Vital MX Pit Bits: 2018 Anaheim 1 13

It's that time, the best time of the year...Anaheim 1! That means Pit Bits is back and better than ever.

Are you ready for Vital MX Pit Bits from Anaheim 1 for the 2018 Monster Energy Supercross Series? Scroll down and get into it.

Welcome to A1!

Chad Reed's layout is clean, featuring his own branding, along with Boost Mobile Australia and Speedzone Motorsports.

KYB/Technical Touch stepped up to support Chad this year, providing him with a few sets of suspension, while the U.S. KYB staff is supporting him at the races.

ODI bars are new for Reed, mounted above some familiar X-Trig ROCS clamps with solid bar mounts. They clamp onto a set of KYB AOSS spring kit forks.

These CR22 clutch covers are actually available for sale on Hinson's website for a Husqvarna/KTM.

From its appearance, we'd speculate that this KYB kit shock body is off of either an older Kawasaki or two-stroke Yamaha.

Since '09 when he was at Suzuki, Chad has primarily run Pro Circuit exhausts.

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Ken Roczen's Team Honda HRC ride.

There's a little bronze finish for K-Roc's lugs...

Ken has made a few changes for this season, going over to Showa spring forks versus the air-sprung KYB units he used previously. He's also admitted to having gone stiffer in his settings than prior years.

A view of Ken Roczen's billet machined works Showa shock.

The HRC squad swaps out the stock aluminum radiator split for this titanium version.

So how's Ken Roczen handling his first day back at the races? By taking the number one spot in qualifying, of course...

Another peek at Cole Seely's machine.

A lot of teams front brake master cylinder piston protection seriously after what happened to Eli Tomac at Arlington last season. Check out the carbon guard the HRC team is using for a little extra insurance.

There are works Nissin hydraulic clutches for both HRC riders this year.

There's a map selection switch and some neat shrink wrapping to protect the kill switch wiring.

Along the side of the frame spar, you'll find a data entry point.

Yoshimura whipped up a little extra layer of titanium protection.

Adam Cianciarulo's Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki.

Custom radiators for the Pro Circuit KX250Fs.

ARC is taking care of PC's transponder mounts.

Where do the extra two radiator lines go? Straight into the engine. PC has used separate oil coolers in past years but it looks like they've opted to loop them into the existing radiators (custom ones, that is) this year.

Surprisingly, Pro Circuit doesn't use full titanium footpeg mounts, but opts for the stock unit with a guard made for them. However, on Adam's bike they're set in the lower position for his larger height.

If we remember correctly, these folding tips are scavenged from an old KX500 part number.

The old "mag" Nissin works brake of KHI.

See the pocket on the top of AC's gloves? For a couple years now Adam has run the Allsport Dynamics wrist braces and the crew there would sew in their glove modification to better fit the brace. Those previous pockets that Allport would sew on were black and this go around Fox decided to tidy things up a bit by doing some that match the original design.

A two-rider team makes for a little easier packing job...

Eli Tomac was the fast man early on but at the end qualifying Roczen topped him just slightly, placing him second.

What do you think of Eli's newest Bell lid?

Eli Tomac runs his KYB AOSS spring forks up quite high in the clamps...enough so that at one point the team has ground a channel into the caps to allow for a little extra handlebar clearance.

Te wire? Data collection...

We're not entirely sure what this block does but it's a part of the data collection system. If we had to guess, it's a bleeding point for the fork.

This linkage-mounted travel sensor has been long employed in the past by the now defunct RCH squad. Their previous data guy, Aaron, is now at Kawasaki, and the sensor has made its way there as well.

Maybe we missed it before, but we hadn't noticed the Pro Circuit supplied airboot aboard the factory 450s.

A few spare mufflers are tucked away in the Kawasaki rig.

Ross Maeda was back at the races after taking on some major heart surgery just a couple weeks ago. You can't keep this guy away.

Jason Anderson laying down some style on his way to fourth on the time sheets.

Dean Wilson's setup is clean and so is his whoop speed. Deano was eighth in qualifying today.

After a multi-year relationship with Bel-Ray, Husky worldwide has aligned with KTM in using Motorex lubricants. Spy the carbon clutch and brake master cylinder covers.

We noticed a small difference between Dean Wilson and Jason Anderson's rides...check out the airbox sideplate on Dean's ride and then scroll down.

Jason Anderson's bike features some extra ventilation in the same area...allowing the engine to get a bit more air immediately, likely giving it a bit more snap or bark when cracking open the throttle.

