Solo Solo 2011 <Vegas to Reno> <Baja 1000> – Slow Man Racing for a charity

[Wyobrew]

Travels for work can be a drag, but in your case, enjoy while you can!!!

Awsome Phil, you are a blessed man to be able to balance family, travel/work and still have the time and passion to race. Good for you!

Doug

[M.A.G.]

Just realized you went to Tech. I grew up in Roanoke. Trippy.

[oregoncoast]

very cool stuff.

[pilo]

I've been beyond busy. Traveling for 3 weeks (including some vacation) trying to train...havent' been on the bike in forever since I have the thing apart with a ton of new parts.

I also upgraded my chase vehicle. I'll post some pictures soon.

I got my race numbers as well - 029

Whew, race day is coming up fast.

The Battery on the 450x needs replacing. Does anyone know anything about those snappy new Lithium-Polymer batteries? What works for a 450x and where can I find the best deal?

[AngryShawn]

Originally Posted by pilo

The Battery on the 450x needs replacing. Does anyone know anything about those snappy new Lithium-Polymer batteries? What works for a 450x and where can I find the best deal?

I put the 2.5Ah turntech in my wife's 250x and after sitting for 6mos, fired it right up, its way smaller/lighter than the OEM battery.
You can purchase direct or from www.turntechbattery.com or get free shipping from http://www.brapoffroad.com/batteries...ech-batteries/
You'd probably want to go with the 5Ah version for your 450 just to be safe.

[BikePilot]

Hey MAG, it probably won't be possible to do a chase-caravan of any type unless you and another rider stay together the whole race (very unlikely). The crews need to time their pits to match their rider, so caravaning would only work if the riders were riding together.

I saw steph venter's crew frequently - we must have been close for a good portion of the race. I think he had one truck chasing + baja pits and that seemed to work fine last year.

[M.A.G.]

Thanks BP. I was referring to our respective crews watching out for each other, so we could concentrate on the race. My wife will be driving our truck, and I'm using Baja Pits as well. Hopefully, we can meet everyone Thursday, so we will know who to watch out for.

[pilo]

I think the new chase van is going to be excellent. It swallows up my stuff with room to spare and can still seat five in the front.

[WhorehayTheBarbarian]

THeres a slim Chance I may see you dudes At V2R as well. A friend of mine will be racing in the ironman class as well and he's trying to get me to line up so he has someone else to shoot roost at.

Good Read.

Nice to see another guy working, training, riding, family, no sleeping it. Good luck out there!

[M.A.G.]

Very cool van. I expect to hear those speakers in the back pumping out some motivational music about 5 a.m. in Beatty....

[nxdirtbag]

Pilo,

Looking good. Must be one of those extended vans. Much better option than the Honda Element. See Pat's previous hauler below . Of course I think it still could accomodate 3 passengers, but gear might not have fit.
Good luck at the V2R. NX

[pilo]

M.A.G. - My favorite pre race music is Neil Diamond or the Carpenters. That should be motivation enough for us to get away from the van and into the dust.

I got the battery situation fixed with a LiPo replacement and everything seems good. The bike is back together after a rebuild and is running really well.

Konflict motorsports helped with my suspension. My testing confirms we've made some improvements. I can't wait to try it out in Nevada.

Whorehey - Come out if you can. Even if it is just to chase.

NX - I've heard about people stuffing bikes in Elements, but I've never seen a picture. Pat must have been using the real wheel as the driver's armrest. Also, thanks for the donatation for the YWCA!

[M.A.G.]

I was thinking more along the lines of "Seether", but your method does make sense. I think Karen Carpenter could indeed inspire me to top out 5th gear.

Picked up the bike with the "meeces" ( Bib Mousse's ) installed, got it home, and now I have carb issues. Dang it. Don't you love the tension before a big event like this?

[pilo]

In the past week I've put some good miles on the freshly rebuilt 450 and the bike seems to be working great. The suspension is excellent, the fresh top end is snappy and the new battery is super light and works great.

The problem this AM was the man holding on to the bars (or trying to hold on). Driving out to my not-so-secret loop at 5 AM I tried desperately to stretch out my right palm that seems to be giving me more and more trouble. Somewhere deep in the palm the nerve is getting pinched when I grip the throttle causing the pointer and middle fingers to fall readily to sleep, leaving me quickly in the precarious situation of little grip, whiskey throttle and trying to use mind control, typically left for bending spoons, to get my finger away from the bar to grab the brake.

My mind control skills need a lot of help.

The hand problems this AM coupled with some type of untypical lethargy left me loading up the bike at the end of the session more mellow than usual. I was well off my game during the loops and was daydreaming far to much as I was trying to figure out what was going on with my hand.

I'm going to try a thicker grip to see if that helps. Taking my hand off of the bar immeditaely gets the feeling starting to come back, but of course that is usually not the fastest technique through most sections.

I have a few weeks to make some progress on this before V2R.

On a more positive note, I spent some time this weekend up in the mountains hiking and hanging with my family. Below is my son the bug nut and his bug catcher/viewer. Behind him is one of the many peaks of the Wastach mountains and a snow patch just big enough to make a couple of turns if someone so desired.

[wrk2surf]

Rallyists have been using these for years...

also learn to not death grip the bars..

great shot of the most important thing...