2021 Baja 1000

I wrote this for all my fellow NCWR (Nevada County Woods Riders) members. Paul Hart is our National Forest Ranger who is charge of the OHV trails in the National Forest in Nevada and Sierra Counties. We are very lucky to have such a pro OHV activist. Paul spends his time in the trenches working tirelessly for us trail riders.

Earlier this year Paul had said he wanted to compete in the Baja 1000 in the Iron Man class on a motorcycle. The club was all in on supporting him and in the end about a dozen of the club members ended up working pits along the length of the course, which was a point to point this year. Starting in the north in Ensenada and ended in the south at La Pas at end of the Baja peninsula. Paul’s efforts were nothing less than extraordinary and all the support was as well. Paul’s dedication preparation and training were amazing. For one he gave up drinking beer. He spent months riding hour after hour at night up and down dirt roads and trails in the Chalk Bluff area. Paul who is tall thin (About a buck forty five) and a dam good rider, he went to local MX track and road for over two hours solid on several occasions, he was very prepared.   

Doug 21J

Hello everyone,

If you read this you will no doubt come to the conclusion that Doug didn’t have much else going on during Paul’s quest to solo the Baja 1000 and I’d have to agree. Score’s official results showed Paul as a DNF even though he finished the course. Apparently there is a 50 hour time limit. They listed everyone who was in his class. There were six riders who they show finishing in less than fifty hours and there were seven riders, who they listed as a DNF over the fifty hour limit, including Paul.

I not only followed Paul’s Tracks, I followed other riders’ tracks as well. I’m passing this on just because I thought some of you might find it interesting.

725X finished the course in 34 hrs. 39min and in an incredible 101st overall, I think he was one of two KTM riders from Bolivia and they (Score) did celebrate his victory and rightly so.

741X finished in 42 hrs. 2min and 143rd overall

719X finished in 42 hrs. 51min and 149th overall

731X finished in 43hrs 13min and 169th overall

744X finished in 46hrs 37min and 176th overall

What I observed by looking at the tracks of each of these riders was 725X, 741X, 744X all stayed on the course throughout race and did finish in less than fifty hours. 719X, 731X, 785X were all off and on the course starting around mile 800. Paul and 719X were for instance stopped near mile 800 I assumed both pitted to put lights on. Paul left within a reasonable time, 719X did not move for hours and when he did his tracks showed he was on the road not the course he ended up leap froging Paul by hours and hours then went back on the course to finish some eleven plus hours ahead of Paul. I think they knew they weren’t going to make the fifty hour time limit and simply wanted to cross the finish line. Score obviously didn’t take the time to review each rider’s tracks to insure they indeed stayed on the course. First place is probably all that mattered everything after that didn’t.   

All the rest of the riders over the 50hr time limit were scored as a DNF. Of this seven rider group Score had Paul fifth, or 224th overall, but I know three of those riders also did not stay on the course and I’m not sure they even crossed the finish line. The other three  riders I didn’t track at all because they were not even close to Paul, so I don’t where one of them got ahead Paul.

So what does all this truly mean, nothing really Paul finished the race staying on the course finishing in 53hrs and 32min. That’s an unbelievable achievement in its self; solo-ing a Baja 1000 race that was in fact 1227 miles makes it an even a greater achievement. What really bothers me is that Score gave him an official DNF, but he did finish, showing him as a DNF in the official results is not respecting his efforts, boo on Score. As far as I’m concerned Paul finished fourth overall of the riders who stayed on course for the entire event. 

Doug McCaleb                    

 21J

Hangtown A Different Look!

From a different prospective

Over the years I have written several stories about Hang Town but this story is from an entirely different prospective I spent the day in the pits.

In the fall of 2019 a friend of mine Steve who is the head of security for the Hang Town National Motocross event put on by the Dirt Diggers Motor Cycle Club. And is still the only motor cycle club putting on a National Motocross event their fifty second annual, Steve asked me if I would be interested in volunteering for the race in 2020, sure I said. Little did any of us know what was in store for the whole world in 2020 and 2021 for that matter? In the end the 2020 version of Hang Town was canceled.

