MUD!

[billyp10980]

Yesterday I raced the 2 hour Hare Scramble at Thunder Ridge in New Berlin, NY. It was a complete mess as it poured all day. The entire loop was mud with alot of uphill battles. I think I fell on every hill.
Most times I gave the throttle hell and tried to keep momentum going but I would get to a point the back end would just slide out or loop around know matter what I tried. I also tried slipping the clutch and going up a gear but I was all over the place.
Any suggestions on traveling through the thick mud up and down hills?

[jlove1974]

mud = 4 stroke

otherwise, I would try to limit my power somewhat by going a little richer on the bottom end (pilot/needle) and lower the tire pressure on the back maybe down to 10psi....

It's hard to ride any 2-stroke on a muddy hill unless you have paddle tires...

[fuzzy]

Ride a gear high and keep the motor just off the pipe. The infamous RB carb mod and DF3 reeds help in this exact situation more than anything.....pulling this extra gear. Extra flywheel weight will help here too. The KDX is probably the most tractable 2-cycle ever built.

[billyp10980]

Is the flywheel weight on the KDX a common mod? How much does it affect the bikes performance?

[fuzzy]

It is common depending on how often a particular bike/rider is in the snot. Performance wise you could dyno with or without extra FWW, and wouldn't see a lick of change. In the real world it will slow down how fast the motor revs out...not by much, but enough to help keep the tire planted, and give your hand/brain/clutch coordination some more time to compensate. Don't overlook dragging the rear brake in said conditions either. Same techniques used to not loop a bike out riding a wheelie apply to holding traction in certain circumstances.

[curtisa]

True mud tires make a difference and I second dragging the rear brake and running a gear high and just off the pipe.