Bike Choice, CRF450x, or XR650

[buds007]

Well, to begin, first post. New to the site, but certainly will be around for a while. Im young, and reasonably heavy set ;). I run around 260, and am 5'11". My dad right now has an xr650 i ride exclusively. Brother has an xr400 i have never bothered to touch. I love the speed of the 650, but am torn. Its now time to get my own bike. My brother will be here this summer, and so im the odd man out. The choices in my head run honda, as either a crf450x or an xr650. Im not all that good at riding, but i ride hard. Bottoming the 650 out is an every day thing. I would love to be able to get air, and not worry about breaking anything. Hence tossing the crf in the equation. Weight is of no issue. I dont mx hard enough to really care in that area, and any weight anywhere else is not noticed enough to matter. I can throw the 650 around well enough as it is. So, after a long introduction, the question remains. What to get. I need to be able to roast my dad, but i dont want the lazy soft suspension that he has right now. Im not opposed to swapping or revamping suspension, or doing any other mods for that matter. I just want the best possible bike, as this one is gonna be it for a while. All opinions are more than welcome. And thanks guys. Oh. I ride in utah right now. Mostly sand dunes, hill climbs, and flat out trails. At 260, leaving the ground for a double or worse is not in my best interest. ;)

 

[buds007]

I should also ask for one thing. Could those who reply, let me know what they have ridden. I like opinions, but saying the crf or the xr are better, without riding the other one is one sided. I have not ridden a crf450. 250 yes. Thanks for the help.

 

[KDX607]

Yes man, if you think you are big, you are. BUT, there are many people riding bikes that are larger. Ask yourself, do you want to ride mx tracks, challenging trails, or fire roads, dual sport rides and other stuff? You say you want air - like elliot said, respring a 450x for your weight, have a good maintenance schedule down, and have fun on the 450x, its a high performance off-road machine, whearas the 650 does both dirt and asphalt, but excells at niether.

 

[buds007]

Haha, very true on both of your points. Redoing the suspension is going to be a must. I guess when it comes down to it, i dont want to have my dad ripping by me up some hill. So i have to beat him. I live 45 minutes from sand dune heaven. i would say 60% sand, 20% fire road type trails, 20% challenging hills. As for the 650, only dirt. This is not going to be a dual machine. If i want something for the street, i'll get an r1. So, will a 450x take a 650r, both of them uncorked, piped, and all that stuff, in the sand, hills, and fire roads. Jumping is not the most important, but hauling off a dune once in a while knowing the bike will not bottom would be nice.

 

[450X]

i've ridden an xr650 those things have torque like a tractor. but i own a 450X and yes i do think you could roost your dad on his 650 if you had a 450X, for sure uncork that thing getting it breathing and then spring it for your weight, the 450X requires very little maintanence. i've rode mine hard in the hills, on trails, and on the track, for 3 years and haven't put any money into it except for go fast goodies of course.

 

[Blackcat]

I used to have an XR 600 with a 628 HC piston in it and all I can say is that bike is a Heavy ass tank. It definatly wasn't for jumps. Go for the 450. If you want to blow your dad away on the straight away put a smaller sprocket on the back.