SE Quads Round 3, Pro Edge of Calhoun SX Race Report

[rablack21]

This report will be brief as I am rather disappointed in myself.

Results:
Moto 1: 5th of 6
Moto 2: 5th of 6

Goods:
Almost pulled the holeshot both motos. Started out 2nd/3rd going through the first turn both times.
engine ran strong
my jumping getting better
no injuries
no broken parts


Bads:
Faded back from 2nd to 5th both motos, partly my poor stamina/partly my poor suspension

Summary:
I'm just rather disgusted with myself at the moment. It just pisses me off that I can come out of the gate in 2nd and end up in the back of the pack by the end of the race. I know some of my problem is I get tired towards the end of the race. Half of my body wants to keep going, and the other half says I can't hold on any longer. But I also know that if I hit the jumps very hard, it hurts. So I wonder how much of my problem is lack of good suspension and how much is me. I am about to find out. Shocks are boxed up as of today and going out to get setup and a new rear shock is on the way. I'm tired of slamming the ground and afraid to jump stuff cause it hurts. Atleast I will know then that it's all on me after that. That I am ok with.

Here is some go pro footage of my first moto. P.S.- I still had fun, guys, just venting a little. Enjoy.
[video=youtube;7Uw4dEezGJ4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Uw4dEezGJ4&feature=youtu.be[/video]

[JoePA]

Once you get your suspension back and dialed in you will see a major inprovement across the board. We spoke about this offline but once you know you can jump something and not feel like the lower part of your spine is going to shoot out of your body, you'll be jumping more than you thought you ever would and it certainly gives you a boost of confidence.

[rablack21]

Once you get your suspension back and dialed in you will see a major inprovement across the board. We spoke about this offline but once you know you can jump something and not feel like the lower part of your spine is going to shoot out of your body, you'll be jumping more than you thought you ever would and it certainly gives you a boost of confidence.

This is what I'm hoping for! I'm ready to turn her loose! I want to fly through the air, just don't want to land feeling like I'm riding a rigid frame mountain bike!

[JoePA]

I think you'll be pleased for sure. I know I am!

[JoePA]

Not many racers here on .org.

[rablack21]

Not many racers here on .org.

It's cool. There's not many of us out there still "    " (*crazy enough, *in shape enough, *dumb enough, *stubborn enough, *determined enough, fill in your own blank) to be racing these machines still.
But ya know, racing a 450 I'm just another guy on a quad, nothing special about it. Win or lose, when I race my 250r, I get special attention. People may have saw me lose, but then they come over and say "man, that things sounds wicked" or " that's a sweet ride you got". What do they say to the 450 riders, "hey, look, you got the same quad as everybody else!"

[zcarlson12]

To me suspension is the most important thing in racing. After I built my Laeger I rode it a few times with the suspension how I bought them. Then I got them back from Baldwin set up for my weight and riding style and my confidence went up 100%. I know I have the power to make a lot of the jumps and now I have the suspension to make sure I get back down to Earth safely. It will not only improve your riding but you will enjoy riding way more. I couldn't agree more with the last couple sentences of your post Ryan. I have so many people, atv and dirtbike riders, coming up to me at any given practice or race wanting to know about it or ask why I ride/built it. I've always been a person that does my own thing and racing a 250r against the new breed of 450's and beating them most of the time is all worth it for me.

[rablack21]

To me suspension is the most important thing in racing. After I built my Laeger I rode it a few times with the suspension how I bought them. Then I got them back from Baldwin set up for my weight and riding style and my confidence went up 100%. I know I have the power to make a lot of the jumps and now I have the suspension to make sure I get back down to Earth safely. It will not only improve your riding but you will enjoy riding way more. I couldn't agree more with the last couple sentences of your post Ryan. I have so many people, atv and dirtbike riders, coming up to me at any given practice or race wanting to know about it or ask why I ride/built it. I've always been a person that does my own thing and racing a 250r against the new breed of 450's and beating them most of the time is all worth it for me.

I completely agree. I wish I would have made the step towards better suspension a long time ago. I feel my body is starting to suffer because of it. lol. You are exactly right about the confidence, and right now, mine is very low when it comes to jumps. As far as the attention, I had come up to me last weekend at the race and said, " wow, is that a 2 stroke? I never seen a 2 stroke Honda before fourwheeler before. The only 2 stroke I've ever seen was a blaster."  He was like 14 years old. I was like, yep, this is what ruled the land back when Honda was still making and supporting them!
And like you said even though I haven't gotten to beat many of them yet, I love passing the 450's on my old R. lol. They thinks it's funny till I pull them off the line through the first turn. Now I just got to get the suspension right now I can back it up the rest of the way around the track!

[zcarlson12]

I live for that look after a race when I pull off the track ahead of 450's. They are all so surprised as I wheelie past them on the holeshot and gap them every lap. One thing I will add that has helped me over the years on suspension is that I set my weight at least 50lbs heavier when I have them set up the shocks. This way I account for the weight of my gear as well as extra weight from mud and dirt that stays on the quad throughout the day. That being said, I like my suspension a little more stiff than others to begin with. Another thing I'll add to suspension is what tire pressures you're running. As I'm sure you and other members know your tires are a big part of your suspension. I try to run relatively the same pressure all the time but it can make a big difference depending on conditions. I believe I run 8-9psi in my Razr cross fronts and 5-7psi in my MXR6 rears.

[rablack21]

Yeah, tire pressure is pretty important. I usually run 10psi in the front and 6-8 psi in the rear depending on conditions. Usually if traction is pretty good and dirt is tilled up good, I will run 8 psi. If it is hard pack or slick, I will drop down to 6psi. These are the most common pressures I use.

[JoePA]

I ran 5 psi on my turf tamers this past race and it worked very well. I really want to try a super soft tire to see if I can hook up. At our first practice the dirt was perfect and feeling that rate of acceleration coming out of the turns was a nice feeling compared to just spinning.

[rablack21]

[MENTION=125]JoePA[/MENTION], for sure! My old holeshot mx's hooked up really well, even on hard pack and slick, cause they were a super soft compound. But there wore like crazy. You literally could not ride without coming back in and see that they had wore down some, regardless how short the ride was. I'm running Artax MX-R's right now and they hook up decent, but nothing that has just amazed me so to speak. They have a significantly longer wear rate though. Most of the guys I race with run ITP Quad Cross MX Pros on the rear. It tooks up extremely well in intermediate to hard pack, but not sure on loamy tracks. But they tend to wear pretty fast as well. I just can't afford to buy new tires every 3-4 races like some of these guys do.

[JoePA]

Yeah i don't have the coin for new tires all the time but just to try it would be awesome! So what are we looking at a time frame for when "project Young woman" will be up and running?