Month: January 2012

The first race of 2012 has been officialy entered

Post author By Ryan
Post date January 27, 2012
No Comments on The first race of 2012 has been officialy entered

I have completed the registration for the first race with Arizona Off Road Promotions (AZOP)
These guys are partnered with ADRA, who will be doing the truck/buggy races the same weekends.
The race will be February 18th at Speedworld. It’s a 4.5 mile course that is run for 2 hours.
This will be my first race with these guys. I hope it goes well.

I ordered some parts that need to be replaced before the race. I got new brake pads, front and rear. A new rear rotor (mine is starting to take on the shape of a taco), and a new Chain. Since it appears that Rocky Mountain ATV sponsors this series, I bought the parts from them. Prices were good and they threw in free shipping.

Tusk Stainless Steel Typhoon Brake Rotor
RK 520EXW Gold XW-RING Chain 520×94
Neutron Brake Pad – Sintered Metal

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Ride Now

Post author By Ryan
Post date January 25, 2012
No Comments on Ride Now

I went to the Goodyear Ride Now dealer today to check out the Polaris Sportsman.

That is my #1 choice for the utility class right now. I hadn’t seen one in person yet but I have watched all the YouTube videos. I was somewhat disappointed in the suspension. While the arms looked fine for trail riding and the mounting tabs were gusseted, it all seemed a but weak for a bike that’s going to be tipping 1000+lbs with a rider. I wonder if it would stand up to the Baja even at the slowest pace.

The suspension may be stronger than it looks but the radiator hose is definitely in a bad position. It hangs down a little bit below the bumper and is right there in front of the wheel, just begging to be torn open by brush, rocks, cactus, or whatever else you might run in to when you’re least expecting it. A front skid plate or bumper guard would definitely be needed there.

The seat was pretty comfortable and the width was great. All in all, I still think this is the best utility quad in stock form for a long race.

I did play around with the Can Am 1000 (I forgot the model name and the Can Am website is down right now… psst If you guys need a reliable web host, try me out! I do trades!)

The seat was too wide and the track felt narrow. It had the look of a hybrid Sport/Utility but based on my first impression, I think it might lack any “Sport” performance.

Those were the only two quads I looked at. The salesman was cool and I will go back to Ride Now once it gets closer to buy time. I’ll also try hitting them up for a sponsorship.

400EX Sport Trail Rides

Watson Road Trail Ride

I went out riding with neighbor Tom today. He has a honda 250 bike. We did some exploring and found the petroglyphs. Unfortunately my phone battery was almost dead so I didn’t take any pictures. Tom was having some shifting issues but we did a couple short drag races and it seems like his 250 is pretty even with my 400 on acceleration and top-end.

The rocks were no fun with the bike, but the sandy washes were great. The whoops are mellow so you can go full speed over them without worrying about the rythm and still feel the suspension working.

View 1/15/12 Watson Rd in a larger map

400EX Sport Trail Rides

Agua Caliente

Agua Caliente looked much better on the web. The trails were very rocky and there are lots of cactus around. The few trails that climb hills are covered in shale that looks like it is dying to slice open a tire.

I rode around for several hours hoping to find an interesting canyon or abandoned mine, but I didn’t find much. I did come across several mine shafts but they were vertical, straight down in to the ground and there was no fencing around them. I wouldn’t want to be exploring the area at night.

I don’t think I will go back to this spot for riding unless I need to torture test some new tires.

View 1/5/12 Agua Caliente in a larger map

400EX Sport Trail Rides

First ride of 2012

I was planning on a long ride today but I lost the mouthpiece of my camel pack somewhere on the trail. With no water, I headed back to the parking lot after only an hour or so.

There was one really good rocky hill climb though. 3 bikes and raptor couldn’t make it. I made it on my second attempt. First try, I missed first and downshifted in to neutral.

View 1/1/12 1:12 PM 400ex in a larger map