Hokeewaa
Husqvarna
Raced my TE 630 this weekend in the Corralitos 100 just west of Las Cruces, NM. After months of solo riding in the desert west of my home, I decided it was time to make a delusion of grandeur a reality.
Raced the 40+ Novice class which was 2 laps around a 25 mile overland course about 10 miles north of the Mexican border. Although not an ideal desert racer, I figured the 630 was not a totally unreasonable choice given the fact that, with mods, mine is lighter than an XR600 and just as stout. It was, however, likely the heaviest bike at that race. The largest displacement bikes there were a few KTM 525s which were probably 45 lbs lighter. I’d like to think the TE had more power, so maybe the power to weight ratio was about the same. I’m going to keep telling myself that anyway
I ran a new set of D606s and had planned to run a 14 tooth front sprocket but was sold the wrong one by the dealer so ran the stock 15. I spent most of the race shifting between 2nd and 3rd in the technical sections and into 4th for the short fast sections. The only other mod was removal of the license plate/turn signal assembly (see photos below). I left the front turn signals on. I bought the bike with a Ti FMF exhaust system and recently had the “power up” kit installed by the dealer with a little fuel remapping thrown in. Suspension settings were stock with the rear adjusted for proper sag (35mm of total shock travel).
My impression going into the race was that the course would be more open desert with longer, high speed sections where I could stretch out the Husky. I was planning my best Malcolm Smith impression. The course turned out to be much tighter than anticipated so the extra power of the TE was not very usable. The narrow course involved lengthy and curvaceous sections of whoops, many strewn with cobbles and baby-head sized rocks. These sections were separated by short sandy sections that weren’t as whooped out. About the time you squirted up to speed, you had to brake hard to tackle the next technical section – part of the fun. Ideal for a 250.
At mile 4, something was smacking me in the ass. I stopped to discover the Moose Racing tool bag I had strapped to the rear fender had lost one of the straps. Worse, 2 of the 4 bolts that hold the rear fender on were gone. The fender was pivoting on the 2 remaining bolts nearest the seat. I took the remaining strap from the tool bag and extended it around the grab handles which marginally stabilized the fender. I rode a couple more miles to a checkpoint where an EMT gave me some bandage tape to secure the fender to the frame. I took the 15 lb. tool bag off and rode the rest of the race with it jammed in my small-ish CamelBak pack – not ideal. The tape held for the remaining 46 miles, but I had gained a good 10-12 minutes on my overall time dealing with it. I finished 43rd out of 53 starters in the Novice class. Not terrible considering it was my first motorcycle race and I had the fender issue.
There was a serious pucker moment after jetting up to 60mph or so and then carrying that speed unwittingly into a major whoop section. I had so much dust on my goggles that I had lost a lot of depth perception and didn’t see the 3 foot high whoops until I was on them. I think the speed saved me because I jumped the first two and bounced over the tops of the rest and was out the other side just as the rear end started to come around. Another couple humps and I would have been toast. What a blast though!
Will probably do the next race in the series next month. Will have to improve speed and confidence over the whoops. Hoping I can better dial in the suspension to make that a bit easier. I’m open to suggestions from fellow Husky suspension tuners out there. Figure 3-4 foot sandy whoops and a rider+gear at 190 lbs.
Race ready...
After the pre-ride the day before the race...
Back home. Note taped rear fender, missing tail light lens and absent tool bag.
Raced the 40+ Novice class which was 2 laps around a 25 mile overland course about 10 miles north of the Mexican border. Although not an ideal desert racer, I figured the 630 was not a totally unreasonable choice given the fact that, with mods, mine is lighter than an XR600 and just as stout. It was, however, likely the heaviest bike at that race. The largest displacement bikes there were a few KTM 525s which were probably 45 lbs lighter. I’d like to think the TE had more power, so maybe the power to weight ratio was about the same. I’m going to keep telling myself that anyway I ran a new set of D606s and had planned to run a 14 tooth front sprocket but was sold the wrong one by the dealer so ran the stock 15. I spent most of the race shifting between 2nd and 3rd in the technical sections and into 4th for the short fast sections. The only other mod was removal of the license plate/turn signal assembly (see photos below). I left the front turn signals on. I bought the bike with a Ti FMF exhaust system and recently had the “power up” kit installed by the dealer with a little fuel remapping thrown in. Suspension settings were stock with the rear adjusted for proper sag (35mm of total shock travel).
My impression going into the race was that the course would be more open desert with longer, high speed sections where I could stretch out the Husky. I was planning my best Malcolm Smith impression. The course turned out to be much tighter than anticipated so the extra power of the TE was not very usable. The narrow course involved lengthy and curvaceous sections of whoops, many strewn with cobbles and baby-head sized rocks. These sections were separated by short sandy sections that weren’t as whooped out. About the time you squirted up to speed, you had to brake hard to tackle the next technical section – part of the fun. Ideal for a 250.
At mile 4, something was smacking me in the ass. I stopped to discover the Moose Racing tool bag I had strapped to the rear fender had lost one of the straps. Worse, 2 of the 4 bolts that hold the rear fender on were gone. The fender was pivoting on the 2 remaining bolts nearest the seat. I took the remaining strap from the tool bag and extended it around the grab handles which marginally stabilized the fender. I rode a couple more miles to a checkpoint where an EMT gave me some bandage tape to secure the fender to the frame. I took the 15 lb. tool bag off and rode the rest of the race with it jammed in my small-ish CamelBak pack – not ideal. The tape held for the remaining 46 miles, but I had gained a good 10-12 minutes on my overall time dealing with it. I finished 43rd out of 53 starters in the Novice class. Not terrible considering it was my first motorcycle race and I had the fender issue.
There was a serious pucker moment after jetting up to 60mph or so and then carrying that speed unwittingly into a major whoop section. I had so much dust on my goggles that I had lost a lot of depth perception and didn’t see the 3 foot high whoops until I was on them. I think the speed saved me because I jumped the first two and bounced over the tops of the rest and was out the other side just as the rear end started to come around. Another couple humps and I would have been toast. What a blast though!
Will probably do the next race in the series next month. Will have to improve speed and confidence over the whoops. Hoping I can better dial in the suspension to make that a bit easier. I’m open to suggestions from fellow Husky suspension tuners out there. Figure 3-4 foot sandy whoops and a rider+gear at 190 lbs.
Race ready...
After the pre-ride the day before the race...
Back home. Note taped rear fender, missing tail light lens and absent tool bag.
Keep us posted on your racing results.
I am planning to race the uk rally scene this year on the 630 so great to see people out there doing the same .
