KDX in National Enduro Series

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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

Post by KDXGarage »

Sounds like you have it set up even better than last year. Good luck this year!
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

Post by doakley »

Well.....HERE WE GO AGAIN!!

Registration for the first event of the 2020 season in the AMA, NEPG, National Enduro Series opened tonight at 8;00 on the dot!
I was poised over my keyboard and managed to secure Travis and I our favorite starting spot, row 3. You have to be quick on the draw here. Even though there are 780 allotted spots, they had sold out with 20 people on the waiting list in less than 15 minutes! Snooze and lose!
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So here we are, the "Enduro Duo" ready to take another shot.

I had a great practice ride yesterday at the local MX track and a great day of riding and testing last Sunday on some tight woods trails. The bike is ready! Got to work more on getting me ready though!

Y'all keep brapping!

Old Guy Racin
Last edited by doakley on 02:15 pm Jan 09 2020, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

Post by KDXGarage »

Man! That's a lot of people! Have fun!
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

Post by doakley »

It is a lot of riders for sure. The Sumter, SC always has the largest turnout of all the enduros. Maybe because it's the first event of the season (not just National Enduro but GNCC and Sprint Enduro as well) or maybe people want a break from northern winter and come to SC. The pro class is full of guys that normally run the GNCC's but not so many enduros. They actually won't turn anyone away so if you show up on race day, you'll get to ride. This event runs in the Manchester State Forest so I think the posted limit has to do with their permit process.

The forest is mostly sandy trails which develop whoops, breaking and acceleration bumps quickly. I've ridden it in the back and it is a seriously rougher trail after that many bikes have been through. I prefer up front bashing limbs and clearing trail to getting beat up by the deep whoops. Besides, the SERMA Club does a pretty good job of riding in the trails prior to the event.
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

Post by SS109 »

Awesome! :supz:
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

Post by doakley »

Here I go.PNG
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Well........I think that pretty much says it! SUMTER NATIONAL ENDURO, First race of the 2020 NEPG, AMA National Enduro series was held last Sunday!
Sumter Prestart.PNG
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Here I am in the pre-start staging area waiting for my row (3) to be allowed up to the starting line. This is the first time I've seen them run the start this way but it was good in that it kept things a little more sane at the actual start. They would only allow you up to the starting area one row before your actual start. This did cut down on the congestion and confusion.

This year's Sumter enduro was, well, typical "Sumter". Endless mile after mile of tight woods trails with little to no break, at least in the first two tests which were each 10 miles long, the maximum length allowed by NEPG rules. The infamous "Hedge" section was in test 1 this year which meant all us older and C class riders had to fight through it.

For those who don't know, the "hedge" section is cut through dense brush so thick it resembles a hedge rather than a forest. It is ultra tight and twisty making passing difficult. It is also difficult to fall anywhere but blocking the trail since the hedge growth is so thick your bike won't fall over in it. If you run off the trail you just stop and have to fight your way back out. Last year they put this in either test 5 or 6 and the C riders didn't have to deal with it. This year they started the ride with it in test 1. It made the entire enduro extra difficult since the first test wore you down so much.

In test 2 they ran you BACK into this hateful maze initially, but then moved on to a stand of 2-4 yr old pines that were almost as tight and twisty. Bark busters got a good workout there for sure! We surmised someone must have commented the ride was "easy" last year and the course lay out crew decided to shut us up! Score Sumter Enduro Riders Club 1: Old C class rider 0!!

While the bike was ready, I obviously was not as I just didn't have the stamina to finish. I dropped out in test 3 after I just couldn't stand debarking another pine tree and picking the bike up again! I was pretty disappointed in myself as I just hate quitting. I was dog paddling through the trails though and had become a hazard to myself and other riders. On the drive home though, Travis called me to report I needed to look at the LiveLaps.com scores. Apparently we each did better than we had thought and the ride was tough for a lot of people. I managed to finish 7th out of 15. I had hoped to be in the top 10 going in so I was delighted with a 7th place start to the season.

