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10/30/02
Kim,
I have
read your article and it is quite funny....I too write for a
local off road newsletter up here called "Off the Beaten
Path". I have a very good article on guys teaching their
women how to ride. I will forward it to you when I get home and
if you would like to reprint it you have my permission.
I have
been riding for about 28 years and racing for 18years. I am a
multi time provincial and national champion in both
cross-country and hare scrambles. I have dabbled a bit in
motocross but my heart is in the mountains!! My husband and I
have recently started up a production company, Dirt TV, and are
going to be releasing a full length riding video put to music.
Our eventual goal is to produce a television show but for now
the video is keeping us very busy.
Check out
our website at www.dirttv.net
and let me know what you think.
LISA
RAFFAN
Dirt TV
Assistant Producer
10/28/02
Hi Kim!
Just
wanted say THANKS! for another great column about the great
micro-on-the-fritz syrup explosion caper! You keep my sides
hurting!(unlike a 5th gear-pinned get-off, which eventually goes
away)Inside advice: never, NEVER try putting a jar of
marshmallow creme in a microwave, talk about a mess! Your 1st
Gear trail adventure reminds me of two similar stories, which I
will try to keep short. The first time my dad took my mom out
for a ride in the early 70's, he was on his Kawi "Trail
Boss" 100, and she was on my little brothers Honda Trail
70. All went well the first few miles, despite her having
forgotten how to shift a minicycle with an automatic clutch.
First Gear all the way. For some unknown reason, he led her up a
trail to the top of Red Mtn. in Valley Center, which just
happens to be the highest peak around, to "show her the
view". Mind You, it had a big water tank at the top, and
was paved, but it is very steep and winds around the mountain on
the way to the top. Being very determined to not be wussy,
against her better judgement she followed him to the top,
white-knuckling it all the way. After a short time taking in the
for-miles-around view, it was now time to head back DOWN.
Needless to say, she was still very much a learning BEGINNER. My
dad says,"See you at the bottom, and heads down, oblivious
to the drama within taking place behind him. At least she didn't
know how to shift out of first! Scared stiff, with a death grip
on the wanna-be-a real-bike-folding-mini-bars, she picks up her
feet, and gravity takes it's course. Soon she is hurtling down
this steep grade, with the simultaneous sounds of a fourstroke
mini-engine revving at 9 grand with the throttle off,
outriggered boat tennies scraping the asphalt in a last-ditch
effort at scrubbing off some speed,and the loudest, shrillest ,
panic-stricken scream that you have ever heard! She reaches the
area where the incline tapers off, (without crashing, which was
a minor miracle in itself)and scrubs to a stop, her heart
beating its way to a major coronary, and her face a mirror image
of that painting known simply as "The Scream". My dad
was stopped at the bottom waiting like "no big deal",
but upon seeing the obvious drama and panic which just unfolded,
asks simply, "What Happened?" Which rightfully
unleashed a tirade of insults, ranging from "Why would you
take ME up that damn Hill" to "I was so scared that I
forgot where the stupid Brakes were"! She never got on a
motorcycle again, still to this day, 30 years later.
The second
1st Gear story is much less amusing: My dad had our two bikes
loaded up for a weekend trip out to Borrego Springs. He took his
mighty Hi-Lo Range "Trail Boss" 100, and I had my
trusty orange Kawasaki 90 "Bushmaster", which I had
proudly modified myself -with a cut race-disc, a Bassani "chamber"and
a big-fin aluminum Webco head! Wooo! It was fast! Being around
14 Years old, that bike meant the entire world to me! At the
last minute we took my "neighborhood friend" with us.
I really didn't like the guy cause he was always bragging about
how great he could ride, despite not even having a motorcycle!
Well, we got to the dez, and due to tales of bravado the entire
way, my dad lets him take my bike for a ride first. Off he goes,
looking like a flailing squid, winding my beloved rotary-valve
90 to the upper reaches of the atmosphere. I still cringe when I
recall the sound of my poor bike revving till it couldn't rev
anymore, under the merciless twist of buttheads right wrist!
After a 1/2 hour, and no 2-stroke sounds whatsoever, my dad
decides it would probably be best to go look for him. An hour
later, here they come, my bike on the end of a tow rope. He
says,"I don't know what happened, the thing just
quit". I knew my trusty bike wouldn't do that, I'd ridden
it everywhere from Oregon to Big Bear,and back. Turns out the
twit didn't have the brains to know how to shift, and he'd
wailed my bike for 8 miles in first gear, in the summer
heat,till its little aluminum heart stuck itself solid to the
red-hot iron cylinder. He blamed it all on the bike, never paid
a dime, and I never forgave him!
They go
back quite a ways, but theres my two first gear stories!
