1997 ATK 605 DSES

CALVMX Vintage motocross, Glen Helen

Yes, another ATK.  I have had 2 prior to this one.  A 94 605 which I mentioned on an ealier post, but I also had an 89 604 CC/MX.  The 604 I vintage raced for a bit, which was actually an awesome bike.  Had a 560 motor in it, kick only, but it felt snappier and seemed to want to rev more on the track.  I later found a crack in the case, and did have the money or time to get it repair properly.  This one I WILL find again.  This thing was trick, along with the MX seat and tank.  Only 604 MX I have ever seen in person, only maybe even 1 of 10 I have seen on the internet.  Sorry, I only have a picture of it with the CC tank.  Tme MX tank and seat made all the difference at the track though.

But back to this one, a 1997 ATK 605.  Second year of the odd ball one sided frame.  Every trick part you could ask for: electric start, talon billet hubs, talon sprockets, brembo brakes, WP suspension, 190W stator, linkless rear shock, super reliable motor, skid plate, and street legal.  This ATK was built after the company was acquired and moved to Utah.  This is another bike that seemed ahead of its time and pushed limits on design.

 As a dual sport I felt this fit me better then the 94 I had.  It went straight at high speeds, wheel wouldn't deflect, suspension stock was plush and would suck up whoops all day long.  It took getting used to in single track, it fells top heavy at real slow speeds.  Once you realize you need to keep your momentum up though, it would do pretty good.  I would be able to get into the flow of tight twisty trails, but it did make you work for it a bit more than a MX bike.  This is the only bike I felt comfortable on at VERY high sustained speeds in the desert.  I have ridden bikes that had a lot of suspension work, and even some of those didn't feel this good.  A lot of folks I talk to about these older ATKs have mentioned that this suspension combo seems to perform better the more you throw at it.  I will have to agree with them on that.

I beat on this bike for almost a year with no serious problems or issues.  I did everything from commuting to and from work, to single track, to desert.  I racked up several thousand miles on this bike in the short time I had it.  Then I was tempted with a deal I couldn't pass up.  A friend of mine was leaving the area and he was selling his 2007 KTM 450XC.  The grass is always greener on the other side, right?

Again, ATK is still in business out of Utah and parts are still available.  They are not producing a dirt bike at the moment, otherwise I would probably have one of those as well.  ATK actually has some of the best customer service I have ever experienced from any dealer, let alone the factory!  Those guys are awesome to work with.

Got a few more bikes to talk about before I get to my race bike.  Hopefully this is some good reading for you all. 

The Crew

This is where I beg, plead, make promises, ask for some help in trade for beer or bike work to get my chase team together.  Lucky for me I have a few friends who are willing to drop what they are doing for the sake of adventure.

1.  Jerry - A good friend of mine who I met working at a motorcycle shop.  We talked bikes, that led to guns, that led to school, that led to Vets BSing, metal fabrication, that led to past lives and rock crawlers, and that led to him hiring me for a manufacturing job in the tactical industry.  We have both been looking for the sweet life on our own terms. 

Jerry is another Jack of all trades, master of none type of guy.  He is a guy that can get things done with what he's got.  I figure if there was anyone to lead a chase crew, that's the kind of guy you want.  He also has experience operating a chase team in other motorsports.  He has experience tackling, what most people consider huge endeavors, within a budget and with realistic expectations.  Jerry will be the guy that keeps me in check when I try to get too carried away with ideas and grand plans. 

2.  George - George is a friend I met through Jerry.  An engineer from the desert who likes shooting.  Me and Jerry recently talked George into picking up a dual sport.  This guy is now riding more then I do!!  So I now I am going to expose him to a whole new side of dirt bikes I hope he enjoys and never forgets. 

3.  Dad - At this very moment, he doesn't know he is going to be doing this.  But I know if it involves motorcycles, racing, and race trucks, he is will be in.  He grew up riding in the California desert and Mexico  as a kid.  His stories and pictures of desert racing in the 60's and 70's are what got me into the sport.  He was off bikes for over 30 years, and got back on a Harley a few years ago.  Being as he is in Utah and I'm in California, we have yet to ride together.  After years of me telling him about my dual sport adventures and desert racing, he got back into the dirt this past year.  He now has a V-strom 650 all decked out for adventure riding.

