indiana ride thread

[oPAULo]

That was a good race!! Can't wait till INDY! We barely got tickets last year. Think I'll get them ordered up now.

Villopoto will get injured, Stewart will keep choking. GO DUNGEY!!

Yellow bikes for life!!....(at least until I can afford an orange bike. HA!)

[KneeKicker]

Well I parted ways with the Yellow thing I used to ride,they are not bad bikes for dirt only,but heavier than I would like.


I will be going over to the "dark" side and get on an Orange bike again, one that goes ring ding ding.

If anyone runs across a used 250 or 300 EXC or MXC,let me know. May even look at 200exc/mxc. I hear good things about that little motor and single track

[KneeKicker]

Originally Posted by Woodsrat

I know for a fact I'm getting old but the last time I rode a KTM 200 E/XC I stalled the damn thing twice just trying to get going. It had virtually no flywheel effect and was way too much like a 125 moto bike for me to enjoy riding in the woods.

Maybe if you hung a weight on the crank it might work okay. I rode a KDX-200 identical to the '95 I had except it had A-Loop's second heaviest flywheel on it. It would plonk like a trials bike and find traction where my stocker would spin--and if you needed zoom to blast up a bank all you had to do was fan the clutch and get the r's up.

But hey, what do I know...

And I have considered a KDX 200/220. I had a pretty well modded 220 back in 98, and it was the MOST dependable bike I have ever owned. I only sold it when the YZ400f's first came out......I really thought I needed one of those.

The power of the KDX even modded is not close to the KTM 250,and not even in the ballpark on the 300. And yes I know that most that HP is useless on the type of trails I like,but the 250/300 KTM's also have a lot of lug power on the bottom.

[LATJ]

Originally Posted by Woodsrat

I'm sitting on a pair that I bought with a Ticketmaster gift card I needed to burn up--and honestly have no interest in going. I hate crowds and going to downtown Indy in general--and super-bump just isn't worth the hassle for me.

They're in section 241, Row 5, seats 5 & 6. Between the expensive seats and all of Ticketmaster's bullshit charges I still ended up forking out money to get them. They're $45 tickets but the total cost was $116.15. I'd take a $100 if anybody wants 'em.

Sending PM...

[oPAULo]

Originally Posted by LATJ

Sending PM...

Sold ?? I'd take them if I could get a 3rd seat right beside. Let me know and I'll make a call to ticketmaster.

[oPAULo]

Originally Posted by Woodsrat

LATJ spoke up for them.

Cool. See ya there LATJ !! I know where your sitting!!

[TooSlow4U]

Originally Posted by gplane

Son and I both have TW200 Yamahas, and we had them out thursday.
We were pulling granddaughter on a sled all over the alleys in N.W. Bedford.
It was a major blast. The alleys hadn't been cut through at all so the snow was about 5to6 inches deep. Serious fun.

Wish I had known where you were. I was towing the kids up and down the alleys on the south side of Bedford yesterday afternoon too. Same here with the alleys. They haven't been touched with a plow yet. Made for some good sledding behind the lil' XR70

[2strokeClay]

Originally Posted by KneeKicker

...May even look at 200exc/mxc. I hear good things about that little motor and single track

Originally Posted by Woodsrat

I know for a fact I'm getting old but the last time I rode a KTM 200 E/XC I stalled the damn thing twice just trying to get going. It had virtually no flywheel effect and was way too much like a 125 moto bike for me to enjoy riding in the woods.

Maybe if you hung a weight on the crank it might work okay. I rode a KDX-200 identical to the '95 I had except it had A-Loop's second heaviest flywheel on it. It would plonk like a trials bike and find traction where my stocker would spin--and if you needed zoom to blast up a bank all you had to do was fan the clutch and get the r's up.

But hey, what do I know...

I rode my friend's 200EXC back to back with my CR250R, and didnt have any problems. In fact, I didnt even really notice much of a power differnce, at least busting through a field and some 2-tracks through the woods. He had only had a few rides on the bike, (it was his first bike), and it wasnt much of a problem when we hit what I thought was some pretty difficult terrain. (and I learned to ride at Stoney Lonesome and Moto Supreme).

However; the older you get, I think the less you want to have to use the clutch lever, which is why I got a 250 instead of a 125 for my first dirt bike. But its like Woodsrat says: what do I know. How easily the bike stalls has a lot to do with gear ratio, condition of the tire, condition of the engine (compression), what you are used to, and probably other things that I cant even think of. also, the 200exc has a 6 speed trans, and I thought they all came with a somewhat decent flywheel weight.

[nixgtpULYRAGE]

Got some serious work done on the uly this weekend. Went through the electrical system, installed some header wrap (i can start growing hair back on my right leg) and got my pannier mounts on the bike. And they just started a 300 dollar deal in the vender section for new panniers. GOODBYE paycheck.

