It's time to provide some closure to my hybrid build thread with a race report from its debut at the 2010 Speedsville Enduro, put on by the Ithaca Dirt Riders in NY.
A little background--I rode this enduro last year, and it was a Death March. They had torrential rain the day before, which resulted in 80+ miles of peanut butter on ice. You know, the conditions that yield an 8-inch rut you can barely stay in with long skid marks on either side from riders' feet trying desperately to keep the bike upright. When you weren't struggling to maintain forward motion in greased ruts, you were flailing to keep the bike from shooting out from under you over the zillions of slick roots, every one of which was positioned perfectly to throw your front wheel into the next county. Wet, rocky streambeds were welcome respite because you could actually find a little predictable traction. Utter misery. I rode my '07 TE 250 Husky and made it to within 10 miles of the finish before houring out. To date, it's the only enduro I've never finished. So I had some unfinished business in Speedsville.
As you've read in this thread, I've had a few teething problems with the hybrid, and I really didn't have much opportunity to do any significant shakedown rides. I did 15 miles several weeks ago in some S. Jersey sand, but it was too hot to do more. So it was with trepidation that I loaded up the KX-DX for the five-hour drive to run the only enduro that's gotten the best of me.
Conditions leading up to Sunday were dry. They hadn't any real rain for a couple weeks, so things looked promising. However, Sunday morning was when the rain began. It was very light at first, just enough to fog your goggles. Which was annoying, because it was still dusty. My contact lenses were loving me once I ditched the goggles.
So how did the bike work? Before the first fuel stop, I was less than stoked. The front end was dancing all over the place, deflecting a lot more than I would have liked. The back end was blowing through its travel in the few whoops they ran us through, even bottoming out a couple times. I had asked for a rocks valving from WER, and it didn't seem to be working. Plus, the power was overwhelming at times. The bottom end was just too abrupt, lifting the front end out of slow corners when I wasn't anticipating it, throwing me off line. Plus, the clutch pull was too stiff. After the first 25 miles, I was certain that I wouldn't last to the end, if only because my left hand was going to give out.
At the first gas, I decided to change a couple things. First was my tire pressure. I'm always nervous about pinch flats, so I had 12 PSI front and rear for this "rock run." Even though I have Tubliss in the rear trials tire, I was nervous about running too low a pressure and maybe cutting the sidewall, which just happened to my buddy a few weeks ago. So I dropped the front to 10 and rear to 8. Second, I decided to just stop using the clutch lever unless I was coming to a stop or the motor was in danger of stalling.
Well, what do you know! I suddenly had a predictable front end. I was now able to use the KX's incredible turning ability to seriously rail some berms in the dryer sections. Plus, I think the fork broke in a bit, giving me a lot more compliance over roots and small rocks that earlier were sending me off line. The course got more technical, and the back end's softness started to work as well, giving me great traction and staying planted under power through rocks and uneven roots. And the trials tire--oh, the trials tire!!--it was magic. Traction, traction, traction!!!!
What about the motor? I commented to my buddy at the first gas that I would probably take off the RB head because the power was too abrupt. The problem was that I was still downshifting for corners like I was on my 125, and I was clutching coming out. When I decided to minimize my clutching to preserve my hand strength, I discovered what all you RB disciples were talking about--it is nearly impossible to stall this motor. You can lug it to what feels like 250 rpm and it just chugs right back up. I left it a gear high for turns, skipped the whole clutch thing, and I saw the light. THIS BIKE IS AWESOME!!
Not long after this epiphany, the steady rain converted the enduro into another Death March. I had about 40 miles of greased rut, root and rock (the unholy trinity) to trudge through, and the KX-DX shined. I stalled a few times trying to find the absolute lowest motor speed through tight rocky singletrack (it's about 12 rpm), but it always restarted on the first kick. There were a couple technical hill climbs that I KNOW I wouldn't have made on my 125 on the first try unless I was super lucky, and the hybrid motored right up. This motor, coupled with the trials tire was just unstoppable. On my 125, I can either lug up a hill or rip up on the pipe. I can't transition from lug to rip on the hill because the abrupt hit will just make for a spinning tire. The KX-DX, however, gives me freedom. Start up the hill on the pipe, slow or even stop for a stalled rider, lug a while, twist the throttle and off you go--up the hill as fast or as slow as you want.
An added perk? Good gas milage. My buddy was on his KTM 250 XC with a 3.4 gallon tank, and he ran out of fuel five miles from the end of the LONG second loop (58 miles). I still had about half a gallon left in my 3.2 IMS at the finish.
Overall, I'm super happy with the bike. After the teething problems it had, I was wondering how long I would own the bike. But now I know it's a keeper. I'm going to try the MSR Raptor Pro clutch lever to try to ease the clutch pull, and if I still think it's too much, I will probably call Garry at EFM to do his thing.
Thanks again to everyone who pioneered the nitty gritty of the hybrid build, allowing a ham-fisted amature like me to crank out a KTM EATING MACHINE!
I knew I ordered those extra master links for some reason. Why have one master link when you can have two for just $1.79 more? Hopefully the two "master" links establish a pecking order quickly--don't want it to go like the "co-managers" at Dunder Mifflin...I'm a nerd AND an idiot...