Fast forward to early in 2021 Steve asked me if I was still interested in being a volunteer a sort of a security person where at least one is assigned to every factory team in the pits, hell yes I said. Then he asks which team would I like to be in, well since I own three Husky’s I said Husky. Why not at the time they had Zack Osborne, Jason Anderson and Dean Wilson on the 450’s. RJ Hampshire, Jalek Swool and Styles Robertson on the 250’s and in 2021 Zack Osborne would now be the defending 450 outdoor champion. This year instead of being the first race of the National Outdoor Championship Hang Town would be the last and hopefully would be deciding a couple of championships.  

Well Osborne reinjures his back and is out for the year, Jason Andersons breaks something and is out he eventually heals up but never returns to Husky surrounded by rumors he will be with Kawasaki in 2022 as Tomac’s replacement. Then Jalek Swoll and Styles Robertson get hurt and are out for Hang Town Dean Wilson is not at Pala or Hang Town for unknown reasons. I asked one of the Husky guys and he’s says he’s home in Florida, I ask is he hurt and the guy says no I think he’s just tired has been dealing with Epstein Bar all year. At Pala Husky recruits a young rider named Josh Varize to replace Swoll and Styles for the last two rounds. So now here I am in the Husky pits no 450 riders and only RJ Hampshire and a kid named Varize, woe is me.

I parked my motor home on Tuesday next to Steve’s in the Dirt Diggers compound so I could get a good spot. At this point I thought I would be working on Friday and Saturday so I planned to spend Thursday through Sunday out there. I woke up Wednesday feeling like crap and my back and left thigh hurt as well. I found out I didn’t have anything really to do on Friday so that gave me an extra day to get better.

I went out to the track early Friday afternoon, spent a few minutes introducing myself in the Husky pits, I was surprised when they weren’t very friendly, but who could blame them after all their team was decimated. I wondered around looking in the factory and the privateer’s pits. I stopped in one pit and watched the father working on his son’s 2019 450 Honda. He also had another son who also raced but wasn’t here for the weekend. I’d seen his son before he was one of the riders that Jason Weigant had interviewed on his Weege show, just a father and son working out of an older ford van chasing the dream of trying to make the show then making it into the top twenty overall to earn some points and some of the prize money. They weren’t much different than most of the other privateers in the pits. In watching some YouTube videos and talking to some of the privateers who follow all or as much of the series as they can they get treated like crap from Feld the people who basically own this and other entertainment events? It’s only the factory teams they seem to really care about, but as we all know it’s the privateers and the people who follow them who are the real backbone of the sport.

Saturday morning at 5AM I was woken by sirens, horns in the Dirt Diggers compound, time to get up. At 5:15 they repeated it over again but this time they also played the theme song from the Benny Hill show.

I already had my official Event Security (Printed on the back) T-shirt, my yellow wrist band and my official Staff lanyard. I reported for a volunteer meeting at 7AM in the pits where we were given further instructions by Steve and the guy who ran the Pros Pits for Pro Motocross and the TV. We were instructed on where to stand and how to patrol in front of the pits and what to look for. We were told if the Factory team members invited us into their area or offered us something to drink it was ok but if they didn’t stay out. Some teams were more COVID conscious than others and I didn’t see any team set up an autograph session. Husky told me it was pretty much if you could catch the attention of a rider go for it. There was a volunteer driving around the pits offering us volunteer’s water and around 11AM or so they came around with a sack lunch for us. We were expected to stay at our posts for the day, there was another volunteer wandering around and if you needed to take a break they would relieve you so you could relieve yourself. The Pro Pit manager was also driving around looking for a thumps up from us indicating everything was ok. 

