Weird observations from a wet wet whale's vag (Sandy Ego)

Racing in a giant whale's vagina , had to be done. And the boy's did the best they could. I was actually amazed that many bikes made it to the finish line.

TriRacer27 wrote:

Just rewatched the race (cuz Pats vs. Rams, who cares). Saw a few things that made me go hmmm.


- You know the mud is bad when these guys are singling everything except for maybe 1 or 2 doubles every lap!

- Why was everyone still using the start devices, when 5 feet out the gate they were all over the rear fender to get the front tire up through the water??? Habits die hard.

- Webb needs to learn how not to follow. Half a lap before he crashed (because he was following), MM25 came to a dead stop in the left between the whoops and he could've made the pass by walking his bike around him.

- How how how the hell do Enduro teams get their bikes to last 3 hours at places like Erzberg and Romaniacs, and SX bikes can't go 10 minutes in the mud??? Seriously though, you know there will be at least 1 if not more mud races during the season. They spend months looking for tenths of a second just to lose massive points during mud race (I'm looking at you Yamaha)

- Anyone else notice the poor privateer waving for his mechanic to get him goggles right before the 250 Main?

- No double goggles? Of all the races...

- Enzo Lopes had an awesome race! Oh wait, that's Jimmy D, again.

- Did Marchbanks really think he was gonna pull a tearoff going into the first turn and come out ok? He sure redeemed himself though.



Great racing though. Now on to the East Coast!

Great point on the enduro guys. Not only do their bikes last, the races aren’t shortened. I thought the whole times mains was supposed to eliminate the need for cutting laps, yet now they’re cutting time instead.

ACBraap wrote:

Great point on the enduro guys. Not only do their bikes last, the races aren’t shortened. I thought the whole times mains was supposed to eliminate the need for cutting laps, yet now they’re cutting time instead.

Erzberg 2013. They started in a pond and if I remember correctly about 15 or 20 guys finished. I know some SX guys use their clutch alot, but it can't be worse than starting and stopping 50 times going up a near vertical cliff, over and over again.

ACBraap wrote:

Great point on the enduro guys. Not only do their bikes last, the races aren’t shortened. I thought the whole times mains was supposed to eliminate the need for cutting laps, yet now they’re cutting time instead.

Yep, and Graham Jarvis would have probably won his first and only US SX saturday night.

TriRacer27 wrote:

Just rewatched the race (cuz Pats vs. Rams, who cares). Saw a few things that made me go hmmm.


- You know the mud is bad when these guys are singling everything except for maybe 1 or 2 doubles every lap!

- Why was everyone still using the start devices, when 5 feet out the gate they were all over the rear fender to get the front tire up through the water??? Habits die hard.

- Webb needs to learn how not to follow. Half a lap before he crashed (because he was following), MM25 came to a dead stop in the left between the whoops and he could've made the pass by walking his bike around him.

- How how how the hell do Enduro teams get their bikes to last 3 hours at places like Erzberg and Romaniacs, and SX bikes can't go 10 minutes in the mud??? Seriously though, you know there will be at least 1 if not more mud races during the season. They spend months looking for tenths of a second just to lose massive points during mud race (I'm looking at you Yamaha)

- Anyone else notice the poor privateer waving for his mechanic to get him goggles right before the 250 Main?

- No double goggles? Of all the races...

- Enzo Lopes had an awesome race! Oh wait, that's Jimmy D, again.

- Did Marchbanks really think he was gonna pull a tearoff going into the first turn and come out ok? He sure redeemed himself though.



Great racing though. Now on to the East Coast!

ACBraap wrote:

Great point on the enduro guys. Not only do their bikes last, the races aren’t shortened. I thought the whole times mains was supposed to eliminate the need for cutting laps, yet now they’re cutting time instead.

TriRacer27 wrote:

Erzberg 2013. They started in a pond and if I remember correctly about 15 or 20 guys finished. I know some SX guys use their clutch alot, but it can't be worse than starting and stopping 50 times going up a near vertical cliff, over and over again.

Transmission ratios would be a big one. Those guys second gear is a lot shorter and wouldn’t require near as much clutch to get out of tight situations. Also, a lot of SX guys destroy clutches in a normal 15-20 lap main, they’re hardwired to use it too mutch. Lastly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the types of oil and quantity they run is negative on the situation.

TriRacer27 wrote:

Just rewatched the race (cuz Pats vs. Rams, who cares). Saw a few things that made me go hmmm.


