Tips and Tricks for Baja racing

[oscarmayer]

This is a thread for all of us whom are working to build a Baja racing Trike. Those that are experienced can chime on and help offer advice, suggestions and ideas to think about.

Special Thanks to the D.U.R. guys for being the first to tackle the NORRA 1000! their dedication and details they can provide will become priceless for those of us following their footsteps. (GO TEAM DUR!!!)

Thanks everyone ahead of time for all your info, dedication and details you are offering.

[oscarmayer]

I'll start.
350x build
1" longer fork travel replace stock damper rods with 83-84 250r damper rods
use RaceTech's emulators and run the .52KG springs not the .48 due to distance fatigue. .48 will soften out over the race where the .52 will not.
Use modern synthetic fork oil only and replace every seal and bushing (clarify "soften" there is a term, but the suspension will feel softer due to the extra weight your running on top of the rider. that is why you want the heavier .52kg springs for the forks)

Rear shock should also be completely rebuild, gold valve used from RaceTech and get spring for your weight w/gear. Have shock valving setup for your riding weight

HRE builds an extremely nice swinger and they can do a custom mod for the shock. Recommended a +2-+3 longer and move the shock mounting up 1/2" to raise rear of trike 1.5"

gusset entire frame with TPC trike's gusset kit. call and ask for lower enforcement kit as well (extra $50 but well worth it)

rest is up to you. this is the basics. if your building a Baja trike, know you cannot take an old trike and just run it. your going to have to do some work on it to make it be able to handle and run properly and perform like you want. you'll be hitting top speeds on the long straights of 60-80mph.

[Poco Loco]

I've never raced the Baja, but I have grown up haulin ass in the desert and have desert racing on my resume.

Yes you need the smoothest ride you can possible get. The Highflight tall seat helps save from fatigue by shortining the distance from sitting to standing. If it feels hard because its new you can easily soften it by using a hole saw and drill the top of the seat till its the desired softness.

Also, a wide axle isnt always your friend in desert racing. A wide axle is for stable cornering. Baja is all about the long straits at high speed. The feedback to the bars from a wider axle will ware you down faster. And being wide is asking to clip a rock at the edge of the trail.

If you can,install some Flexx bars. Anything to isolate bumps.

22" rear tires designed for cross country racing are a must. If you have the cash,install tire balls.

Desert tank is a must also.

Leave that motor close to stock. Intake and exhaust is all I would do to it. Its about finishing the race with no failures.

Skid plates skid plates skid plates,....

Safety tie wire all you can. Drill them nuts and bolts and wire them.

Route an extra throttle and clutch cable next to the ones already in use. This will save precious time during the race in the event of a cable failure.

Hid or led lights that are set up with a quick disconnect. Take them off during the day and install for the night.

Im gonna stop now and save some things for others to add. These are a few things that I know of to help finish a long race.

[atc007]

I have never been to a desert. So these are only MHO,,You are biting off an awful lot .I completely get wanting to do it,and with a year to prepare,that is good. But to ironman something you've never done before is very aggressive at least! I know of 2 teams back east here,that run the Score 1000 every year on bike.From the DAY they get back home, to the day the flag drops next year, they are preparing. And they have all been doing this years. Making money,saving money, Eating right,training, racing of course. But for you.. I say ,ride,ride,ride,ride. Seat time, comfort on the bike you will be running is imperative. If not the same bike,one with the same set up.. It is a daunting task to have the support you need. How many will be in your chase van? Have they done this before? I would have a spare bullet,a spare stuffed swingarm { carrier,axle,disc,hubs,shock}, spare forks,,all ready to throw on in a heartbeat.

Everything in pocos post is spot on. Loctite is your friend. We have amazing epoxies nowadays,both metal and plastic, experiment with them,, use them,know them,and carry them in your backpack,or on the bike. Worrying about going fast ,is the least of your worries. . Surviving ,and finishing should be your only 2 goals. The rest falls into place. That's what they tell me! On a 350X ,I would do my research,and run as big of tire you can safely fit between your forks.At least a 24 high. Pre running is priceless. The booby traps would scare the crap out of me. If you see a group gathered,eyes open. It is probably a homemade booby trap. Might be nothing. :) We have lots of inherent dangers riding off road. But everyone I've talked to that has been through Baja tells me it is one unforgiving environment,always out to get you. Not to be taken lightly. The miles of silt beds will test your oil for sure on an air cooled thumper. Better cooling will pay off in spades. Huge,completely HIDDEN rocks tear up your rims/tires. Washes and ruts you can't imagine would be in a desert are all too common. Obviously,only the best of skid plates,and extra mounting for them will do. A very well thought out toolkit.Looks like the DUR boys are running a piece of pvc across the grab bar for theirs> Chain,wire,straps,zip ties, coil,cdi,plugs,all of which you most likely will not need. But what if you DO? Also,I am a huge fan of not showing up at any race on a "fresh" engine. Get it broke in ,nice and smooth,all worn in,so you know what you have. Having said all of this. I would have done it in a heartbeat before lifes responsibilities,I envy anyone who gets the opportunity!

