newbie to racing with questions

[moderaz31]

um... where do i start. I've been wanting to get into hare scrambles for a while now, and am wondering what modifications would be recommended for me to be competetive. I ride a stock 1991 Suzuki RM250, with the exception of a twin air filter. the motor is freshly rebuilt, as are the front forks. The rear shock was done before i bought it by Bruce's fork and suspension. i'm 6'1" and weigh about 275... so i was afraid i wouldn't be able to keep up with the pack on my old stock RM. Will i also need a bigger gas tank for the hare scrambles as well? i saw somewhere that the courses were a minimum of 5 miles, so that thought crosses my mind. any help or insight is greatly appreciated.
here are a couple of pics of my bike.

one with me. told you i was a big guy.

 

[Barbarian]

I think your bike would be fine for your first few races. I would just try to have bark busters and most importantly a camalback type drink system. Have fun and try not to spend too much money at first. Later if you get serious you can upgrade to a better bike.
Oh yeah, most people suck when they first start racing, even if they have ridden for a long time. So just enter the easiest class and try to ride fast but relaxed out on the trail. Conserve your energy and don't fight the bike.

 

[Racercr125r]

I see that you are from NC. What series are you considering racing in? A good series to look for is the NCHSA. www.nchsa.org Their tracks range from 5 miles to around 10. A good class you could enter would be Heavy C. I ride a CR250 now and havent ran out of gas, neither did I on my 125. We run for 1hour 30min. You should be able to last that long on gas. The next race is this weekend iff your interested.
Ross

 

[moderaz31]

Originally posted by Racercr125r
I see that you are from NC. What series are you considering racing in? A good series to look for is the NCHSA. www.nchsa.org Their tracks range from 5 miles to around 10. A good class you could enter would be Heavy C. I ride a CR250 now and havent ran out of gas, neither did I on my 125. We run for 1hour 30min. You should be able to last that long on gas. The next race is this weekend iff your interested.
Ross

thanks for the info on the site. i have all of my equipment except my chest protector, so i'll have to buy that before i do any racing. I was thinking also about going to my local motocross track and making a few laps, just to see if i'm going to bottom out my suspension since i weigh so much. where are you in NC? have you ever heard of wilkesboro raceway park, in wilkes county? it's a dragstrip, and they made a new MX track right next to it, and that's where i was talking about. it's supposed to be a good track, but i've never ridden it.

 

[ktmracer]

depending on the terrain of your local harescambles, the motocross track is not a very good place to "test" suspension for off-road. while running a suspension that is way too soft is bad, you should be bottoming a few times. you want to be able to use all (atleast most) of your travel. for your first race, i really wouldn't worry about the bike as much as i would your saftey gear and trying to learn from your first racing experience.

good luck

 

[SpeedyManiac]

Get some barkbusters (aluminum), a drink system and a chest protector. Go out and have fun. I can pretty much garantee you won't be competitive, so just enjoy it and try to finish it. Pace yourself, you'll be out there for a LONG time. I didn't start getting somewhat competitive until my 3rd or 4th race. Just have fun.