Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

MuclI11C81' - K&N fIh8r, anorkel lidded. Ground IIW8Y flberglea on . , . nICer. (Left) Rlvenide GP win... features golfcer tires, high g..rlng, drilled diBc:. (Right) Extra wheelsdrrMen ere used on IItOck wheels 12 per wheel). HowTeam Honda sets up ATes for radng By Chuck Clayton "The letter R in a Honda model number means serious Racer," said Wess McCoy, the manager of the Honda ATC racing team. Serious is right, The 250cc ATC 250Rs that the team rides are as potent as a CR motocrosser - about lS7 horsepower. Because so much power is available from the stock, out-of-thebox racer, Wcss claims that they do nothing to the inside of the engine. The two team riden under contract (there's an opening for a third) are allowed to do anything they want in the way of speed tuning - carburetor, exhaust, gearing - to suit their own style. Mark Weixeldorfer tunes for top end. He says that's all he uses anyway, when he's racing. Whereu Dean Sundahl prefers to tune his 250R for a broader power range. Team Honda, for all its big industry backing, is still in the good old days of racing development. Honda has a healthy headstart on its rivals and holds many patents on ATC design that put its competition at a disadvantage. So the setup of team and support ''bikes'' is not yet as trick or elaborate u you might expect. McCoy let ATV News examine three of the works cycles, set up for winning three different types of races, and told us all we wanted to know. Here's how they do it. 'SI SCOR.E Baja 500 wiDner The fint non-sidecar three-wheeler ever to fmish the tough Baja race used standard tires ~nning 7 Ibs. pressure .all the way around. It is geared for 70 mph by changing drive sprockets and running the stock O-ring chain. At 70. the tires grow six inches in diameter and you can see where they've ground away the fiberglass fenden. The racer is fitted with the new headlight guard and speedometer that RIvenIcIe nICer,left.ln 1912 model . , . winner, right ren stock tIrea. exhaust. end eIr tIIt8r. are now available u Hemetaline accessory items. Two inches of extra padding wu added to the seat for obvious reasons. Spare cables ~ taped aloagside thoee in use, enduro style, but were never needed. The 250R ran a standard exhaust system, stock engine, and burLS Union 76 leaded premium gasoline mixed with CastroI Ib- "CastroI R is the edge,"swears Wesa McCoy. A bigger go tank had to be custom built. The main thing that a rider has to do to prep his stock ATC 250R for Baja is beef up the stock skidplate. "We kept losing the skidpan," says Wcss. "It really took a beating." 1982 models feature IOmm bolts holding the skidpan on, but 12mm might work better, if you are modifying your current 250R to Baja specs. 'SllUveniae OR.C wiDDer Mark Weixeldorfer's Off-Road Championship winner is a 1982 model, which will come with disc brakes. The discs are drilled on Wax's machine and it is geared higher, to his liking. Two rectangular holes were cut out of the top of the airbox, since dust would be no problem at this race. These admitted more air, faster for the Lectron 40mm carburetor, which replaced the 1982 stock 27mm Mikuni. The twist throttle is borrowed from a CR 450 MX Honda. Of course the headlight wu put back in the box, along with the parking brake, since they wouldn't be needed at Rivenide. Wcss' Product Development shop fitted Goodyear 18 :It 950 SofTrac goIfcar tires on the rear and a U" wide Carlisle up front, mounted on a six-inch wide wheel. This is done to make the whole tire stiffer. The team racers prefer more height in their front tire ride. Heavier wheels were engineered b) Hugh Mitchell. "ThOle things are great," Wesa testifies. Tire pressures at Riwnide were four to six pounds front and 10 Ibs. rear. II Vilalia mud winner Waterproofmg is the biggest worry when preparing for a mud race. The Visalia vaseline battleground wu said to be 18 inl=hes deep. So the team spent houn sealing small openings with Siluti.c, routing breather tubes up near the handleban, and inventing snorkel pipes for the intake and exhaust. Of course, the extra long induction and exhaust richened up the stock carburetor jetting, so that had to be changed during practice. Once certain that the motor wouldn't drown, they had to get the power to.the ground. Wesa called for a pair of l!-inch Honda Civic wheels and soon drilled them to fit the 4-bolt flange that comes on the 1982 ATC 250R. Locating one's shop in the American Honda compound has to be convenient. Farm implement tires are fitted to the rear wheels and the front wheel is left stock. "A mistake," frowns Wcss. The flotation tire pushes a bow wave ahead of it. Wcss thinks a skinnier tire might have worked better. The mudder ran stock gearing, another mistake, according to the team manager. "It shoulda been lower," he says. The Honda Special Projects ATe Racing Team used Terry kit forb, Daeco Racing Gu at Rivenide, and Mitchell Wheels when possible. Mitchells need no stiffenen, but when running stock wheels they put in two steel backing plates per rear wheel. Well, there you hae it: State of the art. If it looks easy to match equipment with Team Honda, maybe it is. An'

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