Just to brag on my riding buddy, Travis was awesome, finishing 4th out of 25 in the 40+C class and only 2 minutes behind his class leader! All in all a pretty good start to the 2020 season for each of us.

This Sunday we plan on getting in a training session and practice ride. Our next enduro is March 1st, the SETRA "Sandlapper" enduro also in SC. We expect similar conditions to Sumter although not as tight typically, but possibly more sand whoops. Hoping our usual up front row request of #3 will let us miss the really bad whooped out sections. Being up front does come with trails that are not as well cut in but we gladly trade that to avoid the more beat up track of the later numbers. Unfortunately we'll have to skip the next National Enduro as it is in Texas and more than a 24 hour drive each way. Neither of us can get away for that long. Texas will just have to be one of our two allowable drops this season.

Anyway, off to another year of enduro adventure!

Y'all keep brapping!

Old Guy Racin'
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

Post by KDXGarage »

Congratulations on the great finish in rough conditions! I think you made a wise choice to back off when super tired.

You both did really well.

Thanks for taking us along on another journey!
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

Post by DDR26 »

Way to go! Keep up the ride reports, we look forward to them all.
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

Post by SS109 »

Sometimes you gotta know when to quit and there is no shame in that. I've done it on numerous occasions, and just like you, later find out I didn't do so bad compared with the other racers. Congrats on the 7th! :supz:
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

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Ahhhh, the "photo of shame". If this guy had just come along a few seconds earlier he would have gotten me still on the ground. This was in test #2 at Sumter. I have no idea why I hit a tree in this section which was fairly open compared to a lot of the course. Maybe I just thought this tree needed to lose some bark or something? No harm no foul but it pretty much took the remaining wind out of my sails. After this I just wanted to reach a stopping point!
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

Post by KDXGarage »

Anyone need to stop at the Rest Area?
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

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hahaha! Would have made a good bathroom stop for sure!
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

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Hey, guys, I realized I had promised a little more detail on how the bike is doing with the current mods. Really th e only thing I've done differently this year from last is switched to an OEM style RB carb and from the FMF "woods" pipe to the "Rev" pipe. I kept the same gearing as last year (13/49) just so I would have a fair comparison of the engine mods. Besides, my chain and sprockets aren't due for replacement yet and I typically replace as a set rather than piecemeal.

So here's the impression after a race (all previous riding has been test rides since the carb/pipe swap. My initial impressions were spot on. This bike creates noticeably more power with the RB carb/Rev pipe combo than the stock/Woods pipe set up. I seem to have kept or possibly even slightly increased the low end (that's probably the carb). At the same time the bike now has a definite 2-stroke punch that feels like it comes on pretty low, I'm guessing around 3000 rpm. It isn't explosive at all nor hard to manage, but it is definitely there. I like this as it makes lifting the front wheel easier and just makes the bike more fun to ride in general. Again, nothing surprising or hard to manage, but a nice little punch when you want or need it.

Completely GONE is the tendency for the bike to rev-out at higher rpm like it did with the stock carb/woods pipe combo with a subsequent power drop off. Yes, I run out of rpm but it just seems to keep making power so I can now rev out in 3rd as needed and just hold it there without shifting to 4th and then having to go right back down to 3rd before the next corner or entering the woods again. I was able to ride most of Sumter enduro in 3rd with occasional shifts to 4th when (if) the trail opened up a bit. (OK, when I got too tired I did the really tight stuff in 2nd ;))

I think the bike is about the perfect woods bike now and don't think I'll change anything. Perhaps for more open HS races I might like a 13/47 stock gearing a little better, but honestly, I don't think it would be a significant change and I like having the lower 1st gear when it gets really snotty. I doubt I would ever go with a head mod or any further performance upgrades. This bike RIPS as it is now! I think I will get a kick out of surprising a few pumpkins this year!

Y'all keep brapping!

