Bitte_Kein_Lexus wrote:The most important is probably oil changes. I get one every 500km or so, but I also use very basic oil (non-synthetic, 5-6$ oil). If I've been doing lot's of city driving, I'll just check it now and then to see if it's too grey for my liking.

Good pickup, I totally overlooked this.

Is there such a thing as an XR650 Baja? Pretty sure you just mean XR 650...

Unsure, you could be right, I may be missing a space. Although there's this: https://www.google.com.kh/webhp?sourcei ... ja%20xr650

I think the whole "fuel from bottles" thing is a bit of a myth...But unless you have a high-end bike, there's no harm.

I have a mate who rents motos to expats, he swears he can tell as soon as he listens to a problem bike if it's had the roadside fuel in it and that he hasn't been wrong yet. What do you classify a high-end bike btw, a crotch rocket?

And yeah, new decals usually do the trick for speed increase/performance boost.

Red ones are best.

Username Taken wrote:

StroppyChops wrote: I hit a submerged dislodged manhole cover the other day -

Now you know why the locals won't ride through puddles. Seriously.

I seriously do.

Username Taken wrote:

StroppyChops wrote: I hit a submerged dislodged manhole cover the other day -

Now you know why the locals won't ride through puddles. Seriously.

I hit a rock one time and had my front wheel start a death wobble. Now I go slow. Er... Slower.

StroppyChops wrote:Unsure, you could be right, I may be missing a space. Although there's this: https://www.google.com.kh/webhp?sourcei ... ja%20xr650

I think the whole "fuel from bottles" thing is a bit of a myth...But unless you have a high-end bike, there's no harm.

I have a mate who rents motos to expats, he swears he can tell as soon as he listens to a problem bike if it's had the roadside fuel in it and that he hasn't been wrong yet. What do you classify a high-end bike btw, a crotch rocket?

And yeah, new decals usually do the trick for speed increase/performance boost.

Red ones are best.

That link of yours is broken. But I'm 98% sure the Baja model is 250cc specific. Otherwise the models available were 400cc (XR400R), 600R (kickstart), 650L (e-starter) and they apparently also had a 650R, but I've never seen one in Cambodia. None of the 400-600s have any Baja headlights or tanks... As for "high-end", I mean any bike with fuel injection (which I know isn't really high-end). But say you have a modern 1200cc bike, then for sure I would never put that bottled gas in. But if you have some beat up 20-year-old carb XR250, then I think that gas is the least of your worries... Your friend is probably right though. I don't think it's laced with anything (in 90% of cases), but they put less gas in, and the gas might have been sitting outside in the sun (clear bottles) for days on end... I'm not a mechanic or chemical engineer, but that can't be good. Storage methods likely affects how petrol will combust.

But yeah, for a scooter I'd say definitely change your oil regularly. It's cheap maintenance and prolongs the life of your engine. My odometer is gone (and my other bike doesn't even have one) so I just go by feel (calculate distances when I go in the countryside and average out distances in the city). Air filter cleaning/changing is also important. Usually paper filters aren't made to be cleaned (blowing air through them as they do here), but it probably isn't the end of the world to shake/blow them out a few times before buying a new one. I'll try to think of other stuff that's important...

Bitte_Kein_Lexus wrote:That link of yours is broken. But I'm 98% sure the Baja model is 250cc specific. Otherwise the models available were 400cc (XR400R), 600R (kickstart), 650L (e-starter) and they apparently also had a 650R, but I've never seen one in Cambodia. None of the 400-600s have any Baja headlights or tanks...

I'm honestly not following the point you're trying to make... My bike is a Honda Baja XR650… what's the issue, that XR series didn't include a 650? Are you saying that the series is defined by the massive twin lights and the chunkier tank?

The link above was just a Google search on "Baja XR650" but I see that the URL had contextualized to the Chrome browser I use on my laptop. Here's a more specific link from Motorcycle USA:

http://motorcycle.motorcycle-usa.com/mo ... 50r%20Baja

There also a Wikipedia entry on these bikes.

Help me out here, what am I not understanding?

weird, my post disappeared. I mentioned air filter, but yeah, oil is the biggie.

Valves, carb, plugs, wheel bearings

StroppyChops wrote:

Bitte_Kein_Lexus wrote:That link of yours is broken. But I'm 98% sure the Baja model is 250cc specific. Otherwise the models available were 400cc (XR400R), 600R (kickstart), 650L (e-starter) and they apparently also had a 650R, but I've never seen one in Cambodia. None of the 400-600s have any Baja headlights or tanks...

I'm honestly not following the point you're trying to make... My bike is a Honda Baja XR650… what's the issue, that XR series didn't include a 650? Are you saying that the series is defined by the massive twin lights and the chunkier tank?

The link above was just a Google search on "Baja XR650" but I see that the URL had contextualized to the Chrome browser I use on my laptop. Here's a more specific link from Motorcycle USA:

http://motorcycle.motorcycle-usa.com/mo ... 50r%20Baja

There also a Wikipedia entry on these bikes.

Help me out here, what am I not understanding?

My point is that I'm 98% certain there's no such thing as a "Honda Baja XR650". You're bike is simply a "Honda XR650L". Adding Baja to the name is pointless and leads to confusion as some XR250s actually have Baja as part of their model name. Even that link you provided never talks of a "Honda Baja", but simply talks about it often being used in the Baja 1000. Notice no one ever calls it a Honda Honda Baja 650? People call them XR600s or XR650s. I'm willing to bet my left nut you have what's called an XR650L (I assume it has an electric starter?). The bikes that won the Baja were modified XR600s and later on XR650Rs. Those XR650Rs are quite rare in Cambodia, that's why I assume you have an L. Some people might try to modify their bike to make it look like the bikes used for the Baja (decals or whatever) but they still don't add "Baja" to the name. So again, my point is that saying "Baja" anywhere near the name of the bike when referring the model is pointless/wrong. The model is simply an XR650 (L or R if you want to be really specific).

I might be wrong, but I'm 98% sure about this. And 40% of the time, I'm right 100% of the time.

Bitte_Kein_Lexus wrote:My point is that I'm 98% certain there's no such thing as a "Honda Baja XR650". You're bike is simply a "Honda XR650L". Adding Baja to the name is pointless and leads to confusion as some XR250s actually have Baja as part of their model name.

Ah! Then yes, you're right. It's a stock XR650L badged up as Baja. Your left nut is (as you confidently predicted) quite safe, thanks for the info.