A little dated, but its motorcycle related.

So this is the tentative chase team.  (I know life happens and things get in the way, so this team is open to change.)  I will be offering my 2007 FJ cruiser up as the vehicle, but depending on our planning and what we think is best, I may have to "rent" one of their vehicle or just rent a van in Vegas to haul everything.  The logistics of this whole operation I'm sure will be evolving over the next year with everyone's input.

Eventually the profile of each member of the Team will be posted.

1987 Husqvarna 430XC

Big bore 2 stroke.  6 speed.  Need I say more?  The 87 Husky 430XC was actually a really fun and fast bike.  The suspension was surprisingly good off road.  Ergonomics were the typical 80s style, sitting more behind the tank and farther back.  The seat was also typical 80s era, wide, deep, and very comfortable.  The cool thing about the Huskys from this era was that there was so much interchangeable parts between the models.  Bottom ends had parts that could be swapped as far back as the air cooled models.  You could pretty much pick a tranny from any of the models and slap it it.  You have 250, 430, and 500s, 2 stroke and 4 strokes even, to share parts between.  I was lucky enough to get the better electrical system that put out 140 watts if I'm not mistaken.  In California, these parts along with a green sticker is a recipe for a plated bike. 

 I never got to the point to plate it because the one big pitfall of the bike, vibration.  This bike had gobs of low end power, but would still produce the power up high to make this bike fly...If you could hold on long enough.  The bike vibrated more then any other big bore 2 stroke I had to date.  From my research and getting in touch with guys who dealt with the factory desert teams that ran this bike, the solution was adding a motor mount.  From the factory, there was only 2 motor mounts, and no head mount.  So the hot trick of the day was to add this extra mount and it eliminated some of the vibration, along with balancing the motor. 

 This was one of the best looking bikes I have had, and at the time I didn't know I had a lot of trick, hard to find parts for it such as guards, up-tite skid plates, up-tite reed blocks, pipes, and enough extra parts to make three-quarters of another bike.  With the huge amount of low end grunt it made a killer trail bike, but at the time I wanted speed.  I really wanted to like this bike, but as my one and only bike, this wasn't it.

From this experience I found out how much vibration can really effect your stamina.  It wasn't something I put a lot of thought into at the time.  But when you spend a few hours on a bike that puts your hands to sleep, it's really hard to want to like the bike.  The ride becomes less enjoyable.  If I find another, I will definitely look into flex bars and balancing the motor, and if that doesnt cut it, break down and add the motor mount.  Its just too damn cool to not want another one.

CafeHusky.com was a huge wealth of knowledge of these bikes.  This is one of the less popular generations of Husqvarnas, but there are some die hards on that forum that really know there stuff.  It is a one stop shop for older Huskys.   

Fitness....as in, lack of.

I am looking at fitness as more then just having the strength to survive, but as a means of injury prevention.  Since getting so far out of shape, it doesn't take much for me to get sore, or cause muscular injuries.  I want to be able to take the beating, fight off injuries, and if an injury does occur, a higher level of fitness will be beneficial in the healing and recovery process. 

So for my fitness strategy to conquer I will dive back into my military training.  I was never the fastest, or the strongest, but I could hang on for days.  My level of endurance and high threshold for pain and misery carried me for years.  Since getting out, almost 4 years ago, I have not got back into any sort of physical training routine.  It was'n required to earn a college degree, I had no time or extra money to become involved in anything that demanded physical training, so it all just slipped away.  The days where I could wake up, goto the gym, have a 2 hour lunch to goto the pool, get off at 4 and got for a 5 mile run are behind me now.  Free time is a scarce thing these days.  So whatever I do I will have to make it work in short intervals.

Between the typical military physical beat downs and body hardening I did a few months training with a crossfit gym and at one point followed more of a body building type regiment.  I think for this I am going to to a little of everything.  I don't have access to a pool, so that will be cut out, even though the pool was one of the best exercises I got involved in.  My schedule allows for about 45 minutes in a typical corporate gym, 3 treadmills, a smith machine, a bike, and an elliptical, and a bit of time after work after my son goes to sleep and between whatever home projects I am working on.

