Mike Kay
Husqvarna
AA Class
Just wanted to set the record straight and give a couple shouts out.
Team:
Race bike was a 2007 TE510. Rider of record was Rob Barnum. Also on the team: Mike Rasp, Chuck Shortt, Mike Kay. Sergio Vega decided not to race with us after a riding incident shortly before the race. SCORE site was incorrect in listing racers on our team.
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Bike build:
Engine was built by Rob Barnum. Basically stock with a higher compression piston, and about 1lb shaved off the flywheel.
Suspension was (as always) done by Les at LTR. As usual it was first rate. Stood up in the woops, took the hits. Great job Les, thank you for the quick turn around. Worked great!
Uptite Husqvarna took a close look at the bike and made numerous fine tunings and adjustments, all of which added up to a bike that hauled the mail and hit hard. We used various Uptite Products on both race bike and pre-run bikes: Pipe, skid plate, throttle tube, LED light, carb vent filter: all worked flawlessly. Thanks George!
TrailTech gets a shout out for the AWESOME new GPS computer the Voyager. That thing is trick, and the baja 1000 was nothing for that little gem. Highly recommended. We downloaded every checkpoint, controlled speed zone, and pit stop. Very cool.
Aftermarket parts from Woessner, 7602, Ironman, Maxxis, BRP, Scotts, Guts, IMS, Baja Designs, and others all worked flawlessly.
Motoxotica got us some fresh parts as needed, and they arrived in 48 hours. Amazing.
I did the final assembly of the bike, a frame up bike build. Lots of quality time in the garage listening to classic rock.
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Logistics:
Mag 7 did an outstanding job pitting our team. Their radio relay system saved our butts when we had problems. Muchas Gracias to them.
Bahia Hotel gets a shout out for keeping their parking lot safe and sane. Great security. Thanks. Reservations already made for next years Baja 500.
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The Race:
OUR race team had considerable talent, everyone a baja race vet, and the bike was certainly one of the fastest at the race, out pulling 450's at will. The bike build started in August. Logistics where worked out all summer. We all pre-ran our sections multiple times. Great chase crews in various locations, including dedicated pre-run chase crews. In short it was a serious effort:
On adjusted time we ran in the top 15 bikes for the first 150 miles or so, then slowed by a rear flat tire, loosing perhaps 20 minutes. By race mile 210 we where in a virtual dead heat for 3rd in our class, even with the tire issue, but soon after ran into a minor electrical issue. Our exasperated rider eventually called George Erl at Uptite Husqvarna from a borrowed sat. phone near race mile 250. George calmly listed what might be the problem. Sure enough, our rider found the problem in just a few minutes, crimped the loose wire and took off! As pointed out, great customer service! While it took only minutes to call George and figure it out, it took hours to come up with the idea to call him at all. Lesson learned. Georges home phone will be written on the bike next race!
While we did get up and running again, the bike developed overheating issues, and that compromised the stators output, and so our lights. Eventually we swapped stators out, and kept running, only to eventually loose the lights again. But then the sun came up...suffice to say we rode the last 200+ miles without any cooling system. But hey, its a Husky TE510. One of the toughest dirt bikes around. I havent tore the bike down, and so dont know what happened to the cooling system, however there is lots of evidence it was a crash that caused the left radiator to leak. I dont think it was 'a Husky thing' i think it was a get off, but dont know for sure.
Congrats to JimO's team. Jim and I where in touch many times in the weeks before the race, met up in Ensenada, and i called him at the hospital. Very unfortunate he crashed, but its awesome to see his young guys soldier on. I was told there was a third Husky at the Baja 1k. Guy from Alabama who was soloing the event. Not sure if he started and or finished. Never met him, but i did meet his chase guys. He was to enter the sportsman class.
Prologue:
Barnum had a chance to dial one of the new TXC511 bikes down there. Its still not ready for racing in baja, but getting closer. Maybe one day soon. Big thanks again to George at Uptite, Les at LTR, and especially to our amazing chase crews who ended up staying awake all night helping out a bunch of old dudes. I will post some pics soon. A warm thanks to my fellow racers, and their families who make this kind of team racing possible. Thanks to CH for allowing this post.
