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Unfortunately, the 505 also broke down on us during the test. Here's a photo of Tolbert tearing into the transmission. If this had been a Rotax, Tolbert says, it would have been back on the truck. ... Unlike the Harley I'd ridden eons ago, Carr's bike feels as though it has no hitches anywhere in the power delivery. The torque is instantaneous, and the power curve is broad enough that the bike was still pulling well past my comfortable entry into the corners - no surprise, as I was not exactly riding it like I'd stolen it. Call it an instinct for self- preservation, or maybe I still had that beer clause in our verbal contract etched in my mind. Even so, I was able to get the machine in fourth (top) gear, where I immediately noticed that the ratios between third and fourth were extremely close together. By the way, for all the bad rap against the way Harleys shift, Tolbert seems to have gotten the gearboxes on Carr's bikes sorted out. The bike I rode shifted better than some sportbikes I've ridden recently. Handlingwise, there are two things that impressed me: First, although the XR is a twin, the twingle arrangement really helps to slow the bike down in the corners, much more than a straight-up twin does, and that helps to get the rear end out going into the corners. You don't feel the need to drive it in as hard in order to get it turned, and you also don't need to rely on the rear brake as much. And second, maybe it's the power that the machine is making or the difference in chassis, but this machine feels anything but heavy. I really felt like I could steer it around pretty well through the corners, the feeling no doubt aided by the placement of the handlebars, which pulled right back into the cockpit. About the only gripe I had was that the carburetors felt like they were constantly poking me in the leg, which is a cross that all XR riders must bear. Also, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't convince Carr and Tolbert to let me take the bike home for the summer, you know, as a longterm test unit. Hell, I even offered Tolbert $3000, cash, to buy the thing. He passed on the deal. Oh well, maybe they'll invite me back next year. .. \ Carr and Tolbert brought two of these machines to the test. One was a IT machine in DTX-style trim, and the other was a full-clown C&Jframed short-tracker. We limited our testing of the TT bike, as we didn't have a suitable course for it, but I did get it out on the alf mile during the first day, and I can tell you that it was like many other DTX-style machines I have ridden, very competent. The 503 short-tracker was far and away one of toe most powerful 500sized bikes I have ever ridden, though. After Tolpert discortnected the accelerator purT\P to eliminate a low rpm stumble, both Carr an~1 turned quite a few l~ps on the machine in the morning. The bike just seems to co.me on strong low and build rpm and torgue at an incredible rate. There's no smooth, flywheel-heavy pull to it at all. It imparts a real high-winding, racy feel as the rpm builds rapidly toward the 10,000 mark, and yet the motor feels extremely hooked up at the same time. When testing against Texas GNC racer Willie McCoy on the second day at the short track, Carr admitted that he was having a little trouble setting McCoy up coming off the turns, because the Vor hesitated to find traction just an instant longer than did McCoy's tried-and-true Rotax, but the Vor's 35-pound weight advantage (it checks in at about 210 pounds) allowed Carr to out-maneuver McCoy by using more of a stopand-go technique. And once he got a clear track in front of him, Carr was gone. When I was on the bike, I noticed that it did tend to want to suck me into the corners a little more than I would have thought it would. It's just that it was driving hard enough and it was light enough that I found myself into the turns a lot deeper than I thought I could go. The beauty is that the Vor's lack of poundage allows you to get it turned quickly and get off the corner. I really think that could be a factor in helping Carr to win his third Daytona Short Track in 2003. If the thing turned and ge~.off the cor;; he does, remember that you,. read it here first. Unfortunately, theo03 did present s with a pr-oblem durin~ the first day of testing. Carr went out to run it on ner li.ckety-split. The 50 also feels as thou / it handles a little better in mi corner than the 503, here again -;robably / the short track, only to find Qut that it because "t's· a Iittl~ ighter still. Abo~ wouldn't shift. Tolbert and his crew members dove intQ the gearbox, the only thing I did notice on th which is a-- cassette-stye,. unit that can be completely pulled ou .while the engine is still ill\the frame. "That's a bi Ius with these things," Tolbert told me. "If this would have been a Rotax, we'd have to split litt~ the cases. We'd,.be all done today." ~s it turned oat, the gearbox failure turned out to be caused by a magnet that had fallen out of one of the two drainplugs in the cases - the Carr, I'll need to lose weight! One mOTe thing that I found really was that its suspension action 7 450 was a ore notic.eat51e. Partially because I was pushing it harder ancL mostly because I have an eas-y 40 ounds on Carr, the A5-o-Cended to want to pogo around a bit. The simple cure? Well, if I want to ride for interesting was the fact that Carr and Tolbert decided to test with mowcross handleba-rs on the 503 proverbial $2.50 part. Fortunately, no short-tracker on day one, and by the major damage was done, and Tolbert was able to get the machine sewed up and ready to.rock for day two. time day two rolled around, we had VOR 45G lock me too much into one place on the Vors," Carr related. "Having the them on both bikes. "I just think that the dirt track bars What more can I say about this machine other than that it was far and away my favorite machine of the test - even better than the XR. Grant- abirrty to get just a little bit more weight on the front wheel and then having the room to get over the back wheel will really make a difference in ed, this machine made less power than anything else, but in no way should you take that to mean that it's how I'm able to get hooked up." Carr chose Tag Metals bars, the YZ slow. In fact, Carr's best short track time on the 503 was a 15.1, but his best time on the 450 was a 14.8 - bend and the SX bend, which are pretty close in terms of their flatness and this on a track that was decidedly Overall, Carr and Tolbert felt it was on the grippy side. The reason is simple: The 450 makes true Cadillac-style power. It a successful test. The 503's gearbox builds just as quickly but with a little less authority than the 503, and it also revs higher (10,500 rpm) than the 503 . a fact that Carr was able to told me. Also, Carr got in some good, illustrate for me by having Tolbert add a tooth to the rear sprocket dur- this, Carr will have also attempted to ing my sessions so that I could approximate his corner entry rpm. ing of his Harleys down in Savannah, The engine felt as though the carburetion was more spot-on than the 503's was, too. It simply stays it will be on to Daytona And like I said, don't be surprised and their pullback. trouble presented itself at the right time, "which is why we test," Tolbert hard laps on his Italian-made singles, which are downright impressive bikes if you ask me. By the time you read complete much more extensive testGeorgia, just before bike week. Then if you see number one finish number one at least one of the two nights at hooked up, and the less aggressive power also means that you'll try to ride it harder, which means that you can dive-bomb into the corners, get cue I e Municipal Stadium. Because. from what I can see, his equipment is up to the task. n CN e 37 _ os • MARCH 12, 2003 ....