At the gym I use at work I want to focus on cardio.  I've got 45 minutes to use, and figure sprinting until my lungs burn and riding hills on the bike is a good use of this time.  At home I will reacquaint myself with the pull up bar and my old friend the kettle bell.  I will have to see if I can modify some interval training schedules to accommodate what equipment I have access to.  Ultimately if I can come across a used rower, this would be a huge help.

Shortly I will have some sort of baseline recorded.  I know where I stood at the peak of my military career, so I will compare to that as best I can.  As of now, I am 220 lbs, and slow.  At my best I was 190 lbs and nothing on earth could have made me give up whatever task was placed in front of me.  Now, I am pretty sure my past self would have slapped my present self into a bloody mess if we met.

This fitness portion will be ever evolving and I will record the baseline I create to show progress over time. 

My riding experience.

When I first got interested in this race I was sure I was going to be the only new guy, the one unprepared guy on an old bike in a sea of professionals and factory teams.  I don't know where that stigma came from, but in my research and reaching out to prior racers I found this was not the case.  I was an amateur, budget racer, that was just looking for a finish, not the win.  I made a lot of assumptions that seemed to put this out of my reach, which ended up not being the case. 

Assumptions such as: I need to be a pro level rider.  I need to have a huge budget and a fleet of chase vehicles.  I need the newest bike with all the best parts.  In reality, if you have a few bucks, a desire, some mechanical ability, and a good attitude you can probably make this happen. 

So to tackle the assumption that I needed to be a pro level rider.  This is not happening for me, period.  So this excuse was crushed once I came to the conclusion if I waited for this I would never make it.  I just ride as much as I can and try to ride different disciplines.  

I have been fun riding since I was a teenager out int he Utah desert.  It wasn't until I was in my late 20s that I started taking on races and competitions.  Each year I do a handful of motocross, desert, vintage motocross, and have done a few stints into street/supermoto bikes here and there.  I believe they all teach you good riding skills and have aspects that transfer from one discipline to another.  Unless I tried these different riding styles I would never have made these connections from one style to the other. 

I am far from an expert level rider, novice to intermediate depending on the type of riding and organization.  I do feel I am consistent thought.  I do not go out twist the throttle and get over my head.  I typically ride to my ability and calculate the risks and pick my lines carefully.  From talking to folks who have done these long races luck, good prep, fitness, and mental attitude go a LONG way into completing the event.   

Being in southern California I am very fortunate to be in the middle of dirt bike heaven.  Thanks to organizations like District 37, District 38, CALVMX, and Pala Raceway, I wouldn't have nearly as many experiences or met some incredible folks who all have good advice or tips to help me become a better rider.

 The point of this whole rant to to get those guys out there who are on the fence or think they need to have the best of the best, be the best, and have tons of money to really look into this event and do some research.  Its a huge event, but thanks to the Best in the Desert Organization it is still doable for the grassroots guys.  

1994 ATK 605 DSES

This is the first of a long string of ATKs for me.  I came across this on a trade for a Yamaha Blaster my wife had.  She was over the quad due to a rollover and figured I would give this a shot.  Got as much info as I could find on ATK, which isn't a lot, and headed on out for the trade.

 If your not aware of ATK, they are an American motorcycle company that opened shop in the early 80s.  They started in Laguna and then moved to LA.  Their early bikes were all ahead of their times and full of small innovations.  Linkless PDS rear suspension all the way back in the 80s, years ahead of KTM.  Actually the guy who designed ATK is the same person who designed KTM's PDS system.  Early ATKs had the rear brake mounted on the counter shaft.  Race bikes in the 80's had fuel injection and all kinds of trick parts.  Frames were hand welded C&J units and all had the legendary robust Rotax motors.  If you like small business innovation and history, read up on ATK.  They have had a pretty interesting history and always seem ahead of the game.

This particular ATK 605 was made in Los Angeles.  WP suspension all around, electric start, large tank, Talon hubs, etc.  This bike had it all out of the box and this particular bike also had an aftermarket cam and a full Up-Tite racing stainless exhaust, this is vintage, exotic, unobtanium.  The bike did great and it got me into old 4 strokes and dual sports.

