Jeff Walker

Texas Built wrote:

I was surprised to hear him say his suspension was bone stock. Not a even a mail order Factory Connection job done to it. Someone hook...

I was surprised to hear him say his suspension was bone stock. Not a even a mail order Factory Connection job done to it.

Someone hook this kid up....

Derek Harris wrote:

Youd be more surprised to learn how common this is with many fast local pro and B riders.. Or how common it is for companies to...

Youd be more surprised to learn how common this is with many fast local pro and B riders..

Or how common it is for companies to send back nearly stock suspension. Stock stuff is far better than given credit for - doesn't make it perfect...but WP, KYB, showa, and the OEMs ALL have a full "revalving department" during development and they know how to use it.

Bones said it best on his whiskey throttle show
25 percent of what you feel is suspension
75 percent is chassis
And often finding the well balanced set up is more important than anything else. Chassis balance leads to good handling and predictability - forks/shocks that work in unison work so much better than a bike with an overly stiff shock or overly stiff forks respective to the other end.

OEM's generally do a decent job of balance - although IMHO the crf and kxf are skewed towards avg weekend warriors and are a little front soft

And the KTMs are current more "pro ready" and a little rear soft
With the yzf being very balanced and neutral.

ML512 wrote:

I spent most of today just getting the balance back in his setup, once we got that back it was so much easier to get him...

I spent most of today just getting the balance back in his setup, once we got that back it was so much easier to get him the feel he was looking for from each end. Kid is lanky and has some decent leverage on the bike ha.

Still on stock stuff for this weekend but a big overhaul on settings...should have him some new forks and a revalved shock based on what we learned for high point.

Jrewing wrote:

Stock but revalved is doable but off the showroom floor stock? And you can’t put Jeff at Dean or Ken’s skill level.

Derek Harris wrote:

Youd be more surprised to learn how common this is with many fast local pro and B riders.. Or how common it is for companies to...

Youd be more surprised to learn how common this is with many fast local pro and B riders..

Or how common it is for companies to send back nearly stock suspension. Stock stuff is far better than given credit for - doesn't make it perfect...but WP, KYB, showa, and the OEMs ALL have a full "revalving department" during development and they know how to use it.

Bones said it best on his whiskey throttle show
25 percent of what you feel is suspension
75 percent is chassis
And often finding the well balanced set up is more important than anything else. Chassis balance leads to good handling and predictability - forks/shocks that work in unison work so much better than a bike with an overly stiff shock or overly stiff forks respective to the other end.

OEM's generally do a decent job of balance - although IMHO the crf and kxf are skewed towards avg weekend warriors and are a little front soft

And the KTMs are current more "pro ready" and a little rear soft
With the yzf being very balanced and neutral.

ML512 wrote:

I spent most of today just getting the balance back in his setup, once we got that back it was so much easier to get him...

I spent most of today just getting the balance back in his setup, once we got that back it was so much easier to get him the feel he was looking for from each end. Kid is lanky and has some decent leverage on the bike ha.

Still on stock stuff for this weekend but a big overhaul on settings...should have him some new forks and a revalved shock based on what we learned for high point.

Mx391 wrote:

ML, I'm sure there are tons of weekend warriors including myself that have no idea how to set up. We just ride the bike. Would be...

ML, I'm sure there are tons of weekend warriors including myself that have no idea how to set up. We just ride the bike. Would be badass if you could do a tour going to different tracks across the country setting up peoples bikes for them. Similar to what guys do with moto training.

Fresh wrote:

Baffles me as to why he'd change bikes so late in his season prep. I'm rooting for the guy though, his vlogs are great and I...

Baffles me as to why he'd change bikes so late in his season prep. I'm rooting for the guy though, his vlogs are great and I enjoy watching them and keeping up with his racing.

Shawn142 wrote:

Rough start to the series for my favorite vlogger. Been watching his videos for a few weeks now while he builds up to Hangtown. With all...

Rough start to the series for my favorite vlogger. Been watching his videos for a few weeks now while he builds up to Hangtown. With all the talk about Keefer making the show my real money was on Walker to qualify and do well. Neither guy had a good day at all, I had to go look at the qualifying results for proof he was even there. He qualified 48th nearly 4 seconds off 36th which is the last spot to transfer straight in. Consi went even worse it looks like. Hope he keeps his head up and makes it happen.

Texas Built wrote:

Dude, it was a mudder. Everyone sucked.

mxb2 wrote:

Sometimes mud helps some riders that normally would not even qualify. Or place well. Red bud mxon perfect example. Coldenhoff. is a badazz, but not like...

Sometimes mud helps some riders that normally would not even qualify. Or place well. Red bud mxon perfect example. Coldenhoff. is a badazz, but not like herlings,ac222.

Derek Harris wrote:

The dislikes on the forum astonish me I get dislikes for saying he will Make a race? Just needs time to adapt to a new bike...

The dislikes on the forum astonish me

I get dislikes for saying he will
Make a race? Just needs time to adapt to a new bike - yet we allow top contendors to say the same thing months after a switch of teams?

Ml512 gets dislikes for stating facts?


Amazing

ML512 wrote:

I'm laughing at my dislikes, someone doesn't like facts.

Jrewing wrote:

Stock but revalved is doable but off the showroom floor stock? And you can’t put Jeff at Dean or Ken’s skill level.

