Frostbite and Giggles

Hello friendly Bergites,

I just got the word that I will be given access to 2005 model, 450, 550 and 650 Bergs for a "Special Event" here in Canada at the end of January.

I need your help!!!

This is the plan...

I need to setup all three Bergs so that they can be thrashed on the ice by some special guests for a 2 day period. I would be really pleased if I could get some advice on setup from anyone with experience.

I have a ton of experience ice racing 2 strokes, but none with 4 strokes. I am looking for ideas regarding jetting, gearing, suspension and anything else.

I know that there are members on this site that have run Bergs on the ice so I am hoping I can get some good feedback.

Happy New Year!

Marc

Tips

Thanks for the comments Fry. I have no problems with the tires. If you remember...I have bought one or two in my past

I am trying to get them from my regular source in Quebec but I have also talked with Jim Titmus and left a voicemail for Andy Demsky.

I think the width of the rear tire at the stud tips is 5"5/8. I have run custom chain guides on top of the swing arm to keep the chain out of the studs on the 2 strokes I ran in oval track. I would like to avoid doing this because I have always drilled and tapped the swing arm to mount them. This will be a temporary setup so I hate to modify the bikes. The other trick is to **** the wheel a bit with the chain adjusters. I'm hoping that the Motard influence means that there will be plenty of room in the swingarm.

You are worrying me with regards to the front tire and the header pipe. I know that I have experienced the rubbing that has been discussed on this site with the 550. What can I do to deal with this problem? I'd hate to chew up the header pipe. That would also ruin the front ice tire and end the riding. :cry:

I am hoping that someone out there has some experience and tips for me on that.

In terms of jetting. I have been told that in general, 4 strokes are not as fussy in the cold compared to what I am used to with 2 strokes. It has been suggested that most 4 strokes run fine in the cold and that even if they are a little lean, that it will run hot but won't be as harmful to performance.

I would probably want to cover 1 radiator with duct tape if it drops below - 10 to -15 C.

This will be a "play" event not a race event so I'm not too worried about getting the suspension dialed in perfectly. Any tips are appreciated though.

Sorry Fry. Can't tell you what I'm up to yet. If it actually happens you will hear all about it. :wink:

Thanks

Thanks Dale,

My original message to you was in regards to oval track. I have done alot of that in the past here in Canada and may be interested in doing a few key ice races in 2006. When I realized that you had done Berg ice bikes for Pascal, I sent you that PM because I may be interested in shipping you a motor next fall. Time will tell if I can muster up the cash and courage to get back into it.

The intent of this thread was simply to try and get some basic input on winter setup for this recreational event ...not for race purposes. It would be great if we could meet for some type of event. Unfortunately I do not work for BMG. I think that you would have to chase Brett on that type of thing.

Marc

Welcome to Canada

Post Mortem:

Our guests from the southern USA were in shock when the landed on Monday in the worst blizzard we have had in years. The folks from northern USA and across Canada were as not traumatized. The 3 & 1/2 hr drive through the blizzard after they landed messed with all of them.

Tuesday, HusaTed and I laid out a course a few kilometers long on the frozen lake and proceeded to cut laps on the 3 bikes that we had setup with ice tires to make sure we had no problems. They were all 2005 FEs. We had a 450 that had some time on it, the 550 that FryGuy raced at the ISDE in Poland that had been put through 6 days of hell and a brand spanking new 650 with zero hours on it.

All three worked amazing and we had absolutely no problems. I was shocked because it was minus 28 celcius with a windchill that made it closer to minus 40 Celcius both days that we rode. I was convinced stuff would just break in that kind of cold. The only thing that we did to the bikes was to change the jetting (thanks for the tips Fry) and run some different venting for the bottom end to avoid freezing. The last modification was to run tether kill switches on all the bikes to shut down the spinning chainsaws (studded tires) if someone tossed a machine.

Wednesday we took our guests to the lake to let them ride the ice bikes. To say they were all a little timid at first would be an understatement. As the day moved along however, they were all getting into the swing of things and were starting to giggle like fools and chuck the bikes sideways at speed. Yes, even Jedhi was using his new confidence as a supermoto god to throw the bikes sideways in top gear.

Everything went great, bikes were awesome, nobody got hurt. The only causulties were the windshield of a new Chev truck, the front spoiler and bumper of a new Dodge Hemi 4x4, a motorized wheelchair, the grill and hood of a rental car a one fairly large white tail deer. HusaTed also ended up with frostbite on both cheeks (face) because he was having to much fun and would not get off the bikes.

Thursday evryone tried to fly home but all flights were cancelled as we received the 2nd blizzard of the week. To my new friends in New Orleans and Phoenix that I'm not sure had ever seen snow before and the rest of the wrecking crew...Welcome to Canada...I hope you had fun.

Sorry the pics are bad quality. My camera did not like minus 28 and since stopped working all together 8O

Coffin

Venting

Fry,

I don't think I can properly explain at as it was done by our friend Bob from BMG. What I think I saw was that one outlet was capped off and he had a large hose run which was nothing close to stock routing.

I will double check with him though as I figure we will need it for the 24 hour ice race next year if I can get you to commit and we get to put it together.

I think he followed your jetting recommendations exactly as you suggested. It was spot on.

Not sure when I will be in Cowtown....soon I hope. Off to Texas on the weekend.

Great work on the 24 hour. I think I had a tear in my eye when I saw the pictures of you guys representing all things Berg. Did you and Rick get to share war stories of our "field of dreams" grass track. I assume he told you he was here and rode with us?



"If you build...they will come"

File size

Point taken Jason. I did not realize that this was the result. I was just happy that I was able to use the File Locker feature. The files are listed as .jpg in my file locker?

Would it help if I got one of your galleries so that I can post some pics there?

Cheers

Marc