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/1489777
INTERVIEW I 2022 AMA NATIONAL ENDURO CHAMPION GRANT BAYLOR P80 ing properly, like it should. The suspension is working and every- thing. The first two or three years I rode the 450 pretty hard. I used to rev it to the moon and bounce it off the rev-limiter here and there. But Grant learned a lot when he went to the ISDE and watched the Europeans and saw how smoothy they rode. "I went over to Six Days one year and it just kind of clicked for me. I was watching those Euro guys, and I'm like, man, I got to figure it out. I got to figure out how to make the course connect and just make everything flow like these guys are making it flow. It's crazy watching those guys ride. Everything they do is thought out. They always know where they're going and execute perfectly. I wanted to try and learn that riding technique and just try to smooth it out. I knew at the end of the day, your bike is going to last longer if you're riding it smoother, and your suspension is going to last longer. It's not going to break down as fast. Your body is not going to break down as fast from over- riding. So, I made myself kind of smooth it out there. I believe that was 2019 when I really smoothed it out. That was the first year I wicked it up in the enduros. I think I won four of the last five rounds there that year, or something like that. I guess I kind of figured it out." For 2023, Baylor has a solid team under him for the first time in two years—a factory team. "I'll be on the full-on Babbitts' Online/Monster Energy/Team Green Kawasaki team," said Baylor. "We worked out a deal. It's a two-year deal. I'm going to be running in the National Enduro Se - ries and the GNCC Series. In the GNCCs, I'll have Josh Strange and Lyndon Snodgrass as teammates. Josh will be XC1 and Lyndon is going to defend in XC2. Then we'll have JoJo Cunningham in the A class. So, that will be the team. I'm really looking forward to it." It's been a while since Baylor rode a Japanese bike, but he's looking forward to it. "It's definitely a big change going from a KTM to a Japanese bike," said Baylor. "I would say the Japanese bikes kind of feel more the same as each other than compared to the KTM. Obviously, the Japanese bikes are all on the aluminum frame and then you've got the steel chassis on the KTM, Husky, and GasGas. Back in '16 when I was on the Yamaha, I remember when I first got on the Yamaha it was just comfortable. I don't know how to explain it. It was just comfortable. The bike was super easy to ride. "I've been on a steel frame my whole life other than those two years. But I think being a bigger guy, I'm around 215, and most of these other guys I'm racing against are under 200 pounds, they're closer to 180 or so. I'm thinking that a different chas - sis might help me, being bigger a little bit. It just makes the bike feel more comfortable to me. It doesn't make you feel so glued to the ground. The steel chassis just feels really dead and kind of sticks to the ground. The aluminum frame has a more-lively feel to it. You can kind of jump from bump to bump. I do feel more comfort - able on the aluminum chassis, and I'm happy with the Kawasaki so far. It's been unbelievable. It's just crazy fast. It's the fastest bike I've ever ridden. I don't know if that's the best thing or not for the woods, but it's super-fast. Being a bigger guy, it pulls me right out of the corner, no issues. Gets right up on top of the bumps and going like a rocket. "With the team now, I'm com - fortable. We're sticking on the same tires I was on this [2022] year. Also, I get to stick with JDP Suspension. Those two things right there are huge. Switching the whole brand, manufacturer of the bike is a big jump, but to stick with the suspension and Dunlop tires, that makes it a lot easier." CN "I went over to Six Days one year and it just kind of clicked for me. I was watching those Euro guys, and I'm like, man, I got to figure it out."