[yaegerb]

If racing 2 stroke, I would think changing your oil/mix ratio and jetting the carb appropriately would be wise. Wrapped out in 6th, running high RPM's for long distances would require a higher concentration of oil to properly lube the engine internals. I would think 28:1 - 20:1 with a castor oil would be the ticket....at least that's what Klemm suggests.

[baja500bound]

Chase Crew - Good point!! If you're going to ironman it, you can probably make it with just one truck. The biggest issue is finding the people. You should really have at least 2 people in the chase truck and both should be able and willing to drive in Mexico. Most all the accidents happen because you get the fools in a chase truck hauling buns to get to their broken vehicle. The roads are narrow and the semi drivers know they're bigger than everyone else and use all the road that they want. Many times, chase trucks have come back with broken driver side mirrors.. Going down with "My wife and my 4 year old son" could add some additional challenges (NOTE: I'm not saying "All" wives and kids, there are some awesome exceptions and if you have one of those exceptions? You better keep her!!). A chase truck will go to a pit area and can possibly sit for hours on end waiting for a racer only to scramble and run to the next pit where the waiting begins again. For some, all this waiting can get really old really quick. A bored kid and a pissed off wife is not where you want your head.

As you're sitting around with your buddies in June talking about going to Baja, 9 out of 10 will say "Hell yea, I'll go"!! But, when the date turns to March, most people start saying "Uh, I can't go". Make sure the people you ask know they'll be gone for at least 8-9 days. What we've done in the past is, the team will pay for all hotels/gas/lunch/dinner but we will not pay for booze (None of us have that much money). The crew get pretty much an all expense paid trip to Cabo San Lucas and all they have to do is dump some gas and get the truck to the next pit. :)

[baja500bound]

Communication - Look into getting a VHF base radio for the chase truck as well as a hand held that you carry on the bike. The radios only have about a 6'ish mile range but NORRA usually has a plane acting as a relay station (ie weatherman) that can help you out. We'll have Satellite phones for the chase trucks/emergencies but in most cases, the radio works fine. Don't go down thinking that a cell phone will work as the coverage is random.

[onformula1]

There have been so many great suggestions on trike prep, ETC. I will save my ideas for later.

I will stick with workout ideas for now.

You need to be strong to race trikes, but only strong enough, if you can bench your own weight and throw around a heavy trike you are strong enough for the most part.

Little story on big strong guys- I used to race against 4 Chippendales guys, yes Chippendales guys. They were huge, muscular guys and would show up at the races in a 6” lifted truck, 36” tires and no ramp grab the bike, lift it out, curl it a couple times just showing off how strong they are after practice they were winded, after the flag dropped even if they grabbed the hole shot they were slashing their way to the back of the pack after 1-2 laps.
All Muscle, NO Endurance, No Flexibility.

Endurance & Flexibility is the key to racing bikes or trikes.
Workout- Monday & Thursday upper body- Bench press, inclines, pull downs, curls, pull ups, dips, clean & jerk, snatch, ETC.


When possible use a wide grip that replicates the width of your handle bars.
Use lower weight, high reps, high sets.
Example- Try just the bar (45lbs.) when bench pressing at first, but do 50 reps, 2 minute break, 50 reps, 2 minute break, 50 reps.
You can add weight later, but keep up the reps you can also add a set. Then move to the next exercise, quickly 2 minutes max down time. You want to go through your routine fast keeping your heart rate up, this is known as a “Circuit”
This will make you stronger, but more important you gain cardio, flexibility and endurance.

