Gear selection for riding baja ?

[BAJAB]

I ride a yz426 and have recently started doing some baja riding. Many of you have given me some great info either directly or indirectly, and I really appreciate it. Obviously, my bike isn't setup perfectly to ride baja. The bike is mostly stock, and short of getting a 650, what can I do to my 426 to make it more baja friendly? I'm especially interested in gearing, tire selection, and exhaust. Thanks...Brian

[irondude]

Im a Red Rider with a bit of Orange envy-so not sure of all the details for Blue, but some general guidlines for any mid-size bike going to baja would be: Go down 2 teeth (from stock) on your rear sprocket--get some tuff off road tires: Dunlop 606, 739AT, Michelin S12,Desert or Baja, Pirelli MT 18, 21, Maxxis IT (or wait for their new desert tire to come out)....

Get some 8 oz flywheel weights...rewind your stator for lights, get a steering dampner, not sure about the best pipes for your bike.

Tires (Adobe, Asphalt or Sand?), flywheel weights (Ziptye.com), dampner (RTT), and sprocket (Ironman) will make a big difference.

Not a lot of 85 foot triples around Laguna Hanson, so go super soft on the suspension...definately click the compression clickers back 3-5 clicks and rebound 2-3 as well-front and rear. Might want to lighten the weight of the fork oil to 3 or 5 weight, and add 5-10 mm as well.

Add at least 3 gallons/100 miles of fuel tank, and then get some lights (rickystator.com, bajadesigns.com), and you have a real nice Baja bike. This would apply to just about any 250, or 400+cc bike.

Take a 1 litre Camelback with some tools, spares, map, matches, flashlight, flat repair, and you are off to Mike's with the best of em... ?

[BAJAB]

Thanks Irondude....I'm going to do some mods right away. Can't wait to get back to baja! Brian