Preparing A KTM 530EXCR and KX450F for Baja

By Doug Byers and Michael Hannas

DB: I started my adventure days before our planned departure date. For weeks leading up to our departure I spent many long evenings planning and preparing, gathering all the bikes, parts, gear, test products, adventure back packs, tool fanny packs, rain gear, maps, GPS, camera and stickers for the local kids! Kids in Mexico treat stickers like gold candy and you can actually trade stickers for food.

I only had to prep my 08 KTM 530EXCR, thank goodness. I started by changing my forest gearing for a desert setup good for about 110mph. This is plenty fast for me where the nearest medical help can be hours if not days away. When gearing your bike for Baja you are not necessarily gearing for all out top speed as you are gearing it more for cruising comfort of 50mph-75mph where you spend nearly 70% of the time in Baja. With this gearing and my KTM's sweet 6-speed I was set.



I ran high-quality Renthal sprockets and a top quality DID X-Ring chain. You want to make sure you run a top quality chain and sprockets when you are riding long days in rugged conditions far away from your local bike shop. Don't skimp here, spending the night with a broken bike in the middle of nowhere is not very fun, no matter how positive your attitude. You will see what I mean as you read on.

For suspension set-up I pretty much left my woods setup.  I added one turn of spring preload into the front forks and added a click of rebound to the rear shock, to help with balance for all the whoops. I double-checked the sag as well. All good.

For my handlebar and grip set-up I went with a Renthal Fat Bar Carmichael high bend and Renthal Kevlar grips. The Carmichael high bend is sweet for the taller rider like me. It gives me the room I need to maneuver and stand with comfort for the miles of whoops and sand washes and nice sized kicker rocks I had heard about and seen in Dust to Glory. I also ran the tried-and-true Scotts Performance steering damper, a true life saver.

For brake set up, I put in new set of Renthal RC-1 Works pads front and rear and fresh Motul 5.1 brake fluid. I used a Scott Performance Billet Disk Guard to protect the rear disc from rock-induced damage for this trip.

For tires I ran the Pirelli Scorpion Extra Mid/Hard Rear with heavy-duty rim-protecting sidewalls and a Scorpion Moto 486 Hard Terrain front, installed with new heavy-duty tubes. I ran 18psi front and 20psi rear for the whole trip so I wouldn't have to worry about flats. Plus, I knew there were a lot of highway sections with high speeds so the pressures would work well.

Air Filter setup was a new Twin Air Dual Stage filter with a Filterskin. We packed an extra pre-oiled filter and skin in a zip lock bag in our packs for day 2 or 3. A clean filter everyday is the standard in Baja.  If you want your motor to last and not lose power in the sand sections; she needs to breathe fresh air. Plus you spend a lot of time on the main jet in Baja.

An IMS large tank is also standard equipment for this type of adventure so I chose the IMS 3.2 gal natural with the screw-on cap to handle our fuel needs. We all carried an extra jug on our packs for emergency fuel should the need arise. For a seat I used my personal favorite, the Enduro Engineering Tall Soft.

Setting up a Kawasaki KX450F for Baja 

MH: While a Honda XR650R or some type of big-bore dual sport are the preferred weapons of choice for Baja action, it is possible to ride your 450cc four-stroke MX bike down on the Peninsula with a little preparation.  You could also even make due with a 250cc four-stroke or 250cc two-stroke but a 450 would be preferred due to the numerous long high-speed sections you will encounter once you get south of Tecate.  I had no worries about taking my 2006 KX450F despite the four-speed transmission once I had made the proper preparations.

First on my list was taller gearing.  Since I had raced the KX in Supermoto I knew it could top 100 mph with the proper gearing.  I threw on a new EK x-ring chain, a new Renthal countershaft sprocket that was one tooth bigger than stock, and a rear Renthal Aluminum that was five teeth smaller than the stocker for a 14-45 combo which I knew would be good for around 110 mph max.  Not that I was planning on going that fast, but I didn’t want the motor to be pulling too high of an RPM at 70 mph or so on the long pavement sections.  This combo made the already tall first gear extremely tall but it was still slow enough to make it through some pretty tight single-track without hammering the clutch too bad, although beginning riders may have trouble maintaining enough speed in the tight stuff for such tall gearing to work.  If you have never ran such tall gearing you should definitely try it out before you head down.

