Pre-Ride check list, don’t forget!

 

I am writing this article well in advance as a reminder to all that have big plans for the up and coming holiday weekend, Independence Day (4th of July) weekend.  Why so early?  Planning ahead early makes the loading and leaving for that big weekend of camping, riding, racing that much less stressful.  Thinking ahead now still gives you time to order and receive those replacement parts that you broke on your last outing, without having to pay for upgraded shipping services (were available).  It may also be a good time to change those fluids if you cannot remember the last time you did, although if you read this blog you already keep a log of when that was.  Maybe it is time to fix that tire that always goes flat every day.  Bottom line is make a checklist of things you know you need to remember to get done or pack regarding your machine and its transportation.  Below are some items to get you started.

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Exhaust it’s a gas, gas, gas

It is no secret to seasoned riders and mechanics that an internal combustion engine is just a large air pump, air goes in and air goes out – in between there is the nifty combustion that does the “work”.  It is also no secret that the more efficient you can move the air through this “pump” the more efficient the engine is at doing the “work”.  In this article I will break down some of the theory, physics and even some misconceptions about the exhaust.

First a very brief introduction.  The exhaust system is designed to evacuate gases from the combustion chamber quickly and efficently. Exhaust gases are not produced in a smooth stream.  Exhaust gases start as pulses from the opening and closing of the exhaust valve(s). For example, a 4 cylinder motor will have 4 distinct pulses per complete engine cycle, a 6 cylinder has 6 pules and so on. The more pulses that are produced, the more continuous the exhaust flow.  Some terms that are associated with exhaust(s) are: Velocity, Backpressure, and Scavenging.

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Sun, sand, surf and quad racing?

Sun, sand, surf and quad racing?? That’s right. For the past several years the seaside resort of Wildwood, New Jersey has hosted the Thunder in the Sand Beach race. Promoted by Thunder Motorsports the event is held late in the spring and early in the fall before and after the throngs of sun bathers converge on the Jersey Shore for summer time fun. The temporary track is built right on the beach and features all of the obstacles normally found on any race track around the country. The spring event was held over the final weekend in May and had nearly 400 quad riders including a full 20 man Quad A gate. In that A class Yamaha mounted Pat Brown was the class of the field defeating Donald Lysinger and Richard Lindsay for the top step on the podium. Your chance at racing on the beach comes again this fall on October 9-11. www.thundermoto.com for more information

Want To Improve Your Riding Fitness?

I’ve got good news.  As a Registered Dietitian and avid MXer, I of course recommend eating a healthy diet and exercise but in addition to that, help is out there in the form of dietary sports supplements.  One brand in particular has got your back, Moto X Nutrition (MXN).  Body builder and supplement specialist Christian Chambers with MXN returned to his ATV rider/racer roots and quickly relearned what a physically demanding sport it was.  Seeing the need he soon set about to develop products to help us rider types.  I’ve been taking their products for over a year now and am very impressed.  My fitness has improved and so have my results on the track.  MXN has several products, so I’ve decided to write a separate blog on each one.  [Read more]

WORCS ROUND 5 Toutle Washington

Lucky for me, round five of the World Offroad Championship Series was held at Riverdale Raceway, not too far from my home.  I was able to make the trek up for the day to enjoy the racing action and snap a few photos of the riders dodging trees, hopping gullies and proving why they are among the toughest in the world.

The WORCS series is like no other racing series in the country.  Riders experience everything from motocross, to tight woods action, to wide open desert and even challenging water features.  Shoot, this event even through supermoto into the mix as the track included a high speed stretch of asphalt.  WORCS racing is definitely not for the faint of heart (nor for the weak body) but for those who dare to attempt it, it is an experience that falls 2nd to none.

Due to the nature of this type of racing it makes it somewhat of a challenge to keep track of rider positions throughout the course of the two hour long pro event.  I did my best to keep track of the top few positions and focus on getting some photos of the racing action.

Yamaha factory pro Dustin Nelson grabbed the holeshot and held onto first position for most of the race.  Beau Baron who has been gaining steadily in the points battle fell inline behind Nelson with Frenchman Jeremie Warina not far behind.  Baron managed to squeeze by Nelson about midway through the race and hold on for the win however the days most impressive feat may have come from Jarrod McClure.  Jarrod raced the John Penton GNCC in Millfield Ohio the day before the WORCS race, hopped aboard a plane bound for the west coast and managed a third place finish at this event.