- You know the mud is bad when these guys are singling everything except for maybe 1 or 2 doubles every lap!

- Why was everyone still using the start devices, when 5 feet out the gate they were all over the rear fender to get the front tire up through the water??? Habits die hard.

- Webb needs to learn how not to follow. Half a lap before he crashed (because he was following), MM25 came to a dead stop in the left between the whoops and he could've made the pass by walking his bike around him.

- How how how the hell do Enduro teams get their bikes to last 3 hours at places like Erzberg and Romaniacs, and SX bikes can't go 10 minutes in the mud??? Seriously though, you know there will be at least 1 if not more mud races during the season. They spend months looking for tenths of a second just to lose massive points during mud race (I'm looking at you Yamaha)

- Anyone else notice the poor privateer waving for his mechanic to get him goggles right before the 250 Main?

- No double goggles? Of all the races...

- Enzo Lopes had an awesome race! Oh wait, that's Jimmy D, again.

- Did Marchbanks really think he was gonna pull a tearoff going into the first turn and come out ok? He sure redeemed himself though.



Great racing though. Now on to the East Coast!

ACBraap wrote:

Great point on the enduro guys. Not only do their bikes last, the races aren’t shortened. I thought the whole times mains was supposed to eliminate the need for cutting laps, yet now they’re cutting time instead.

rangot wrote:

Yep, and Graham Jarvis would have probably won his first and only US SX saturday night.

Absolutely!!! G-force would've crushed San Diego...

Oh, and great observations TriRacer27 - spot on. Couldn't believe no one used double goggles...talk about rolling the dice...

One add'l observation - Tomac and Reed (and AC) showed why they're just aliens....they have amazing balance on the bike. And Marchbanks is an amazing mud rider....no hesitation at all. I was chuckling when he passed Ferrandis (I dig DF - no bad vibes toward him at all) given that he's a Euro and all...those guys are next level, so it was a good measuring stick for Garrett.

It was cool seeing how genuinely stoked AC and Marchbanks were at the finish....

ML512 wrote:

Transmission ratios would be a big one. Those guys second gear is a lot shorter and wouldn’t require near as much clutch to get out of tight situations. Also, a lot of SX guys destroy clutches in a normal 15-20 lap main, they’re hardwired to use it too mutch. Lastly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the types of oil and quantity they run is negative on the situation.

That's my point though. I'm not a professional mechanic, but from the outside looking in, it seems like they could be better prepared. With all the Cali races, Seattle, Daytona, chances are you're gonna have a mud race at least once a season.

Why not have a plan b in case it gets really bad, where you can run something other than your high-strung race engines. I'm pretty sure a stock 250FX engine with a Recluse clutch would've made it to the finish for Ferrandis.

Also gotta wonder..... after all these years, still no goggles that can last a mud race? I never have any problems with mine, but for some reason the pros can't keep a set on to the finish line...???

Natester551v wrote:

Absolutely!!! G-force would've crushed San Diego...

Oh, and great observations TriRacer27 - spot on. Couldn't believe no one used double goggles...talk about rolling the dice...

One add'l observation - Tomac and Reed (and AC) showed why they're just aliens....they have amazing balance on the bike. And Marchbanks is an amazing mud rider....no hesitation at all. I was chuckling when he passed Ferrandis (I dig DF - no bad vibes toward him at all) given that he's a Euro and all...those guys are next level, so it was a good measuring stick for Garrett.

It was cool seeing how genuinely stoked AC and Marchbanks were at the finish....

i liked how Ralph and Ricky were going on and on about how great Ferrandis was in the mud and that he could catch AC and the whole time Marchbacks is stalking him and showing him a wheel. Garrett rode great, hell of a finish for him.

also, half the field were pulling a tear-off going into the first corner, he just was unlucky enough to knick the yamaha's rear wheel when he pulled his.

i wonder how his eyes are feeling, he rode over half the main with no goggles


as for the enduro observation, it's always blown me away that nobody has ever run an offroad engine/tranny knowing damn well it's going to be a muddy mess of a race.

and shortening the timed race was almost as lame as Ralph yammering endlessly about tear-offs and automatic roll-offs

rangot wrote:

Yep, and Graham Jarvis would have probably won his first and only US SX saturday night.

Natester551v wrote:

Absolutely!!! G-force would've crushed San Diego...

Oh, and great observations TriRacer27 - spot on. Couldn't believe no one used double goggles...talk about rolling the dice...

