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Ever Consider Rally School?


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  • 4 months later...

All these views; no replies.  I'll go on record and state that the rally school hosted by RMS and Konflict last summer was awesome to prepare me for racing in the Baja Rally.  There were two other schools in 2016 and there will undoubtedly be schools hosted in 2017.  If you want to get into something that requires a bit of thinking rather than simply racing, this is it.  You can be the fastest dude on the planet, but you can't be lost fast enough to win!  This is what they do in Dakar and Eco Challenge and Hellas Rally and Morocco Rally, etc etc.  It's a ton of fun and you'll meet some really dedicated nuts who have a blast doing it.  If you're considering the Baja Rally (and you should be), this is virtually mandatory.  

 

Look for updates from RMS at http://www.rallymanagementservices.com/

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I am keen to take a class but not sure what to ride or bring?  I have a 350 & 990.  I don't have a fancy tower or anything of the like.  I read JL's course description but I'm not sure.

It's and investment that I don't care to squander.........

I'm also interested in that Vegas to Barstow ride/race.  Do you need a tower for that or just a GPS?

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I'm a dedicated big-bike guy.  I think anyone who knows me will agree on that.  However, if this is your first time with Rally, my suggestion is to fight one fight at a time.  Better to run the 350 with a rally setup and fight the roadbook on complex terrain with an easier bike than attempt to ride the piss out of a 990 and figure out a roadbook at the same time.  Or you can do it the hard way...which is how I did it.  ;-)

 

As far as the JL course, I can tell you the price is extremely competitive (especially for the 3-day version) and no doubt the instruction will be top notch.  I'd absolutely love to do this, but have some other stuff going on and can't make this one.  Consider also the Baja Rally courses that they're running several times between now and then.  I don't know that the bang for buck is quite the same, but you're in Mexico on the terrain the BR covers, and it's one helluva trip. 

 

With regard to gear, I'm a fan of functional first, gucci dolled-up towers and crap last.  Don't piss away money on a one-time use in case you don't like it.  If you do, just upgrade what you've got.  The market for this stuff used is always out there--it's expensive new!  I'd suggest you splurge on a wide-format roadbook reader like an F2R RB-730 or 750 (check out www.rallymanagementservices.com/ but feel free to shop around).  Or you can look at the RB700, which is manual (have seen them sold by Adventure-Spec, which is Lyndon Poskitt's big sponsor).  No big deal if you're not competing, and it's simple and cheaper.  Mount that to your bars with the bracket and arms that RMS sells.  For the computer/odo, grab an older iPhone 4 or greater, buy the Rally Blitz app, and use that.  Slap it in one of these bomb-proof and cheap cases.  (http://www.ebay.com/itm/141530275351).  ICO is the standard by which other computers are measured, but Rally Blitz will do the job and it's cheap for getting your feet wet!

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Well shit.  Considering I paid $100 more, that's a very good price.  That's everything you need to bolt on and go start training.  I would honestly advise a spare thumb switch for the roadbook though.  I broke 2 before I figured it out.  Slow set-downs to the left put lots of pressure on the thumb switch!

As far as new towers, depending on the bike, talk to Paul at Highway Dirtbikes.  He's got the setup you need--whether for my 450XCW or my 950SE, we were able to make it all work.  He's also offering a significant discount to Baja and Sonora Rally folks I think, and may have one going for people headed to the JL class. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

I'm sorry, I guess my notifications don't work and I missed your question.  With the RMS kit, you need nothing else.  The tower kit, to me, is simpler and more robust and it incorporates space for lights and stuff.  My biggest challenge with the RMS setup was not having enough room and protection for all the wires and stuff.

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