As usual, with the Cannondale's, by the time the engine fires up...I'm always the last guy off the line by at least two quad lengths. At today's hare scramble, the start was about 75 yards to the first turn. I ended up with the holeshot afterall!!....Problem? I didn't time my braking in the FIRST turn and stalled the engine....loosing two positions in the process. Bummer.

After about 10 minutes into the race, we came up on a motocross track that made up part of the 6 mile course. I made up my time there and was in the 1st position.

Held onto first for several minutes until the inevitable happened....the dented wheel. Not just a minor dent mind you,..but I hit a "stob" of all things, that just hit the outer lip of the wheel and smashed it into oblivion. Blew the tire completely. I must have sat there for 5 minutes before the 2nd place guy came around me. All I could do is sit and watch them go by. I was on mile 4 of the first lap!!!!

This is my first DNF and it started as the most successful race I had been in for quite some time. Such a shame to have something as a weak wheel end my day. I almost decided to upgrade after the last race,..when I had alot of wheel damage, but it was the first time I had trouble with the wheels at that point and took it as a "one time" thing.

The next race is in 6 weeks. In the meantime, I am going to install stronger wheels with the 400EX offset which will make the Cannondale narrower in the process. Kill two birds with one stone.

The next race is the last one for the season. I was in a close battle for the points lead in my class until today. The next race will put me in a battle for 3rd overall for the year.

I am no longer a doubter concerning the wheels that come on the Cannibal and Speed models......they suck for anything other than duning and mild motocross.

 

That blows!! Hmmmmm, better get some Ultimates. Pics in the signature......

 

Don't feel so bad. I DNF'd my first motocross race yesterday. I was 3rd in the holeshot against 250R's and 400EX's and my engine started to die and it quit. Go it going and then I crashed on a tabletop and the quad rolled and landed on top of me. I woulda kept racin but the handlebars were bent so bad. That's racin I guess.

 

Patrick,
Sorry to hear about your wheel problems, makes me feel better about my Hiper carbon fibers that are on the way. Let us know what you decide to go with.......JIM

 

Patrick- the curse of corndog struck you hard today. When i am leading the parade something always happens. lol How many quads were you racing against?

 

Dang Patrick, that sucks man. And you thought I was nuts! :-)

I'm going to try the different offset also. I'm trying a stock set of 400ex rims first, but I'll go with the race wheels if I decide to stick with the different offset. The rings on mine have already saved me twice. I pinched the sidewall of the tire, but the rim survived.

A beadlock or a racing wheel is the way to go, I'd spend the extra money.

 

14mins,

There were only 12 in my class including me. One Raptor, One Mojave, Eight 400Exs and One Rancher[don't ask why he wasn't in the utility class....we all asked the same thing. He WANTED to be in our class!!]

jcv400ex,
I am also thinking of running stock 400EX wheels for the next race. It's the last one of the season and the budget has been hammered already. I haven't seen any of the 400EX guys have problems with their stock wheels and I really want to narrow the front end at least 2 inches anyway. That seems to be my best bet at this point.

Need4Speed,
Sorry to hear about your weekend also. You're right.....that's racin'

 

Patrick- you let a rancher beat you. LOL Now i am curios how the rancher finished!

 

Hey guys, I have a question.

You mention a Raptor in this race. (660 cc's)
Is there no 440CC limit in this type of racing?
Also, what is this type of racing called.

Thinking about my Zilla.... maybe a bit too wide though. (just a BIT!)
Thanks!

-Matt

 

14mins,

There were two more DNFs with me. The Rancher finished but was dead last. I think he was close to 10 minutes behind 8th place. I would normally laugh and say that "I told ya so", but I'm not at liberty to say that this time...LOL

Mr350X,
Hare Scrambles...Woods racing. The last two rounds were very tight. The Cannibal that I run is the widest that appears each round and it barely fits through some of the spots....one of the reasons for my wheel problems. I couldn't imagine a Quadzilla or DS650 at this race.