One of the leading 50 Expert riders in Oregon got the bright idea to build a winning 24 hour team to take on the repeat winners of this event; a group of guys from Montana with a 6 time former ISDE rider from Idaho added for good measure. They pitted right across from us so we got to monitor both their progress and ours. One member of our 6 man team was of course Mark Johnson on the 1R (GP) BMP/Watson Suspension TXC310R. But first, the result!! Yes that's us and we're #1 by a 40 minute margin...we needed one more loop to lap the 2nd place team. A sampling of the action below. The terrain... First day (we started at 10 on Sat and wrapped up at 10 on Sunday). Mark ready to roll on the 310 with Dave W resting in the background and Tom H waiting to help with the transponder swap. We wait for the handoff (left) and so does the competition (right). Chuck W, team manager facing in orange shirt and Jeff N taking a pic from the middle of pit lane. Our pit...some of those orange things had issues...the 310R never missed a beat. Everyone on the team turned laps between 49 and 53 minutes during daylight. Only once did a lap fall behind more then a few minutes...and that was due to a getoff after the 350EXC blew a fuse to the LED headlight...we ended up wiring straight to battery to fix that one, but its slow going back to the pits in the dark with only a helmet light.
More..... Friends from the 60 Class...That is Craig S's WR250 waiting to hit the course. Yes, they won, too. Apparently 1 Husky per team is enough positive aura! ISDE ringer warming up. This guy took 2 minutes out of our lead every time he went out. We reversed the favor on all the other loops though. Our 6 man team eventually wore their 4 man team down. 310R is dirty now....it should run even better! Dusk is coming so we mounted up the 80 watt HID and helmet light #1 (it failed) Trick-or-treaters as darkness descends Transponder swap in the morning Makeshift headlight eyebrow fabricated during the night. Thanks to Chuck W, Jeff N, Jim T, Tom H, Dave W, and Mark for their strong ride and the pit crew of Debbie, Felicia and Daniel who helped keep it all running smoothly. And of course thanks to BMP and Watson Suspension for supporting us all year on the mighty TXC310R. This was our last race of the year....now we have fun and wait for Spring.
Nice effort again! I spent a lot of time on Bills and Russ' TXC310's this weekend. Would love to have one of those fantastic bikes. Wish I had some money.
Good to hear that there is more but it rips stock. Funny thing is i rode Russ' bike (2013 TXC310) Friday with like 12 miles on it. Thought it was kinda weak. Thought the TE310 Bill had was a good bit stronger. Then rode Russ' TXC310 again after it had like 50 miles on it and it was a completely different motor with way more power. Are these ECU limited for the first 20 miles or so? Sure seems like more than just breaking in. In fact I was riding his pretty fast TXC449 when we swapped and the 310 did not feel much slower when 2 days before it felt like it had half the power of the 449. None the less once it had a few miles on it I love that newer 310 motor. The old non red head version was snappy off the bottom and good power. The new redhead and new EFI seem to have made it smoother and more linear. Will pull well out of a loamy corner a great tall and just keep pulling to a strong mid and ripping top. Very flexible motor. Was really liking his 310 on Sunday where on Friday I was meh.
I wonder if the EFI needed to adapt to the elevation? Now that I say that I realize that I have never ridden the 310!! Still!!! I did ride my WR250 with the Pro Circuit Husqvarna pipe and the powerband was great for China Hat. Then I took the 511 out and was reminded why I love the CTS and the amazing powerband on that beast.....still my favorite. The WR250 is probably destined to be Mark's race bike next year once the suspension gets massaged. I think the 310 is probably easier to ride fast in most conditions, but the 2-stroke feels like something you can throw around and the powerband is less tiring than a 300 IMHO.
Ive heard of those guys....of course Watson Suspension is one of our primary supporters and he and Mark are on the same wavelength. It aint broke, so we aint gonna 'fix' it
We got an update yesterday from the defending champions that our team dethroned.... http://www.myridingspot.com/_new/pirate-riders-racing/ Yes, Alan Deyo, 6 time ISDE rider (often teamed with Jeff Fredette) 2000-2006 was the lead rider on the Montana/Idaho team who were defending Senior champions. Unfortunately it looks like they were down two good riders.....maybe we will have to do it again next year. Rematch?
