Last XC race of the season on my Twin Peaks 700
#1
11-20-2006, 06:04 PM
Last XC race of the season on my Twin Peaks 700
On Sunday Nov 12th, I had a great time on my TP700 at the last race of the year for my local XC series. Here's my race review:
WHERE:
Cash, TX (same exact track where the 12 Hours Event was held a few weeks ago). This track is a 4 hour drive from my house, so I left at 7am on Sunday morning so that I could make the 12:30 afternoon race. I also drove back on the same day...made for a LONG day, but was well worth every minute of the long drive!
WEATHER/TRACK CONDITIONS:
The weather was almost perfect! Sunny & 70 degrees....however it was a bit on the windy side. The track was perfect too! We raced on the same 6 mile course as the 12 hours event, except that we ran it in the opposite direction and they removed the log bleachers obstacle for the B class/utility race. As mentioned in the 12 Hours thread, this track included a nice mix of MX section, woods, a few creek crossings and open pastures. No rocks to mess with and only 1 small hill to climb. Overall, it was very FAST and SMOOTH...there were some kicker bumps in the woods, etc...but they were not bad at all if you slowed down at the right places.
QUAD SET-UP:
I spent Saturday in the garage getting my quad ready for the race. I knew there would be long straights in the pastures, so I opened up the motor to breath a little better. First I replaced the regular twin air filter and stock air box "cage" with the Twin Air Pro Kit which allows air to feed the carbs from the top side too. Then I untaped 3 holes in the top of my airbox lid (so now it has 9 one-inch holes opened up) and removed all discs on my Supertrapp exhaust pipe. Next, I removed the 162/160 main jets on my carbs and replaced them with two jets that had been drilled out to 3/32nd. Afterwards, I could tell it starts a little easier and my occasional bog on WOT take-offs seems to be completely gone once the motor is warm. I'm very happy with these changes. I also removed my 25" bighorns and replaced them with my 22" gators. I figured this would help me with the tight turns on the MX section and in the woods. When I finally loaded up my quad in the truck and went to bed at 12:30 on Sat night, I realized that I had changed the tires without changing clutch springs! Oh well, I was exhausted and decided to just go with it as is (I noticed during the race that I was over-revving at times...so a different primary spring may have helped a little).
UTE CLASS:
There were 7 quads in the ute class, but we were missing several regulars who normally race on a P700. One of those regular P700 racers is our the class champion (on the dreaded camo P700!!!)...he had already clinched the title at the last race so he didn't have to race this one anyway. That left the line-up at this race with my TP700, a P700, a BF650sra, 400cc Rancher, 400cc Eiger, and 2 others that I don't recall at the moment.
***CONTINUED BELOW...
----------------
Mike...2004 TP700 - Mods coming soon; 2002 P650 - Parting it out now Reply | Edit
Mikeyboyesq
Posts: 431
Conroe, TX
Subject: Last XC race of the season on my TP700 2006-11-13 12:46:01
START:
When I got to the starting line, I ended up taking a spot on the far outside (right side). Next to me was a relatively young (20 y.o.?) and agressive rider on a piped Honda Rancher 400. I know what you guys are thinking, but this little dude can ride the heck out of his rancher! LOL Anyway, I was concentrating hard on the flagman just before the start of our class...then the red flag went up and the green flag went up right afterwards and we were off! I looked up immediately after the green flag and noticed that the little honda had accidentally jumped the start a little...he was 1 or maybe 2 quad lengths ahead of me as I was hitting the start button on my quad! Doh! LOL But no worries, I was 3 quad lengths ahead of him before we made the first turn! Not only that, but I won the holeshot and beat everyone to the first turn despite being on the far outside. I yelled out a big YEEHAW as I made the first turn to show how happy I was with my start.
LAP 1:
Because I arrived right before my race started and I skipped practice (unlike most of my competitors who had been at the track since Friday or Saturday), I planned to lay back the first lap and follow someone so that I could learn the course and then step up the pace on lap 2. However, that plan did not pan out b/c I won the holeshot and continued to hold the lead for 5 miles of lap 1! Finally, at mile 5 the young guy on the piped Rancher 400 passed me by taking a faster line than me (I was still learning the lines at that point). So I followed his bumper the rest of the lap.
LAPS 2 THRU 4:
As the race proceeded, I discovered that the little Rancher was a little faster than me in the woods sections. However, but I could always catch up to him by the time we completed the open pasture section that followed...but then I would find myself hugging his bumper on the MX section (where I dared not try to pass anyone) and I could usually hang with him for at least 1/2 of the woods section before he would start to leave me again. I enjoyed the pastures where I would reach speeds of 60mph on the straights. In the end, this would be a short race for both of us today (we only raced 4 laps in about 1 hour) b/c the B class leader (on a Hon 450R) lapped both of us in the woods near the end of Lap 4.