Yours truly got his ass in trouble right off the bat when I pulled up to the Husky pits I parked my Kawasaki KLR650 at the front end of the second hauler which was right behind the first hauler which was used as a hospitality suite. I wasn’t there very long when the guy who was in charge of suite rig told me I could park my Kawasaki KLR anywhere just not in front of the Husky pits, oops obviously I wasn’t thinking. I got more acquainted with him as the day went along and of course he was a good guy. 

After the meeting I reported to the Husky pits and at 8:30 the gates were opened to those who had purchased pit passes for $20 they were free to wonder around the pits looking at the bikes and trying to find riders to get autographs from. So my job was to keep an eye on who was going in and out the mechanics area walk up and down in front of mechanics area making sure no one tried to climb over the rails. Since only 250 riders were in the Husky pits I made sure I was on guard so to speak when the riders and mechanics were out qualifying which they did twice. At 12PM the pits were officially closed as a whole gang of law enforcement officers and club personnel walked abreast down each isle and cleared everyone out that didn’t have the right credentials. After that only authorized personnel were allowed in the pits.

In the Husky pits after each qualifying session the mechanics removed the plastics and gas tank and completely cleaned each bike they changed the air filter each time they also change the two batteries as well. After the qualifying was over and each bike had been cleaned they drained the oil changed the air filter again and changed the wheels and tires. It was interesting to watch some of the little things they did like little zip ties here and there. One of the mechanics who was Styles Robertson’s mechanic helped both mechanics it was interesting to watch everything they did had a rhythm and reason behind it. It also interesting to see the difference in the two mechanics they both did an excellent job of course, but RJ Hampshire’s mechanic was constantly checking rechecking and cleaning things on the bike. I asked him about it and he said he was a bit compulsive. The mechanics the truck driver were now starting to warm up to me a little. There were about four other Husky people who never even acknowledge me, interesting. One of the guys who didn’t acknowledge me only job was to clean each riders helmet after each time they were out on the track, who the hell does that guy think was, after all I was “Event Security”

We were right across from the KTM pits so I could just as easily see what was going on over there. So I watched Max Vohland and Cooper Webb all day. And behind us was Kawasaki and Pro Circuit Kawasaki, cool. During the 450 motos I was able to sneak over to the Pro Circuit pits and watch the 450 motos on TV. Here I am sitting near Mitch Payton, next to Joe Shimodo’s mom and his grandparents who flew in from Japan to watch him. They didn’t speak any English but bowed very graciously a lot. I had told Joe that two of my favorite riders in the 250’s were him and RJ Hampshire for totally different reasons. RJ is fierce and a little wild and he was very smooth and controlled. He was a very nice young man. How cool was that.

Back in the Husky pits it was now almost time for the first 250 race. By this time I had met and talked with Josh Varize met his dad and mom and a bunch of Josh’s relatives. Josh and his family live in the bay area. And RJ’s wife and their little almost two year old daughter named Ivy who never once made a fuss and was always on the go and of course was cute as hell.

Josh and his dad had been on the road 20,000 plus miles worth just the two of them, until Josh was asked to fill in the last two rounds with Husky, Josh has been ridding the for the KTM orange brigade. This opportunity was not lost on Josh and his family and in Pala the week before he had performed very well. So Hang Town was another chance to audition. He didn’t seem in awe of what was going on he was focused and professional. He didn’t look anything like his parents, his dad was short and somewhat dark skinned his mother was also short with some freckles and blond hair(She was naturally a redhead)  Josh and his brother were both redheaded and skinny as rails josh was much taller than his brother and both brothers towered over their folks.

During the 250 races I couldn’t sneak over to the Pro Circuit pits to watch everyone was out watching the riders I was there to make sure nothing was taken. I know RJ pressured Justin Cooper most of the first moto and finished 2^nd and Josh finished 7^th. Josh admitted he gotten a little tired at the end. In between motos they both sat in tubs filled with cold water that sure was inviting.

I forgot to mention after the qualifying motos and before the first moto they also changed the mufflers as well. After the first moto and after the bikes were once again cleaned a new air filter and two wheels and new tires I realized the suspension rep from WP had not done a single thing to the suspension except open the air screws on the forks or make a clicker or two adjustments. After Cooper Webs first race his mechanic changed the forks, which put him in a time crunch to get the bike ready for the second moto.

