Vegas to Reno on my 501....

Hey, guys... Just wanted to let everyone know that my partner and I have decided to race the Vegas to Reno on my 03 501fe... We took it out with our XR650 and they ran identical top speeds (103mph) with 15/47 gearing. We have the big tank with an underseat so that should put us at a little over 5 gals.
I always wanted to do this race on a Berg, and now I guess we will....
Any suggestions anyone? We are #931 fourstroke expert, currently 7 points out of 3rd place. This is a double point race, so maybe we will move up...
Wish us luck!!!
Steve Gabbert
Sportsman Cycle
Las Vegas

Which oil cooler are you referring to? It's too late now I think, but anything to make my baby live longer is a good thing... If you are doing the Henderson BITD race, let me know and we can co-ordinate pits. Any thoughts on foam tubes vs hd tubes for Vegas to Reno? I'm worried about melting them from the sustained speeds. I plan on changing air filter and oil at the halfway point. One cool thing is I get to run Factory KTM front suspension...(Awesome!)
I think we will do well if we encounter no mechanical gremlins. So far this 501 has been the best HBG I've had, and I have had about 8 of them..( I still have 5 )
Thanks for the good wishes and hope I do well by the blue and yellow brand... :!:

Well, our race ended at mile 104, through no fault of the berg. My cool D.I.D. shoulderless heavy duty race rims that I use for my KTM's as well as my Bergs blew a wheel bearing out in the middle of a dry lake bed. It threw the chain and bound it up between the swingarm and frame, also ripping teeth from the counter sprocket. The good news is, no further damage. The bad was that our race was over as it took from about 10:30am til' 7:30pm to get to the bike. Oh, well...
On a positive note, we were killin' it up until then with our gearing allowing a top speed over 106 at one point. That was cool.
We were also getting about 110-120 miles to the tank and never had to think about the reserve under seat tank.
Better luck next time, I hope...!
Steve

My race partner was the unfortunate one in this case... he was attempting to get out of some nasty 2 foot deep silt ruts by cutting across a lakebed when it turned ugly! The ground had humps and ridges 2-3 feet deep and about 10 inches across and crumbly... very unusual to say the least. He was down to about 5mph in 2nd gear( Remember, we were geared for well over 100!) when it chucked the chain and locked up.
I am taking it out this morning for a run around Vegas to check out the repairs... it seems ok. We'll see!
Thanks, later...

I know that the filter is well protected... I usually go 2 or 3 times as long between cleanings compared to my KTM's. I can't say the same for the oil. Only holding a litre makes me nervous... maybe if I had an oil cooler that increased the oil capacity some.
Since this is an older model (03) and it has the SEM ignition (unmodified) I chose to put double ignition vents in the cover. A hose connects to the front of the cover and goes up above the radiator and one comes from the back and routes down by the swing arm in hopes of encouraging air flow. The intake hose is filtered. So far, no ignition problems.
It was great having more gas than we really needed to make the pits... big thanks to BOSS for his efforts.
I even sort of converted my partner over to the blue and yellow. We rode the XR650 and FE501 back to back and he refused to race the honda! That puts a smile on my face!
I am now laying the ground work for more long races for my Berg... I am pleased with the way it performed and can't wait to do more good things to it...
Thanks for the encouragement, all...