The new factory WP Trax shocks feature a high- and low-speed rebound adjuster, stacked on top of another on the clevis.

Dean Wilson's latest custom Fox Instinct boots. Yes, we're jealous.

Ken Roczen rocking a suit to the press conference again this year.

The lineup.

According to Chad Reed, Marvin Musquin had a pretty good get-off a few weeks ago, but still managed fifth on the sheets this morning.

There's a little hiding spot for the GPS sensor aboard Marvin's bike.

Broc Tickle's Red Bull KTM 450 Factory Edition SX-F.

The new billet machine WP Trax shock aboard the factory 450s.

The Red Bull KTM crew still uses the older, large axle size on their race bikes.

Rolling the machines out.

A little carbon protection.

Blake Baggett placed 12th on the timesheets.

Benny "Baby Giraffe" Bloss qualified 14th today.

Alex Martin's Troy Lee Designs KTM 250 SX-F.

Shane McElrath holding down fourth in 250 qualifying.

Some cool FMF fuel tank stands under the TLD rig.

Cooper Webb is paired with Grant Hutcheson this year. Grant moved over from the RCH squad, where he worked with Justin Bogle.

J-Mart is back for another go on the 450. He gets a longer stint on the bigger machine this season, with the first three races.

Check out our First Look on the homepage to learn more about the Alpinestars Supertech SM10 motocross helmet...which has been in development for five years.

SX rookie Justin Cooper, being chased by his veteran teammate, Aaron Plessiner. They were ninth and sixth on the sheets.

Mitchell Oldenburg clicked off fifth today in qualifying. Check out the black and gold Thor gear they're rocking.

Aaron Plessinger's Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star Racing YZ250F.

The green claw has made its way to another bike this year, as Yamaha lines up their factory road and off-road racing worldwide with Monster. Note the team is now also sponsored by Kumho tires.

A little mag color to go with the blue...and matches nicely with the forks.

Star uses Neken handlebars and triple clamps, although they're the solid mount versions...it also appears the team is still using KYB PSF1 air forks on some bikes.

It was cool to see Steve from MotoHose happy and healthy. He had a weird incident a while back with...well, a less than model citizen. That included a ride on the guy's hood, and some extended time in the hospital.

Who wants to bet Justin Barcia will be on this bike all season?

For the past two seasons, the factory Yamaha squad has used Pro Circuit system with titanium end caps but has switched to carbon this season.

Top view of the KYB AOSS spring works forks...with high and low speed compression clickers and low speed rebound up top.

Factory Yamaha has swapped over to some production parts this year, such as their front brake calipers and the front rotor, which all come from the stock machine.

The stock triple clamps also stand out on the new machine...check out the location for Barcia's start-mode button, tucked partially under the bar pad.

No hydraulic clutch this year.

The head pipe this year features an early resonance chamber that follows the bend of the head pipe...like the Akrapovic system on the GP bikes. However, this one is made by PC, and features a creative hanger to show that off. Check out the works billet KYB shock as well, which features a larger adjuster than a stock body...with a larger piston and shims behind it.

Justin Barcia and blue are clicking, as he ended up third overall in timed qualifying.

Surprise! RV to Yamaha is now official...

PC has the East coast bikes already built and on the truck.

The Cycle Trader/Rock River has teamed up with Yoshimura for engines and exhausts this year, along with bringing Alex Ray back on the 450 for the season.

Justin Hill took the top spot on the last lap of the 250 A qualifying session, showing off his brand new ride in the process...

It's been a while since we've seen a red plate on a RM-Z250.

The business end of the JGR RM-Z250.

A peek at what parts are inside these engines...

Some works Suzuki engine mounts.

Rob Hendrickson of RG3 is the "chassis engineer" for the team now and mostly handles the 250 development side of things.

There's Showa A-Kit front and rear on the JGR Suzuki 250s.

There's a carbon airbox for Justin Hill.

Apparently, this RM-Z250 needs some serious air flow.

Even some extra cutouts in the seat were needed. The trimmed sides of the seat base help out...while still giving Justin some tailbone protection.

More fuel was also needed.

The bigger fuel line feeds the under-mounted injector throttle body, and the second injector plumbed into the airboot. Check out the GET cage to keep things safe and in place.

Toggle switch? Hmm...

Keeping the radiator cap on Weston Peick's machine is a priority.

Along with the fork guard, note the extra bolt down low which hangs onto a bracket on the backside.

One cap is for data sensors and the other side is to fill the spring fork with air to assist on the damping side of things.

