diff --git a/can/bit_timing.py b/can/bit_timing.py
index 2bb04bfbe..4311ff9a4 100644
--- a/can/bit_timing.py
+++ b/can/bit_timing.py
@@ -74,8 +74,8 @@ def __init__(
             "sjw": sjw,
             "nof_samples": nof_samples,
         }
-        self._validate()
         if strict:
+            self._validate()
             self._restrict_to_minimum_range()
 
     def _validate(self) -> None:
diff --git a/doc/changelog.d/2061.fixed.rst b/doc/changelog.d/2061.fixed.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..48afb4c86
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/changelog.d/2061.fixed.rst
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Fix ``can.BitTiming`` rejecting bit rate prescaler values greater than 64 even when ``strict=False``.
\ No newline at end of file