Regardless of our skill level, we had the bike, the gear and first-class transportaion just like any other factory rider. Actually, the factory backing ended with the Precision Concepts XR650R and we had to scrounge up some matching gear and loaded our trusty vans for these desert voyages. Still, it was more than we could have hoped for.

This riding session took place after the Baja 1000 which required a front wheel change during its freshen-up. Reverting back to the stock brake rotor was a big difference compared to the wave version on our race bike.

Night-time wheelies are a little fuzzy, but then again, lots of things can get blurry on the PC bike depending on how far you open the throttle.

Johnny Campbell is no sissy, and if you’re going to ride his bike then you had better get aggressive.

Darin was a good sport and rode across this dip in the road on one wheel at high speeds repeatedly for our camera.

Renthal chain and sprockets held up to the abuse of our extreme off-roading and handled all final drive duties.

The beauty of helmet lights can only be fully appreciated when the brilliant beam from you headlight turns uselessly toward the night sky.

The high- and low-speed adjustable Scott’s steering stabilizer eradicated any high-seed wobbles and made us feel comfortable enough to plow over things we would normally go out of our way to avoid.

This should have been our lighting setup in Mexico, but a pre-race oversight cost us dearly. We were at a serious disadvantage without our Baja Designs headlights.

A barren backdrop marks the kind of territory where the PC XR650R was designed to excel, and it does.

Things can sneak up on you at night so the plush suspension offered by Bob Bell really helped keep things in check. Many a time the re-valved shock saved us from a back-jarring impact, or worse yet, the flying W.

You can flat track the big thumper standing or sitting down, it makes no difference to the Honda. Twist the throttle, crank the bars and go.

This is our final rider swap in Nevada. The PC bike had survived around 360 miles of torture up to this point and was running strong. It wouldn't last much longer, but our problems and dismal results were by no means the result of inferior equipment.

We won’t lie, jumping an XR650R can be scary. Fortunately, the aftermarket triple clamps, modified suspension and the Honda’s very decent aluminum frame made for a well-balanced package.

While Motorcycle USA didn’t wheelie away with immediate victories, we surely enjoyed our time with this mechanical marvel.

Deep sand, rocks, whoops, you name it and the best way to navigate most obstacles is standing up. A few modifications made that an easier task on our race bike, but covering long distances on the pegs was still no walk in the park.

Downhill wheelies, anyone?

Yes, another rear-wheel drift shot courtesy of 53.5 horsepower.

Mexico proved to be the ultimate test locale for our PC bike. Johnny Campbell has used this same machine to win the title nine consecutive years, so there's no denying that this is home to the XR650. We put in over 28 hours of hard running on the poor thing and didn't take a bit of care with it. With the exception of a fluke defect, it took every ounce of abuse we could give.

The only good thing about tipping this beast over on a hill is that you can turn around and bump start it. Other than that, the bike was still an XR650 which means bulky, heavy and finicky to start.

Harsh landings can be tough on a heavy motorcycle, but the bottoming action on both front and rear suspension components was very good. We had plenty of practice clanking around on our stock bikes, so we fully appreciated the improved feel.

We were able to get up close and personal with the Precision Concepts dream machine, and for that we consider ourselves fortunate. The overall craftsmanship and attention to detail was superb.

Smooth arching corner, flat road and an uphill straight, you can basically ride the XR as fast as you have the cajones to go in this kind of scenario.

Not everything in Baja is a wide-open dirt road, and our bike was fairly adept at rock crawling for a 300+ pound, two-wheeled contraption.

Years of testing under the most extreme conditions have gotten Precision Concepts to the point where anyone serious about winning desert races aboard an XR650 should heavily consider having them work on their machine.

The Precision Concepts bike wore its badge of SCORE-International racing heritage with honor, but a with a few nicks and scratches for authenticity.

Opening the throttle was accompanied by a healthy roar from the Pro Circuit T-4 exhaust, and there was no better place to let ‘er rip than on flat, smooth roads.

Despite its top-end oriented powerband, the bike climbed this soft, steep hill without any complaint. And it did it at low, engine-bogging rpm.

The improved fork was superior in every way, including a better resistance to squatting when hard on the brakes.

Beautiful scenery is often associated with rugged terrain. The XR handles both with ease.

Lofting the front wheel was one of our favorite ways to pass time. That’s quite a statement considering the stock motor performance.

Standing on the PC 650 is still decidedly hunched forward. This comes in handy in some situations by keeping your weight over the bars, but be sure to wear a kidney belt because your back will be feeling it at day’s end.

Precision Concepts took the time to paint our fender a flat black to help shield our weary eyeballs from the desert sun’s glare.