Bent but not Broken!

Durability Testing

I have had the opportunity to evaluate products for the long haul with a couple of things being apparent.  One is that I can destroy almost anything if you give me enough time and the other is that some of the products are of such good quality and function I am amazed I don’t see them on every bike I pass.

The two items I have had the chance to long term test are a shift lever and an oil cooler, both being used and abused on a Honda CRF-X 450. The oil cooler is manufactured by IRP-LLC and is such a simple and clean bolt on operation that someone might think it can’t work. 

 But rest assured it does. The increased oil capacity and out of the motor circulation the cooler provides has more than doubled the time between oil changes. I also believe it is the reason this bike is not requiring piston, ring and valve replacement that I have been hearing of others having to do on the same model bike.  The durability part has been proven by repeated bashing through boulders and anything on the trail without a single failure in 3 years on two different bikes. I have even had to replace a side case without doing anymore damage to the cooler than a nasty gash. I am thoroughly impressed with this product and would have to give it a solid “10” rating.  You can contact them at ian@irp-llc.com or 503 860-5712.

The second item is a Hammerhead shift lever. I have used this shifter for approximately 2 years until I damaged it on the same boulder that the oil cooler survived. The Hammerhead shifter worked as designed until I smashed and bent it beyond use or repair. I had in fact worn out one replaceable tip and upgraded to a +10mm tip for easier boot clearance. Replaceable parts and adjustability, this alone is worth the price of admission.  The shifter was bent outward beyond normal use but still functioned to get home on. Greg at Hammerhead explained to me that they designed them that way in an attempt to not damage the shift shaft on the bike since that would be a more costly and time consuming repair. The best part was when I checked with Hammerhead through their website the warranty was for the first 6 months. Fair enough since this sucker was at least 2 years and two tips old.  Then Greg offered to replace it at 50% off retail even without the receipt.  I was pleased and surprised to find a company willing to take care of a customer that used their product for that amount of time and made it an easy and pleasant experience. My new replacement shifter is on the way! Hammerhead can be reached at www.hdmoto.com

Hope this information is useful to mx43.com readers, and do your best to avoid BIG rocks,

#33

Perfect weather, BBQ, Crap Shoots...Must be Fernley!

Fernley International OTMX

The International Oldtimer MX at Fernley, Nevada could almost not have asked for better conditions. The weather cooperated by being cool in the mornings with afternoon temps only in the high 80’s. But the most appreciated weather condition was that the normal afternoon desert winds did not materialize. The weather was incredibly perfect for a desert summer day.

The Fernley OTMX chapter put on an event that I think could be classified as their best event ever.  I can’t remember attending one that was run so well. So the unfortunate small turn out meant that the riders that missed the event only hurt themselves. We were treated to a great sand track that was run on the first day and then the club had gone to the effort to run the second day on another completely separate track to give the riders something new and spice the weekend up a bit. It worked because both tracks were very well prepared and run opposite directions from each other. The club also hosted a raffle, provided an awesome dinner consisting of Tri-Tip, Pulled BBQ pork, assorted veggies, soda, beer and sports drinks to keep everyone happy. There was also a slow race that went from the starting line to a designated finish line. The idea being the LAST person to cross the finish line was declared the winner. The rules were simple, you must ride the bike you raced and you couldn’t put a foot down and you could not go any direction but forward. The entry fee became the purse and the winner takes all. It is very difficult to go slow in the sand without putting a foot down as several people discovered. 

Then there was the CRAP SHOOT. Now the game gets interesting. A piece of plywood is laid on the ground and it has been sectioned into small squares numbering from 1 to 200. Each square costs $2 to buy that numbered square. There is a fence placed around it and then a chicken is tossed in and wanders around until it CRAPS on one of the numbers! That is how the CRAP SHOOT works. The chicken cooperated and didn’t take long to make a deposit on #116. Now I don’t know if this is coincidence but the guy that owns the chicken bought one square, the square with the #116.  Wait a minute it gets better.  The chicken owners name is……………Gilbert CHICK.   I couldn’t make this stuff up, it really did happen like that.

