Dirt bikes

I do some fairly technical riding and I like the 450. It’s a tractor up hills better up hills than any 300 I rode. Only downside is the heat. It can overheat easy so gotta keep moving even with the fan on full blast.

 

Not a fan. Had a Gas Gas 450. 52hp and a brute of a motor. Hated it in the tight technical. Could feel the heavy ponderous engine w it’s higher center of gravity and reciprocating internal mass. Plus it wouldn’t lug as low as a good 2t w a flywheel weight. Heavier by 35 lbs. My YZ has no starter, battery, relays, fuel pump, bla bla to go
bad, and leave one stranded deep in the back country like where I was today.

 

Sure the 2 stroke is simple but the gas gas is based off the old yz450 engine if I remember right which compared to the new ktm engines is a quantum leap behind.

The 2017 ktm/husky motor is a pe@ch. Super controllable and the traction control is nice too. Was dead nuts reliable until the intake cam lifted decided it was done with life but ktm sent me a new one and it wasn’t a catastrophic failure. Weighs the same as the 2 stroke as well due to black magic I assume. It just gets bloody hot.

I’ve had to Push my 300 out of the forest when the crank seal failed, and we had to push my buddies yz250 out of the forest as well. No bike is break proof. That’s for sure.

 

I understand why people go with 450s over 300s.


Not everyone has good throttle and clutch control.

 

ouch .. that's gonna leave a mark.. (yes, i own a 4-fiddy and a couplea 3-fiddys" )

 

Some photos from the 24 hour race. Not many. We were busy

The le mans start was extended for about a 50 yard run. If you plan on doing one of these, good lighting is worth it. Bring extra lights and have helmet lights as they are portable between riders and bikes.

 

been asked to do a couple 24 hr races on teams .. serious challenge. I just don't like pain that much, and gotta get my 8 hours of sleep a day.

 

Do it, don't pass the opportunity up. Riding at night is awesome.
You can sleep between turns, with a 6 man team that's a decent amount of time.
They way the track changes constantly throughout a 24hr race is amazing. Smooth to rough, rutted out whoops, whooped out ruts, grip to slick, slick to grip, hills with whoops devolping in the rut, whoops that turn into a rhythm section by races end. Do it, it's awesome. So awesome you will do it again.
Helmet light is as necessary as tires and brakes, if seeing is as important as turning and stopping.

 

Done a bunch of 12 and 24 hour mtb races. Most of which the 12 hour was solo. Used a high end HID helmet light. Agree, a good helmet light is mandatory imo.

 

All of what he said. It's bitchin. We even had frost areas in the early morning hours to add to the fun. Moderately difficult drop-offs are a complete awesome event at pace in the night when the ground just disappears into blackness. Some of this course is farmland that was disced out to 30 foot wide sweeping corners. The grip was incredible and railing and roosting that 650R all alone at 3am under a clear moonlit night while dodging barrels and then dropping the hammer on some big rollers is deathbed-smile awesomeness.

Another highlight is the stuff that you have to overcome as a team in a 24 hour race. My middle bro comes into the pit at 230am to hand off to me. He says "right footpeg is loose. started halfway" and I immediately have two thoughts. 1. How the hell did you maintain a pace that is only 2 minutes off? 2. Oh shit. The first 3 steps in the american Honda race checklist are "check right footpeg bolts". I know what's up. The rear bolt is sheared off just inside the frame. We slap another task racing light on my helmet and throw another battery in the pack. I'll ride my beta with it's OK headlight and two helmet lights. I warm it and start down pit road and notice the front end feels funny. Flat tire. I head back and grab my buddy's KTM 300 XC-W. I've not ridden it. It's headlight is the second worst part of the bike, just after the starter. I ride a slightly backed off lap.

Literally as I roll up to the pits at the end of my lap, my youngest brother is wheeling it out. They drilled a hole in the bolt, hammered a torx driver in there, melted the Loctite, and replaced the bolt in 45 minutes flat. Off he goes while I grab some sleep. Awesome.


BTW -I think lights on the bike are crucial (desert racing at higher speeds). Lights on a helmet necessarily do not generate any shadow detail as they are above your eyes. I like the combo of big lights on the bike and twin lights on the helmet.

