Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126960
Husky would be paying for every. thing. Parts are way out there - it'd be a bit expensive. It helps a lot to know I can always get another bike. It helps knowing I've got the parts and people that can help out if I get stuck with something. Right now I'm riding a four-stroke 5JOTX. I've also got a cross country - a 430XC - and a 250. I can ride any bike I want. My favorite at the moment is the four-stroke. I think the Husky is a good bike - really. I'm a bad guy to ask because I work for them, but I think they're the best desert bike you can get. I've let people that ride other makes ride my bike and they ca t believe how strai~ht it goes-an'd how predictable it is In a rough section. I think I'm prejudiced t~ because I've ridden Huskys for so long. I know what the bike is going to do before it does it. I'll be staying with Husky. I checked around the other manufacturers a couple of years ago, but I 'don't think they are as consistent as the Europeans. The others hire and fire every week. I'll take the long term. .., How do you prepare a bike for competition? When I get a brand new Husky, I take it completely apart. Then I put it back together, adding washers here and there. In mass production they don't put on washers, locktite, safety wire and stuff like that. Basically, the bike is stock. People don't want to believe that, but the things I do to my bikes anybody could do if they took a little time. My ports are exactly stock. I go in and match things up and take the casting burrs off and that's about it. I make the bike like the mechanic in Sweden wanted iL I'm running stock forks and the shock is exactly stock. I have a lot heavier spring in the shock and run my suspension a lot stiffer than most people would like it. People usually notice the two-into-one pipe. I made that myself, but anyone can do it. All you need is a welder and a hacksaw. We've got a quick-change axle on the front. You can change a front wheel in like 30 seconds. We use a different chairi and I changed the handlebars over to Renthalls. Hand guards are a must. I wouldn't ride without them. Riding fot Husky, we get to test different things, like fork kits and little stuff like that. Apart from the odd try-out thing on the bike, everything is about bone stock. Is there a key to winning in the desert? Know your bike is the best advice I can give. You have to know your motorcycle before you can ride it. You have to know how to get yourself back to the finish if it's at all possible. Anyone that's ever been really good at desert racing has known what their motorcycle was doing all the real long-term guys like Balentine; Roeseler's another one. Preparing the bike is the biggest thing I do toward winning. You should work on your bike enough during the week that you can come out to the race, go wide open, and know it wlll finish. What about riding? Is there a particular style that makes a good desert racer? I can show you how to do it, but lcan't really explain it. I just do it. I'd lik.e to think of myself as a reall y smooth rider. I've reall y smoothed out a lot lately. Most of my riding is body English. sometimes it will look like I'm all out of shape, but I'm actually using my weight to correct the bike. You have to keep your body over the center. JAMYi UR JAMS OFF ON A YAMAHA. GET READY FOR THE ULTIMATE JAM SESSION-the \\a~ Jammer is YcunahaS exciting, new ride lOr solo flyers. Sit or stand as you challenge the water with Ycunaha perfonnance that takes freestyling to new heights. Show the jet set how itS done-throttle up a WaveJammer and hang on to your jams. Call1-8()()..447-2882 lOr the ~ \\ater \elUde Dealer nearest you. Water \ehicles by~ '----1iii 11.!~De",,!gi;::~~::ei~::~~",ed' revolutionary new forged 2-cycle piston design for Dirt Bikes. This new design allows tighter piston to wall clearance while virtually eliminating cylinder wall scoring. * AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY 1987 HONDA CR 125 PISTONS (STD-. 080) 553 SERIES * Special cam inner dome design for improved heat transfer. Lightweight * Closer wrist pin boss spacingpiston to wall wrist pin flex. grind for closer clearances. * New ring groove design to reduce leakdown and eliminate blowby. to eliminate * 'EeDI .. • 1 Call for your FREE Piston/Accessory catalog today! WISECO PISTON INC. 7201 Industrial Pari< Blvd, Menlor, OH 44060 (216) 951-6600 • WISECO PISTON CANADA INC. 178 Ingersoll Ad, Woodstock Onl N4S 7X6 (519) 537-6281