Kim, I
want to tell you about a cool website for you to check out. I
met these girls last month at Glen Helen at the World Cup of
Motocross, when the MX des Nations race fell out , and made the
US look like bumbling idiots. They have a new business that they
are trying to get off the ground, and I hope they make it. Maybe
you could send them some E-advice or something , maybe you could
help them with some business contacts. Check them out for
yourself. They are a "mostly-girls-only" clothing
company. They have a race trailer, some product, and made a nice
little display at the race.Perhaps you could guide them to some
women-oriented MX events,or dez things like Nationals, or the
Adelanto GP. You can find them on the web at: www.teamdirtygirls.com
. It's not as bad as it may sound, actually it's a pretty cool
little hook! Sorry about the blue, thats dub-dub-dubaya
teamdirtygirls.....dot
com. They have a nice site that tells about them, and what
they're trying to do. I'm sure that you could help them more
than I can, I know little about these things(womens events). I'm
going to send them an E-Mail, suggesting that they check out
your column(and foxy picture), as the coolest moto-chick (and
moto-mom) on the planet! Thanks again for the column, Kim! Are
going to the Elsinore GP or to the Baja 1000? Just ask Super
Hunky, you get some amazing stories out of Adventures in Mexico!
By the
way, for many Years I've had on my answering machine at the end,
the greeting, "Have A Full-Throttle Kind Of Day"!,
just heard that Cameron Diaz is working on a new flick called
"Full Throttle", as well as Charlies Angels 2. She's
into it! GO GIRL! A good friend of mine, Larkin White,"the
Off-Road Beemer/Triumph Guy" just finished up some Extra
work in a movie called "Torque",starring Ice Cube.
S'posed to be like the Fast and Furious on motorcycles, but who
knows what it will end up being after Hollywood gets done with
it! Bye For Now, Kim! Keep up the good work! and.......keep the
rubber side down! Also Glad you're knee is finally feeling
better, those things seem to take forever!
–-Baja
Dave :) the locomoto man~
10/20/02
Kim, Loved
your article, way too funny. I hope the trailer is back to
normal now and you are working on another story. Have a great
time on your next ride.
Thanks for
the laughs,
~JB
10/29/02
The
article says dry weight of 249lbs while the specs says 262lbs.
Which is correct?
Kawasaki
claims 262 on their most recent specs for this bike... Which is
identical to Suzuki's DR-Z400E specs... Coincidence? NOT! Except
for the plastic these bikes are both Suzuki! Suzuki and Kawasaki
have a partnership with some shared models this year.
Now for the incorrect data in the text? It appears that the
DR-Z400 (Kick Start Only) is the model that weighs 249, which is
not being offered by team green. I suspect that they changed
their minds about the hardware without updating their marketing
package thoroughly...
Sorry for the confusion!
10/22/02
Very nice,
I would like to see more of this type of article. I'm older now
and I think dual sporting is the way to go for me.
Regards,
George Moul
10/23/02
I found
this site by accident and I think it's great. I especially like
your "project crf450" section, since I have been
stepping through the Honda ranks from 99 cr125 to 01cr250 and
now the 03crf450. I hope you do another "project
crf450" for the 03, I would like your input on after-market
and not have to rely on "Yamaha-action" I mean
motocross-action.
What caught my eye was the photo of the Magura hydraulic clutch
slave cylinder mounted to the crf450. It is listed under
"Your article here". I looked around the site but
could not find the article or review on it. I put one (Magura
clutch) on about two weeks ago, but was not too happy with the
mounting and how far the slave cylinder sticks out. There was
talk of Summer's Racing making a guard for it but have yet to
see one. If you can point me to the article or just give my some
feedback on it, it would be greatly appreciated.
P.S. It looks as though you are based in SoCal. I grew up down
in Escondido and have been living in the Carson Valley and Tahoe
area for the last 5 years. My buddies and I take a week long
moto tour of all the tracks down there, the second week of
November every year. Maybe we'll run into you guys?
Thanks,
Stephen
Sorry
to tease you like that Stephan - there is no Magura clutch
article on Project CRF. We have a photo there that a reader sent
in to us to check out - we liked it - kinda grabby - so we ran
it. Unfortunately, we have no solution either. The ORC Project
CRF450 bike never had a Magura - probably for that reason.
ORC
is based out of Vegas - but we are scattered all over the
country - check our Staff
page for more. It is entirely possible that you will bump into
one of us at a SoCal event! Just keep your eyes open for shirts
with our logo - and press passes!
-
Editor
10/16/02
i think
you should do a "project 1981 IT 465 Yamaha"
project!!!
Norman
Hmm
- Let me think... NO!!!
-
Editor
10/08/2002
Greetings,
I am an owner of a 2002 crf 450. I would appreciate any info you
can give me on the valve and head specifications. I beleive
improper wear has lead to the intake valve seating in the head
incorrectly causing the valves not to close properly. my
symptons are:
1) bike will not start (when cold)
2) lack of compression
3) intake valve tolerance less than .002in.
We
too have heard various complaints about this (or a similar)
problem. Check back here for updates, we will give un update
when we learn more. I believe there is a non-titanium intake
valve available that resolves the issue.
would love
to see a head to head battle between the 450's. ktm vs. honda
So
would we! Hope we have the opportunity
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