Jeff Walker

Fresh
Posts
709
Joined
5/22/2015
Location
AU
Fantasy
3281st
6/10/2019 9:59pm
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.
Thanks for answering my question Jeff. Good luck with your season and I look forward to more of your YouTube content
1
6/10/2019 10:51pm
Hope him the best in 250 class

Arguably a harder class to make it in
1
yz133rider
Posts
4454
Joined
8/1/2013
Location
Avondale, PA US
6/10/2019 11:35pm
Hope him the best in 250 class

Arguably a harder class to make it in
Agreed. I wanna see him kill it for sure, but personally i thought the 450 was a better fit. Engine seems so important in the 250 class and you camt compete without BIG money there. The husky was working well and id think a good set of suspension would have been a big benefit.

The 250 is all about the engine.


Either way, loving the videos and i hope jeff kills it.
1
Texas Built
Posts
870
Joined
5/30/2018
Location
Houston, TX US
6/11/2019 12:27am Edited Date/Time 6/11/2019 12:27am
I think he looks more comfortable on the 250. Not sure what the competition is like in that class. I guess if out of shape Stank Dog can get a date to the big dance on a 125, it's could not be too terribly difficult and Walker should not have too much difficulty get in. He was struggling and frustrated in 450.

The Shop

mxb2
Posts
22490
Joined
6/15/2010
Location
Bowie, MD US
6/11/2019 5:08am
Hope him the best in 250 class

Arguably a harder class to make it in
yz133rider wrote:
Agreed. I wanna see him kill it for sure, but personally i thought the 450 was a better fit. Engine seems so important in the 250...
Agreed. I wanna see him kill it for sure, but personally i thought the 450 was a better fit. Engine seems so important in the 250 class and you camt compete without BIG money there. The husky was working well and id think a good set of suspension would have been a big benefit.

The 250 is all about the engine.


Either way, loving the videos and i hope jeff kills it.
I would think a privateer with limited funds would be better off racing a 450, way less mods to do to be competitive.
3
6/11/2019 7:03am
Back to suspension for a second... at Thunder Valley, I was standing on the downhill just down from the TV white letters at the top of the hill. Somewhere deep in the 450 moto was a 3-digit guy and the first thing I noticed was his suspension! Guy's front wheel was just hammering up and down and every single time he went off into the little dip before the corner before the uphill rollers, his rear would kick the tire about 2' into the air. After I noticed that, I paid more attention to everyone else's suspension and it was interesting.

Tomac and Roczen's wheels were both GLUED to the ground in that section- absolutely zero kick. Anderson and Osborne were not quite as stable but the bike didn't kick around. Musquin and Webb looked great- not _quite_ as stable as T and R, but really close and better than A and O. A few of the other 3-digit guys were a little bouncy and kicky and then Mr. 3-Digit guy would come around and WOW... it was just night and day. I was impressed that he was able to go as fast as he was going with his tires on the ground about 1/2 as much as everyone else.

Wish I could've found him and asked about the suspension!!!
2
6/11/2019 9:25am
If you watch very closely in slo mo - the top guys stuff is really really stiff in the forks
It's a combination of valving AND spring rate/spring preload

Coupled to what is likely a similar technology to the what WP sells as their cone valve. There are a host of ways to do similar tech as the cone valve without actually being a cone valve.

The top factory guys all also have shocks that mostly stay very high in the stroke until a fast strike where they "give way" - biggest thing is really FAST rebounds on them. Their wheel DOES stay in contact extremely well.

The KTM team IMHO has the stiffest looking forks and slowest looking shock. It's been that way with that crew back to the rmz days...
I think it was why roczen hated it

Privateers are generally too soft in the forks - as without the factory touch - getting plushness with stiffness is really really hard. Once the fork is too soft - it doesn't load the shock and you get kicked a lot - poor geometry during bumps zones, and also a very harsh feeling.

7
daemon616
Posts
2026
Joined
2/19/2012
Location
Euless, TX US
6/12/2019 5:51am
Good luck Mr. Walker!!! Do you give free medical advice? Asking for a friend.
1
Motofinne
Posts
10670
Joined
1/4/2014
Location
FI
6/22/2019 9:58am
Did the engine blow up again or did he crash?
brettmx
Posts
196
Joined
12/7/2017
Location
San Luis Obispo, CA US
6/22/2019 10:39am
Motofinne wrote:
Did the engine blow up again or did he crash?
Probably tipped over. There were over 80 riders entered in the 450's. Some of them didn't even make it into the LCQ.
Motofinne
Posts
10670
Joined
1/4/2014
Location
FI
6/22/2019 11:10am
Motofinne wrote:
Did the engine blow up again or did he crash?
brettmx wrote:
Probably tipped over. There were over 80 riders entered in the 450's. Some of them didn't even make it into the LCQ.
Jeff is racing the 250 class on the Honda.
6/22/2019 12:12pm
should have stayd in 450 class and got the bike setup insted of just riding it stock. ml512 would have helped him out. with good suspension
ML512
Posts
15424
Joined
12/28/2008
Location
Wildomar, CA US
Fantasy
36th
6/22/2019 12:48pm
should have stayd in 450 class and got the bike setup insted of just riding it stock. ml512 would have helped him out. with good suspension
He’s actually really good on the 250, just got effed on the practice split this week. I brought him new suspension this weekend and he was riding well, got cleaned out first lap of LCQ while moving into qualifying position.
6
6/22/2019 12:51pm
Seems like a good dude...hope he can get his program sorted out and stick with one class and one bike. I don't want to see him in the 125 class next week on a GasGas!
3
seventeen
Posts
359
Joined
2/25/2019
Location
Port Saint Lucie, FL US
6/22/2019 12:56pm Edited Date/Time 6/22/2019 12:57pm
I love watching his vlogs...so genuine...you get to truly go along for the ride...his riding style looks a little like the Doggers too!
3
6/22/2019 7:36pm
Ran into Jeff and Paul today. Genuinely good people. In the consolation race, after Jeff had crashed, he picked it up in last and threw some monster whips for us mortals in the crowd. Not sure what Jeff was thinking, but I took it as, "I crashed into last, but watch this!" Thanks, Jeff!
brettmx
Posts
196
Joined
12/7/2017
Location
San Luis Obispo, CA US
6/23/2019 10:36am
Motofinne wrote:
Did the engine blow up again or did he crash?
brettmx wrote:
Probably tipped over. There were over 80 riders entered in the 450's. Some of them didn't even make it into the LCQ.
Motofinne wrote:
Jeff is racing the 250 class on the Honda.
I should worded the comment differently. I know he was in the 250 class. I was just commenting on how many 450 guys were entered. I think it was 87 from memory.

Post a reply to: Jeff Walker

The Latest