I finally got my graphics on!

[firecracker22]

Lawman: The EXC model has the heavier flywheel and most bottom end of the other models. I feel as though I shouldn't have to de-tune the bike just so I can ride it. I really don't have a problem going up hills, around less sharp corners, or over roots/rocks/etc. It's just my switchback/tight cornering skills that seem to need developing.

Bud: I do need to start working out more, but our schedules have been so crazy lately it's hard to get in any kind of rhythm. One of these days.

 

[KTM400MAN]

F/C, have you considered motocross lessons? I have taken lessons from Mike Healy motocross school, (Here in So. Cal.) because I had problems with my turning too. It was the best thing I ever did. Try an experienced local pro, or go to a local mx track and find the fastest guy and flag him down.
I'm sure you could convince him to give you a few pointers. The biggest problem most beginner/novice riders have is they dont look into the turns, and they dont get far enough foreward on the bike in the turns. Learn to look at the end of the turn as you're entering it. This will force you to go faster through the turn, and if the bike breaks loose and sideways, you will already be prepared to counter it. As for fitness... time on a treadmill, or stationary bike, using a random hill setting or a varied load setting for 40 minutes, three to five times a week should do the trick. Try complex carb loading the day before your long rides too. Most important tip of all.... Be patient! and have fun with it! Erik

 

[fishhead]

Fc what edge are you talking about? the edge of traction/control or the edge of personal limits.I found that working on one limit at a time is beneficial. Just a personal observation but if we didn't get hurt then pushing to crashing would be ok. Every baby learns to walk that way but they don't get hurt and they have a lot of emotional and physical resilence so they don't get discouraged. It sounds like you have an intense desire to improve but are impatient with your results.But it sounds like you've made good progress so far.
There is wisdom in what you said about improving your fitness. A good level of fitness will allow you to learn faster because big mistakes will be fewer and you will have the strength and endurance to recover from the smaller ones and recovering from the near misses and correcting is where the quality learning takes place.
From my experience crashing sucks and the more you put at risk the greater it sucks. I got back on a bike after a 14 year hiatus (read very large crash) last spring and the guys I used to kick the snot out of on the road race course were wiping up the trails with my sorry @$$. I found that I went faster by being slower.slower to hop on the bike and quicker to head out for a 2mile or the gym. Slowed down when practicing to find the edge of traction and control. Worked on one thing only at every practice. Front brake, rear brake, combo brake,turn left turn right riding over obtacles climbing hills, decending hills ect ect ect. now I can keep up with them during most of the ride and in the case of the last 60 miler for the last 20 miles they are all mine baby! the key was investing 30 mins a day that they weren't.
btw;
most of the guys that I know who are riding the ktms in the woods have geared them down quite a bit, particularly for reiter. about 3 teeth on the rear or one off the front. You might want to give John at moto pro a call if your suspension is beating you up. He has done a lot of testing recently at reiter to improve the ktm supenders on square edge bumps. See ya out there! you'll recognize us by the gray hair and the trail happy kdx's.:D

 

[ultrachrome]

Fishhead, you make some good points. When I start a ride, I like to start slow allowing myself to acclimate to the conditions and my muscles to warm up. I end up riding much better and longer that way.

I have learned that I can't force it. I still have many more rookie mistakes to make. My riding will get better the more miles I put in. But at the same time I need to ensure I am making the most of my riding time by exercising off the bike, staying hydrated (all the time, not just when riding), eating right, and concentrating on being smooth.

Did Moto-Pro move? Weren't they in Redmond before? I have that same harshness in the WP forks on my Gas Gas.

 

[firecracker22]

Thanks guys.

I've heard good things about Moto Pro. As I am soon starting a new job with a local bike shop who has an in-house Race Tech suspension guy I think I may ask him to do my suspension. The problem is I don't know what I need done! I'm not a good enough rider to say yeah, I need more high-speed damping or whatever. I know I need lighter springs but that's the extent of my knowledge. I just don't know how the bike SHOULD respond and so don't know what to tell him to do.

Steve won't take me to Reiter. He says I wouldn't like it yet. As he has seen me ride, he is a good judge of my ability. He loves it there. I might head up there one of these days, though, just to see how bad I really am. I don't feel too bad through woods usually--I've had a blast at recent rides at Taneum and Mad River.

I have taken a class, which helped a lot, but I didn't have my new bike yet. So I took it on an XR. There haven't been any scheduled lately.

I have a question about the gearing: wouldn't putting a larger sprocket on the bike make it even more pipey and sudden? It would tractor up hills better but it would be a little more jerky, right? Correct me if I'm wrong. I have thought about a larger sprocket.

 

[ultrachrome]

Reiter's gnarly but fun. I love gnarly, especially when I get to push my bike through it!

