The Honda XR650R was a desert-racing benchmark for decades. For modern Baja competition, however, Johnny Campbell—the event’s 11-time champion—would choose the CRF450X. His preference is not simply a verdict on engine displacement; it reflects how dramatically the course itself has changed.

The key factor is the development of four-wheel race vehicles, particularly trophy trucks. Today’s trucks use 40-inch tires and 39 inches of wheel travel, while their teams spend weeks preparing the course with vehicles comparable to the race machines. By race day, that process has left the route with deep silt sections, punishing whoops and sharp, square-edged bumps.

Why control matters more than size

On that heavily broken surface, the XR650R’s greater weight and slower acceleration work against it. Campbell credits the CRF450X with quicker acceleration, easier front-wheel lifts, lighter braking effort and more effective changes of direction. Those qualities matter when holes and whoops make it difficult to keep a clean line and keep the motorcycle settled.

The XR650R remains a well-loved dual-sport motorcycle and an important part of Honda’s off-road history. For high-speed desert riding, though, the CRF platform’s sharper geometry, fuel injection and high-performance chassis tuning are better suited to the terrain shaped by contemporary Baja competition. Campbell’s conclusion is less a dismissal of the older Honda than a measure of how much the racecourse has evolved.