Desert-Ready XR650R from Factory Honda Rally Racer Skyler Howes…
Introduced in 2000, the Honda XR650R is widely regarded as the “King of Baja.” Honda developed the machine expressly to dominate desert racing, and dominate it did. With riders like the legendary Johnny Campbell at the helm, the “Big Red Pig” (BRP) took home eight consecutive victories in the Baja 1000, not to mention countless other desert race wins.
“The greatest Baja bike ever built: the liquid-cooled XR650R… In real-world acceleration on pavement, the bike will outpull a 250cc motocross bike. On top, it will touch 99 mph. Johnny Campbell’s Baja-winning 650 had a different exhaust, higher compression and a 45-tooth rear sprocket. That bike was clocked at 105. Actually, Johnny Campbell reports that the gearing alone would provide that top speed. The exhaust and the compression just help acceleration.” –Dirt Bike Magazine
Today, a new generation of factory Honda riders are making waves in the worlds of desert racing and rally raid. One of our favorite is Monster Energy Honda HRC Rally Team racer Skyler Howes, a mustachioed Utah native who started riding on a 1974 Honda XR75 his old man recovered from a junkyard.
Inspired by American off-road legends like Johnny Campbell and the late Kurt Caselli, Skyler made a name for himself in the US off-road racing scene, including multiple USRA Desert Championships (2008, 2017), a National Hare & Hound Championship (2012), victories in the Sonora Rally (2018, 2022) and Baja Rally (2018), and podiums in the Baja 500 and 1000…just to name a few highlights. In 2019, he turned his sights on the most legendary, grueling off-road race of them all, the Dakar Rally.
In 2020, Skyler, racing as a privateer, placed ninth overall despite a broken neck in the lead-up to Dakar. In 2021, the young American privateer sold most of his possessions — including his 2019 race bike — to fund his Dakar entry, and went on to place fifth. That landed him a factory contract.
In 2023, Skyler became just the fifth US racer ever to stand on the Dakar Rally podium, placing third after a three-way battle with Dakar legends Kevin Benavides and Toby Price — a saga you can watch in the 2025 film Dakar: Race Against the Desert, which we highly recommend.
Though he’s a factory Honda rally-raid racer these days, Skyler has kept in touch with his racing roots.
“I’ve spent my entire racing career being my own mechanic at home, building and prepping my own stuff and bikes for others. When I became a factory rally racer, I found more enjoyment in wrenching on my stuff and started looking at project builds, which is where the XR650R comes in.”
Skyler took time from his rigorous pre-Dakar training schedule to give us the full rundown of his recent Baja-spec XR650R build. It all started when he was gifted a 1990s Honda letterman jacket.
“When I posted a picture of it, the caption was: ‘I need a classic bike to go with this classic jacket. Which bike should I build, an XR650R or a CR500?’ The decision was unanimous for the 650.”
The perfect build, of course, for a factory Honda off-road racer…especially since Skyler has access to a man nearly synonymous with the 650R: 11-time Baja 100 champion Johnny Campbell.
“The 650R is legendary because of the success of the factory Honda Baja team, spearheaded by Johnny Campbell. And because of my involvement with the factory Honda rally program now, I see Johnny a lot and have access to his old race bikes, so I got a really good blueprint for my build.”
Skyler got the donor bike from his good friend Brett Stevens, an ’02 model (“I’d never have the bike if it wasn’t for him”). With input from Johnny and other American Honda OGs, he set out to build it to Baja-spec. On the engine side, there’s a stage-2 cam, a (probable) high-comp piston (installed by a previous owner), and a period Pro Circuit exhaust courtesy of an old member of the Honda pit crew, Marty Gomez.
The fork experts at Precision Concepts provided Skyler the race-spec suspension settings, while the most difficult part to track down was a Honda CR500 shock body — secured thanks to long-time race mechanic Eric Goossens.
“This shock body is bigger so it doesn’t heat up and fade as easy as the stock 650 shock.”
Then there are those iconic Baja-style dual headlights — a gift from Johnny Campbell himself!
“He had a set left over from the factory race program and completed the spec build properly. The lights are frame-mounted onto a mohawk welded onto the frame…powered by a dual output stator system from Jolt Stators. Putting out 120W per output.”
