Old Dogs

[Buddau]

They say you cannot teach an old dog new tricks. But you sure can learn from an old dog.
Bueller and I went for a ride at Rampart a few weeks ago. I asked him how he handles the whoops so well. He gave me a few tips and walla! I can hit the whoops faster than I have ever been able to. No, I am not fast.
This past weekend I went back to Rampart...alone, and rode at my own pace. I took a wrong turn and ended up at trail 649 and Jackson Creek road. Yea, I started at the top of Rampart, the top of 690. I took 677 back to 676. Oh yea, I ripped up 676 A.K.A. Devil's Slide. On 675 and 674, I was practicing the whoops there. You know the ones, those deep ones, with the loose gravel.
Back at my car, my bike's trip meter showed I rode 48 miles. I felt tired, but great. Not too bad in 4.5 hours. The main thing here is, I had a great time, achieved goals, and made it home with out needing surgery.
Thanks Bueller, for the tips.

[Bueller]

I had a bunch more for you this weekend That whole freakin place is a whoop fest and Dean absolutely loves 'em!
61 mi. for me on tha Ktoom and another 10 or so on the YZ.

Man this weather rocks!

[Buddau]

61 miles!? Damn dude! I rode Rampart again today (Sunday). Did 30 miles with a friend at a slower pace. I tried the whoops some more and almost got my ass over the bars. I need more practice at whoops. Lets hope the good weather lasts a little longer.

[FZRguy]

Oh yeah, Dean loves whoops.

[Bueller]

61 miles!? Damn dude! I rode Rampart again today (Sunday). Did 30 miles with a friend at a slower pace. I tried the whoops some more and almost got my ass over the bars. I need more practice at whoops. Lets hope the good weather lasts a little longer.

You shoulda found me!
I tried for an old fashioned impalement on a fallen tree hanging out into the trail.
We ride up there thru Thanksgiving most years. Rode Christmas Eve one year.

[Buddau]

You tried for an impailment also? Were you wearing protection?
The guy I was riding with Sunday also tried to impail himself. He got messed up on whoops and took a broken branch to his chest. It took him a while to get his breath back. Scary stuff.

Wear your gear people! Don't be a dirty

I was wondering if you were still there or wrapping it up. We got there at noon and rode 'till 5.

[Bueller]

Yea wearing my body armour, rode till 2 or so.

[R1chie]

I do 60-70 miles at Rampart or 717 every weekend, Friday for sure and sometimes Saturday. I do try to avoid the weekends though because of the number of people out there. Headons are less likely during the week. I will be up in 717 tomorrow, I am hoping they got rain like we did here. Cutting down on the dust is a big help too.

Bueller is a pretty good rider, I have ridden rampart with him before. He needs to learn how to keep the front wheel on the ground though but I don't think you will be able to teach that old dog that new trick.

[R1chie]

61 miles!? Damn dude! I rode Rampart again today (Sunday). Did 30 miles with a friend at a slower pace. I tried the whoops some more and almost got my ass over the bars. I need more practice at whoops. Lets hope the good weather lasts a little longer.

It is my experience the wr250 does not do too well on the whoops due to suspension limitations and no amount of adjustment really helps, get a motocross bike and you will find the whoops get soaked up at speed. My friend sold his wr250 and bought an rmx450 and has stated numorous times how much better that bike handles (and even my yz450 when he rode it) in the whoops. He is now much faster in the whoops and up at Rampart.

[Bueller]

Bueller is a pretty good rider, I have ridden rampart with him before. He needs to learn how to keep the front wheel on the ground though but I don't think you will be able to teach that old dog that new trick.

Ha where's the fun in that.
Actually the 300 doesn't wheelie as much as the 450F does, and for Rampart the suspension on the 450 is great but it's a handfull on the rocky stuff up high. I loved riding Kim's wr250 up near Grand where my stock suspended YZ was beating the crap out of me.
The YZ is a fun ass rocket but the EXC is way easier for me to ride.

And Budd you can take the YZ for a romp if you wanna check it. Bound to be a blast!

[R1chie]

Ha where's the fun in that.
Actually the 300 doesn't wheelie as much as the 450F does, and for Rampart the suspension on the 450 is great but it's a handfull on the rocky stuff up high.
No doubt, the wr works way better on the slow rocky technical stuff. Every bike is a compromise. The suspension on a motorcross bike works best for motocross and the whoop sections on Ramart at speed, can to do rocky stuff? Yes but not very well where as the wr is the opposite.

I loved riding Kim's wr250 up near Grand where my stock suspended YZ was beating the crap out of me.
The YZ is a fun ass rocket but the EXC is way easier for me to ride.

I will say this, the 06 YZ450 is a heck of a lot easier engine wise to ride the slow technical stuff than the 04 YZ. (I got ride of my 04 YZ and now have a 05 RMZ450 as a second bike which is even a better trail bike engine wise over the 06YZ

And Budd you can take the YZ for a romp if you wanna check it. Bound to be a blast!

I was down in Canon city riding some really technical stuff and the 06YZ handled very well and did not stall so I was pretty happy with it, and know it would have been a lot tougher on my 04

[Buddau]

I would agree that a YZ would soak up the whoops better. I can tell the rear end of my WR bottoms out and that's when I get flung. I have played with the compression and preload a little. It still feels too soft, so I have some more adjustments to play with. I know it is limited, I am not looking for perfection, a small improvment will be just fine.
Now I have at tecnique to work on, I can better adjust my suspension.
I love my WR. The main reasons why I got it instead of a YZ is that I ride with my boys a lot and I need the kickstand and electric starter.

I would like to try out your YZ Bueller. When are we riding again?