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/127291
ITECHN~AL~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By Kit Palmer Photos by Kinney J ones mI ,.....; 0') 0') ,.....; t has of ten and rightfully been said that races are won or lost long before the green flag drops. The actua l han dlebar-banging and dirtflin ging action th at takes pl ace on the track between th e green and checkered flag is sometimes j ust a mere drop in the bu cket wh en str iving for th at nu mber on e trop hy. Bein g in top ph ysical condition , whi ch comes from count less ho urs of trai ning and practice, is a big part of bein g successfu l on the track , but no ' matter how hard you train and p ractice, it won' t do an ounce of good if your mo torcycle can 't mak e it 10 the finis h line. Pretend, if you will, that you' ve been on a stric t diet of Twinkies and donuts for the last month, and that your only exercise du rin g that time was jogging from the couch to the refrigerat or and back once or twice a day. On race da y you 'll perhaps last a lap or two before pu lli ng ou t of the race with stomach cra mps. What you did was neglect your body and it failed, broke down , it was n' t prepped correctly. Now you kn ow how your motorcycle feels when its not prepped correctly, it most likely After many hou rs of careful preparation, Team Green 's 1990 Kawasaki KX250 is read y to tackle everyth ing that the Baja 1000 race has to offer. Tuff-e-nuff for Baja won 't go th e distance, either, becau se it 'll break - DNF (did not fini sh ). And the longer the race, the grea ter your cha nces of not finishin g. One of the longest and most gr uellin g orr-roa d motorcycle races in the wor ld is the Baja 1000. Sur e, there might be lon ger races, such as th e month-lon g Paris-to-Dakar Rally, bu t in those kinds of competition th ere is amp le time to ma ke repairs and repl ace broken par ts or even comp lete engines. But in the Baja 1000, as soon as the green flag drops, the - tickin g o f th e cloc k doesn 't stop unt il the checkered flag waves. There's ab solutely no tim e to make repairs. Five minutes wasted to repl ace a worn ou t sprocket can easi ly cos t you a win , o r eve n a finisher's pin. So how does one go abou t pre ppin g a bike for the Baja 1000? T o answer that question , we contacted the folks at Kawasaki T eam Green who are well-know n for their success at the Baja 1000, and asked th em what they do to prep their race bikes. T he knowledge th at T eam Green has acq ui red over the years competing in the Baja 1000 is obviously bein g put A modified Kawasaki Enduro Ignition kit was installed to power this 55-walt IPF Super Rally headlight. When the sun sets, the complete hea dlight housing can be mounted in about 15 seconds. The big knob on top adjusts the angle of the light beam. to good use and their record shows it. Si n ce 1987, wh en Ka wa saki fir st officia lly compe ted in the Baja 1000, . th ey've won the event thr ee times, 1988, '89 and "90, a feat th a t can 't be taken ligh tly. Much of what Team Green does to its bik es can ap p ly 10 any motorcycle. And remember, you might thin k that you' ll never race the Baja 1000, but the same kn ow-how used to win Baja can be put to good use at loca l endure s, hare scrambles, hare and . hounds, and even trail rid es. T eam Green ' s J a mes Dega in arra ng ed for us 10 ride a 1990 Kawasaki KX250 that was prepped by ace wren ch Skippy Norfolk for th e 1990 Baja 1000. Shortly after th e race, Norfolk made th e tra nsition from T eam Green to Honda's Pro Suppo rt MX T eam as Jerem y McGrath's persona l mechanic for 1991. Garage lime Starting from scra tch, Nor folk comp letely stripped down the stock Kawasaki KX250 a nd slow ly reassembled the bike, pa ying close attent ion 10 each and every part. The pri ma ry reason for tearing down the eng ine was 10 balance, or tru e, the cra n k 10 help reduce vibration, wh ich is a maj or factor to prem ature metal fatigue and causes nu ts and bol ts 10 come loo se. Sin ce the Baj a 1000 is a fairl y highspeed race, modifyin g the transmis sion . gear ra tios was a mu st. No rfolk in sta ll ed a lower -rat io fi rs t- and second-gear tra nsmi ssion kit , which is