Workout- Tuesday & Friday lower body squats, lunges, sit ups, leg lifts, calf lifts, ETC.
Same thing as the upper body- You can add weight later, but keep up the reps you can also add a set. Then move to the next exercise, quickly 2 minutes max down time. You want to go through your routine fast keeping your heart rate up, this is known as a “Circuit”

Wednesday- Full cardio only day, keep your heart rate up.
Bicycle riding, using lower gears, spinning quickly, power walking, jogging, running, swimming, stair climbing quickly almost to the point where you bottom out, treadmill.
Fast and long, heart rate up. Breath in from the nose, out of the mouth.
Race or ride on Saturday & Sunday if you can’t, ride a BMX or Mountain Bike off road this will help with balance, endurance and muscle memory.

Build a forearm workout device-
Take a 1” OD X 24” long piece of PVC pipe, white schedule 40.
About the size of your grips.
Drill one hole dead center in the middle of the pipe side, thread a piece of 1/8” rope though it and tie a large knot around a small washer, push it back into the ID of the pipe. On the other end of the rope install an S-hook or small carabineer and wrap it around a 2.5lbs. workout plate. Stand straight with your arms extended out at 90 degrees, roll the weight up with your arms until it tops out, then roll it down. Reverse and roll it up the opposite way. Adjust the rope length if needed. You want to get close to the ground without touching. 20 reps, 3 sets. Add weight if needed go to 5lbs. Don’t increase weight above 5lbs. just increase reps & sets, you can do this any day until you arms fall off…Its harder than it sounds. LOL
This helps arm pump due to steering, clutching, braking, throttle, ETC.

[oscarmayer]

Awesome advice guys!!!

[atc300r]

Get some desert racing articles and videos and study them . Theres usually some great setup tips .

[baja500bound]

Most importantly and I can't believe it's taken this long to suggest it, go out and buy "Dust To Glory". In my humble opinion, the greatest Baja movie ever produced. It was done by Dana Brown (Son of Bruce Brown - On Any Sunday) and he really does do a great job of capturing what Baja is about. On the days that you're feeling sluggish and don't feel like working out, put Dust to Glory on and your motivation will return. As you're sitting on the couch munching on chips, put Dust to Glory on and all of a sudden those chips wont seem as tasty.

[onformula1]

Most importantly and I can't believe it's taken this long to suggest it, go out and buy "Dust To Glory". In my humble opinion, the greatest Baja movie ever produced. It was done by Dana Brown (Son of Bruce Brown - On Any Sunday) and he really does do a great job of capturing what Baja is about. On the days that you're feeling sluggish and don't feel like working out, put Dust to Glory on and your motivation will return. As you're sitting on the couch munching on chips, put Dust to Glory on and all of a sudden those chips wont seem as tasty.
Good idea, great movie. They are not 3 wheeler movies but On Any Sunday part 1 & 2 are fun too. They have some desert racing footage too.

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[oscarmayer]

awesome! I will certainly do that! wonder if it's on digital download yet?

[onformula1]

awesome! I will certainly do that! wonder if it's on digital download yet?
Hopefully, the last time I checked Dust to Glory was like 60 bucks on Amazon.

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[Jmoozy27]

awesome! I will certainly do that! wonder if it's on digital download yet?

It's on Netflix, just watched it. Very good documentary.

[onformula1]

It's on Netflix, just watched it. Very good documentary.

Very cool, now I have to get Netflix :lol:

I have not seen it in ten years.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386423/

[oscarmayer]

Awesome!!! I will watch it today!!!


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[oscarmayer]

Just finished watching from Dust to Glory.
Holly cow!!!!! being someone whom never has done that before, it did 2 things
1-Scared the hell outta me thinking of all the stuff I have to prep for
2- Gave me a woody thinking of how much fun this trailprotrailprotrailprotrailpro is gonna be!!!!!!

[dman10]

I guess I'll have to watch it now

[Jmoozy27]

Just finished watching from Dust to Glory.
Holly cow!!!!! being someone whom never has done that before, it did 2 things
1-Scared the hell outta me thinking of all the stuff I have to prep for
2- Gave me a woody thinking of how much fun this trailprotrailprotrailprotrailpro is gonna be!!!!!!

I had the same reaction and didn't want to tell you anything until you saw for yourself. Definitely looks fun. Seems tough on a trike though. A very wide axle seems like it would be useless in that terrain. I think it would be fun to enter the class 11 w/ an old samurai or izuzu trooper and go that route.

[onformula1]

If I remember corectly most guys used a plus 2 or 3 inch axel max. I think Driscoll talked about it in his famous thread as well.