ML512 wrote:

Jeff has qualified for a national on stock suspension before. A revalved set, depending on the tuner, could end up only being a few shims different...

Jeff has qualified for a national on stock suspension before. A revalved set, depending on the tuner, could end up only being a few shims different then what the stock setting already is.

MXVet261 wrote:

YAY!!!! Jeff made the mains Thunder Valley!

MXVet261 wrote:

YAY!!!! Jeff made the mains Thunder Valley!

HusqFan3 wrote:

Really? He make it in via the LCQ i presume? Was bummed to see he didn’t make it in through timed qualifying... Was super stoked to...

Really? He make it in via the LCQ i presume? Was bummed to see he didn’t make it in through timed qualifying...

Was super stoked to see my boy Derek Anderson from Man vs Moto series made it in with ease...

MXVet261 wrote:

YAY!!!! Jeff made the mains Thunder Valley!

HusqFan3 wrote:

Really? He make it in via the LCQ i presume? Was bummed to see he didn’t make it in through timed qualifying... Was super stoked to...

Really? He make it in via the LCQ i presume? Was bummed to see he didn’t make it in through timed qualifying...

Was super stoked to see my boy Derek Anderson from Man vs Moto series made it in with ease...

ML512 wrote:

Yup, fourth in the LCQ!

MXVet261 wrote:

YAY!!!! Jeff made the mains Thunder Valley!

HusqFan3 wrote:

Really? He make it in via the LCQ i presume? Was bummed to see he didn’t make it in through timed qualifying... Was super stoked to...

Really? He make it in via the LCQ i presume? Was bummed to see he didn’t make it in through timed qualifying...

Was super stoked to see my boy Derek Anderson from Man vs Moto series made it in with ease...

ML512 wrote:

Yup, fourth in the LCQ!

paul walker wrote:

He thought something broke on the rear suspension. Pulled off and discovered the axle nut had loosened up, as well as the chain adjusters, allowing the...

He thought something broke on the rear suspension. Pulled off and discovered the axle nut had loosened up, as well as the chain adjusters, allowing the rear wheel to “bang around”.

paul walker wrote:

He thought something broke on the rear suspension. Pulled off and discovered the axle nut had loosened up, as well as the chain adjusters, allowing the...

He thought something broke on the rear suspension. Pulled off and discovered the axle nut had loosened up, as well as the chain adjusters, allowing the rear wheel to “bang around”.

Jrewing wrote:

Yes but was it bone stock WP suspension?

A shim or two can be the difference between comfortable and not.

paul walker wrote:

He thought something broke on the rear suspension. Pulled off and discovered the axle nut had loosened up, as well as the chain adjusters, allowing the...

He thought something broke on the rear suspension. Pulled off and discovered the axle nut had loosened up, as well as the chain adjusters, allowing the rear wheel to “bang around”.

Derek Harris wrote:

Common Ktm/husky issue if you don’t tighten the piss out of them. Oddball for sure

mxb2 wrote:

Alot of people on vital dont like facts.

brocster wrote:

Nah just shows that there are at least 3 die hard “red” fans


Not sure why anyone even pays attention to that (the thumbs)....at all

mxb2 wrote:

Exactly,. Thumbs up ,down. Who cares. Bigger problems in the world. Guess some need a ego boost.

JeffWalker841 wrote:

Thanks for all the love in this thread guys! Crazy to see how much support there is out there. Sometimes as a privateer you feel like...

Thanks for all the love in this thread guys! Crazy to see how much support there is out there. Sometimes as a privateer you feel like the world doesn't care about you, but clearly that's not the case! I really appreciate it.

To answer a few questions:

1. The switch to Husky right before Hangtown definitely wasn't ideal, but we were having some really bad coolant issues with my Honda 450 this spring. The radiators would be nearly empty after a 15 minute moto. We tried to solve the issue for months with Evan's waterless coolant, a 2.0 radiator cap, replacing the head gasket, replacing the water pump, etc. with no luck. Apparently this is a common issue on the new CRF's! It wasn't a huge deal because the plan was to race a Honda 250 all summer which was finally ready to ride in late April (there were some setbacks with parts availability). The 250 had a catastrophic engine failure on our first day testing due to (what we figured was) a faulty piston breaking and clogging the oil feed to the head, leaving us with no time to get it fixed before Hangtown. We didn't feel comfortable running our Honda 450 which couldn't hold coolant, so we frantically made the decision to switch to the Husky after riding (and loving) my friend's bone stock 2019 KTM 450. At this point, we only had a week and a half before I had to start driving to Hangtown, so we didn't have any time to get suspension done.

2. The truth is, the top factory guys are just absolute freaks of nature. Factory equipment or not, I'm confident they would still lap me in a 30 minute moto with ease even if I were on a Factory HRC Honda. Nothing but respect for those guys! Just to be able to qualify and line up with them is a huge accomplishment for me. I know I'll never be on their level, but to see how stoked you guys are for me to qualify makes me so happy! If there's one thing I ask of you, it's that you guys spread the love to all of the privateers out there, not just the guy with the youtube channel. There are some badass dudes out there who are putting out some great results and who are struggling just to make it to the races. I may be the only dude documenting it, but it's a struggle for every privateer! Really glad I can open some eyes to the privateer grind through my videos.