BLAST FROM THE PAST
BLACKWATER 100
This is the most famous off-road dirt bike race ever held, and was the brain child of Dave Coombs. Starting in the streets of Davis, West Virginia the course meandered out of town, across a wide and tall river, through snotty hills and into the famous peat bogs. The end of the 10-mile loop was punctuated with the Highway 93 river crossing, basically the Woodstock of off-road enthusiasts all gandering for a look at depravity, brutality and wickedness. The Highway 93 crossing had between 10 and 15 thousand spectators, many who slithered in the froth trying to help riders conquer a greasy wall, smeared with people and a bottled up river at its base that stopped your machine, either drowning it out or killing your mo. There was no going around it as the mud fleas and chain gang members blocked exits forcing you into the designated route roped off with fuzzy brained humanity. The Blackwater 100 kicked off in 1975 and ran for 19 years with Kevin LaVoie winning the first and Fred Andrews taking the final run before environmentalists closed it down. Mark Hyde has the record for most wins at 4, Kevin LaVoie has 3, Scott Summers and Ed Lojak 2 and heroes like Terry Cunningham, Jeff Fredette, Kevin Hines and Frank Gallo are punctuated with big wins from Timmy Coombs, Tommy Norton and John Ayers.
ISDE GALLERY AND TIMES FROM DAY 2
Photos: Future7Media
MY TOUGHEST RACES
Dick Burleson
Moose Run, early 1990s. Rode a 501 Husaberg, great power and handling, but still a handful. It was cold and wet, ridiculous amounts of logs, and creaks. Finally teamed up with Mike Lafferty and Jon-Erik (DB’s son), so we could help each other carry bikes. As I recall it was a 6+ hour ordeal. Confirmed that something is not right with Bill Gusse.
Rodney Smith
Tillamook, Oregon was one of the toughest races I remember ever doing. It was in Oregon and it was a qualifier for it for the ISDE series. I remember the promoter wanted to make it one of the toughest race is to show moto guys like myself, Ty Davis and some of the desert stars (Danny Hamel/LR) what off-road racing was really about what made it one of the toughest races was all the steep uphill and downhill’s and all the trees they called Sticks and Stones. Day one was incredibly technical; day two was the same trail only it rained all night! I loved it, but it was tough.
TWebb
I raced both of the events above and when genuinely gnarly guys call them tough, you gotta know that mere mortals flat suffer. What I remember about the Moose Run was hitting a bog right off the start and getting stuck for 15 minutes! Then the felled trees we had to get over were maniacal, some four feet high. I sucked here, being horrified that I’d hit the tree, stop and launch breaking my neck in the process. It wasn’t until Fredette was lapping me that I saw the technique was to wheelie into it, kiss the front tire into the log, drive up the face and then wheelie off. Unfortunately I lack talent and used the slam it, case it, use my knees and thighs to slam the bars and use the spinning rear tire to pull me over. I hated that race!
Tillamook came when I was fairly fit and had been to Six days. It too was wicked, but it was the vertical ascents and descents that had huge trees lying haphazardly on snot dirt that had you locked up, screaming and using any obstacle that you could slam to slow you down. I rode all of day two with Charles Halcomb, who was Honda supported racer at the time. It rained, snowed, sleeted, hailed and was as miserable as it could get. We were late the entire day, and then had to deal with a 24 mile asphalt ride, freezing to death to get to the final moto. Nearly every racer wanted to boycott, but in the end very few finished the 2-day event and the final moto was epic! The track had great jumps and enough grass to feel Euro and I ended up winning the moto against Burleson and Lyle Duranso while Roeseler, Danny Hamel and Rodney Smith cheered us on. It’s a great memory.
JONNY WALKER WINS AGAIN AT RED BULL 111 MEGAWATT HARD ENDURO
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jonny Walker continued his winning ways in tough extreme events this season on Sunday when he picked up yet another victory at the Red Bull 111 Megawatt Hard Enduro in Poland. Riding his KTM 300 EXC, Walker again got the edge over rival Graham Jarvis while Sweden’s Joakim Ljunggren finished third riding a KTM 450 EXC. A large field of 700 riders battled it out in the short sandy prologue on Saturday, with the fastest 500 qualifying for the main event on Sunday. Prologue finishing times decided the starting order, and similar to the Erzberg Rodeo’s Red Bull Hare Scramble, rider went off in waves. Walker, who was fourth fastest qualifier, was naturally in the front row of Sunday’s starters.