Injuries seem to be plaguing some of the biggest names at the WORCS races as of late.  Series points leader Josh Fredrick suffered a broken leg while racing an ITP quadcross event just a few weeks ago and was unable to race the Toutle round.  At this event alone both Mike Cafro and Dustin Nelson suffered painful get offs with Cafro sustaining a broken wrist and Nelson pinning himself against a tree.  As the series goes into the summer break, hopefully these riders are quick on the mend and able to rejoin the racing action August 16th in Olympia Washington.

As for the final standings Beau Baron took the checkers as well as jumped to first place in the series points standings.  Jeremie Warina or Frenchy as most people called him took second and Jarrod McClure rounded out the Pro class podium in third.

Mind your manners, trail etiquette

No this is not trail riding for the rich and famous.  It may seem obvious but most people (even seasoned riders) do not really know some of the basics of trail etiquette.  Etiquette means “The practices and forms prescribed by social convention or by authority”-OK that was helpful.  Basically, play nice and respect the trail and other users.  I leaned most of my manners as well as got most of my information from Stay the Trail.  Even though this is a Colorado based organization most (if not all) the information can be applied to every riding area in the country.  What follows are a few basic guidelines/rules to follow on the trail.

Preparation: Of course the first thing is wearing the proper safety gear, most importantly a helmet as most areas will require it.  Know where your going and a little about the area or trail your attempting.  Its the responsibility of the rider(s) to know the local regulations, restrictions and boundaries of the trail or area.  The whole “I didn’t know” excuse does not work and you may get fined if caught in restricted trails or areas.  If your new to the area or are vacationing, do your homework and find out where you can get maps or information on trail closures and restrictions.

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Thunder in the Sand Results…Wildwood NJ

Thunder Motorsports
05/30/2009

Quad ( 6-8) 50cc prod.:     1. Joseph Serrao (Drr);    2. Daniel Linke (Drr);    3. Dylan Ottman (Drr);    4. Justin Gruber (Pol);    5. Evan Thomas (Suz);

Quad (4-6) 50cc prod cvt:     1. Joseph Sweeney (Drr);    2. Jake Zapolski (Drr);
Quad (4-6) 50cc stock:     1. Julian Coffing (Drr);    2. Frankie Castellano (Apx);    3. Elishea Reed (Drr);    4. Elijah Reed (Drr);    5. Devon Rodriguez (Drr);

Quad (6-11) 70cc prod.:     1. Nathan Patrick (Apx);    2. Joseph Cavaliere (Drr);    3. Dale Raven (Drr);    4. Kyle Fordham (Apx);    5. Daniel Linke (Drr);

Quad (8-15) 90cc prod.:     1. Taylor Johnson (Drr);    2. Christina Geiger (Ka);    3. Tyler Avery (Apx);    4. Bradley Roshawski (Apx);    5. Niki Major (Apx);

Quad 91-300 (13-15) Group 1:     1. Jake Gray (Yam);    2. Joseph Cummines (Hon);    3. John Mongrandi (Hon);    4. Trevor Davis (Hon);    5. Cody Ley (Yam);

Quad 91-300 (13-15) Group 2:     1. Tyler Godshall (Hon);    2. Bren Marra (Cob);    3. Will Marshall (Hon);    4. Tim Rumpp (Yam);    5. Dylan Greene (Apx);

Quad A:     1. Patrick Brown (Yam);    2. Donald Lysinger, Jr (Suz);    3. Richard Lindsay (Kaw);    4. Jesse Sheaffer (Suz);    5. Kevin Olson (Hon);

Quad B (Group 2):     1. Larry Krowicki (Hon);    2. William Munyon (Hon);    3. Timothy Notarianni (Suz);    4. Dillon Woolley (Suz);    5. Scott Meizinger (Hon);

Quad B (Group1):     1. Robert Busa (Suz);    2. Paul Callahan (Suz);    3. David Mcdermott (Hon);    4. John Shull (Hon);    5. Kevin Glueck (Yam);

