i have a trx 450r and i'm thinkin about settin it up for desert racing. right now i have the mods listed in my signature, i'm ordering a set of hiper-tech carbon fiber wheels with a 3+6 offset (1 inch wider on each side). what pipe would you suggest, one for top end, acceleration, etc. should i gear it taller, or leave it stock and mod the motor more? i think i'm going to leave it stock bore, but get a cam and porting and an exhaust. what about chassis set up? i wont' be doing these mods right away, mostly as my income permits, but i want an idea of what i should put on it. i'm not lookin to spend money on jus looks, if i buy it, it needs to help performance wise. thanx.

 

Are you actually planning to race, or are you just building a recreational desert bike? If you race District 37 (which can be bruital), you are going to have to run on motorcycle trails, so you want to build more of a cross-country/trail bike. If you are planning to do the big desert endurance races, you want to build a fast stable bike for more open country. See the April 04 issue of DirtWheels, for Doug Eichners Baja bike.

Most important items..........full chassis and swingarm skid plates! I like DG Baja.

Bumper.

IMS desert fuel tank.

Steering stabilizer. I like the Denton.

Most would prefer Holeshot XCT tires for some added ground clearance. I tried them, but found it made the bike tall and tippy, and sluggish steering. Wouldn't go that route again, without widending the front end first. Now gone back to Holeshot XC's, which I have run for years on all my bikes. Bike still has over 5" clearance in the rear anyway!

I prefer ITP Baja rims, which widen the bike +3" in the rear and +2" in front.

I am running the HRC cam, FMF PowerBomb header and Factory 4 muffler, vented airbox lid (http://www.ehsracing.com/), and UNI foam air filter which flows way better than stock (because it gets rid of that restrictive stock wire insert). And of course a rejet. (I had run K&N's on my bikes in the past, but have now gone back to foam, for some added security.)

The bike is geared tall, and is darn fast with stock gearing! I wouldn't want to give up even a bit of low end, which would happen if you geared UP. You may want to gear DOWN for District 37 however.

Eventually widen the front end and lengthen the swingarm. You'll need new shocks though. This gets expensive!

 

i do want to race, but since i still have this year, and my senior year left in highschool i won't be a full time racer. probably a few races a year, and them mostly havin fun. is that issues of dirtwheels the one with the 450r that won baja??? i had that issue and since then it's disappeared. i've been lookin for it for a while since i knew that they had all the lil mods that nobody thinks about. so if i basically build an xc bike, but make it a lil bit wider and faster, then i'd have a desert bike right? i'm fairly ignorant when it comes to the different districts, so i have no idea what district i would be racing. is there a website i can go to that would give me info on the dif. races and districts for endurance and desert races in cali? thanx for all the info.

 

You want to talk to Rob Wade, who is a District 37 racer. You can find his posts in the Race section, and PM him with your questions. He answered a lot of questions for me. http://forums.atvconnection.com/mess...did/423761.cfm

You want to race AMA/ATVA District 37! It is maybe the best in the country! You need both an AMA/ATVA membership and a District 37 membership. Before you start, go out to a race and see what they do, and what everybody rides. I unfortunately found out that none of my insurance policies (life, disability) are any good if I am injured racing! Kind of threw a wrench into things.

http://www.district37ama.org/home.php

http://www.atvaonline.com/

http://www.amadirectlink.com/

http://www.ama-cycle.org/amrace/torace.asp

 

thanx for the webistes and the other info. i know my health insurance covers me while i'm racing cuz at the pismo beach race i knocked 4 of my teeth out and cut clear thru my lip and chin. medical insurance covered all of it eventhough its all dental work and i don't have dental insurance. thanx again for the info and good luck with gettin insurance for racin.

 

The AMA does sell insurance, I think you can find out about it on the web site.

I can't see paying all that money for my insurance policies, just to have them be no good when I really need them. I'm a family man, so I have to think about that kind of stuff.

 

ya, i know what u mean. when i was 15 i went over the bars on my mountain bike a messed my face up pretty good, turned out to be all cosmetic, not even a trip to the hospital, but it scared my mom enough that she upped my medical insurance. then when we got quads she upped it again. now she's glad she did, in one day the insurance more than payed for itself.