PRODUCTS WITH SOME SIZZLE
FMF RACING LAUNCHES 2016 HUSQVARNA EXHAUST SYSTEMS
FMF Racing introduces the new 2016 Husqvarna Factory 4.1 Exhaust Systems. Built 100% In-House in our Southern California manufacturing facility using proprietary blends of alloy metals and Patented championship winning parts such as the Megabomb header (Patent # 7510050) the 2016 systems are performance driven with the classic FMF style. They are used by the World Husqvarna Factory race teams and the full System is over 3 LBS lighter than stock and the Slip-On over 2 LBS lighter than stock.
Factory 4.1 Slip On From $374.99
Factory 4.1 Megabomb System From $799.99
www.fmfracing.com
PRO CIRCUIT LAUNCH CONTROL
Pro Circuit has just released our newest Launch Control for the all-new 2016 KX450F. The Pro Circuit Launch Control allows riders to compress the forks several inches while seated on the bike to allow more load on the front wheel for better starts. Putting more weight on front of the bike lessens the chance of a wheelie out of the starting gate.
Pro Circuit Launch Controls feature a spring-less design that provides positive engagement and consistent release and the start trigger design helps simplify the installation of the entire kit. All Launch Controls are CNC machined exclusively from aircraft grade aluminum and are a lightweight improvement to every racer’s bike. $109.95
www.procircuit.com
BIG PHONE MOUNTING SYSTEMS
The eCaddy SLIDE Phone Mount was designed to accommodate all makes/models of phones (including the Apple 6 and 6+), plus the case or cover the phone is in.
The eCaddy SLIDE is available in two sizes: Medium (ideal for vertical orientation) – min 2-3/8″ / max width 3-5/8″ and Long (ideal for horizontal orientation) – min 4-3/4″ / max width 7-3/8″.
Retail starts at $59.99. Read more here: http://www.leadermotorcycle.com/ecaddy-slide-large-phone-mounts/
BEST DUAL SPORT BIKES CLUTCH WEIGHTS: INSTANT TRACTION!
The new clutch weights for the KTM DDS or diaphram style clutches are a simple yet effective way to make the KTM’s and Husky’s more tractable and less prone to “flameouts”. The new 14 oz – 4.6″ diameter weight bolts directly to the outside of the clutch in minutes on the trail. It’s more effective than little 5 oz flywheel weights and half the cost. All that, along with a 5 minute installation time and you can see how it helps both a 300 2-stroke and a 450 SXF! Price $64.95
www,bestdualsportbikes.com
MIKUNI REBUILD KITS
Mikuni Genuine Rebuild Kits for Carburetors & Fuel Pumps
When it comes time to rebuild a Mikuni Carburetor or Fuel Pump used in a Motorcycle, ATV, Jet Ski or Personal Watercraft, look to Mikuni American to supply the Genuine Component Rebuild Kit for your application. Each Kit contains all the necessary gaskets, seals, and O-rings, as well as any specialty parts that may wear out over time like pop-off springs, diaphragms, needle valves with seats, and float pivots.
You can look up all the available Kits, Carburetors and Parts, along with Mikuni Distributors on the www.MikuniPower.com website.
6D MATTE COLLECTION
6D Helmets proudly introduces its new Fall Matte Collection. Two new graphic designs are offered; the ‘Raptor Carbon’ goes full stealth-mode with blacked-out logos while the ‘Camo’ design mixes it up with 3 color options! Two new highlighter colors round out the successful Wedge graphic. The 6D ATR-1 motocross helmet is the helmet uses their patented Omni-Directional Suspension (ODS) system that isolates both angular acceleration energy and low-threshold energy transfer to the brain during a crash impact. With brain injury and helmet safety at the forefront of athlete concerns, 6D’s ODS technology provides a superior solution to that of traditional helmet designs means of its unique uncoupled dual-liner kinetic energy management system.
