Today was my first local race on my new quad (04 TP700) and here's a short write-up.

INTRO
As many folks on here know, I recently retired the Killer Bee due to a broken front diff (2nd time this front diff broke in the past 4 months and the dealership refused to warranty their work). [actually, I'm parting out the Killer Bee to be technically correct!] To replace the Killer Bee, I recently bought a used 04 TP700. Its bone stock except for 25" Bighorns, ITP rims and Elka front springs. Since I picked it up 10 days ago, I've only put 15 miles on it and I'm still getting used to it (the TP700 has different tires/front susp springs than the Killer Bee and so it handles/rides much different... not to mention the Killer Bee motor was much quicker off the line b/c of all the mods I had).

TRACK
The WEATHER was perfect! 72 degrees and sunny...Thick dust was the only concern on the track. Each lap of the track was approx 7 miles in length and included very technical hill climbs and descents, off cambers, tight trees, etc. The one and only straight away was on a (deep sand) drag racing strip where I reached 55mph on the speedo at least once...I found a kicker bump at the very end of this drag strip that made it exciting!

COMPETITION
Today, there were a total of 8 in the Ute Class... including the guy on the Camo P700 that has recently beaten me the last two races in a row and by less than a minute each time. Including my TP700 (same thing as the Prairie 700), you could say there were 4 P700s, 1 AC 650 V2, and 3 other utes that were smaller.

THE HOLESHOT
With a bone stock motor on my TP700, I knew I had no chance in the holeshot (Dyna CDI is ordered and on the way soon). Sure enuf, I ended up 4th in the holeshot...but 4th was better than I expected! I quickly passed one guy ahead of me and I took 3rd place at that time.

LAP ONE
To avoid the front diff problems I've had on my other Prairies, I attempted to do the 1st lap in 2wd to see if the quad felt comfortable/stable that way (instead of my normal 4wd mode for XC racing). Well, I somehow managed to make all but the last 1/2 mile of the first lap in 2wd (while slipping and sliding down steep hills at times, but nothing I couldn't handle) when I attempted a steep hill climb (about 12 feet high or so) up the side of a creek embankment. The water/mud in the creek bottom made my Bighorn tires slick and I lost traction about 1/2 way up the hill climb and then lost MOMENTUM just as I reached the top!!! This was SCARY to say the least. All of the sudden, my front end turned completely sideways and then the quad stopped. So now I'm actually stopped on the trail sideways at the very top of the hill climb and was fearful that I'm going to slide/roll down the steep hill. At first, I tried to back up a few inches to get the 4wd to engage and when I rolled forward, my rear tires just spun more. I was afraid to move any more b/c I was certain to slide/roll down the hill if so. Luckily, I yelled to a friend and competitor that came up the trail behind me (he actually went around me on a longer, but less steep alternate route)....he stopped and grabbed my front rack while I turned the wheels up hill and nailed the throttle! I made it up the hill spinning all 4 Bighorns like crazy! From then on, I swore I'd never go back to 2wd on this race (and maybe never again for any races)!

Since my buddy helped me up the hill, I let him get back on his quad and take the lead in front of me (it was the LEAST that I could do since he saved my hide and my new quad!!! LOL)

LAPS 2 and 3
I lost a lot of confidence on that 2wd hill climb fiasco and took it easy on lap 2...eventually, I got my confidence back and I picked up the pace again on lap 3. Instead of taking the longer, less steep alternate route around that same hill climb where I had early had problems in 2wd on lap 1...I attached the same steep hill on lap 3 and this time I had no problems while in 4wd mode! Ahhh, 4wd is a confidence builder indeed! LOL

FINISH
I finished 4th out of 8...this is definitely not a good finish for me, but it was a LOT of fun all the same and now that I've finished my first race on this quad, I now know it will be a fine XC racer with a few more mods/adjustments.

Happy trails...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Great write-up.

I've got a question for you. Why don't you just switch between 2wd and 4wd as the course dictates? .... Just wondering.



Another question; how do you like the elka springs?


[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Yes, its possible to switch into and out of 4wd as needed but you will have to slow down each time you want to go into 4wd (It won't engage unless you are moving at a speed less than 10mph). After doing the 1st lap in 2wd and the 2nd and 3rd laps in 4wd, I found that 4wd was needed more often than 2wd anyway.

PS - I had progressives before and they felt more stiff than these Elkas do...but then again its not a fair comparison b/c I have different tires to go along with these Elkas. So far I really like the Elkas.

Happy trails...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]