By the time the second motos came around the mechanics and the truck driver had started tearing down the pits and told me I was free to go and thanked me for my help during the day. So free at last I followed the mechanics and the riders down to the starting line and stood behind all the riders as they staged themselves in behind starting gate. I was one of the last to leave the back of the starting gate and got roosted a little by last riders at the end of the gate. I then followed all the mechanics as they made their way over to the mechanics area where I watched the race from that was pretty cool. I was watching the two Husky riders one at the front, Josh had gotten the hole shot and led for about a lap and a half, but as the race went on he faded back to finish 11^th. While Josh faded back RJ Hampshire who finished 2^nd in the first moto had a mishap and was at the back of the pack but steadily moved forward eventually passing his team mate finishing 5^th. It was a lot of fun to watch Hampshire work his way forward he is very fierce. I noticed as I was watching the front runners a good portion of the mechanics and I were out of sync, they were looking for their riders looking in totally different directions than I was. It was kinda strange normally in a crowd most of the spectators would all be looking in the same direction.

As I was walking out of the mechanics area after the race I was passed by the Honda people high fiving each other on their way the podium to celebrate Jet Lawrence’s 250 title. I walked back to the Husky pits which were almost totally dismantled now; the mechanics were once again washing the bikes off so they could be put away in the hauler. That made four times they had washed the bikes that day. They left all eight of the Twin Air filters they had only used once lying on the ground so anyone who wanted one could pick up one or two, or.

I wondered around the pits looking at all the pits being torn down and packed away. I stopped by the pit of the 450 privateer rider and his son I had talked with on Friday and asked how they finished they were both very happy his son had finished 18^th in the first moto and 10^th in the second which meant he earned points plus some hard earned prize money, it was a good day.

I eventually collected up my bike and my chair and went back to my motor home and cooled off. About 6:30 or so I rode back down to the grand stand area where the Dirt Diggers provided a great dinner and open bar for all the club members and volunteers, I’d say there were several hundred people there at least. After a great dinner and a few speeches I rode down through the totally decimated pits one last time and back to my motor home to spend one more night.

This was a totally different view of Hang Town one not many people get to see, I thoroughly enjoyed myself, but I was totally whipped, that’s a long day for this old man.

Doug 21J

21J Doubles Up

It’s a twofer

In the past few months I bought not one but two bikes. A 2020 Yamaha YZ250F four stroke motocross bike and a 2018 Husqvarna FE250S, the Husky is a street legal dual sport bike.

None of this, of course is about need, there might be a little greed however. It’s all about pure and simple want. I guess I could say in order to give these purchases a little bit more creditability; here in good ole CA they have at this point in time done away with the Red Sticker program. The Red Sticker was just that a red sticker you put on your bike that allowed you to ride in State OHV parks and in the forests trail riding most of the year, there were exceptions of course.  Basically starting with 2022 models if they don’t meet current State emissions standards which virtually none do they are not allowed to be ridden anywhere except private riding areas like a motocross track. The State is basically cutting its nose off to spite its face, the Red and Green sticker programs have been from a revenue stream standpoint one of the best if not the best revenue generating programs ever. Over the years the State has borrowed somewhere in the area of two hundred million dollars from the program with no intention of repaying it. So I can’t believe they will just let a cash cow like this just dry up, but who says they’re smart. And the environmentalists have their hooks firmly planted in this State.

One of the results of the disappointing State’s decision was 2021 new models and used model sales have been through the roof. Typical deals on new bike sales were hard to come by and used bike prices dramatically increased all in anticipation of no red sticker program on 2022 models. 2021 models qualified and existing Red Sticker bikes are grandfathered in.

