My riding bud has a 96? xr600 and in the open the bike just pulls away from me on my kdx, but in the woods I pull away from him. I've ridden it a couple of times, and the suspension is very, very plush and it absorbs everything, and the power is really smooth. The bike just pulls and pulls through every gear. Overall its a great bike and he has put next to nothing into in regarding repairs since he's owned it, but its not best suited for tight trail riding. Good luck with it.