Baja Bound...But I Need A Bike!

Project Bike

I recently had a Project Bike dropped in my lap and am very near completing the process.

During a conversation with a Canadian OTMX racing buddy (Don Tocher) he relayed that he would like to go to Baja one more time before he died!  This stopped me in my tracks and made me think, wow, I go ride with people down in Baja on a semi regular basis and seem to take it for granted. It made such an impact on me that I encouraged Don to not wait until it was too late. Let’s get on with making it happen and he asked me if I would look around my area for a decent used bike that he could purchase and turn into a dependable Baja bike.

Since everyone and their brother seems to use the Honda CRF 450X as a platform for racing, pre running and trail riding down there I figured it would be the best choice. Considering availability and other people with spares, etc. Also Don seems to have a preference for Hondas.

I searched ads, asked buddies and kept my eyes open for a Honda 450X. Another buddy, Montana John, dropped a contact number on me for a Honda that he said seemed to be in pretty good shape and was within our budget. We were shopping in the $3000 to $3500 range. Great!!!   Then I called the guy and found out he was about an hour and a half away, doh!!!  So I made a date to come look at his bike and made the trek. It was not the ideal time because I had to go in the evening and it was dark by the time I got there. So I bust out the flashlight and do my very best to look for all the problem areas I know of on the Honda 450x model. I really didn’t find any and it seemed to be in much better than average condition for the year model. The engine cases, frame, plastics, chain and sprockets all looked clean and/or original. This was good news. It was not a makeover and appeared to have been parked for quite some time in a garage somewhere.

So I attempted to fire it up, listen to the engine and take it for a test ride, to check gearbox, clutch, motor performance, etc. It was not easy to get started and when I checked the gas in the tank, it really didn’t smell much like gas anymore, so I figured ok the gas is bad and the jets are probably plugged up too.  I finally got it running and of course it didn’t want to stay running or idle, but after a warm up I took it down the road and was pleasantly surprised at how tight the motor, gearbox and clutch were even though it didn’t pull worth a crap on the bottom end due to carb plugged and bad gas. But once I got it rolling and on the pipe it pulled very well and sounded good!

So I made the deal and loaded up and was on my way, fingers crossed that I had not missed anything while looking with a flashlight in the drive way. I know what you are thinking…..No he did not have a garage.

Once back at the ghetto/repair facility (my garage) I began work the next day. Draining gas, checking for issues in the daylight and making a list of things it would need to be Baja worthy. It already had a Yoshimura pipe, Oversize tank, Skid plate and Fat Bars with risers as well as Moose radiator guards.

On closer inspection I found several small areas that needed to be addressed and set to work. It has now been a week with a few half days of wrenching, adjusting, replacing and putting together a parts list. The bike is in pretty good shape now and I finished just in time to take it on my normal Monday Taco ride, which is a loop that covers about 95 miles with tacos and a soda midway. The bike performed without a hiccup but needs a bit of suspension adjusting. Considering my normal ride is a 500 KTM XCW with SBB suspension just about any bike would require adjusting to make me happy!

So the second ride was quite impressive after adjusting the fork oil, rebound and compression. I then moved on to the shock which seemed to be soft and sluggish in bigger bumps. The feeling led me to believe the nitrogen was probably depleted. After recharging the shock to the proper nitrogen pressure it reacted much better. A bit of adjusting compression and rebound resulted in a much better ride. It was now fun to ride, kinda like a Honda! Imagine that.

So now it comes down to my Canadian buddy, Mr. Tocher. Will he make the trip down to ride Baja this spring or will he let another year slip away………………..Stay tuned, as we all wait to see what happens.

#33

‘Don’t be afraid of death, be afraid of an unlived life’

2017 World Champ Tour!

Touring Baja

Having just completed a ride in Baja with Charlie Marshall, Kerry Barnes, Jimmy Sones and myself I had to give it a name.  Jimmy was the unofficial point man with the rest of us following into many new areas we had never ridden. We saw some spectacular new areas and some less fun stuff that included about 10 miles of mud that stopped front wheels from rolling and destroyed fork seals!  In our 4 days of riding we covered about 500 miles from the Gulf to the Coast and back, a wide variety of terrain.  We even spotted a Mountain lion on the coastal run!

Now back to the name, ‘World Champ Tour’!  It seems Kerry, aka “el Guapo” likes to remind anyone who will listen that he has earned a World Championship title, lol. I think he told me it was in the WORCS series, over 60 class back in 1945 or something like that!  Of course you get a few geezers sitting down to dinner after a ride each day and the stories flow freely. So Charlie let’s Kerry know he also has a WORCS ‘world champ’ title. But his is in the 50 class, so now el Guapo has been one upped in age bracket. I was thoroughly entertained and kept quiet for a few more dinners. Then I let it fly that I had Two World Champ titles, Score Off Road World Champion (1980) and 4-Stroke World Champion (1982). Jimmy chimed in on the SCORE race and said, “that was You?” “I remember that race I was there that day!” So el Guapo got quiet for a minute, well maybe not a full minute but at least 7 seconds! It was a nice 7 seconds, lol!

I think maybe Jimmy was a little bummed because he couldn’t lay a World Champ title on the dinner table. So he shared his accomplishment of winning the Baja 1000 Ironman class! That means SOLO!!!  I pretty much shut up, but el Guapo seemed to miss the SOLO reference, so he soldiered on with his entertaining little stories and we all nodded and smiled.  I had ridden on a TEAM and rode 230 miles during a Baja 1000 and my butt was whooped when I was done!

We had a GREAT time, riding some obscure areas with almost no tracks, beautiful views in remote areas and very little in the way of problems. I was the only real hindrance one day when my countershaft bolt backed out and the sprocket came off. We searched the trail but never found the bolt. But since we had just started our 3^rd day we were only 10 miles or so out. Jimmy and Charlie rode back and luckily located a KTM to rob the parts and we were back on the trail. Saved my butt! I tried an aftermarket washer for the first time and it did not do the job. I will be using the stock bolt and washer now!

On our muddy excursion day el Guapo had to beg for gas on the trail when his bike went on reserve with about 40 miles to go. It wasn’t his fault though, you will have to ask him why. He started to tell me but I just put my bike in gear and rode away! Then we spent the next hour or so in the mud and el Guapo must have picked his bike up about half a dozen times after tipping over. It looked like his bike must have weighed 500 pounds by the way he had to pick it up! I was going to help him but didn’t want to insult a former World Champ so I just waited patiently, and took pictures!

In Catavina we met 3 youngsters that were exploring new rides themselves. Jimmy allowed them to ride with us the following day as long as they didn’t pass the geezers on the trail and they agreed. I was the sweep rider the whole trip so I got a front row seat and got quite a chuckle in the first 10 miles. These guys rode just fine, but they were no match for our Geezer World Champs! Charlie and el Guapo had to wait for these kids! It was not a bad thing because it allowed our group to rest on occasion while waiting for the Monster Energy/Red Bull/RockStar generation. When we came to the more difficult sections of rock climbs and tight singletrack el Guapo would run away from the kids. The trail that day was one of the best we rode all week. I hope the kids appreciated Jimmy showing them the way.

We had a GREAT week and saw lots of new stuff, I hope I can go back to see it again before too long or I will forget. Since I am not a GPS guy. Maybe someday, just not ready yet. Besides, Jimmy lost one on the trail and me being a poor broke down retired moto dude on a fixed income that lives in the ghetto, I can’t afford to do that!

#33

Look back at life and say “I can’t believe I did that”, instead of saying, “I wish I had done that!”