I decided I wanted to have a motocross bike again to practice and when you can’t ride on the trails because it’s too dusty, which it is right now. I decided I wanted a 250F motocross bike this time quite frankly I don’t need the power of a 350 or 450. I’ve come to terms with the fact I don’t want to even try jumping over anything anymore. If I can get up on top then jump off the end that’s good. Besides today’s 250’s have more than enough power for anything I might want to try. They feel lighter and don’t get away from you as easily, just more fun to ride. I kind of prefer going on the outside of corners so it’s perfect.

I did end up putting a Rekluse in it, but quite frankly I don’t think I really needed it. I put a new rear tire on, had Bucky at SBB revalve the suspension, I couldn’t believe how stiff the stock suspension was, it was un ride able for me it’s good now.

It had 21 hrs on it when I bought it may have 23 now. I didn’t even ride it on a track until a few weeks ago.

The Husky is an interesting story. For the past few years I’ve wanted to try another 250F four stroke trail bike. I had a 2015 Yamaha YZ250FX and liked it very much. Last year or maybe the year before now, 2020 was a blur to say the least. I bought a 2017.5 KTM 250SXF factory edition, it worked very well on the trails except for the air forks and I couldn’t make them feel right for me. So I sold it and bought the 2021 Husky TE300i. End of story until one night I’m on Craigslist and I see this Husky, I call made a trip to Santa Clara the next day and buy it. It had 2300 miles on it and the young man who rode it had put supermoto wheels on it and rode it around town. He did ride it on some trails, but I can tell you it had never seen mud. The dad was a former Pro road racer so they knew how to tune the little motor. They did some minor things with smog equipment etc tweaked the TPS and put on a JD tuner; it runs very, very well.

I installed a Rekluce some good tires and tubes stiffened the suspension and have thoroughly enjoyed riding it as a dual sport and trail bike. I’ve been really impressed at how much power it has especially the low end. It has a lot of weight to haul around when I’m on it. It’s geared 13/49 and low is to low but second through fifth are close and sixth is like an overdrive. At 55-60 it isn’t really buzzing the motor and there is hardly any vibration at that speed. It feels light and handles well; the motor is predictable and would be very hard to whiskey throttle.

2019 was the last year KTM and Husky brought the 250F street legal dual sports into the US, they just didn’t sell. Based on what I’ve experienced what a shame, I assume buyers wanted the 350 or 500 and passed on the 250’s. Of course it also depended on what and where you were going to ride, for what I’m using it for its perfect. Will it or can it replace my TE300i, no not really, but there are times when I get behind in my steering on the much more powerful 300 that’s a little harder to do on the 250.

I now have six bikes and can still only ride one at a time, but what’s that old saying about who has the most toys. Besides that I don’t drink, smoke and certainly don’t carouse around anymore so what the hell.

At this point I assume I will just split my time on all these bikes one at a time, ah it sucks to be me.

Doug 21J

2021 Sierra OT National MX

River Front MX in Marysville CA is the site of this years Sierra OT National motocross. riders will come from all over the western states to ride this iconic track. Here is one mans memory of River Front.

River Front Motorcycle Park

I don’t really know if River Front is in the town of Yuba City or Marysville. I know it’s under a bridge where the Yuba River flows by and the bridge separates Yuba City and Marysville. I also don’t know how long the track has been there. I do know that I’ve been riding there since the seventies. A friend of mine rode one of the first motocross races held there. They just staked it out and a lot of it was a foot high grass track. They’ve had mud drags, sand drags they had a straight rhythm qualifier event there. They’ve had Super Cross tracks as well. Over the years there have been many promoters who have run the facility. The current promoter is REP racing they also run the Hangtown National Track and another motocross track called Est. which is under another bridge that goes over the Yuba River into Marysville. Both of these tracks have been around since I’ve been riding and that’s a long, long time now.

One of the things that have always separated River Front from the other tracks is lights, they’ve had lights since I can remember and have motocross practices at night during the week in the summer, even night races during the week and the weekend.