This bike handled its weight really well as long as you kept your speed up.  All the primo parts worked great.  I did mostly single track and a bit of desert on this and folks were always pretty impressed with its nimbleness.  The motor has more torque than you know what to do with and it can lug way gown low.  This was a bike you can put in 3rd and leave it there for most of the day.  You just point the front wheel and throttle over it all with this pig.  The only real complaint is the seat.  If you need it for more than a few hours, you're going to pay the price.  

I sold this bike, not full appreciating what it was.  I thought there were bigger and better things out there.  So it went to a knew home, and from this point on every bike I ever rode was compared to this.

Since I got turned on to ATK, I think I have only seen one other in person.  Then out of the blue I started seeing questions about ATKs in the local dual sport club forum.  Shortly after I saw some pictures, and to my surprise it was my old bike!!!  The story is, the guy who bought it from me neglected it pretty badly.  To the point it no longer ran.  It was picked up by a new owner who dove into it with a new top end, new transmission, and continues to ride this bike all over the southwest and Baja.  Outside of a broken clutch cable the bike has never let him down.  ATK owners are a pretty small community and I thought it was pretty cool that I can see the new owner still taking this bike out on some very impressive adventures. 

Same bike, new owner.

The 605 is still having some amazing adventures.

  

A short history of Vegas to Reno

To give you all a little background about why I picked this as my first "long" race, I will tell you a bit about the race itself.  The race is put on by the Best in the Desert racing association and the Vegas to Reno race is one of several longer races put on each year.  Vegas to Reno's claim to fame is the fact that its the longest point to point off road race in the U.S.  Casey Folks has put this race on every year since 1996 and and to this day still sits at the starting line giving each rider words of encouragement as you wait to get the go ahead to take off from the starting line.  This race has gone through several revisions of the years, from single day events, to 3 day events racking up 700+ miles.  It seems to have settle back into single day races with anywhere from 500 to 600 miles.

 Now with all this lineage and huge mileage, why would I choose this one?  Well several things pop into my mind as a budget minded average racer.  First thing I think about is safety.  There are much bigger races with much more notoriety taking place south of the boarder, but I have no experience in Baja, and out there experience and knowing the lay of the land is everything.  I just don't feel comfortable taking myself and being responsible for a support crew into Baja at this time.  Hell, working on the logistics in the U.S. is going to be challenging enough let alone dealing with another language, remote pits, booby traps, pre-running, and 1000 miles of seat time.  If I go down and need help I have comfort knowing helicopters, ambulances, safety vehicles, etc are near by.

Second reason I chose this race is the cost.  Entry fees are relatively cheap, I can camp at the starting line, and typically all but 1 or 2 pits can be accessed by just about any truck or van and are close to main roads.  I don't need to convince several teams of friends to bring several chase vehicles with duplicate or triplicate parts and pit for me.  Being on a budget, this race can be done with one chase vehicle, and I can afford a pit service to pit for me in the remote pit locations.  So, get 2 or 3 buddies in a truck loaded with fuel, food, parts, and a good attitude and I am set.  I have talked to several teams that went down to Baja to race and it seems tens of thousands of dollars to prep, get there, race, and get home is the norm for motorcycles.  Maybe another day.

The race is a high speed event.  In reading about bike prep for this event, the normal gearing question usually comes up, and the answer is always the same, "gear to the moon."  This course usually offer long sustained high speed sections, and this is where time can be made up.  I am sure we can all say the day before the race, that "slow and steady wins the race," or "to finish first, you must first finish", but that usually goes out the window the second you see another person.  I have to practice patience in this situation, because when I see dust ahead my race pace picks up and the competitor in me kicks into gear.

The terrain is relatively "easy", the course is well marked, and pre-running weeks in advance is not allowed or required.  I am not the first to do this as my first long race, but it doesn't make it any less challenging.  The best part is that I will have a chance to run with the professionals and off road legends on motorcycles, quads, and cars.

 I will have 24 hours to get across the state, trying to keep Trophy Trucks behind me, and trying to beat the night.  If it comes to it, I will be running in pitch black, with only a headlight, getting passed by trucks that are capable of 140 mph IN THE DIRT!  This is incredible and terrifying all at once.  I can't think of a better way to spend a weekend.