One add'l observation - Tomac and Reed (and AC) showed why they're just aliens....they have amazing balance on the bike. And Marchbanks is an amazing mud rider....no hesitation at all. I was chuckling when he passed Ferrandis (I dig DF - no bad vibes toward him at all) given that he's a Euro and all...those guys are next level, so it was a good measuring stick for Garrett.

It was cool seeing how genuinely stoked AC and Marchbanks were at the finish....

peelout wrote:

i liked how Ralph and Ricky were going on and on about how great Ferrandis was in the mud and that he could catch AC and the whole time Marchbacks is stalking him and showing him a wheel. Garrett rode great, hell of a finish for him.

also, half the field were pulling a tear-off going into the first corner, he just was unlucky enough to knick the yamaha's rear wheel when he pulled his.

i wonder how his eyes are feeling, he rode over half the main with no goggles


as for the enduro observation, it's always blown me away that nobody has ever run an offroad engine/tranny knowing damn well it's going to be a muddy mess of a race.

and shortening the timed race was almost as lame as Ralph yammering endlessly about tear-offs and automatic roll-offs

They can't run a non homologated motor or gearbox

I’m here for the title of the thread.

Dirty Points wrote:

They can't run a non homologated motor or gearbox

Yes they can. As long as the cases are the same (which I believe they are). Timmy Ferry ran a 3 speed back in the day. Think that was homologated?

peelout wrote:

i liked how Ralph and Ricky were going on and on about how great Ferrandis was in the mud and that he could catch AC and the whole time Marchbacks is stalking him and showing him a wheel. Garrett rode great, hell of a finish for him.

also, half the field were pulling a tear-off going into the first corner, he just was unlucky enough to knick the yamaha's rear wheel when he pulled his.

i wonder how his eyes are feeling, he rode over half the main with no goggles


as for the enduro observation, it's always blown me away that nobody has ever run an offroad engine/tranny knowing damn well it's going to be a muddy mess of a race.

and shortening the timed race was almost as lame as Ralph yammering endlessly about tear-offs and automatic roll-offs

peelout wrote:

i liked how Ralph and Ricky were going on and on about how great Ferrandis was in the mud and that he could catch AC and the whole time Marchbacks is stalking him and showing him a wheel. Garrett rode great, hell of a finish for him.

also, half the field were pulling a tear-off going into the first corner, he just was unlucky enough to knick the yamaha's rear wheel when he pulled his.

i wonder how his eyes are feeling, he rode over half the main with no goggles


as for the enduro observation, it's always blown me away that nobody has ever run an offroad engine/tranny knowing damn well it's going to be a muddy mess of a race.

and shortening the timed race was almost as lame as Ralph yammering endlessly about tear-offs and automatic roll-offs

Dirty Points wrote:

They can't run a non homologated motor or gearbox

TriRacer27 wrote:

Yes they can. As long as the cases are the same (which I believe they are). Timmy Ferry ran a 3 speed back in the day. Think that was homologated?

It actually had all the gears, but some were nylon and non-functioning to get around the rules. They can change the gears, but not the number of gears.

mx317 wrote:

It actually had all the gears, but some were nylon and non-functioning to get around the rules. They can change the gears, but not the number of gears.

Wow, really? I didn't know that.

Either way,you can still change the gear ratios. And the sproket. And the countershaft sproket. Still plenty of ways to gear that thing like it's gonna be Doug Domokos riding it to avoid having to feather the clutch all the way around.

peelout wrote:

i liked how Ralph and Ricky were going on and on about how great Ferrandis was in the mud and that he could catch AC and the whole time Marchbacks is stalking him and showing him a wheel. Garrett rode great, hell of a finish for him.

also, half the field were pulling a tear-off going into the first corner, he just was unlucky enough to knick the yamaha's rear wheel when he pulled his.

i wonder how his eyes are feeling, he rode over half the main with no goggles


as for the enduro observation, it's always blown me away that nobody has ever run an offroad engine/tranny knowing damn well it's going to be a muddy mess of a race.

and shortening the timed race was almost as lame as Ralph yammering endlessly about tear-offs and automatic roll-offs

Dirty Points wrote:

They can't run a non homologated motor or gearbox

TriRacer27 wrote:

Yes they can. As long as the cases are the same (which I believe they are). Timmy Ferry ran a 3 speed back in the day. Think that was homologated?

Per the rulebook

"d. Number of transmission gears must be the same as the homologated model."