Mmmmm...more billet brake calipers for the JGR squad.

Peek at those machine marks on the custom engine mounts for the new RM-Z450 chassis.

Data point along the shroud.

Ohh those pegs and all the other shiny bits...please, we want a few.

The engine mounts are cut quite a bit differently on the JGR 450s.

Akrapovic is still taking care of the carbon duties for the Suzuki factory effort.

Drool over those JGR pegs...

GPS sensor stashed in the airbox.

Brett Metcalfe is headed to Australia soon, to take on their outdoor season.

The JGR squad has this cool cut-away RM-Z450 on display...

A view inside the BFRC Showa shock.

Inside the left side of the engine.

A peek at the insides of a Yoshimura RS-4 exhaust can.

The right side of the engine.

Have you ever wanted a peek into your suspension? Here are a couple cut-outs into the Showa 49mm spring fork.

There's something new here, where there's a VIP section in the infield.

Bradley Lionnett's Rockwell/Nuclear Blast Kawasaki.

Tony Berluti is BACK! He's spinning the wrenches for MCR and Jusitn Brayton this season.

The MCR squad has a new sponsor this year with Bullfrog Spas, which is a retailer of Leisure Concepts products...the parent company of MotoConcepts.

If you're buying it, might as well label how you want.

The JMC Motorsports Husqvarna team is back and bigger than ever this year...running West and now East coast as well with four riders on their 250 squad.

It's cool to see some different brands around the pits, such as the HGS exhausts on the JMC bikes.

Twisted Development took care of the head work this year and we noticed something behind it...

A peek at the R&D genius throttle body...

Ross Maeda is bringing the subtanks back...using them to give a spring fork the late stroke "ramp up" that an air fork has, which some riders really value...especially in Supercross.

Little guy onboard for the ride.

Sometimes the doctor becomes the patient. Doc Bodnar broke a humerus a while back while out riding, and had to have surgery to reattach the loose ends. He's on light duty here.

Justin Starling and his team manager warming up for race day. Check out the cheetah print Alias gear, released at A1.

Justin Starling's AJE Motorsports Hsuqvarna FC250.

That's a longgggg Pro Circuit head pipe...

Pro Circuit and Pirelli aboard the AJE Husqvarna FC250s.

It's cool to see a new team like AJE Motorsports out there, coming in hot their first year with two riders and a full semi (Star Racing's prior setup).

Enzo took care of the tuning duties of the WP kit forks, swapping the Cone Valves for a mid-speed valve.

Hulk smash!

Josh Hansen is running the 450 Supercross class this year but due to a talus injury sustained prior to Monster Cup and aggravated at Red Bull Straight Rhythm, we won't see him until around the fourth or fifth race this year.

Josh Hansen's LVN100/Nut-Up Suzuki is straight drool-worthy...

Josh Hansen has support from Yoshimura, but is rocking the current RS-4 unlike the RS-12 of the JGR 450 team.

Works lugs and hubs...

Josh Hansen was able to snag some works Showa spring forks that were lent to JGR last year...which were Yoshimura Suzuki's a few years prior. Note the painted black gas tank cover.

Some Suzuki works rotors and a factory billet Nissin caliper.

JGR is helping Josh out with a similar engine package to their team.

Works billet Showa shock out back.

Black radiators for Hanny.

As we saw a few factory Suzuki riders rock last year, Hansen's bike has stock clamps

Tallon Lafountaine's H.E.P. Motorsports/FXR/Suzuki RM-Z250.

Twisted Development has supported Tallon for a few years now and continues to do so on the H.E.P. Motorsports/FXR/Suzuki team.

Tallon's ride featured a set of Neken SFF air triple clamps.

Tallon has a set of production RM-Z450 spring forks aboard his RM-Z250...replacing the stock KYB PSF2 air forks.

Bill's Pipes are supporting the H.E.P. effort.

The H.E.P. Motorsports/FXR/Suzuki RM-Z450 of Henry Miller.

In case you were wondering what George Holland has been up to since his racing days...

Snuffy Racing/RaceTech and JE Pistons taking care of internal power.

That's not a Showa BFRC shock...that's an old WP shock body...Shhh...

Michael Leib had an injury a few weeks ago, just after taking the win in the RaceTrack Supercross competition for a West coast 250 ride.

Partzilla is supporting Scott Champion in the 450 class this year.

The SevenDeuceDeuce's machine.

Their site probably gets a few more clicks...


Pit Bits 2018 - Anaheim 1
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