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XLADV Races BAJA RALLY


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30 minutes ago, Eric Hall said:

Scotty is saying it's an all new course this year that's very challenging in terms of both the course and the navigation.  He says it won't be the fastest rider but the best navigator! ;)

 

Reminds me of a quip from this self-professed "washed up racer" I met a few months back.  "I wasn't always the fastest, but I can navigate!"

Jimmy Lewis. Heard of him?  ;-)

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Getting excited for the Rally!  Here's an update...

Suspension sent off to @KONFLICT MOTORSPORTS but Alex is too busy this week attending a certain rally we were invited then un-invited to attend :lol: (it's okay; Honda loves us!) but I should have them back in a week or two.  He's going to basically refresh them which I'm not really sure what that means but he's the expert. ;)

Bike is being held up by the center stand and a five gallon bucket which I'm sure is really bothering my neighbor, Mrs. Kravitz.

Tires are all set to go from Motoz but still on the fence whether I go with mousse or this new TubeSaddle solution.  @brian.havoc1, Casey Hilliard and Poncho all say "mousse" so I'm waiting to see if I can get some of those from Motoz (they make them too).

Nav equipment is all set and worked well in July's training.

Need to get insurance and paperwork ready.

We'll be camping in each bivouac so I'll have that gear as well.

Bike got some last minute oil leaks fixed and a new chain at ILM a few weeks ago.  Matt and Tim are too busy to check out this thread though ;)

 

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Had a nice chat with the ultimate gentleman of racing, Lawrence Hacking.  He won the adv class at Baja Rally last year on a bone stock Africa Twin.  He's raced Dakar, ISDE races and many others.

I asked him how his single set of mousse performed.  He said the front got a bit mushy towards the end.  I may go this route and bring two sets.

I asked him about nutrition/hydration.  He said I can refill my hydration pack at the gas stop (didn't know that) and some kind of electrolyte (team Redbull told me water with 1/4 pedialyte works well).  He suggested I bring my own food because I really need to start eating immediately after I get off the bike (pasta) and not wait until dinner is served.  He said it wasn't enough food and too late.  Eating off the bike was essentially energy bars.

As to riding he said just take it easy and pace myself for the long haul.  Ride conservatively and pay maximum attention to navigation.  For obstacles/hazards like hills, etc... he said take your time.  Stop.  Survey the best line.  Better to wait and study it than try and fail 2, 3 times to get up a hill.

Really appreciate that advice! ;)

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I'll be competing against this guy, Scott Bright.  He seems to think he can just write a check and show up on a brand new 1090R and win. :lol:

Considering he's won the Baja Rally overall in '14, raced a few ISDE's and the Dakar, I suspect I'll be the one eating his dust.

Scott is a really great guy from what I hear.  He's a man of faith, a family man and contributes quite a bit to charity.  I'm not sure exactly what it is but it's some kind of housing for needy kids in Colorado.

Here's a video of an unfortunate accident he had while filming a commercial for Icon Raiden.  He broke both his wrists but did some amazing treatment and healed in time to complete a Dakar finishing 53rd overall which is quite respectable.

 

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My other competitor is Wes VanNiewenhuise (son of Cyclops' Darryl VanNiewenhuise).  Wes is known as some kind of big bike phenom.  @KONFLICT MOTORSPORTS says "he's the fastest big bike rider I've ever seen" which is saying a lot.  I don't know Wes but look forward to meeting him and seeing what he thinks of rally racing as I understand this is also his first navigation rally.  

I don't really have a strategy against him other than hoping his youth and inexperience might have him getting lost while I pass him, lol.

Here's a video of him on his 950SE which I understand he'll be racing.

https://www.facebook.com/wes.vannieuwenhuise/videos/10213651529873248/

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Update on my suspension "refresh" by Alex Martens at Konflict.

He says the forks and shock look very good.  He re-valved (for the rally) and changed the fluids and seals and put in new bushings.

Just a reminder, Alex is the best there is for upgrading your big bike suspension.  I don't only say that because he sponsored my bike but because it's true.  I was offered a completely free set of suspension from another place (with a great reputation as well) but I went with Alex because he'd donated to a Lost for a Reason fundraiser I'd done a few years ago.  Then I kept hearing what great work he does and met him down at Baja Rally two years ago.  He will be there again supporting mostly Scott Bright and Wes VanNiewenhuise but says he can help me out too if I need it.

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I don't recall Dimitri mentioning Baja Rally, but there can't be too many crazy Greeks with that name in this community.:ride:

Also, he'll be coming off back to back to back GS Trophy Qualifiers so he should be pretty well boned up on picking up the bike and lifting it over logs and such.

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I reached out to Dimitrios and he said he was registered but had to withdraw :(  Hopefully next year.

One thing I forgot to mention about my suspension is that even after 2.5 years of hard riding, my suspension was in great shape and that's another testament to Alex's work at Konflict.

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Yes, first race or rally ever but I was there last year covering it as media then the year before on the last day.  And yes, ADV Expert is the big bikes.  I think they call it ADV Expert because they really want to deter the casual ADV rider from doing it because it's so hard.  My biggest concern at training was I wasn't a good enough rider or that my bike was too big but I did fine even though I did struggle on one hill (but so did @Baja_jimmy07 on his 650).  I would NOT recommend anyone try it on anything bigger than 1000 cc although Casey Hilliard did it last year on an HP2 but then he's an excellent rider and that's a very capable bike.  Christopher Ambrosio did it last year in Rally 1 class on his KTM 640 which they considered "small bike" but I think he should have been in the ADV class.  Sure, it's a smaller engine than the 690 but very much more an ADV bike than the 690 Enduro.

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I did a live video yesterday on Instagram as well as Facebook talking about the Dakar jacket/pant combo from Klim I'll be wearing for the race.  It was pretty cool!  I haven't done that a whole lot but got like 1121 views on IG and 812 views with a reach of 2600 on FB.

 

Mark Houlden had asked me on FB "what about the Leatt gear?"  and I responded that I'd be wearing their brace and armor.  Then he asks "how about the jacket?"  Well...

Fly Racing had also sent me a helmet, jersey, pants and gloves but due to the cactus needles I can't very well ride with just a jersey (over armor).  I will be using their helmet and goggles for sure.  And their pants had an issue with the zipper coming out on the left pocket so I will use those as a backup.

Leatt sent me their green enduro jacket but a sizing snafu made it a bit too small to wear with armor so I'd planned to give that one to @556baller and wear the other blue/green one Leatt sent me.  But they didn't send pants to match and have since had budget cuts and backed out of our charity event, High Sierra.  Klim stepped in actually as a site sponsor (our third) and offered their entire Dakar suit so I decided to go that route (assuming it arrives in time).  I will most definitely wear and review the Leatt jacket at some point after the event but I don't feel too bad given I've already generated quite a few thousand impressions for them and that more than covers their cost.

This Dakar jacket from Klim is pretty cool as well and has removable sleeves just like the Leatt one but also comes with armor inserts whereas the Leatt one requires the armored vest if you want protection.  And now I'll at least have matching pants!  :lol:  I look forward to reviewing that jacket/pants combo as well as their Dakar gloves too.  I've had their old Dakar pants for a long time but I poached the armor out of them for Tolga (Ride Must).  I also have their Overland suit and like that a lot but it's not as good for a race given the sleeves don't vent.  I've had jerseys, gloves, pullovers, hydration packs, etc... from Klim too and they've all been good to excellent.

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