Lil LIGHTNING Power Pack

Riding so many miles so far away from anyone and quite often by myself, I had an epiphany. I am all alone out here exploring new areas in canyons, sand washes and deserted hills and must rely on my bike and myself to fix anything that goes bad or it is an overnight stay and a very long walk to help. More often than not I do not have cell phone reception, so it is that kind of remote.
My current off road bike is a KTM 500 xcw that has an electric start with a kick start back up. Just one of the many reasons I chose it. Batteries fail and the kick starter is my insurance, but since I do ride on occasion with others that ride bikes without kick starters I don’t want to choose between riding a very long way out double or leaving the guy there.
A while back I was shown a slick little device called the LIL LIGHTNING jumper pack by a buddy, Matt, that owns a motorcycle shop in Butte, Montana. It was very compact and Matt said it would jump his street bike several times and could jump a car. I was a bit skeptical at the car part but ordered one and have been carrying it for a year now.

In that years’ time it has been used 3 times! Twice on a guy with a kick start equipped 530 KTM that couldn’t start it on our ride in the middle of a 7-mile-long sand wash and the battery was kaput! No one in our group was looking forward to towing him out of a long sand wash with a strap. The lightning pack fired his bike up and we were back on our way. Twice, he stalled!
Then the third time was to start a borrowed Nissan Pathfinder while I was in San Felipe, Mexico! It actually did start the V-6 Nissan. I was impressed because this is their smallest compact version. They make two more upsized models for heavy applications.

On this last trip to Baja I pulled it out of my pack to show it to one of the guys with no kick start option on a new Husky. To my surprise the Lithium-ion battery had swelled and ruptured the outer casing. The contents were still contained inside with no mess and the pack still showed a full charge on the test lights! When I returned home from the trip I called the toll free number and spoke to Karen who simply asked me when I bought it as it had a one-year warranty. It was one year to the month! She laughed and said “you pushed it right to the limit didn’t you!”
She told me to box it up and send it back to her and she would send me a new one upon receiving it. Now that is customer service and standing behind your product. When I use up this next one I will certainly replace it with another LIL LIGHTNING!
#33
‘wear out, don’t rust out – get out and Ride’

Baja...1700 Miles

Baja suspension matters......SBB Suspension works!

Having just returned from a 16 day riding trip to Baja, I thought I should share a bit of info with the MX43.com readers.
There were a few different brands of bikes on this nearly 3-week exploration ride. There was a Honda, a couple of Beta’s, a Husqvarna and about 5 KTM’s.  I have ridden a few bikes (brands, year models and categories) in my day. Also, having had the opportunity to work with Bucky at SBB suspension has exposed me to a lot of shortcomings on these same bikes.

I rode for 16 days straight and accumulated a little over 1700 miles on my SBB suspended KTM 500 XCW. During that time, I was asked to ride a few other bikes to compare and evaluate. What an eye opener! I knew my bike worked well but after riding the other bikes on the trip I was all smiles!
Each rider that traded me bikes commented on how well my bike was set up and how well it worked. It allowed them to see the shortcomings of their bike setup and they began asking questions on how to make their bike work better. The answer was simple, send your suspension to Bucky at SBB!
Since some of them already had suspension work done by other companies I had to resist smacking them upside the helmet and handing them Bucky’s card. Instead we talked about setup, compression, rebound and spring choices. It was a learning experience for all of us. I learned I was happier with my suspension than I even realized!
I think I will go out for a ride then come back and try to wipe this grin off my face.
#33

‘a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks almost instantly’

Where Is #33?

It appears that Eric (#33) is having a pretty good time touring the trails of Baja. I'm guessing he will have a few stories when he returns.

Stay tuned.

Works Connection Jewelry!

Works Connection Elite Clutch Perch

 
Having just upgraded my clutch lever/perch from Brand-X to a Works Connection I made a few observations.
The Works Connection perch is well built and beautifully finished. While comparing it side by side to the aftermarket Brand-X unit I removed it occurred to me that the Works Connection perch was more like installing a piece of jewelry on my bike than a motorcycle part, it is that nice!
The color choice makes it even more appealing as I was able to choose Honda Red from the Works Connection line up as it was going on my CRF-X 450.
While I had both assemblies off the bike I compared the fit, finish and weight. The Works Connection complete assembly was 7.5 oz., while Brand -X came in at 8.5 oz. Not a significant difference until you look at how much money many riders spend on weight reduction on their bike.

With the install complete I think I overheard the Honda giggling between the two KTM’s knowing who was going out for a ride today!

Watch for a report following three weeks of Baja riding.

#33

Father of the Year

 Recon/F.O.Y.

Having just completed a week long shoot and ride extravaganza with my buddy Don, aka RECON, I think we both came away a bit more polished in our shooting and riding skills.

Recon was on a trip to watch his daughter play in a High school soccer tournament that required he go on a road trip. So like any good FOY (Father Of the Year) candidate he brought his guns that he has been teaching his daughters to shoot, so obviously they were for his family’s protection.  He also brought his WR 450 which I can only assume was to have a secondary mode of transportation should anything break down on his truck since this was a 1500 plus mile road trip. This guy thinks of everything, if he doesn’t win an FOY award in 2016 then Trump doesn’t stand a chance!

Recon made it to town safely and I introduced him to a few geezers at the local shooting range that also had a few guns, targets, metal gongs and a timer to record just how quick Recon was on the draw. They got along famously and proceeded to show him how well he can continue to shoot if he practices into his retirement. This group contained shooters ranging from the mid 60’s to the eldest at 80 years old. Recon was amazed when he found himself trying to compete with the 80 yr. old who was also named Don!  A good time was had by all and Recon left the range looking forward to coming back to whip these old timers.  The next time I shot with this group they were asking where my buddy Recon was and were very disappointed when I told them he had to go home to fulfill his FOY duties.

Between shooting and soccer, I got a chance to ride with the FOY candidate. We explored and logged some miles! On one day we did 200 miles off road and finished just before dark. We also participated in a regular Monday Taco ride that takes off each week and draws a wide variety of riders. It is broken up by a lunch stop at a roadhouse called Hooch’s that offer $1 tacos. Just for the record Recon can put away some tacos!

It seems Recon likes to explore new areas too, especially when they include high speed sand washes that let him open his Yamaha WR 450 up. One particular wash is named Maggie wash and does include some pretty impressive scenery when it narrows down from 60 mph and over 100 feet wide to just about 8 feet wide. There is sand, rocks and vertical stone walls while it twists and turns through a canyon that knocks your speed down to maybe 10 mph unless you intend to become a human pinball on those walls. It is always a ton of fun and is worth the two hours of riding it takes to get there. Recon was asking me how long would it take if we rode directly there so we could do it again tomorrow. I had to break it to him, 2 hours, but I didn’t see the grin dissipate.

We made our way to the gas and lunch stop and met an injured buddy, Montana John, who had ridden his KLR 650 out to the small town of Wikkieup to meet us.  After lunch It was time to head back because the sun was already starting to cast shadows. By the time we got home it was after 6pm and the odometers had just rolled 200 miles for the day. Some chain lube, put the bikes away, change out of our riding gear and get cleaned up was all we had time to do before heading off to find dinner. How much better can it get than riding from one eating spot to the next.  I think Recon is just starting to find out how to do retirement correctly!

The time came for Recon to pack up his stuff and head home while I was following him out of town in search of another ride somewhere around the town of Weldon. Which turned out to be such a great ride I couldn’t resist texting Recon pictures of the trail I rode there.  Recon, you left too soon homie!

#33

“teach your daughter how to shoot, because a restraining order is just a piece of paper”