mx775

These days, it seems like everyone wants to make 450s slower: the AMA wants to turn them into 350s; the manufacturers keep trying to mellow their power off the showroom year by year. Everyone, that is, except nearly everyone who rides one.

That’s why we all keep buying pipes to pump up the power. But at DR.D, former Yamaha factory rider Doug Dubach and his crew have taken a two-part approach: they want to pump up the power without sacrificing the rideability that the AMA and the manufacturers keep searching for.

And this philosophy has led them to a good place with the 2008 DR.D pipe tested here. This steel head pipe/aluminum silencer combo takes the power curve of my stock CRF450, which is strong and versatile to begin with, and heightens it throughout. Unlike many other aftermarket exhausts, it doesn’t radically change the bikes characteristics; it just turns up the volume everywhere—without actually raising the real volume (the pipe’s tone is only marginally more aggressive than the stock system.)

The effect on the bike is sometimes deceiving. I was unsure whether the pipe was an improvement during my warm-up laps (it felt and sounded much like the stock,) but as soon as I tried to go fast I found myself overshooting turns and flat-wheeling jumps—and this was on a track that I know pretty well. The best way to distinguish the DR.D exhaust from the stock pipe was in simple velocity. The end of long straights became blurry with the DR.D pipe—in a very good way.

Because it is made from steel and aluminum, this system is heavier than comparable titanium exhausts. But, on the plus side, it will leave your wallet heavier too: it retails for $230 less than the same DR.D system in titanium. Also, the steel head pipe has a unique bronze hue.

The fit and finish were excellent, and if I had to gripe about anything, it would be the lack of a head-pipe guard. I loved the guard on the LeoVince system I tested last, and I think every company should include one now.

Rating (out of 10): 9 If you like the characteristics of your stock CRF, but just want a little more boost everywhere, this pipe is a great choice.

MSRP: $549.00

Tested on: 2008 Honda CRF450R

Contact: Big Valley Honda at 775-322-4311 or www.bigvalleyhonda.com or www.dubachracing.com

Posted by beaupre716 at 11:00 PM | Permalink

During a week in which we could use a little sanity on the message board, a young racer offered some by posing a question: why do you race motocross?

On the surface it seems easy to answer. Motocross is obviously fun and exciting, and the experiences one has in racing are hard to top in a lot of ways. But after that I wondered: what exactly makes it fun and exciting? Or, more specifically, what makes it worth the stress, danger and expense that riders face in pursuing it?

I came up with a few different explanations on this, but I’m not sure that any of them fully explain what makes it worth it for me. Here are some of my rejected hypotheses:

The Social Aspect There are many opportunities for camaraderie and friendship in motocross, and I’ve made some good friends racing dirt bikes, and many, many good acquaintances.

Yet I have a lot of good friends who’ve never even ridden a dirt bike, and I have so much to do with family most days that I only see most of my motocross friends at the races. So I’m not sure the social aspect in itself explains anything.

The Adrenaline Aspect There seems to be something habit-forming about things that raise the pulse, and few things raise the pulse more than diving into the first turn with a dozen other racers. As terrifying as it is in the moment, I always seem to want to do it again when it’s all over.

But there are many other ways I’ve found to scare myself, and many of them are not as genuinely dangerous as motocross (skateboarding at the park near my house, for example.)  And while I always feel exhilarated snowboarding, I almost never want to do it until I’m actually at the top of the hill again. So I’m not convinced it’s only the adrenaline.

The Ego Aspect I will not lie to you: I am proud that I can ride a motocross bike at the level that I do. I am certainly no RC, but racing at the highest local level has always been something I silently congratulate myself on each time I check the “Pro” box on my entry forms. And it gives me a great thrill each time someone tells me that I looked fast in the last moto.

Yet for every reminder I have of my success, there is always some other thing that drives me to humility. For example, I have raced Nate Tiearney for many years, because we are about the same age and grew up in the same city. And while I can recall beating--at least once or twice--most of the other riders that race my class, I am positive I have never beat Nate (at least not straight up.) Sure, Nate is a very good rider, but it’s discouraging to think that I am 0-932 against him.

So with no clear explanation on what makes motocross worth it to me, I could maybe assume that it’s the combination of these things that add up to make it worthwhile. All of the things above surely count for something, after all.

But there’s one other thing.

When I am going to sleep at night, I think about riding. I think most often about the last time I rode: the jumps, the turns, the starts. And when I think about them, there are no friends in the picture, no jolts of adrenaline, no reminders of ego. There is just riding, and the simple satisfaction of moving on a dirt bike.

And it’s within this habit that the truest explanation for my devotion to motocross may lie. Motocross is like a song that’s become stuck in my head, a tune that I keep humming unconsciously to myself for reasons I don’t fully understand.

****

But enough about me. Why do you race motocross? Please tell us here or on the original post that Preston Joy made on the message board. And thanks for bringing this up, Preston.

Posted by beaupre716 at 09:10 PM | Permalink

In the mist of another bout of morbid curiosity, I recently dropped by Champion Speedway to see what had become of my old favorite track. Sadly, it was sitting there as useless as it has been since the last race ended on September 25, 2005. From what I understand, the developer who bought the land has found it difficult to find any use for it that would be as profitable as he hoped when he bought it.

For those who never saw it, here are some words and photos that I put up three months after the last race.

Not to be bitter or anything, but I hope the neighbors who opposed the track (which, by the way, was there three decades before they arrived) now enjoy the sight of the vacant, rotting structures that occupy the space where the thriving racetrack once stood.

Of course, somthing will become of the Carson site someday. But for now, it's just another reminder of the priorities of the non-motocross world. 

And yes, I am riding the abandoned track in those photos. Even after three months of decay, it was still pretty sweet.

Posted by beaupre716 at 08:42 PM | Permalink