[KneeKicker]

Originally Posted by Woodsrat

I had a long discussion with Kelvin Thomas (former KTM dealer) .

I bet that was a long talk

That guy knows more about KTM's than KTM.

I spent a little time on a 300MXC and I have got to say that thing would lug to almost zero and not stall the motor or hit an open section and flat smoke about anything else out there. BTW Tpar has that beast now I'm sure he will verify this spring.

I know I am nowhere near a fast rider but I dont think an EXC will disapoint me out riding.

Hope not anyway looks like I will be picking a 250exc up Wed.

[dmay]

Originally Posted by Woodsrat

...I had a long discussion with Kelvin Thomas (former KTM dealer) ...

Has anyone ever had a discussion with Kelvin that wasn't long?

Havn't dealt with him in ages,always thought he was an ok guy,but didn't stop in there without plenty of time to kill...

Maybe Beta will bring back the Alp or Ryan Young will get Scorpa going with a street legal T-ride,I know I'm in the market for something along those lines myself.

[header]

Originally Posted by Woodsrat

Another example--go to an enduro or hare scrambles and watch what happens when you come to a place where traction is limited like a big ditch crossing. The fast guys rip through like it's paved but everyone else is biffing, burning up their clutches and falling down. Suddenly an old phuck comes along on an XR-250R or something similar and motors right through at a little more than a walking pace without spinning a wheel. Why? If you do the math the 1st gear overall ratio (first gear x primary gearing x final drive gearing) is around 32:1 on these bikes. If you're lucky on a KTM or other similar bike first gear MIGHT be around 22:1. Moto bikes have low gear ratios around 16:1 or so. What does this mean? It means if you try to plonk through a rough section at less than breakneck speed you're going to be fighting wheelspin and working the hell out of the clutch. As long as you go like hell it's not a problem--but for the average guy who isn't conditioned like a racer or lacks the balls to ride them the way they're supposed to be ridden they end up being a handful on anything but wide open trails.

Low gearing only plays a small part in a situation like that. There many reasons the fast guys can get through a place like that but ill just focus on a few. The most obvious point ive found that makes the hard sections easier is limiting how long your in them. If that fast guy makes 2mistakes/minute and a slow guy makes 1mistake/minute the slow guy will still make more mistakes if he stays in that hard section for 20seconds compared to the fast guy who stayed there for 5seconds.

With properly setup suspension a hard section should still allow you to motor through. The only bikes that shouldn't use momentum to get through anything are trials bikes (and even then many sections use momentum to help get through) which if ridden at high speeds on trails would typically bottom out and be slower. Their suspension and geometery is set up vastly different. Will you get through the section? Absolutly but it may be easier on a regular bike.

But lets go back to the slow guy but now he is on the xr250r mentioned above or something with similiar charactoristics like a slow rev out speed, soft(er) suspension, low power, and a linear power band. These all add up to a bike that doesn't naturally spin its tires, it will be very good at gaining traction in the worst conditions where a two stroke or something with a snappier powerband will break traction much easier. This is where you would want to have plenty of speed going into the obstacle that way you can pull the clutch before you hit it that way you just float through the section then get back on the gas when your past the obstacle.

For a reference, I find that when I try and ride slow I tend to wreck much more often and my XR650R definatly doesn't have a low first gear. In fact when I geared it down it made it harder to controll because it gave me too much power in first for damn near everything but it wasn't low enough for second gear. When you go faster the power starts to smooth out because your in a larger ratio, this makes it more forgiving, also big obstacles seem to disappear when hit at a higher speed. Modern suspension with the correct setup will work better at speed unless its setup for just going slow which seems to have a harder time working in fast sections than suspension setup for fast sections works in slow stuff.

Its all still relative but thats my 2c

[oPAULo]

Too many words on this page.
When in doubt, twist it some more.

[header]

Originally Posted by oPAULo

Too many words on this page.
When in doubt, twist it some more.

Here ill add some more

This works for me 9 times out of 10, it goes back to holding enough momentum to let the bike carrie you through rather than you having to ride the bike through, but it doesn't work if you slow way down then gas it through, as opposed to continuing with the speed you already have then adding a burst of speed once shit starts hitting the fan. Plus the centrifical force of the tires spinning and the engine spinning will tend to keep you up.

Also something to keep in mind. Whenever you hit the brakes hard the bike will dive some, or a lot depending on set up, and this will give you more traction for the front tire and less for the rear but it also changes the geometry of rake and trail. This will throw off the bikes handling and stability so if you do find yourself in shit creek and you need to slam on the brakes, stand up and stick your but way out the back to try and counteract the weight shift as much as possible. This will also allow more braking power from your rear brake before it locks up.

Then just double everything when going downhill.

[oPAULo]

I just ride for fun. Other than that I have no idea what's going on.