RACE RESULTS:
The little Rancher 400 took first, and I was only seconds behind him in 2nd place. Next was a P700 followed by the BF650sra and then the Eiger 400, etc. I did my best and I was happy with my finish on Sunday b/c this was only my 2nd time this season to take home 2nd place. I can't believe it, but I never took home 1st all year!...the competition in the ute class was much better this season as compared to the past 2 years.
SEASON RESULTS:
Funny thing was that the guy racing on the Eiger Sunday had competed in 1 more race than me this year, so I needed to earn 7 points more than him in this final race to take over 5th place in our ute class for the season. Well, I took 2nd place and he took 5th place on Sunday...however, that only gave me 6 more points than him so I was 1 point shy of taking 5th place in the ute class this season! Doh! Oh well, that will teach me to miss races! If I had made it to at least 2 more races...I could have easily taken 3rd place this season. Oh well, it was a fun season and I'm looking forward to next year!!
Well, I hope you enjoyed my write-up!
Happy trails...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
WHERE:
Cash, TX (same exact track where the 12 Hours Event was held a few weeks ago). This track is a 4 hour drive from my house, so I left at 7am on Sunday morning so that I could make the 12:30 afternoon race. I also drove back on the same day...made for a LONG day, but was well worth every minute of the long drive!
WEATHER/TRACK CONDITIONS:
The weather was almost perfect! Sunny & 70 degrees....however it was a bit on the windy side. The track was perfect too! We raced on the same 6 mile course as the 12 hours event, except that we ran it in the opposite direction and they removed the log bleachers obstacle for the B class/utility race. As mentioned in the 12 Hours thread, this track included a nice mix of MX section, woods, a few creek crossings and open pastures. No rocks to mess with and only 1 small hill to climb. Overall, it was very FAST and SMOOTH...there were some kicker bumps in the woods, etc...but they were not bad at all if you slowed down at the right places.
QUAD SET-UP:
I spent Saturday in the garage getting my quad ready for the race. I knew there would be long straights in the pastures, so I opened up the motor to breath a little better. First I replaced the regular twin air filter and stock air box "cage" with the Twin Air Pro Kit which allows air to feed the carbs from the top side too. Then I untaped 3 holes in the top of my airbox lid (so now it has 9 one-inch holes opened up) and removed all discs on my Supertrapp exhaust pipe. Next, I removed the 162/160 main jets on my carbs and replaced them with two jets that had been drilled out to 3/32nd. Afterwards, I could tell it starts a little easier and my occasional bog on WOT take-offs seems to be completely gone once the motor is warm. I'm very happy with these changes. I also removed my 25" bighorns and replaced them with my 22" gators. I figured this would help me with the tight turns on the MX section and in the woods. When I finally loaded up my quad in the truck and went to bed at 12:30 on Sat night, I realized that I had changed the tires without changing clutch springs! Oh well, I was exhausted and decided to just go with it as is (I noticed during the race that I was over-revving at times...so a different primary spring may have helped a little).
UTE CLASS:
There were 7 quads in the ute class, but we were missing several regulars who normally race on a P700. One of those regular P700 racers is our the class champion (on the dreaded camo P700!!!)...he had already clinched the title at the last race so he didn't have to race this one anyway. That left the line-up at this race with my TP700, a P700, a BF650sra, 400cc Rancher, 400cc Eiger, and 2 others that I don't recall at the moment.
***CONTINUED BELOW...
----------------
Mike...2004 TP700 - Mods coming soon; 2002 P650 - Parting it out now Reply | Edit
Mikeyboyesq
Posts: 431
Conroe, TX
Subject: Last XC race of the season on my TP700 2006-11-13 12:46:01
START:
When I got to the starting line, I ended up taking a spot on the far outside (right side). Next to me was a relatively young (20 y.o.?) and agressive rider on a piped Honda Rancher 400. I know what you guys are thinking, but this little dude can ride the heck out of his rancher! LOL Anyway, I was concentrating hard on the flagman just before the start of our class...then the red flag went up and the green flag went up right afterwards and we were off! I looked up immediately after the green flag and noticed that the little honda had accidentally jumped the start a little...he was 1 or maybe 2 quad lengths ahead of me as I was hitting the start button on my quad! Doh! LOL But no worries, I was 3 quad lengths ahead of him before we made the first turn! Not only that, but I won the holeshot and beat everyone to the first turn despite being on the far outside. I yelled out a big YEEHAW as I made the first turn to show how happy I was with my start.
