends on the degree of difficulty of the trails the person is going to try to ride, together with HOW DEEP IN do they want to go? Ya know?

I figure for hunting, that can mean a significant distance in. So that means significant amount of saddle-time on the trek in. XX minutes riding 230Lbs bike? Or XX minutes riding 346Lbs bike? Which one do you think will fatigue the rider more, right? (I mean, sure, ergos factor into that too, but you get my point.).

I just know I would NOT want to be on a 346Lbs pig when something DIDN'T go as planned out there.

 

[KHNC]

Grumpy old man I am! I currently have an R6 for days but looking to sell and get KTM 350 SXF or Husky FC350. Lots of good vet racing around here so I’d like to give it a try. Been a few years, cough decades, since I took a gate drop. I would love to have a small track at the house.
!

Awesome! Yeah i had several street bikes in the off time. Nothing like a MX bike in my opinion!! I miss the gate drop. However, if i do it now, my woman may kill me! HAHA! She is finally starting to get used to Air Time in the back yard though. lol

 

[TheGDog]

Air Time in the back yard though. lol

SIGH.... damn man... sounds like you're livin' the dream there! WISH I lived someplace slightly less urban so I could do up a track in the back yard.

 

[KHNC]

SIGH.... damn man... sounds like you're livin' the dream there! WISH I lived someplace slightly less urban so I could do up a track in the back yard.

Back in my racing days, I wished I lived in SoCal. Year round racing and riding vs winter in NC and crap weather. I was super jealous! Also, I dreamed of desert riding. Nowadays, I guess I have it better, being able to go out in the back yard and rip some laps. CA has some damn talented riders for sure!

 

[TheGDog]

Back in my racing days, I wished I lived in SoCal. Year round racing and riding vs winter in NC and crap weather. I was super jealous! Also, I dreamed of desert riding. Nowadays, I guess I have it better, being able to go out in the back yard and rip some laps. CA has some damn talented riders for sure!

That's from the Desert/MountainTrail riding, for sure. And man oh man... you've NOT experienced life until you've blitzed along the Dez floor on a KX500 Man! It's Sofa King Awesome! Cause if there's somebody out in front of ya.. and you've got the skillset... and your physical training is pretty decent... you KNOW you can reel them in! The best feeling ever! Well... that and occasionally farting around and showering your friends with rocks!

 

[KHNC]

That's from the Desert/MountainTrail riding, for sure. And man oh man... you've NOT experienced life until you've blitzed along the Dez floor on a KX500 Man! It's Sofa King Awesome! Cause if there's somebody out in front of ya.. and you've got the skillset... and your physical training is pretty decent... you KNOW you can reel them in! The best feeling ever! Well... that and occasionally farting around and showering your friends with rocks!

Ive ridden a few CR500's years ago. Nowadays, its hard for me to ride a 450 on MX track. But wide open in the desert sounds perfect to me!

 

[TheGDog]

RE: year-round riding. Yes and no. You have to have a "green sticker registration" in order to ride on public lands all year long.

Non green-sticker bikes (typically the MX-intended models) have a red-sticker. This is related to their emissions I believe.

If you're Red-sticker, then ya can't go riding on public lands during the hotter months anyway. Something to do with it's effects are worse on the air/ozone during the hotter months?

Anyway... like around October is when the meat of "the riding season" starts in SoCal. Most prefer to go out to the desert during the fall/winter months for the cooler temps. Cause that way not fighting the heat, and if jacket needed, only helps give ya more layers of protection in a crash.

EDIT: DualSport bikes, however, have to be allowed everywhere. RE: converting an offroad only model into dualsport? I believe 2002 model year was the last year you could do that with them. For the later than 2002 model year bikes, inherent in their VIN numbers is some codes that will cause DMV to kick it back and say nope if the user tries to dualsport it. Some fraction of users get their bikes plated in AZ. Since AZ doesn't have all this CARB mandated BS.