Next on the list was a big gas tank.  I borrowed an IMS 3.2 gallon tank from a buddy, which gave me around 100 miles out of a tank.  You never know where you will be able to get gas in Mexico, so you need a range of at least 100 miles per tank.  I also carried an empty gallon jug on my back in case I would need to pack some gas; Tide bottles work great (just make sure you wash all the soap out) as do oil containers.  When fitting the tank, make sure the larger tank isn’t rubbing on or smashing any of your radiator hoses or your fuel line; you may even need to adjust a few hose clamps or trim your fuel line.

For tires, you want to go with something that will hold up in hard-terrain with preferably a stiffer sidewall than a typical MX tire.  I took a gamble and ran a Dunlop 745 rear, which is for hard to intermediate terrain, and their 742FA front, which I figured would give me a little better grip in the sand and mud I knew we would also encounter.  Front tire wear was not a huge concern as it was with the rear so I went a little more aggressive.  I threw in some brand new MSR Heavy-duty tubes and ran around 20 pounds of pressure front and rear to prevent flats.  You may feel the urge to lower your pressure but if you do so, be prepared to fix a flat or three.

A steering damper was next on my list, and I went with the tried-and-true Scotts.  I don’t use one on the MX track or for supermoto, but for miles of high-speed whooped-out sand washes, the Scotts was a must.  It will make your life much easier, especially when you barely have the strength to hold onto the handlebars anymore.  I also threw on a new set of Renthal dual-compound Kevlar grips to keep my hands comfy for four days of riding.

Protection is also a must on a motocross machine.  Skid plate, real metal wrap-around handguards, water pump guards, and radiator guards are all a good idea.  I put my personal favorite Fastway Handguards on to keep my levers and fingers intact, but decided the stock skid plate would be good enough.  Since my water pump and cases were somewhat exposed, I just decided before the trip to take it easy over the bigger rocks.  I already had a set of the excellent Fluidyne radiators, which are stronger than stock, so I also skipped the radiator braces, but added a set of CV4 silicone hoses to dispose of the “accident waiting to happen” plastic Y fitting in the stock hoses.  If you have a headlight, some sort of protection is a good idea for the lens; either a screen-type deal you can leave on or a plastic guard you can remove if you need to at night.  Duct tape also works, but leaves a sticky mess everywhere once it melts on your light.  A headlight isn’t necessarily mandatory but is highly recommended if possible.  The whole group I was going with all had headlights and we weren’t planning on riding at night, so I went the easy route and got a small LED bicycle light to clamp on my handguard just in case.  I also picked up a small red clip-on light for my backpack just to make sure I could be seen from behind if we did have to ride in the dark.  As you’ll see when you read on about our trip, just because you aren’t planning on riding at night doesn’t mean you won’t have to, so make sure you are prepared.

Suspension modifications are also not mandatory but highly recommended.  Most likely the suspension set-up you love at the motocross track will beat the crap out of you for four days in Baja.  I had mine revalved for a little plusher action at the top of the stroke but kept her stiffer near the bottom to resist bottoming over big G-outs and plowing through the stroke in the deep whoops.  It was just comfortable enough over the chop to ride for four days straight yet stiff enough to still ride at an aggressive pace.

You also want to make sure your bike is in good running condition.  You don’t need a fresh top end but you don’t want to be within a couple rides of your next valve adjustment.  You can’t get parts to repair a blown motor or stuck valve in Baja, so you definitely want your bike in tip top condition.  You want fairly new brake pads and preferably a brand new chain and sprockets. You also need to make sure your wheel bearings, swingarm bearings, and linkage bearings are all in good condition.  You will want to check all your spokes and make sure your wheels are as true as they can be; balancing the wheels with wheel weights is also recommended.  You may not notice your wheel is off-balance in third gear over the whoops on the track but you sure will when you are pinned on the highway.  It is also a good idea to Loctite any questionable nuts or bolts so they don’t fall out.

After all that is done, your motocross bike is all ready for some Baja action.  It may have taken a little work, but when you can’t afford a new bike just for Baja like me, it is well worth the effort.  Next step is preparing your backpack and tool kit.

Log on to Day One of our Baja Adventure Ride...