Dunes for Easter, last minute prep ?'s

I will be heading out Wed night to go to the dunes for a few days and this is my first time out in the dunes. I have been riding a lot locally which has its small areas of sand but nothing like full on dunes and I would like a few last minute prep questions answered if possible.

BIKE: 99 RM 250

I have my spare rear wheel good to go with my paddle tire but noticed a minor issue after I threw the tire on. Right where the rim lock is the tire doesnt seem to be seating itself for some reason on the one side. Its seems to have seated everywhere else fine. Maybe I just need to work with it a little more to get it to seat properly but for now I can seem to get it. Any ideas why this is happening?

Suspension wise, how should I set it up? I had it a little softer for the trails and rocks I have been riding mostly but would assume to prob stiffen it up just a bit for the dunes.

Fuel: Normally I run 91 or 93 mixed at 40:1 with Mobile Racing 2T oil. I was thinking maybe I should jump the octane up to 100 for the dunes since the bike will be ridden higher in the RPM's and more of a load will be present most likely and hopefully the 100 octane will prevent any detonation. I'm not to worried about jetting as I have a variety of jets I'm bringing to dial in the carb on the spot. I'm sure I might have to richen up the main once there.

Flags: I see there are two types of flag mounts, one for the axle bolt and one for the seat. Which one is better?

And last is I have a spare front wheel that has a Dunlop D755 on it. I am running a cheaper cheng chin front tire on the RM and it seems to hook pretty good where I ride but not sure if the Dunlop would be a better choice for the sand or not. It has more of a spiked tread with the nipples.

I think I everything else covered, the bike has been pulled apart and bearing, etc have been cleaned and re-greased, air filter cleaned and oiled ( I also taped off the airbox on the outside to prevent excess sand to get in.)

I'm going to keep my pre-mix the same at 40:1, I have been running that for years with no issue as long as I use a good oil which I think Mobil's 2t is great. I will have to check about going up in octane leaning you out, never heard of that before but if thats the case I will just re-jet accordingly but I dont think thats the case for some reason. As for the paddle ripping off the mud flap, I already took it off but I am going to see if I can get away with leaving it on but doesnt matter all that much, I will just have to clean a few more things when done if its off. My nobbie tire is coming with either way just in case. Didnt think about the filter covers but I did read somewhere about someone use panty-ho's (sp?) to cover up the filter for added protection.

We are heading to Buttercup dunes then over to Glamis, my buddy's family lives 15min away from Buttercup so thats a plus. Thanks for the tips so far.

Oh and I got my tire seated properly as well.

I cant find any decent flag mounts so I did buy an axle one just in case but I saw my buddies mount which is shaped kind of like a V and bolts into bolt seat bolts then goes on top of the rear fender. Now his fender is all scratched up and looks like crap. I have the quick release billet piece from my banshee which I intended on using so could I just drill a 1/2" hole in the rear fender and just mount up the quick release and be done with it. I would rather just buy a spare fender then have it look like crap all scratched up. I have seen a mount that hooks to the subframe online but cant track it down anywhere near me and I dont have time to order it.

As for the paddle tire, I cut my mud flap a little and it clears it with no issues and the flap still looks like it will do its job with no problems. My main concern is the flag still, maybe I will just tape and zip tie it to my camelbak or chest protector

my main problem is I cant find a local shop that has the bracket. Everyone of them has the axle mount

Well I just got back from the dunes and had a blast. I did get the mount I was looking for. It said it wasnt made for my bike and it was listed for most of the newer ones but it lined up fine and gave me no issues. It bolted to the seat mounts and went back over my fender. Because my rear fender was designed different and is a little bigger than the newer bikes listed it was a tight fit and had no movement at all and left no markings. I did snap the flag once throwing my leg over though, forgot it was there.

Riding in the sand is a whole other world. I wanted to take it easy the first day but my riding buddies had something else in store so it was wide open right of the bat. I did eat it once coming over one dune and crossing into another as I left of the throttle right where the sand seemed to be a lot more giving and I went right over the bars and about 15ft down the dune. It felt like I landed on feathers, got back up, grabbed the bike, fired her up and I was off. I will def be going back to the dunes when the season starts back up. I did ride my buddies crf450x and it was a lot easier to ride but was a little hard on turning. It did seem to blast right through the deep stuff easier as you didnt have to be on the power as hard as my 2t.

Oh and my mud flap did get tore up a little, i cut it some and I thought I had it cleared but apparently I was still a little close. Not bad but I have a spare anyhow.