The one trike for the Baja 1000...

[Kintore]

Well I watched dust to glory over 3 times this weekend. That movie, I HIGHLY reccomend it. Crazy stuff in that movie, guy named Mouse does the whole race by himself:crazy:. Its one cool movie, anyways me and my dad were talking. If I had to take one trike into the Baja 1000 it would be a 86 Z. Not because I own one but due to several things.
The 350x would be a good canadite but I think she would overheat to easy in that heat. 250r was my first choice, but due to the fact that ive read/seen that a 250r tires the riding out more I figured that was VERY important. A tired rider will go slower than a fast/less tired rider on a Z. The Z may not be the fastest, but it is the most confortable to ride IMO. And the 86 has a 6 speed.

These are the things I would do to the Z-
Billys front fork setup:w00t:
Anti vibe bars
All new OEM bearings and seals
K+N or Uni
DG pipe
Elka Triple rate in the rear valved to me
New Baja bead locked rims with the hardest compound holshot front and back.
New Miltech swinger. extra gusseting
Extra gusseting on frame.
Aktive reed cage
New top end
Big huge Baja lights, and lights on your helmet too
No airbox lid(well maybe)

This is all of I can think of, what would you do? and what trike would you use and why?

[slothminx]

Well I watched dust to glory over 3 times this weekend. That movie, I HIGHLY reccomend it. Crazy stuff in that movie, guy named Mouse does the whole race by himself:crazy:. Its one cool movie, anyways me and my dad were talking. If I had to take one trike into the Baja 1000 it would be a 86 Z. Not because I own one but due to several things.
The 350x would be a good canadite but I think she would overheat to easy in that heat. 250r was my first choice, but due to the fact that ive read/seen that a 250r tires the riding out more I figured that was VERY important. A tired rider will go slower than a fast/less tired rider on a Z. The Z may not be the fastest, but it is the most confortable to ride IMO.

These are the things I would do to the Z-
Billys front fork setup:w00t:
Anti vibe bars
K+N or Uni
DG pipe
Elka Triple rate in the rear valved to me
New Baja bead locked rims with the hardest compound holshot front and back.
New Miltech swinger. extra gusseting
Extra gusseting on frame.
Aktive reed cage
New top end
Big huge Baja lights, and lights on your helmet too
No airbox lid(well maybe)

This is all of I can think of, what would you do? and what trike would you use and why?


I would also have, a taller seat with soft foam.
A camelback water pouch
Easier pull clutch lever
Full engine skid plate



You covered most of the things I would have!. And I too would use a Z;):beer

[cracked junior]

i always have that movie in my dvd player. im not sure how many times ive watched it. even though i know whats going to happen. it seems new to me. cops having a doughnut convention. and i dont think the 350x would over heat. they do it in november which wouldnt be super hot. and the old racers never had a water cooled engines. like the honda xr600r, wasnt water cooled, and that was the baja champ untill the xr650r came around, which is water cooled. and if i ever win the powerball. im going to get me a baja team together. and run it once. just to say i did it. even if i finish last. and then i will be like ahh wtf, ill keep doing it

[MTS]

You guys should watch the Dakar Rally on OLN..think theres a bunch of re-runs on this weekedn...you would love it ;)

[Rm250RF900R]

Dakar rally is extreme.

[cracked junior]

i just looked at my directv tv guide thing, where it shows you the channels and what show is on at what time. it says 2006 dakar rally is on at 10pm central time on OLN. then the orignal gone in 60 seconds is on speed channel at 5pm central. ive always heard about the dakar but never seen anything about it. and tonight i will watch it. thanks my trick sucks.

[Dammit!]

My Z would vibrate itself to death.

The concerns you had for the R are easily fixed. Taller seat and bars would stretch things out enough to improve comfort. A torque pipe and some tuning would smooth out the power delivery which would help with fatigue. Nothing major.

My next R project is going to be decked out Baja style for desert riding. Should be fun.

[dovesprings250R]

I raced desert on 85 and 86 250Rs but never anything longer than 150 miles or so. From what I remember there were a few guys on tri Zs who did pretty well. The tri z was a good desert bike but needed much suspension work and more top end power. The last year I did barstow to vegas a guy on a tri z I think was Denny Wolf, did very well, top four I think. The Honda 250 was a perfect desert bike with just a change of tires and a taller seat. Not much needed for those to go fast out West. I used ohtsu pro vector 22/10/9 rear tires, paul turner pipe/ silencer, hi flite desert seat, renthal bars, and heavy duty mitchell wheels when i was racing. For Baja I'd safety wire everything and get the best pit crew I could find.

[350x'inNY]

I'd use the legend... come on.... :beer hahahhahaa

[westcoast TRI-Z]

No airbox lid Kintore???:lol: You saw the silt beds in that DVD, like fine powdered clay:eek: Hahah, just messing:D Would a 1985 Tri-Z's taller tires help float better through silt or no?

[Kintore]

Yah Ive watched dakar rally lol
And westcoast, thats why I said maybe. And add a pre filter to that list too. I really wonder, how much would it take to run the baja 500? A smaller race but still fun. Who seriously ever thought of racing in it? Anyone on here ever done it?
Maybe on a trike if they would allow it, they said anything goes so maybe. Even a quad I would do it if I could.(sighs into the future:naughty:)

[dunerash]

Yah Ive watched dakar rally lol
And westcoast, thats why I said maybe. And add a pre filter to that list too. I really wonder, how much would it take to run the baja 500? A smaller race but still fun. Who seriously ever thought of racing in it? Anyone on here ever done it?
Maybe on a trike if they would allow it, they said anything goes so maybe. Even a quad I would do it if I could.(sighs into the future:naughty:)
A couple guys in our group ran the Vegas to Reno race this past year.. Heres the write up on it.
http://www.sandwizards.com/SWR%20Race%20Story%202005.htm

[Darius1502]

I think both the R and Z would be excellent. Keep in mind that hte R is quite short while the Z has a much longer wheelbase. You need stability at speed. I longer swingarm on the R would be a must. I would go with a + 2.