My first race there was a mud fest motocross in the 70”s. The start faced east of where the track is today went up and down some banks and through the trees. You can still see some of the trees and banks to the east.  In those days most of the starts were rubber band starts, if you got to close to the rubber band you could get your man breasts whacked and it hurt, a lot. At some point I think in the eighties the current start straight and left turned were created and are basically the same today. In fact some parts of the track have been the same for maybe thirty years. Over the years the track has gone from unrideable for people like me to the very good combination it is today. There were a lot of kids who had their first race at River Front. A good friend of mine lined up in the 250 expert class with his son one night and went one two into the first corner together that’s good stuff.

In the seventies they used to put on what they call today a cross country race some still call them hare scrambles. (I don’t think they put on any in the eighties, if they did it was in the early eighties) The only one I ever remember riding there was an annual event called the “Thorn Tree” and the course went through some honest to god thorn trees. Most of the course went south under the bridge that is now all park.

I remember as if it were yesterday my last hare scrambles race there, I got a good start went into the first turn and slid out and for some reason my right little pinky finger was sticking out like I was drinking a cup of tea. I jammed into the ground, I finished the race went to the doctor the next day; x-rays showed I jammed the finger bone into the socket in my hand and broke it. It hurt like hell and I asked the doctor how long he thought it would continue to hurt, his answer, two years and unfortunately for me he was right.

In the fall of 2020 they held a cross country event there for the first time probably since I rode the last one there in the late seventies. The club would have normally put the event on at Prairie City but that’s a State Park and subject to all the COVID BS. So for us old guys it became a nostalgic race, come out and see some of your old riding buddies. The course was much shorter than the old days and stayed north of the bridge. They ran us on some of the river bank in deep sand and that put the hurt on a lot of us.

While wondering around this weekend over by the bathrooms behind the starting gate you will see the front end of an old Macio and a dedication plaque to a local hero from our area Danny “Magoo” Chandler some of you may be old enough to remember him. He dazzled all who saw him on the local tracks in this area. He was way ahead of his time in what he was capable of doing on a motorcycle. (I’ll include a couple of stories about him)

Anyway that’s some of my recollections of this place, please enjoy your weekend and stay safe.

Doug McCaleb

21J

Danny “Magoo” Chandler. The second time I saw Danny race was at a track in Dixon called Argyle Park. This was his first race on a big bike a CZ 250 Danny was too short to put his feet on the ground and clear the seat. His dad held the bike up from behind. He won that race and I don’t think I ever saw him lose a local race. He was famous for jumping over the local levies and popping tires and flatting rims even breaking a frame now and then. I watched him create his own lines, lines that nobody dreamed of taking. His dad would water down his backyard track and have Danny ride around and around in the mud. One year while riding for team USA in the motocross de nations he won every moto and that was against the best in the world. There was nobody like him. 

Doug's 2021 Husky TE300i Project Part 2.0

2021 Husky TE300i Part 2.0

I still haven’t put many hours on this bike. I did ride a local dist. 36 cross country event on it a few months ago now, the bike was great the rider wasn’t. I do have my excuses of course, but nobody wants to hear them, I don’t even want to hear them. But I do have a new product to report on.

I’ve been using Flex Bars for the past few years on most of my bikes, they work as advertized, which means great. But there’s always been for me at least that, BUT about them which is they are bulky and add weight right where you don’t want it at the handle bars. When I stand up I tend to be over the front end and I’ve knocked the wind out of myself because of the height of the bars that attach to each side of the bars on the top mounted stabilizer units.

This year I’ve been noticing some of the riders I regularly watch on You Tube have this rather different looking top clamp on their bikes. None of the riders talked about it I just noticed it when watching their videos. Turns out it’s a handle bar dampening system. It’s made by XC Gear out of Mississippi and it’s called a Mako 360 (xcgear.com) it totally isolates the handle bar from any metal to metal contact and allows the bar to absorb vibration and impacts 360 degrees. The Flex bar only moves up and down which certainly works but I thought 360 degrees could be better. Each rider has the ability to customize just how much flex they want, from us slow guys to the pros. If you run a top mount or bottom mount stabilizer you can buy the accessories necessary for that installation. I have the bottom mount Scott stabilizer and did have to add ¼” spacers to the handle bar mounts in order for it to fit.

