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John:
Dust, mud and pebbles. Same effect - keeps your competition at a distance...

//John

teamgreen500:
Rick rules!

A question: Do you ever "Slowly" kick the motor thru a stroke or two to charge the cylinder?

A suggestion: When I'm worried about fogged gogg's (Especially on those occassions where they can get fogged AND dusty!) I either wrap my gogg's in a paper towel and the put them above my visor...OR...when I want to keep'em on, like in the rain, I place a paper towel between the bottom foam of my goog's and my nose and drap it over my nose to force the warm air down thru the bottom of my helmet. This is easy to remove (With your clutch hand!) once under way.

I also use a "No-Fog" type solution on the inside.

Great Post...great advice!

Braaaappppp!

Manny

Rick:
Manny,

Good call on the paper towel.  Never thought of that before.  

On the goggles, here's another tip.  If it's dusty, while I wait at the start line, I wet my goggles on the front brake resevoir with the lense side up.  This way dust does not fill the inside of the goggles.  I also put a small about of baby oil on the top and side foam to keep dust out while still allowing air in.  Finally, if it's raining, I put my goggles under my chest protector while I wait at the start to keep them dry and close to body temperature.  I've seen some folks with their goggles inside a truck at the start, with a friend handing them over at the last minute.  Great idea to keep them dry, but bad idea for fogging.  The change in temperature from inside a vehicle to the outside air results in no vision.  Same goes for goggles waiting at the pit, keep them in a clear plastic bag outside the vehicle.

RIck

teamgreen500:
About fogged goggles...and this probably oughta be a new thread:

When your goggles fog up, you should STOP and fix the situation. Here's why...

I got to race my first BITD race with the left side of my body COMPLETELY WRECKED! Purple, Yellow, Blue, Green bruising EVERYWHERE...from ankle to shoulder. My Doctor, who's an Extreme Jock, didn't want me to race...WHY?

Because a week before the race, Manny, the IDIOT, thought he knew where he was on a familiar trail, even though he couldn't SEE(!) well due to FOGGED UP GOGGLES!! :oops:

So, I hit this double...WRONG...it was the Triple! about a 1/4 mile before the Double! But, I was a bit disoriented due to the goggles! Can you say SMACK-DOWN!!! :shock:

Last Thanksgiving I High-Sided at about 50 MPH on a Hi-Speed Down-Hill jump...dislocated shoulder...blah, blah, blah...didn't hurt or scare the HE!! outta me as much as the Foggy-Goggles incident! :roll:

Take Care of your Optics!

Thanks again, Rick, for making the point.

Manny

KX142:
I race the GNCC's and just wanted to add a few things, I don't know if the're the same for desert racers or not.
One is where to line up on the start. I always take the shortest distance from the start line to the the first turn. This is usually the inside. This is also dependent upon a smooth line into the first corner. Sometimes there are bumps, rocks, or mud in the way. You can't get out front if you get slowed down in a hole.
Another big thing is to hold the power on for about a second longer than you think you can and still make the INSIDE of the first corner. I always shoot for the inside(remember I already was lined up on the inside) of the first turn, thats where the holeshot comes from. This is also a very good place to be very aggressive with the cylinder shaped object in your right hand. At races with a banner held up with short wooden stakes marking the first turn, I usually take the stake out or at least slap it. Use all the track here, it can give you the extra 6 inches that you need to keep from getting pinched off when you are on the inside.
I do like to charge the cylinder with gas when shutting the bike off, it gives the bike a little extra when ignition happens. This enables me to actually let the clutch out while I'm starting to kick the bike and it will not stall. If you watched my rear wheel, it starts turning when my kicker is at about 10 o'clock.
I'll upload some pics of the last couple of GNCC's to the gallery. Check them out, the're good pics of the 500 in action.

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