Damn! I was seriously pumped about this, especially with the possibility of hooking up with the other east coast guys for transportation. Then I realized my mother is getting (re)married that weekend. As much as I'd like to tell her I won't be there, I doubt that would fly. Maybe next year...
i don't think it is possible to make from gabbs to the rawhide pit before your racer gets there. while the road in is very good dirt the distances are such that you would have to drive at trophy truck pace to beat them there. to get out you would go north and connect with hwy 50 instead of backtracking. its about a not quite 2 hour drive from there to the finish in dayton. say 2 1/2 hours to 3 altogether from the pit area with traffic and all. i have done it but not by much.
Dude you ROCK !! Yet another year out in BFE!! Way to help out! I may see you out there but may just wave if I am on the rally bike
drc42, Just to clarify, Casey doesn't offer an Ironman class in the Pro ranks, only in Amateur and Expert. That being said, plenty of pros have raced solo (Max Eddy last year and Quinn Cody the year before) when they could have had a partner. Also, the year that I ran ironman expert (2006) there were a few pro's that dropped back into the expert class so they could compete ironman. As for finishing before the trucks, I got third expert ironman in '06 and I was only 15 mintues ahead of the first truck at the finish line. Unless you're going to be in the top 5 or so in the class, you'll encounter trucks/buggy's in either the expert or the amateur divisions. There'll just be fewer if you start expert ironman. Now, for those trying to figure out their pits, you've got some work to do. First, you need to go out and flog your race bike until it runs out of gas. last year we were racing my Husaberg 550 so I set up a 10 mile loop north of Reno. I included some fast roads, some sand washes, and even some hillclimbs. The goal was to set up a loop that was certain to use fuel at a faster rate than we would during the actual race. We did 8 laps which totalled about 82 miles with the stock fuel tank and we were running on fuel in the float bowl. That way, I knew that we were limited to about 70 to 75 miles with some margin of error. Then, wait for Casey to send out the course map with mileages between pits. I guarantee that you'll be able to skip a few unless you're running a two stroke with a stock tank (I'll get to that later). I had two goals to accomplish when trying to set up my pit schedule. I wanted to maximize the strengths of myself and my partners (for instance, I used to work at the Nevada Automotive Test Center which just happens to be near the finish line and I am very familiar with the roads in the area - so I wanted to be on the bike for the last leg). I also wanted to avoid having to fuel at the remote pits. In '06 there were two remote pits. I don't remember how many there were last year but Rawhide was a remote pit in every V to R I've done (3 total). Setting up my pit schedule was quite difficult seeing as how we had three riders and two trucks. I had to make sure that the correct truck with the correct rider was at the correct pit at the correct time. I had to create a spreadsheet for this that included chase mileages as well as race mileages. That was the only way to keep it all straight. Then, to make matters more difficult, there was rumor of road construction and delays for the pit crews. I created a pit schedule for that too. This will all be easier for the ironman classes. You won't be going as fast as a team with a fresh rider every few hours and you don't need to coordinate several riders. This makes it more likely that a single truck can pit for you. That's not a guarantee though. I beat my pit crew to the Top Gun pit in '06. Thankfully another pit crew fueled me and sent me on my way. They were also kind enough to inform my pit crew when they did finally show up. Now for the two stroke story. We were racing a team on a KTM 250 all day last year. They had a dry break and we didn't so, at the pits where we both stopped, they would beat us out of the pit. But, they had to stop at every pit because their bike was really drinking the gas and we could skip pits so we'd pass them back. I passed them twice on the course when they ran out of gas and were pouring some from a backup bottle. We actually ended up banging bars coming into the final pit because of this. Good times! Tom
Ok, I got some better maps and can see that I was confused about getting in to Rawhide. So it looks like the main chase truck will stay on 95 and we will split off from each other at pit 10 near Luning. They will continue on to meet up at pit 15 on ALT 95. My second chase vehicle will be coming from Reno and head east on Hwy. 80 to 50, past Fallon, then turn south on 839 to meet up with me at the Rawhide pit, then backtrack to Dayton. Does this sound correct? (I realize this year's maps are not out yet and this is subject to change). Thanks to all and anyone who can help me put this together!
I'm In I had similar problems at RM 400, had little get off and broke my light going into the night ( I need some redemption)
Anyone know what kinda mileage you can get out of wan XR 650 with an IMS 3.4 tank? Also what headlight would you guys recommend?
zack05, that is more correct. but why beat yourself and your chasers up? the reason i go out there to rawhide is to save your guy's resources a little bit. i'll pit for anyone and stick around until everyone is through.i would be happy to handle the pit for you.
thanks mike! you should be all tuned up after the 1000 last month. be sure and beep your horn on your way through nevada's garden spot!
In '06 I ran an XR 650 with an IMS 3.4 gallon tank. IIRC, my longest leg was close to 80 miles and I ran out of gas twice. The first time, I forgot that I was carrying extra fuel in my camelbak so I leaned the bike to get fuel from the left side of the tank. The second time I remembered the extra fuel, dumped it in, and got going again. If I had to guess, I probably ran out the first time at around 70 miles. However, my air filter was super dirty for that leg and I had to ride just about wide open constantly just to get any acceleration out of it. With a fresh filter I might have gone a little farther, but certainly not 80 miles. Tom
I did an 80 mile stretch last year running the IMS tank, from Mina to Rawhide, and was just shy of having to click over to reserve. I was packing two MSR fuel bottles just in case though... Our setup was: uni filter (fresh one swapped in at Millers), non vented side panel, edelbrock carb, stock motor, stock header, WB E series slip on As for lights, we've run both the 8in BD halogen and 8in TT HID along with helmet lights off of a rewound stator and carried battery packs for backup. My advice is to get as much light as you can afford, the difference btwn the halogen and the HID is considerable. From the pictures I've seen, the newer Rigid Industries LEDs provide even more light.
"As for lights, we've run both the 8in BD halogen and 8in TT HID along with helmet lights off of a rewound stator and carried battery packs for backup. My advice is to get as much light as you can afford, the difference btwn the halogen and the HID is considerable. From the pictures I've seen, the newer Rigid Industries LEDs provide even more light. " OR GO FASTER and you won't need lights !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just run the Trail Tech HID kit on your XR 650 Then put on a BD 8" HID if needed at sometime<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
Thats always the plan, but you need to be prepared for whatever happens. First year we had a flat that put us way back on time so lights were a necessity. Second year we got to Top Gun before we needed lights. This year it would be great to do the whole thing in daylight
Use a Bib Moose in front and rear What Class are you racing this year? Good Luck this year and have Fun.
Had a bib in front and HD tube in the rear, not sure what happened that year, guess it was just the desert gods making us pay our dues... We raced 40+A when they still had that class and now race in open AM Its all about having fun for sure!
Hey guys doing a list of parts for XR650r. What gearing is good for this race? Looks like the guys before used a Dunlop 606 rear for baja. Hows this tire work for the Nevada desert? Also what is the closest hotel/casino to the Aliante? They are booked. Thanks