Quad C (Group 1):     1. Justin Carr (Yam);    2. Matthew Shinn (Hon);    3. Jay Hansen (Suz);    4. Kyle Platt (Kaw);    5. Gil Brock, Jr (Suz);

Quad C (Group 2):     1. Chris Wittenberger (Yam);    2. Christopher Graham (Yam);    3. Anthony Cozza (Hon);    4. Devin Woolf (Yam);    5. John Bohonyi (Suz);

Quad C (Group 3):     1. Steve Lyons (Suz);    2. John Wittenberger (Yam);    3. Justin Warren (Hon);    4. Steve Wallace (Hon);    5. Zach Berghof (Hon);

Quad C (Group 4):     1. William Powers (Hon);    2. Jason Burger (Hon);    3. Rudy Danna (Hon);    4. Steven Zalek (Suz);    5. Michael Williams (Hon);

Quad C (Group 5):     1. Daniel Pagnini (Hon);    2. Thomas Cummines (Suz);    3. Edward Gillan (Hon);    4. Gary Losasso (Suz);    5. David Germano (Hon);

Quad C (Group 6):     1. Bill Patterson (Yam);    2. Nicholas Wyshyvanuk (Hon);    3. Shawn Dorr (Suz);    4. Brian Tait (Hon);    5. Andrew Waegener (Yam)
;
Quad C GROUP 7:     1. Richard Perrini (Hon);    2. Anthony Lombardo (Suz);    3. Matthew Carty (Hon);    4. Gary Jackson (Suz);    5. Marcus Roman (Hon);

Quad Collegeboy GROUP 1:     1. Larry Krowicki (Hon);    2. David Mcdermott (Hon);    3. Chris Wittenberger (Yam);    4. Jesse Styers (Suz);    5. Scott Meizinger (Hon)

Quad Collegeboy GROUP 2:     1. Justin Carr (Yam);    2. Nick Cairoli (Hon);    3. Richard Perrini (Hon);    4. Edward Gillan (Hon);    5. Kenny Watson (Hon);

Quad Jr. Mini (6-11) 70cc:     1. Alan Myers (Ecc);    2. David Clark (Cob);    3. Michael Voorhees (Drr);    4. Stephen Rode (Drr);    5. Justin Clark (Apx);

Quad sr. mini #2:     1. David Nevrotski (Drr);    2. Dylan Evans (Cob);    3. Michael Deluca (Hon);    4. Anthony Discepola (Yam);    5. Justin Mason (Cob);

Quad Sr. Mini (8-15) 90cc #1:     1. Daniel Grace (Hon);    2. Philip Mcgarvey (Hon);    3. Tyler Mead (Yam);    4. Nicholas Bassista (Drr);    5. Kyle Fordham (Apx);

Quad Unltd (Group 1):     1. Paul Callahan (Suz);    2. David Mcdermott (Hon);    3. Timothy Notarianni (Suz);    4. Justin Carr (Yam);    5. Tyler Wittje (Suz);

Quad Unltd (Group 2):     1. Jason Delpalazzo (Yam);    2. Christopher Clayton (Hon);    3. Fred Landwher, Iii (Hon);    4. Daniel Pagnini (Hon);    5. Daniel Bergholz (Hon);

Quad Unltd (Group 3):     1. Robert Busa (Suz);    2. Christopher Graham (Yam);    3. Steve Lyons (Suz);    4. Edward Gillan (Hon);    5. Justin Jamision (Hon);

Quad Unltd (Group 4):     1. William Munyon (Hon);    2. Andrew Boho (Yam);    3. Chris Schultz (Hon);    4. Andrew Capps (Yam);    5. Adam Fazzio (Hon);

Quad Vet (Group 1):     1. William Munyon (Hon);    2. Timothy Notarianni (Suz);    3. Barry Clark (Hon);    4. Gary Batta (Yam);    5. Ken Clark (Yam);

Quad Vet (Group 2):     1. Jason Delpalazzo (Yam);    2. Thomas Cummines (Hon);    3. Gary Cardone (Suz);    4. Mike Munn (Hon);    5. John Wittenberger (Yam);

Womens Open:     1. Breelynn Griffith (Hon);    2. Kellie Moran (Cob);    3. Madison Alessi (Xtr);    4. Samantha Ross (Yam);    5. Alisha Dipasquale (Yam);