LAP 1:
Because I arrived right before my race started and I skipped practice (unlike most of my competitors who had been at the track since Friday or Saturday), I planned to lay back the first lap and follow someone so that I could learn the course and then step up the pace on lap 2. However, that plan did not pan out b/c I won the holeshot and continued to hold the lead for 5 miles of lap 1! Finally, at mile 5 the young guy on the piped Rancher 400 passed me by taking a faster line than me (I was still learning the lines at that point). So I followed his bumper the rest of the lap.
LAPS 2 THRU 4:
As the race proceeded, I discovered that the little Rancher was a little faster than me in the woods sections. However, but I could always catch up to him by the time we completed the open pasture section that followed...but then I would find myself hugging his bumper on the MX section (where I dared not try to pass anyone) and I could usually hang with him for at least 1/2 of the woods section before he would start to leave me again. I enjoyed the pastures where I would reach speeds of 60mph on the straights. In the end, this would be a short race for both of us today (we only raced 4 laps in about 1 hour) b/c the B class leader (on a Hon 450R) lapped both of us in the woods near the end of Lap 4.
RACE RESULTS:
The little Rancher 400 took first, and I was only seconds behind him in 2nd place. Next was a P700 followed by the BF650sra and then the Eiger 400, etc. I did my best and I was happy with my finish on Sunday b/c this was only my 2nd time this season to take home 2nd place. I can't believe it, but I never took home 1st all year!...the competition in the ute class was much better this season as compared to the past 2 years.
SEASON RESULTS:
Funny thing was that the guy racing on the Eiger Sunday had competed in 1 more race than me this year, so I needed to earn 7 points more than him in this final race to take over 5th place in our ute class for the season. Well, I took 2nd place and he took 5th place on Sunday...however, that only gave me 6 more points than him so I was 1 point shy of taking 5th place in the ute class this season! Doh! Oh well, that will teach me to miss races! If I had made it to at least 2 more races...I could have easily taken 3rd place this season. Oh well, it was a fun season and I'm looking forward to next year!!
Well, I hope you enjoyed my write-up!
Happy trails...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
#2
11-22-2006, 03:24 AM
Pro Rider
#3
11-22-2006, 04:29 AM
Last XC race of the season on my Twin Peaks 700
Originally posted by: 700vtwinman
WOW, how did a 400cc rancher get 1st over 650 and 700cc quads????? Interesting to say the least. Didn't know the 400cc rancher was so fast and quick.
WOW, how did a 400cc rancher get 1st over 650 and 700cc quads????? Interesting to say the least. Didn't know the 400cc rancher was so fast and quick.
#4
11-22-2006, 09:21 AM
Last XC race of the season on my Twin Peaks 700
That's a good quesion...the 400cc rancher is definitely not a fast quad in the open straights, but it is smaller/narrower than the 650 and 700cc quads and that makes the little rancher much easier to drive fast thru the tight wood sections.
Most anyone who races XC will tell you that winning a XC race is 75% rider skill/endurance and only 25% quad. For example, I probably have the fastest quad in my local XC series this year, but I did not take home 1st all season long (I got a few 2nds, a few 3rds a few 4ths, etc...but no 1st places this year). My point is that having the fastest quad does not guarantee or even suggest you will win a XC race. Rider skill is more important for deterining that. I'm sure Mike Penland and Scott Kilby could still win GNCC races on a 400cc rancher or anything else for that matter! LOL Unfortunately, I'm not the most talented rider in my local XC series...but I try hard and I enjoy the challenge!
Happy trails...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
Most anyone who races XC will tell you that winning a XC race is 75% rider skill/endurance and only 25% quad. For example, I probably have the fastest quad in my local XC series this year, but I did not take home 1st all season long (I got a few 2nds, a few 3rds a few 4ths, etc...but no 1st places this year). My point is that having the fastest quad does not guarantee or even suggest you will win a XC race. Rider skill is more important for deterining that. I'm sure Mike Penland and Scott Kilby could still win GNCC races on a 400cc rancher or anything else for that matter! LOL Unfortunately, I'm not the most talented rider in my local XC series...but I try hard and I enjoy the challenge!
Happy trails...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
#5
11-22-2006, 01:09 PM
Pro Rider
Last XC race of the season on my Twin Peaks 700
I guess y'all are correct. I remember my prairie700 (stupid to get rid of her) and how awesome it was to ride fast trails. None of my buddies could keep up. But, you guys have the racing experience so you would probably know better than me. And, I guess it depends on each different type of track as well as the riders racing skills and knowing his/her bike well.
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