TRAIL TECH KTM 2-STROKE EXHAUST FLANGE GUARD
If you’re a KTM 250/300 two stroke owner there’s a good chance that you have fit it with a pipe guard. This protects it from getting smashed, but unfortunately makes it so stiff that it resists hits and will seek the path of least resistance to bend or deflect, and that’s right at the exhaust flange. They’ll break easily and this is costly, besides ride ending. Trail Tech offers protection for the exhaust flange: their Exhaust Flange Protector (EFP.) The EFP protects the KTM exhaust flange from damage should the exhaust pipe receive an impact. The Trail Tech EFP is great insurance for any KTM 250/300 and is more economical than repairs or a new exhaust flange. They sell for $49 bucks.
http://www.trailtech.net/hard-parts/flange-protectors
MOTO QUEST
Best Riding Roads in the West
Beauty is subjective, and every rider will have his or her own preferences for what makes a riding road truly spectacular. But after spending the last few decades exploring the western United States by motorcycle, we’re pretty confident that any one of these roads will make your jaw drop and your heart flutter.
Sequoia National Park / Highway 198, California
Denali Highway, Alaska
This is more than a dirt road. It’s 120+ miles of uninterrupted scenic wonder.
North of Golden Gate Bridge / Highway 1, California
This section of California’s beautiful Coast Highway will have you pulling off the road time and again to gaze at the amazing views.
Go to the website for a full listing of popular riding spots.
http://motoquest.com/
http://motoquest.com/
SRA GRAND PRIX SEPTEMBER 13, GLEN HELEN
ENDANGERED SPECIES: OHV GROUP SEEKS DELAY IN GROUSE LISTING, THREATENS LAWSUIT
Phil Taylor, E&E reporter: Greenwire: Wednesday, September 2, 2015
An off-highway vehicle (OHV) group last week asked the Obama administration to push back its legally binding Sept. 30 deadline to decide whether to protect the greater sage grouse, warning it is prepared to join a “flurry of litigation” against the government’s actions.
Paul Turcke, an attorney for the national OHV group BlueRibbon Coalition, warned in a letter to administration officials that land-use restrictions proposed by the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service to avoid an Endangered Species Act listing for the sage grouse are untested and need additional environmental review.
While the BLM and Forest Service plans are the cornerstone of federal efforts to avoid a listing, they include “unjustified and unacceptable conditions” that could harm the interest of motorized recreation, Turcke wrote.
Both agencies are expected to finalize their sage grouse plans any day now.
“BlueRibbon has weathered numerous litigatory storms associated with or created by the exit of a presidential administration,” Turcke wrote, citing past moves to restrict snowmobile use in Yellowstone National Park and the Clinton administration’s 2001 roadless rule. “We are writing today to ask you break the [sage grouse] issue off the pathway that will lead it to avoidable litigation along the lines of the aforementioned eleventh-hour presidential campaigns.”
Don Amador, BlueRibbon’s Western representative, said federal land-use restrictions implemented to preclude a grouse listing are “unwarranted” and “never day-lighted during the public process.”
“OHV recreation has been identified as nothing more than a secondary threat to [grouse], but is an important land-use activity in the West,” he said in a statement Monday. “We are concerned that the [grouse] is becoming a convenient excuse to issue parting gifts to various special interests during the administration’s final year.”
BlueRibbon is the latest land-use group to threaten to challenge the BLM and Forest Service sage grouse plans, regardless of whether FWS recommends listing the birds under ESA.
Last week, the American Exploration & Mining Association urged BLM to abandon its land-use plans covering some 50 million acres and instead adopt plans crafted by Western states. Doing so would be the best way to avoid “costly and protracted litigation that will likely result” if BLM finalizes its proposed plans, AEMA wrote in a letter to Jewell.
BETA AND MAX GERSTON TOGETHER FOR 2 MORE YEARS
Beta USA is happy to announce the re-signing of Max Gerston to their Factory race team. The soon to be 24 year old Arizona native will continue his climb to the top podium steps aboard a Beta through the 2017 season.
“I couldn’t be more happy to sign with Factory Beta again for the next two years. The whole Beta team has worked very hard to be successful and I am fortunate to be a part of it. I am looking forward to trying some different races this year and riding my 300 RR. Let’s go racing and have some fun!” States a happy Gerston.
Max currently sits fifth in points in the Endurocross series that has been highlighted with a podium finish at round two.
WOLF: BACK IN THE DAY
1991 ISDE, Povazska, Bystrica,Czechoslovakia
TEAM HRC 2015 ATACAMA RALLEY HIGHLIGHTS
The Atacama Rally has again highlighted Team HRC and Paulo Gonçalves’ knack of consistently turning out high-level performances and triumphs in a season about to culminate with the OiLibya Morocco Rally, last stop before the Dakar 2016.
LEARN TO RIDE LIKE CODY WEBB FROM CODY WEBB