Beacons Rally

[Mudfacetony]

Too late for anyone to enter as its full but with only 2 CRM's listed its becoming a very lonely existance trying to so the CRM is up beating the orange stuff

Lets have some more of you taking the plunge and enter - this one is a fantastic event. Its the same club that run the Cambrian in October - entry forms out at the end of this month.

[superbob]

I really wanna get into some enduro racing so opefully my name will be down for sum later in the year

[Mudfacetony]

I really wanna get into some enduro racing so opefully my name will be down for sum later in the year

A Rally is like an enduro in the format of the event but not as hard (by far). In enduros and rallys you have to get round the course (or from one timed point to another in certain amount of time), within that course are one or more special tests where bascially, you ride as fast as you can as the special test is timed to within 1/10th of a second, the rest of the route is timed to within 1 second, effectively you loose time if you are late on the route and sepcial but the special you loose a point for each 1/10th. The terrain is MUCH harder in an enduro - mainly in forests flogging through boggy stuff or over loads of tree roots and not much forest roads. A rally is really easy by comparison, more fire roads and the tough stuff is not so difficult.

However, a rally special tesat tends to be much faster as its much more open going so the top lads reach 100 mph + as opposed to 50 mph say for an enduro (if your lucky). A rally is a good place to start your enduro career racing (or to end it - there are loads of folk over 40 in them and you even get folks in their 60's - you can stay competitive in a rally in your 50's, just see my results in them as an example) A rally is much more sociable as the route times are very slack so you get time to stop, grab a bite to eat, talk to folks etc. before you go do your next lap. In an enduro you find you generally only get time to fill your bike with fuel. If I'm right you are Peak District area (?) so ideally based to get to the Ryedale in Pickering or the Welsh stuff.

[back off road]

sounds like racing for the not so fit amongst us

maybe something i need to look further into

[Mudfacetony]

sounds like racing for the not so fit amongst us

maybe something i need to look further into

That about right, the hard(er) bits are the special tests so about 10 to 20 minutes per lap you get tired on instead of the whole lap

[back off road]

what mods would i be looking at to be competitve , dont want to turn up on a std crm and get my ass kicked ,i no its alot to do with the rider not the bike but a competitive bike is a start

[Mudfacetony]

what mods would i be looking at to be competitve , dont want to turn up on a std crm and get my ass kicked ,i no its alot to do with the rider not the bike but a competitive bike is a start

Not a lot of mods needed really. Maily the simple mods in the technical stuff like opening up the airbox etc. like removing the air box baffle.

I used my Mk3 two years ago with the forks and rear shock serviced and nothing else and finished 10th overall in the UK rally championship and best in the T2 class (trail up to 250cc). I also won the Welsh Trail Riders Association Club championship (trail class which is the class for trail and rally bikes) in the same year. last year I used my Mk 2. Again forks and shock serviced but with the forks re-valved to same valving as a cr125. Finished 12th in the UK Rally Championship (T2 Class win) and 3rd Trail class in the WTRA championship (1 DNF, the championship is four days of racing). This year back on the Mk3 with the balance shaft disconnected and an engine rebuild (sump plug came out in May £££!) and rebore. Finished top trail at the Ryedale and keilder Rallies (rally bikes in seperate class), and 8th and 9th overall respectively. This is competing agianst the likes of Craig Bounds, Steve Hauge and Patsy Quick, all Dakar finishes and very quick riders on big rally bikes. Steve and Craig are exceptional riders . The "overall" results also include the sports bikes which are your enduro bikes of KTM etc like the EXC 200, 250, 300, 450, 530's etc. - Great when you sail past a brand new enduro bike with someone on board 20 years your junior.

In short you don't need to do much, just make sure you have it well prepared, oil change, filter clean, good chain, good tyres and tubes (I run a moose in the front) and strong levers in case you drop it. Overall, it is rider capability, being willing to take risks and luck. I don't profess to being a megga good rider, but I'm willing to take some risks and I've been lucky (and unlucky as in 2008 I came off at the Ryedale when a rider had stopped in the special and I went off the course and wrote a bike off. Give it a go, you will love it.

[superbob]

Thats some top advice there cheers I will be doing some rallys for sure now ad better get looking for a local group to get in touch with so I can start. Anyway I had better go to work I realy want to go green laning now.

[back off road]

is it time to start practicing at chesterfield bob

[superbob]

its time to start practicing any were I can find I got out laning for an hour or two to day it was a blast really quick and a huge wheelie but I think I might be out again in the week.

[Mudfacetony]

its time to start practicing any were I can find I got out laning for an hour or two to day it was a blast really quick and a huge wheelie but I think I might be out again in the week.

Next time I'm down in Derbyshire seeing family (mid Sept) I'll bring a bike down and go laning with you if I can (Sat or Sun). The Mrs can then go spending the hard earnt stuff shopping.

[back off road]

let us no when tony ,and we can make a day out and find out abit more about this rally racing and possibly an evening aswell

[superbob]

yea spot on theres loads of good lanes up here its not all the doom and gloom that you read about with all the lanes being shut down. you can have a good days riding up here.

[back off road]

New project get suspension sorted front and back , costly i no but will be worth it .Then have a go at the rallys next season with something that wont try and throw me off at every opertunity .Anyone done any upgrades worth considering . And before its suggested i cant afford to fit a hagon rear shock unless anyone has one laying in the shed for about £50

[superbob]

well the suspension is really easy to work on I did the front forks a month or two back and put some lighter fork oil in them its made them really good but the rear suspension cant be done at home. Im still looking at how to get in to racing atm but Im not having much luck I cant find the right people to talk to in my area.