There is plenty of riding for someone of your ability. Most of my first year of riding was split between there and Tahuya. I especially like Reiter because it's less than an hour away from my house.

When you start your job, to DRN'ers get a discount?

 

[XRpredator]

I don't think lowering the gearing will make the bike more "pipey"--it'll narrow up the gearing a little, letting you run up a gear without bogging too much. And the flywheel weights won't slow your bike down as much as keeping it from stalling. It doesn't take much (maybe only an ounce or two) and it'll make the bike more manageable without really losing any power.

Asking some people who have made the mods will help as well. And your new bosses should be able to tell what kind of suspension settings you need by watching you ride. I hear those guys are real smart!;)

 

[fishhead]

I think you're on the right track Fc.
I suggested reiter for suspension because what works there will work anywhere. its an acid testand probably one of the best test areas around but if it puts you into the overload mode it's not a good place for practice. You might like capitol forest and tahuya. Capitol forest being the more open of the 2 areas and less dusty during the dry months but it seems to be kinda sneaky so you need to keep your eyes open or take a hop over to the taneum area if its wet or you want a change in scenery. Tom the orv ranger is very helpful on trail conditions at the Cle Elum ranger district. Tahauya has some tight stuff that isn't real technical but it is nice change.
The biggest advantage to running lower gearing is it closes up the gaps between gears so insted on running between say 1st and 2nd you will be between 2nd and 3rd and those two ratios are closer together. you also get greater torque multiplication which is a big advantage when you are using finess to ride over or around an obstacle.
Race tech has a web site that will do a spring search for your bike if you input the rider weight ect and its pretty accurate and its quick and free. Spring rate is pretty important for the rear of the ktm because the rear shock damping is position sensitive. to little or to much spring and even if the sag is right the shock travel won't be optimum. I've heard that ktms and husabergs share this quirk.
It isn't easy to make a transition to a race bike like the ktm after riding a trail bike. One of my riding buddys changed over to a ktm200 after spending years on a kx250 and he got spit off big time because the power hits real quick and keeps going instead of tapering off like his kx did. Its kind of like a 125 on steroids with an over achiever complex but once you master being smooth on the throttle its the cats meow. we are probably going to go out the 21st or 28th to one of those areas.
btw John will know what to do if you tell him where you ride and what your ability is. Thats a nice thing about local knowledge.

 

[firecracker22]

Well the 28th I will be falling down in front of lots and lots of people at Washougal (I'm going to race the women's national just to say I did unless I manage to talk myself out of it before then) and the 22-23 is the 24-hr Buttstomper at Reiter. 21-22? Whatever Saturday and Sunday are.
So the Race Tech website is pretty accurate? I'll have to check that out. I also know a guy who is very into KTMs and makes springs. He said he could get me hooked up. I know I need a lighter spring b/c we couldn't get my sag set right. Will that make such a big difference? I mean, I don't want to blame anything on the bike b/c if I managed to ride the XR which has NO handling and NO ergonomics and NO suspension and NO throttle and . . .

I don't think I will gear it down. Most times I can stay in 2nd and feather the clutch. This practice track is exceptionally tight and twisty. Steve thinks it's the cat's meow but *normal* people might disagree.

 

[fishhead]

in my limited experience i found the right spring and valving to match spring rate made a huge difference in traction and keeping the bike straight. I couldn't tell you how many times I found myself of hugging some tree because the rear end packed and kicked out or the front end tucked or washed out in a corner. It was very entertaining to the guys behind me but not the riding experience I was looking for. After respringing and revalving the difference was night and day and it gave me confidence to explore new limits.I feel it was the best $ spent on the bike and well worth it.

 

[MACE]

Elbows UP!

The best lesson anyone ever taught me was the imortance of keeping my elbows UP.

Let me repeat, elbows up.

Now I'll shout it ELBOWS UP.

Now in italics, elbows up.

Now in Spanglish, el elbows up.....

If you are crashing stupidly, I'll bet you are dropping your elbows. If I'm wrong, I'll wear Birkenstocks....

You should be feeling a nasty burn in your upper arms for the first several rides until you get those muscles trained. If it doesn't hurt, you aren't keeping your elbows up high enough.

Here's the deal - if your elbows are up, when the bike moves under you, it just rocks under your shoulders - engineers will describe it as a four bar parallel link system. The bike wants to go straight due to the geometry unless and until you put input into the bars. When you ride with your elbows down, any bike movement causes the bars to move which results in unstable steering and possible oscillation. YOU are steering the bike when you don't intend to. Have Mr Steve stand behind you holding the bike upright and you stand on the pegs with your elbows down while he gives the bike a sudden rock to one side. You will steer. Try it with elbows up an you will not steer.

If you think I'm full of beans, next time you are crashing, with your last possible ounce of fight, force yourself to put (you gurssed it) your elbows up and I bet you save it. You'll be amazed.