My goal was to get back to a standard bar and configuration, lose the bulk and extra weight so that part was perfect.

For those who have never ridden with flex bars or anything else like it, you are not aware of any bar movement while riding, you will be aware of the results of riding with a dampening system, less fatigue in your hands and arms because the bumps are being dampened they take the big hits, you know you’ve hit something hard but it doesn’t transfer that big shock into your hands or shoulders. These help the riders who have hand or wrist issues, which means virtually all of us older riders.

When you look at the kit you can see why it might costs as much as it does. Mine didn’t come with install instructions but was easy to figure out how to install. You can see in the pictures how they install. The bar mounts can be installed facing back or forward; there are a lot of bolts to tighten. The shark fin as they call it is what keeps the handle bars from rotating and is also rubber mounted, no metal to metal contact. 

I finally had a chance to do some trail riding with the new set up and it work very well. I rode with a friend of mine who subscribes to the old adage one bike is a trail ride two bikes is a race. And on top of that he finally got his suspension sorted out and he was feeling very racy. After two plus hours of pushing it I was getting tired and started feeling the effects of it in my hands. So I don’t know if it was because I haven’t ridden in a while or if this set up actually doesn’t work as well in the long haul as the Flex bars. I rode another two plus hours four days later that’s a very tight and technical area, at the end of the ride my hands were starting to bother me again. I don’t ever remember the Flex bars doing that, so the jury is still out, I may keep trying them or change them out and see if my recollection of the Flex bars is correct.

I put the Flex bars back on and I’m waiting for the rain to stop so I can try them. I did get a ride in before the last big snow storm and no problems with my hands.

I sent an email to XC Gear and told them of my experience. As I’m scrolling down to find their contact info I see where you can download the installation info, when I read it and it says to torque down all the bolts to 12lbs I only torque down the bolts that hold the bar in place to 12lbs the rest I tightened very tight as you normally would. This could be part or all of the problems I’ve experienced. I’m waiting to hear back from XC Gear. Well I never heard back from XC Gear, not good on their part.

But I did put XC Gear mount back on and I realized the bars I used the first time were swept back more than I now use. I now use bars that are pretty flat and that could also be a reason the XC Gear mount was bothering me. I’ve ridden it once since putting the XC mount back on and with flatter bars. I do believe those changes helped, but still not sure yet. More rides are in order.

Drum roll please, I’ve now gone back and forth between the two systems a number of times now and have decided to continue using the XC Gear Mako 360 set up. There is a difference but I like the less weight cleaner look of the XC Gear set up.

Doug 21

2021 Husky part 2.5

I have enjoyed every hour on the TE300i. At this point I’m still glad I bought the 300; but not quite as enthusiastic about it being a 300. At times even with the power in the dumb down mode it can be a lot. And without the Rekluse I wouldn’t want to ride it, it would simply be too much for this old man. Because of the low end torque I can ride it in higher gears and not worry about it getting away from me as much. In hind sight unless I’m going to ride hard endure stuff, which I wouldn’t a 250 would have probably been better. Everyone thinks they need a 300 but I’m not sure about that.

I have for a long time used Fast Way down and back foot pegs it makes easier to stand and doesn’t bind my knees as much. I’ve always set my KTM bikes up with the bars set in the back hole facing forward. I wanted to be able to move more forward on the bike for those tight Chalk Bluff corners so I moved the handle bars as far forward as I could, (forward hole facing forward) first time I’ve ever done this and much to my surprise I felt extremely comfortable. Coupled with the down and back foot pegs It was easier to stand and stay standing, my body was more over the front end and the bike was easier to control. I’m a little over six feet (Or I used to be anyway) and most of my height is from the waist up. By moving the bars forward it has allowed me to have more room in the rider triangle, don’t know why I never tried this before, especially when I’m known as a tinker.

Doug 21J