Skyler is still dialing in the carb, but the bike will do 100 mph in the desert –you’ll find a full video of an evening desert blast at the end of the article. It’s pretty incredible that a bike released a quarter-century ago still has the ability to impress a factory off-road racer. Says Skyler:
Amen to that, Skyler! Below is our full uncut interview with the man himself about the build, and we highly recommend you follow Skyler on Instagram (@skylerhowes110) and/or Facebook…especially with the 2026 Dakar Rally fast approaching.“A lot of people say the XR650R is one of the best bikes ever built. They aren’t wrong, it’s big, solid, and a perfect desert sled, it eats the whoops and roads. If you want to trail ride with it, it gets a little heavy. But for an open desert smasher it’s awesome. For sure the technology has come a long way and the new bikes are faster and easier to ride. But there’s something to say about a 20+ year old bike still being relevant.”
Skyler, thank you again for taking the time to tell us about this Baja-spec smasher, and we’ll be pulling for you big-time next month in Saudi Arabia!
Honda XR650 Desert Smasher: Racer / Builder Interview
• Please tell us a bit about yourself, your history with motorcycles, and your racing career.
I started riding at 3 years old and racing at 4. Motorcycles have been my whole life. Over the years I’ve racked up over 50 professional race wins — most notable a podium at the Dakar Rally and a few world rally wins and podiums in Morocco, Russia and Mexico.
I’ve spent my entire racing career being my own mechanic at home, building and prepping my own stuff and bikes for others. When I became a factory rally racer, I found more enjoyment in wrenching on my stuff and started looking at project builds, which is where the XR650R comes in.
• What’s the make, model, and year of the donor?
Honda XR650R 2002.
• Why was this bike built?
I was gifted a 90’s Honda letterman jacket, and when I posted a picture of it, the caption was: “I need a classic bike to go with this classic jacket. Which bike should I build, an XR650R or a CR500?” The decision was unanimous for the 650.
• What was the design concept and what influenced the build?
The 650R is legendary because of the success of the factory Honda Baja team, spearheaded by Johnny Campbell. And because of my involvement with the factory Honda rally program now, I see Johnny a lot and have access to his old race bikes, so I got a really good blueprint for my build.
• What custom work / mods have been done to the bike?
It has a stage 2 cam in it, and we aren’t totally sure but the previous owner may have installed a high compression piston in it, because it is super sensitive to the start sequence and has a ton of compression.
Precision Concepts gave me the race-spec suspension setting, and the most difficult part to find was a CR500 shock body. This shock body is bigger so it doesn’t heat up and fade as easy as the stock 650 shock.
I was able to find a factory Pro Circuit exhaust from an old Honda pits guy, so the exhaust is race-spec.
Most obvious are the headlights, which are a gift from Johnny. He had a set left over from the factory race program and completed the spec build properly.
The lights are frame-mounted onto a Mohawk welded onto the frame. The lights are powered by a dual output stator system from Jolt Stators. Putting out 120W per output.
• Does the bike have a nickname?
I’ve never named any of my bikes. I leave that up to the people.
• Any idea of horsepower, weight, and/or performance numbers?
No clue. We spent an entire day carburetor testing and never really got it fully dialed in — it’s still missing something. Really hard to start (yes, I know all the tricks) and it just doesn’t feel as alive as it should. So there’s still a fair bit of testing left to do before I’m satisfied. It’ll do 100mph now, but I need more all around.
• Can you tell us what it’s like to ride this bike?
A lot of people say the XR650R is one of the best bikes ever built. They aren’t wrong, it’s big, solid, and a perfect desert sled, it eats the whoops and roads. If you want to trail ride with it, it gets a little heavy. But for an open desert smasher it’s awesome.
For sure the technology has come a long way and the new bikes are faster and easier to ride. But there’s something to say about a 20+ year old bike still being relevant.
• Was there anything done during this build that you are particularly proud of?
The lights were not easy to put together. There’s no info about the power system and delivery to the lights, so I had to tap into some old lifelines to get the right setup figured out. That and the shock makes me happy. The rest is just my standard quality work that makes me feel proud of a hard job done well. But it’s still not perfect, so I’m not totally satisfied.
• Is there anyone you’d like to thank?
Brett Stevens for the bike itself. Marty Gomez for the pipe, Johnny for the lights and his help with tuning, American Honda for a lot of the OEM parts, Eric Goossens for the shock body, Precison Concepts, Pirelli, AME, IMS, Renthal, Baja Designs, Jolt Stators, Scotts, Throttle Jockey, Ride Life Industries, and Brian Hoeppner.
Video: Evening Rips on the 650R
Follow the Builder / Rider
Web: skylerhowes10.com
Facebook: Skyler Howes
Instagram: @skylerhowes110
Still photos by Skyler himself
Action shots by Todd Ellis Photography