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[oscarmayer]

yea I am looking for just that a +2-+3. so sounds about right.

[onformula1]

The Body Prep- Tips & tricks for racing.
My body, your body…Not your trikes body.

Note- Check with your doctor before you make changes to your to your normal routine.

Some of these things came from me, some from friends, top pro’s, personal trainers, doctors, ETC. They all worked for “me”.

Everything in this post is IMHO.

A good proper diet is everything, these days it can get cloudy with Atkins, all protein diets, ETC. IMHO eating 5lbs. of bacon is not going to help you in a race, a well balanced diet will help…A lot.

Fast food, candy, cookies and junk food needs to stop.

Eat fruits, vegetables, chicken breast, white flesh fish, ETC.

Beef & Pork have hormones in them that should not be eaten 1 month before a race. (Arm Pump)

If you need sweets/dessert- This is a tip from a couple of British buddies that raced road bicycles professionally.

Take 2-3 bananas slice them up add a little sugar in the raw, then squirt a fresh lemon over it stir to make a glaze…enjoy!


Carbo load- The same two blokes told me about carbo loads & it worked for me. They did it & told me Lance Armstrong would eat 2 full pizzas the night before a race. (We now know he had some extra help) I would boil up some pasta add in some raisons, fruit, a little brown sugar, water and honey- mix it up and eat it the night before a race and for breakfast before a race. Yes you can eat proteins as well.

Don’t eat spicy food a couple of days before a race, you don’t need extra racing strips…LOL.

Vitamins-
Follow the instructions on the packaging.

Calcium pills- Lactic acid is the item your body produces during a race that gives you the “burn feeling” in your muscles and gives you the arm pump feeling. That burning feeling that makes you want to stop.

Lactic acid is a acid- calcium is a base, so it helps cancel each other out…or helps a lot.

Chromium Picolinate and/or Brewer’s Yeast- increases athletic performance and increased energy.

Vitamin E- Energy, endurance, muscle strength, recovering muscle damage.

Multi Vitamins- Good for all around health.

Vitamin B-12- good for energy.

Advil, Ibuprofen- Take a normal dose the night before the race and the morning before the race- you will thin your blood a bit, help body aches and pains and pump up and help cure the pain before it happens. (IMHO the best tip)

Pound Pedialyte the day before and morning before the race, I hate the taste so I cut it with a little water 70%-30%, for me the fruit punch types taste the best, put it in a different bottle so your fellow racers don’t give you crap. Pedialyte always worked better than Gatorade or Powerade for me.

These days I see Coconut water is popular, but I have never tried it. We were sponsored by Endura, but it seems it is only available in Australia now?

The whole idea is to keep your electrolytes up.

Drink lots of spring water 3 days before & during the race, lots & lots of water. During the race use a camelback type devise, have a few so you can quick change them out and not have to fill them during the race. During the race cool water is OK, not icy cold water or you can get craps no matter how good it tastes.

Dehydration is not fun!

Stay away from diuretics as much as possible- No coffee, tea, soda, carbonated drinks.

Naproxen- Works great after a race for pain & recovery and it is a great anti-inflammatory, use a couple of doses after the race day or it will dehydrate you.

Sports Cream, Icy Hot & Bengay- Works great after a race day, Sports Cream & Icy Hot works good and has no smell, Bengay works better, but your buddies may give you some crap for the smell. Coat anything muscle that hurts but your private areas. Shower off before the next race day or your body will chaff against your gear.

Some guys use lotion on their private areas front to back to help chaffing, I never had that problem and didn’t like the “swamp feel”. It seemed worst to me.

Stretch & warm up one hour before the race, relax 30 minutes before the race.

After the race day- Ice down any body part that is swollen/inflamed until the swelling goes down, a frozen bag of peas or ice in a zipper bag wrapped in a towel works great.

After the race day- Heat muscles that hurt with a heating pad, buy a couple they work and help draw white blood cells to the muscle to fix the pain/injury. Sleep with them on overnight if needed.

Listen to music before the race- not something that pumps you up, you want something with rhythm, rhythm is very important! I can tell you what I use, but I will not post it here. LOL.

It is NOT something I like but it has rhythm.

When you get tired during a race remain calm, remember to breath, keep up the pace and wait for your second wind, sing a song to yourself, not out loud for it will affect your breathing.

Keep in mind some people can lose up to 8lbs. a day under extreme racing conditions, keep that body fueled and drink tons of water!