The weekend was a huge success and there was some fantastic racing to go with all the festivities. Terry Sage dominated the really old guy class (+60 Master) and the +50 Masters had a good dice between Doug Goodman, John Volk and Ed (sneaky) Marchini.  With Ed coming out on top with the overall win on his Dungey replica KTM just ahead of Doug Goodman of Arizona riding his DAYSTAR sponsored Honda.

A great weekend was had by all and we are already looking forward to next year. Although I am wondering how in the heck the Fernley Oldtimer club will top this year’s effort.

#33

#33...Everyday is a day off!

On any Monday

What happens when you take 2 retired guys, give them a couple of off road worthy dual sport motorcycles and turn them loose on a Monday, when most people are working!  Oops, did I say that out loud…..

You get a long day with a lot of miles covered over some very scenic terrain with some great photo opportunities. There was an abandoned 1960 something station wagon, abandoned mine shafts with bats to scare the two would be explorers, seldom used trails that were in total disrepair and a couple of worn out Geezers from riding all day in 100* heat,  mostly in first and second gear!

Hope you all had a good Monday too!

#33

Dual Sport Fun!

Racers Under The Sun (RUTS)

The Dual Sport ride put on by the RUTS organization on August 18 & 19 was nothing short of spectacular. They started their 2 day event in the Elkins Flat OHV area in northern California at a Resort named “Sopiago Springs Resort” that caters of off road riders.  The event was 2 days of riding with an overnight stay in Minden, Nevada.  RUTS provided a shuttle truck to take an overnight bag for the riders to the lodging in Minden.

The riders were treated to some of the most spectacular scenery imaginable over the 2 days of riding, crossing the Sierra Nevada mountain range at Ebbitts pass on the first day and South Lake Tahoe/Carson pass the second day. The mileage for the event was approximately 300 miles for both days combined. Just enough to make the riders tired and happy but not worn out to the point of exhaustion.  The ride had a variety of terrain from paved roads to dirt roads with a good amount of single track thrown in to challenge everyone.

We were treated to Sunshine, Cool overcast and even a few showers over the 2 days.  The event also had a route mapped out for the Adventure Bike riders that bypassed the tighter more technical sections so there was a course for everyone no matter what type of bike they brought.

 

Thanks to the RUTS crew and see you next year,

#33

Geezer Ride Day....Lot's of Fun!

An Old-Timer Ride Day

The Sierra Chapter of the OTMX race series recently put on one of their Old-Timer only ride days in Marysville, Calif.  At the MMX facility. If you have never been out to one of these ride days you may want to mark the next one on your calendar.

The idea being that you get to ride with a bunch of Geezers that actually enjoy riding together and have a great time battling each other to sharpen their skills. All this without kids trying to cut you off in each turn or over every jump. The added bonus is the lunch was included along with a raffle that provided some pretty cool stuff being handed out just for the privilege of showing up to ride with your friends!

It was a lot of fun to swap bikes and try other guys’ rides. I was lucky enough to ride a new 2012 450 Honda (thanks Terry) and get a pretty good idea of the improvements made to the new bike over the past couple of years. I also got to spend some time on a 2012 WR Yamaha (thanks Doug) even though it was not designed to be on an MX track, it worked pretty damn well! It was actually a lot of fun to ride on the track and had extremely capable suspension. That would be an awesome off road bike with such good suspension and an electric type power from the motor.

I almost got to ride the most beautiful 1980 440 Maico I have seen since……….well, 1980 on the showroom floor. I am not sure the ones on the showroom floor were this clean! The reason I say almost is because the owner, Gino, took it out to warm it up and be first rider since it is his bike and promptly had the rear brake rod snap off. Nothing wrong with the bike, completely mechanic error Gino assured me. He realized he had made a mistake when reassembling after the last detail session. Too bad because that would have been the ride of the day! That bike is beautiful.

 So it may be a good idea to check on the Sierra Old-Timer website and see when their next ride day is so you can make it. Besides the hamburgers and hotdogs that were cooked to perfection, I came away with a Works Connection hour meter from the raffle. I guess now this means I actually have to change the oil on my bike at regular intervals.

See you at the next ride day!

#33