Old Guy Racin'
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

Post by John_S »

I love reading all the reports. Keep it up and congratulations. My 220 came with a woods pipe and I went back and forth on the rev pipe and finally took the plunge. A couple years prior to that I added a new 35mm AS carb. That rev pipe was just what the bike needed. I'm so glad I did it and can now see why Fredette doesn't recommend the woods pipe for the 220. It'll still grunt down low just like before but is SO much better on the top end. Before it noticeably signed off on power.
I remember you used to have a (pretty funny) starting procedure for the bike. How does it start now with the RB? Hopefully it's a one kicker now hot or cold.
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

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one kick hot, still a reluctant cold starter though better.
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

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Not part of the National Enduro series this year but the Sandlapper in Salley, SC is always a fun weekend. The club runs a very popular dual sport ride on Saturday which actually uses some of Sunday's woods trails. I've never ridden the dual sport as my KDX is far from street legal in any open-minded definition, but I hear it is a great time.

Not a lot of pictures to share but I do have a couple taken by a guy at the start who sent them to me.
Doug and Kyle.PNG
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This is me and my friend Kyle on the YZ250FX. Kyle has owned several dirt bikes but seems to prefer this YZ over several KTM's and a Beta 300 he had.
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A little closer shot of just me. I'm still riding with the memory of my young MX teacher whom some of you may recall was killed by an impaired driver the night before last year's Unidilla outdoor MX pro race. He was just breaking into the pro-level competition when he died. I ride with this gentle reminder of Jonathan Mayzak, pro number #210, on my front number plate. "Lead with your chest" he would call out!

Anyway, I knew going into this race I would not have time to finish as I had a family commitment that required I get an early start driving. Still it was a good ride despite my fuel pet cock falling apart about a mile into the race. (20 year old bikes!) Luckily I was able to shut off the gas and repair it trail side although it did cost a lot of time. Wound up finishing 5th in the geezer class so not to bad I guess.

Y'all keep on brapping!

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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

Post by SS109 »

At least you're out having fun!
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

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As the Corona virus debacle continues, it looks like it will heavily impact the National Enduro schedule this year , as it has all other series. I’ve been watching some self-help riding videos and particularly like the ones put out by Rich Lafferty Racing. A lot of good tips.

So today, after servicing the bike and installing a new fuel petcock on the tank, I decided to do some practice work at one of my favorite places, Battery Park Off-road in SC. BP has an MX track but they also have miles of woods trails that vary from open fast stuff to super tight single track.

I made a list of things I wanted to practice and actually taped the list to my crossbar pad.
Let’s see.....
-STAND UP!
-Toes in, knees over the pegs, squeeze the bike with legs
-Look up (I actually used his tip and drew a line across my giggles with a black marker to remind me to look ahead above the line)
-wgt forward when accelerating, back when braking.
-Rich also pushes covering the clutch and front brake with your MIDDLE finger (give ‘em the bird!) which will help you put your hands on the grips in a manner that promotes holding your elbows up.

I discovered this list was way too much to remember! Soooooo... I took a break and decides what I would really focus on today.
Hmmmmm. How about
-STAND UP!
Toes in, squeeze
-cover with middle finger

That’s a more manageable list.

I found using my middle finger was very difficult (I usually use my index fingers). In fact I could not seem to hold onto and control the bike. My hands kept getting ripped off the grips. I finally gave up on the middle finger thing after spending about 30 min trying.

So I focused on standing, gripping with my legs and weight fwd or back. That was productive.
Rich promotes standing for turns less than 90 degrees and keeping your feet on the pegs if seated for a turn depending on how far you are leaning the bike over.

This was a great afternoon’s practice for me. By the end of practice I felt I really had better bike control and was riding faster.

While you are cooped up at home, find your favorite video of riding tips and when you can, get in some practice!

Y’all keep brapping!

Old Guy Racin’
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

Post by Goat »

Good stuff! I am so relieved you didn’t like the middle finger.. since I just learned to move the move the levers way in, so I can cover with index about 3 months ago (helps a lot for wheelies), and don’t think I’m ready for a better idea, yet.
Thanks for the reminder on squeeze, I was working on that at the track, last time. I need to add KDXG recommended skater tape + sharpen my pegs a bit.
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Re: KDX in National Enduro Series

Post by treelimb »

Hey doakley. That was great info. I need to stand more myself and probably look up more,or at least farther out. Thanks for posting that.
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