Bikes that have come and gone.

Since I first tried to get the Vegas to Reno show rolling a few years ago I have had a few bikes come and go.  A few winners, and a few I was glad to let go.  First thing you all have to understand is I tend to go for either practical or odd.  Not sure why, but if its a solid runner or if it was just some thing you don't see every day I was into it.  The new 4 strokes are here to stay, but I still love everything about a 2 stroke and even the old tractor 4 strokes.  The new bikes are obviously the way to go if you want to best of the best technology has to offer, but as a hobby racer, I do not have the time or money to rebuild the bike at least twice before this race.

Since the idea of racing the KX500 I have always longed for another desert ready KX5.  I passed on the idea of going this route for 2 reasons.  First, they are getting hard to come by in good shape, and I would really like to find an old retired team green bike and let it loose back into the desert, and secondly I wanted a bike with a plate.  Here in Temecula there are a lot of killer desert riding areas that are closed off to everything that isn't street legal.  With the plate I can do half day or morning training rides and be back for dinner.  I want the seat time but don't want to miss out on local opportunities.

Here is a quick rundown on my bike history.  Each bike made me realize what I really wanted in a bike and what was and was not necessary in a long haul race.  I will just mention the desert bikes and by pass my stints back into motocross.

1989 KTM 500 DXC
This bike has a great reputation in its hay day in Baja and Australia.  At one time this bike had the highest horsepower rating of any production dirt bike, at 64HP.  I got it all Bro'd out and spent a lot of time scraping paint.  It road pretty good but parts are very hard to come by.  I needed something with a reliable parts source.  Wheels, top end parts, all parts seemed very hard and expensive to come by.  If I can every get to the point of having a second fun bike, this will be one I keep in mind.  Outside of maybe the NORRA Mexican 1000, I don't think this would have been a great choice for Vegas to Reno.

This is the potential of what it could have been.

More bikes to come.  Along with ride reports and the opinions and comments of the "Average Joe" racer that I am.

Years later the dream remains.

To anyone that might have looked at this for even a split second and wondered what the hell happened between the last post and now.........well, life happened.

The initial attempt at the BITD Vegas to Reno race never took off.  Team mate went to the other coast, went through a handful of bikes, got out of the military, went back to school full time, went to work full time, had a baby, moved to another town, and changed jobs a few times, to name a few things.  It happens, I know, but every years I look ahead into August and hope this will be the year. But every year things come up or I just can't drop it all to prep, train, and race.

So fast forward to 2015.  I am several months away from finishing up my degree, I have a good job in the Aerospace Industry, we live even closer to riding areas, I still have a bike, I have done a lot more desert races over the past few years, and I still dream of Vegas to Reno.  With the good things comes the bad, mainly I have gotten out of shape.   I am far from  the shape I was when I was in the military.  There is just nowhere near the amount of "runnin and gunnin" in the cube farms that there once was with the Marines.  Instead of morning PT, ruck runs, and miserably long field Ops, its early morning commutes to sit in a cube and glaring into a desktop all day.  I think I have fallen into the slump a lot of infantry guys fall into when they get out.  I have no goal, no mission, no reason to train, no purpose to sweat and bleed.  I am hoping with a future goal and a sense of purpose my discipline will kick back in and I can focus.

Back to the mission at hand.  The goal at the moment is to prepare to race the 2016 Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno off road race.  Prepare myself, my bike, and a support team.  At this point it will be a solo run, but if I can get another rider that can roll with the punches and I can get along with, this may change.  Until then, this is going to be a one man show.

Over the past few years of dreaming I have gained a lot more knowledge and experience in the desert, on bikes, solo riding, and learned more about myself.  Since the military I have worked in the motorcycle industry, tactical industry, and the aerospace industry.  Each of which have started with talking to somebody about bikes and how one day I want to race this race.  Funny thing is, all of these great opportunities started with a conversation about motorcycles.  It's crazy that my life changed and doors were opened because of a shared passion of motorcycles.

Anyways, I'm back in the game.  Forming a solid program, got pounds to shed, got bikes to prep, and got just over  a year to prepare myself for the early morning flag drop.

Is this thing on!?