Team:
Race bike was a 2007 TE510. Rider of record was Rob Barnum. Also on the team: Mike Rasp, Chuck Shortt, Mike Kay. Sergio Vega decided not to race with us after a riding incident shortly before the race. SCORE site was incorrect in listing racers on our team.
-----------------------------
Bike build:
Engine was built by Rob Barnum. Basically stock with a higher compression piston, and about 1lb shaved off the flywheel.
Suspension was (as always) done by Les at LTR. As usual it was first rate. Stood up in the woops, took the hits. Great job Les, thank you for the quick turn around. Worked great!
Uptite Husqvarna took a close look at the bike and made numerous fine tunings and adjustments, all of which added up to a bike that hauled the mail and hit hard. We used various Uptite Products on both race bike and pre-run bikes: Pipe, skid plate, throttle tube, LED light, carb vent filter: all worked flawlessly. Thanks George!
TrailTech gets a shout out for the AWESOME new GPS computer the Voyager. That thing is trick, and the baja 1000 was nothing for that little gem. Highly recommended. We downloaded every checkpoint, controlled speed zone, and pit stop. Very cool.
Aftermarket parts from Woessner, 7602, Ironman, Maxxis, BRP, Scotts, Guts, IMS, Baja Designs, and others all worked flawlessly.
Motoxotica got us some fresh parts as needed, and they arrived in 48 hours. Amazing.
I did the final assembly of the bike, a frame up bike build. Lots of quality time in the garage listening to classic rock.
-------------------------------------------------
Logistics:
Mag 7 did an outstanding job pitting our team. Their radio relay system saved our butts when we had problems. Muchas Gracias to them.
Bahia Hotel gets a shout out for keeping their parking lot safe and sane. Great security. Thanks. Reservations already made for next years Baja 500.
-----------------------------------------------
The Race:
OUR race team had considerable talent, everyone a baja race vet, and the bike was certainly one of the fastest at the race, out pulling 450's at will. The bike build started in August. Logistics where worked out all summer. We all pre-ran our sections multiple times. Great chase crews in various locations, including dedicated pre-run chase crews. In short it was a serious effort:
On adjusted time we ran in the top 15 bikes for the first 150 miles or so, then slowed by a rear flat tire, loosing perhaps 20 minutes. By race mile 210 we where in a virtual dead heat for 3rd in our class, even with the tire issue, but soon after ran into a minor electrical issue. Our exasperated rider eventually called George Erl at Uptite Husqvarna from a borrowed sat. phone near race mile 250. George calmly listed what might be the problem. Sure enough, our rider found the problem in just a few minutes, crimped the loose wire and took off! As pointed out, great customer service! While it took only minutes to call George and figure it out, it took hours to come up with the idea to call him at all. Lesson learned. Georges home phone will be written on the bike next race!
While we did get up and running again, the bike developed overheating issues, and that compromised the stators output, and so our lights. Eventually we swapped stators out, and kept running, only to eventually loose the lights again. But then the sun came up...suffice to say we rode the last 200+ miles without any cooling system. But hey, its a Husky TE510. One of the toughest dirt bikes around. I havent tore the bike down, and so dont know what happened to the cooling system, however there is lots of evidence it was a crash that caused the left radiator to leak. I dont think it was 'a Husky thing' i think it was a get off, but dont know for sure.
Congrats to JimO's team. Jim and I where in touch many times in the weeks before the race, met up in Ensenada, and i called him at the hospital. Very unfortunate he crashed, but its awesome to see his young guys soldier on. I was told there was a third Husky at the Baja 1k. Guy from Alabama who was soloing the event. Not sure if he started and or finished. Never met him, but i did meet his chase guys. He was to enter the sportsman class.
Prologue:
Barnum had a chance to dial one of the new TXC511 bikes down there. Its still not ready for racing in baja, but getting closer. Maybe one day soon. Big thanks again to George at Uptite, Les at LTR, and especially to our amazing chase crews who ended up staying awake all night helping out a bunch of old dudes. I will post some pics soon. A warm thanks to my fellow racers, and their families who make this kind of team racing possible. Thanks to CH for allowing this post.