[AZ250R]

I hope everyone has watched all the "extra stuff" on the Dust to Glory DVD, its as good if not better than the movie itself. I mean think of the guys riding and filming the guys Ride'n!?!?! One "bike" camera guy broke his wrist, just that bouncy over the bolders, and rode many hours still keeping up with and filming the bike ahead of him One Handed! :w00t:

Check it out, loads more good stuff on that DVD IMO. :beer

[69HemiGTX]

The Z would be a nice choice, but I think you are overlooking one thing - range. There are no aftermarket large capacity gas tanks for the Z, and there's nowhere to put one, either. That reason alone would make me choose the 250R. I can manipulate the ergonomics enough to suit my needs.

[OZQUAD44]

A few things,
It seems That 250R in its day was the prerenial favorite in desert races, Looked through all my old magazines and there wern't too many colours other than red on the desert scene.
The other one was a question, Do people still race threewheelers in desert competition now days? One of the comments above seemed to suggest this.
Lastly, has a three wheeler ever won a desert race outright?

[Darius1502]

Regarding winning the Baja 1000 outright..hell yes.

In fact, I remember that Team Honda in '85 and '86 beat everything! Include the buggies and bikes on the ATC 250R. Talk about incredible.

I don't know if it was both years or just one...but it was something!

[OZQUAD44]

Is that for real.. The quads still have'nt achieved that yet have they?

[dovesprings250R]

Honda atc 250R's overalled The 1985 baja 1000. When quads came on in 85-86 the honda atc 250R's beat the quads at ervery desert race I was ever at.

[westcoast TRI-Z]

To make it more incredible, the ATC's started last! Starting order went: bikes, trucks, buggies, atc's. :eek: :TrikesOwn

[OZQUAD44]

Has anyone got any desert race winning pictures or articles from back in the day, like a dirtwheels add or something. I think somthing like that would make an awsome poster for my shed.
Dean Sundal raced both Trikes and Quads during his desert carrer, and I'm sure his last banshees were way faster than his Trikes. Am I wrong....... Dean?
I wish you could buy a DVD full of trike racing.

[Kintore]

I wish you could buy a DVD full of trike racing.

Its called the Trikefest 05 media bundle, pick one up!:w00t:

[Dammit!]

Well. I just got back from riding my Z in the desert. I was kinda surprised by how loose it feels out there at high speed compared to the R. Not exactly confidence inspiring. I'm sure it could be setup to handle it better and it isn't like my Z is in mint condition or anything. The more mellow powerband would definitely not wear you out as fast as my R does but that's all a matter of the right mods and tuning. You can make a Z breath fire just like you can make an R mellow. Something would have to be done to get the Z to handle better at high speed over rough terrain to make it a competitive Baja trike. Hard to explain what it feels like out there. Kinda "floaty" is the best way I could put it. Not at all noticable until you're doing about 55-60 over rocks and ruts and whoops. Then all of a sudden it's just loosey goosey. If anyone were serious about turning a Z into a competitive long range desert racer, it would take a little more work than using a 250R. I was thinking you could probably make one of those gravity feed tanks that replace the airbox and use that in addition to the under the seat tank. That would get you about 4 gallons of gas. Should be easy enough to set it up to be able to switch between tanks. You'd also HAVE to come up with something as far as skid plates go. I was getting nervous out there with all the little dings you hear as the rocks fly up and nothing to protect the underside of the motor.

I think the ideal desert machine would be a 1986 250R with 22 inch tires, nice beefy skid plates, a torque pipe like a PT Type 6, Rad Valve, Uni or K&N filter, desert tank, desert seat, a pair of those huge 200 watt baja lights and... that's about it probably. Maybe a set of taller handlebars to go along with the taller seat. Other than all that just leave it stock. Should be super reliable with good low end and a smooth, less fatiguing powerband. The taller seat and bars would give the rider a little more room for comfort. Should be awesome. I'd probably throw a twist throttle on there too (again for fatigue concerns).

It would be awesome to get a team together and enter a Baja race with a trike though wouldn't it? That would be such a blast. After I win this 300 million dollar powerball jackpot I'm doing it. Who's with me? :)

[Kintore]

Im in dammit! That movie man Dust to glory, now I drive my Z like a mad man in the snow pretending to be in the 1000. Where I usually go 2nd gear im flying in 4th haha. That R sounds real nice dammit, and about the Z. I know what you mean about the skids, I would like em too.

[Darius1502]

I'll do the baja with you guys...but won't use my bikes. I'll have to buy a mechaically sound beater. Now the question is: ATC 250r or Tri Z?

I would go with the R since parts are more available. Add 2 inches to the swinger and its on!!

[slothminx]

Im in dammit! That movie man Dust to glory, now I drive my Z like a mad man in the snow pretending to be in the 1000. Where I usually go 2nd gear im flying in 4th haha. That R sounds real nice dammit, and about the Z. I know what you mean about the skids, I would like em too.



Ahem *** :naughty: :naughty: You forgot me josh..... again!

Im pretty sure we have spent the most time talking about this :lol: :lol: :Bounce


Ohh, and remember we need biggggg lights!