2004 FE550E First Impressions

DaleEO · Sep 20, 2005

Hi John,

On the start here is my system. Make sure the bike is up to temp but not hot when the banner goes up, and put it in second gear and then kill the motor. Keeping the clutch pulledl in, bring it up to TDC, pull the manual compression release and push it past, so it's going down on what would be the power stroke, and hit the button when the banner drops making sure to not give it any gas till I feel it vibrate. Then let'er rip. The trick is not to be in too much of a rush and give it too much gas too quick. I also try not to use the electric start very much leading up to the start, so as not to take away anything from the starting capability.

What usually happens with me is that a few bikes will get the jump, but by the time I've shifted into third I'm pulling even and passing them, I'd say by about 50 feet or so.

I have in the past used both the button and the kicker at the same time, a trick Mike Lafferty uses, so I'm told. As the kicker spins the motor faster than the button, and since you've got the button in it'll keep it spinning if it doesn't fire on the first cycle. But as of late, I just use the button.

jmumme · Nov 20, 2005

Race season is over for me and my son Chris. We finished every race we competed in this year(10 races - 80-100 miles each). We are planning on racing the new season which starts in Feb. Basically it's 5 race in the Spring and 5 in the fall. We joined RUTS, which is Christian riding club so, we will be working one of the races instead of racing.
We ended up with new numbers for next year
I was 128T and will be 8T and Chris was 1220T and will be 22T. Out of a possible 88T's. That should give you an idea how we finished out the year.

The 550 and 400 have been just great. Chris and I just walked in the door from a short 20 mile trail ride.
My 550 and his 400 have never seen the shop for any reason.
82 hours and 2100 miles later the 550 is still charging..
I know this post is geting a bit old, but it's kind of turned out to be kind of a journal for me.
Happy Thanksgiving in case I forget!
Blessings,
John

jmumme · Nov 20, 2005

Here is Helmet cam HusaStart from race 9 for your enjoyment.
vid link

It's 4.5mb in size.
John

nsman · Nov 20, 2005

Hey Jmumme,
Since that type of terrain looks so foreign to me I have a couple of probably dumb questions.
Since I did not see any trail markings on the video how does the first rider know where to go and does the whole field follow the first rider?
How long(miles) are these desert races and is the track all as smooth as this short film implies?(no doubt deceiving)
You mentioned that the racing is over for a few months,what is the season for desert racing in the south west?
As our riding season is almost over here till April,it would be cool to do one of these races,are there classes for old guys that never rode on sand before?
Did I mention that I liked the vid,just that short vid makes me want to do it.
....nsman

schwim · Nov 20, 2005

John,

Thanks very much for sharing the video. It was awesome! I wish more people would share some vids with us of their bikes. It's a lot of fun to watch.

thanks,
json

jmumme · Nov 20, 2005

The marking are usually ribbon attatched to bushes or stakes. They are usually about 100 yards apart. Danger markers are usually arrows pointing down or paper plates with red dots.
The terrain is usually power type dust, (The kind that makes you wonder if it's worse than actually smoking.), Rocky sections, Whoops (sandy deep), waterfall canyons -2-6ft drops (without any water), Snow, steep sand or rocky downhills and high speed lake beds. So pretty much everything.. They are typically 2 loops 40-55 miles each. And they are almost always the same loop both times. So, it gets pretty tore up after all 150-200 riders hit the same trail on the first loop. We start in three rows, Expert, Amateur, and Novice about a minute apart. It only takes one lap to finish the race and get a finisher pin. I always do 2.
There was only one that was actually a timed run.
We have guys racing that are over 60. So pretty much everyone can ride.

Here is a link to the racing schedule for this last year.
http://www.racemrann.com/mrannSchedule.html

We were very fortunate at this race. It was the worst dust I had ever scene the night before. Then it rained all night and we awoke to puddles on the road. It was literally a dust free ride..

Glad you enjoyed the video. I just bought a helmet cam of my own since the one in the video was borrowed.
John

jmumme · Nov 20, 2005

Schwim,
If you want to put it on the site, that would be ok with me.
I do have a bandwidth limitation on the website before I start getting charged.

Coffin · Jan 8, 2006

Great Video

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2004 FE550E First Impressions

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