In short, do one. They are epic (overused word that is probably ok here).

 

This is what I used to do between Turns 7 and 10A at Road Atlanta on my EX500...or did you mean something else?

 

Someone put together some cool drone footage from the event. I dig the sunset and night shots.

 

Played guide this weekend on some narly chit in my neck of the woods

 

I have a 15 Husky 450 and a 2003 framed/ motor with newer suspension 300 2T and I like the old girl in 95% of the terrain including rocky hills, large climbs, etc. I’m not a great off road rider but once you learn to be a lot more careful with the throttle the 2t is my preference. I have a used 16 2t on its way after they are done with it abd I can’t wait.

 

I have a 15 Husky 450 and a 2003 framed/ motor with newer suspension 300 2T and I like the old girl in 95% of the terrain including rocky hills, large climbs, etc. I’m not a great off road rider but once you learn to be a lot more careful with the throttle the 2t is my preference. I have a used 16 2t on its way after they are done with it abd I can’t wait.

looks like what I ride most times.

 

Picked up some new kicks this week. I’ve been wearing the same tech 8’s since 2003 and they finally started falling apart (plastic on toe is just disintegrating). I couldn’t justify the sg12’s as I don’t ride enough but gawd damn these things are awesome! My old boots had suede in the inside of the boot, these biatches have rubber that grip like a damn qualifying tire! I thought my feet were stuck to the pegs but it was my legs stuck to the side of the bike preventing my feet from moving. You can really grip the bike over whoops and wheeling around corners over whoops you just feel planted. Really changed my riding for the better and I would reccomend any boots with the rubber on the inside over the old style. Also no break in required and super comfortable.

 

love gaerne mx boots. ran sg10's for dirt, supermoto. bought sg11's off ebay new for 289 bux, this summer for dirt/trail/snowbiking. would love a set of sg12's but, not willing to fork out 500+.

I was told by the gaerne rep the sg12's have a smaller toe box so, if you are between sizes, order one up, or make sure you try them on.

same rep told me the sg11's were meant to be THE update for the sg10's but, they didn't make a big enough upgrade, so they came out with a fully redesigned boot for the sg12's. they still make the 10's but, not the 11's. the sg11's are hard to come by but, they have all the same hardware the 12's have, so replacement stuff will be available for a long time. Ski

 

Well up here in Can a duh the sg12’s are $980 and I got the 10’s for $575.

I’ve only ever worn Alpinestars but I’m obviously happy with these. I’m sure the a* tech 10’s with the rubber on the inside of the boot would’ve made me just as happy but I prefer the old school style sole especially riding in the woods. I think the extruded sole adds to the durability. I just wish they had a red/blk color option.

 

Last weekend the local off-road club, put on a Sprint Enduro event. It was the first of such taken in the area. The routine consisted of four laps each, through the woods and then over an MX layout. Classifications were similar to the usual enduro/scramble: Pro, A, B, C &etc. Riders were sent in each respective course, loosely grouped together within their classes and set off from the start gate at 15 second intervals. So, instead of a mass start, it was up to you to make your way through the woods or track uninhibited by slower riders. That was nice.

Between sessions you had roughly twenty minutes to relax, drink some water and cajole your fellow racialists. That was really nice. The fact you could go balls out for the ten minutes or so you were on the course was killer. The fact that I had to ride MX was atrocious, for me at least. From the four tries you had at each course, your fastest times were combined to determine your standing. Hadn’t it been for the MX portion, I’d have made it on the box in class, or maybe if I just didn’t fall down every time I was in the woods the story would be the same! I had to settle for tenth out of.

No less, if you’re one for racing ten or twenty minutes at a time with a break for a Smokey treat in between, the sprint enduro format is for you.

 

So I just got back from riding the Hatfield McCoy trail system in WV. I'm sore and beat, but it was an incredible bit of riding. I ended up buying the 2014 KTM 300 and after about an hour, I loved the thing. It has so much low end grunt, it would tractor over anything!! We ended up riding roughly 100 miles a day with a little single track thrown in. We rode 130 and took on 188 with a boatload of confidence. That ended quickly LOL. Super tough trail that I had no business being on.