Klim Scramble Pak Tool Pack

Posted on March 8, 2015 by admin

After years of use and abuse, my Moose Tool Pack (ok fanny pack) has finally given up the ghost. Out on the market are a couple options. Ogio, KTM, Fox, Klim, etc all have their Tool Pack offerings, but Klim has always seemed to be the dependable choice with moto related gear. I had no idea what the insides really looked like, so I took a bit of a gamble, so hopefully what I show here and on my video can give you an idea as to what you’re getting into.

The Klim Scramble Pak has 3 main sections. The large center section and the two side sections. The two side sections are identical to each other and are not much more than an empty space. The main compartment is split up into several compartments. Unclip the two side clips and first you’ll see the outer pouch. This opening is about 6″ wide with enough room to fit your latex gloves or a couple rags, or maybe a few zip ties and odds and ends.

Flipping the top open, there is a large YKK zipper to access the main compartment. These zippers like all on the pack have a mild cover to them to help keep out the elements. Once the compartment is opened, you see your assorted slots, zip compartments, and elastic to keep your tools and gear in place. There is a big clear pouch which would likely be ideal for a phone, or whatever you may want a quick view at. One strip of the retention straps has a nice rubberized grip to it to help keep tools in place.

The side pouches themselves as noted earlier are primarily empty spaces. The outside wall of them is soft like that of a sunglass pouch. This outer wall also has a small elastic pouch to it. Both sides are identical and have YKK covered zippers on them.

The main buckle is a solid unit with a very strong hold to it. At the base of the pack there is a rubberized gripper to help keep the pack from rotating around your body while you’re riding. The padding on the inside of the pack seems to be plenty adequate and thick enough to keep tools from poking through the pack, without being too thick as to be bulky.

All in all, initial impression of the pack are very solid. I’ll be loading the pack up for some upcoming events and will do a year end review with it at the end of the season.

For full Hi-Res pics check below:

Acerbis 4.1 Gallon Gas Tank – For KTM 250/350/450/500

Posted on March 8, 2015 by admin

I wanted an oversized tank for my KTM 350EXC-F for some dual-sport rides. I did not want to be the Exxon Valdez super tanker. Enter the Acerbis 4.1 Gallon Gas Tank. This tank replaces the OEM radiator guards without adding too much width over the OEM Tank. This Acerbis unit is identical to the KTM Hard Parts 13L tank, but with the Acerbis screw on gas cap. I opted for the Acerbis unit purely because it saved me about 80-100$ depending on where you purchase from.

Installing the unit is straight forward. Remove your OEM Tank, Remove the fuel pump from your OEM Tank (not needed if you have a second fuel pump setup), slide fuel pump into Acerbis tank, and finally reinstall the tank onto the bike. The Acerbis unit included all the required hardware for installing the tank. The tanks wall thickness is thinner than the OEM tank, so this requires some alternate hardware. The supplied hardware did the job and is on par or above OEM quality. No faults to be had here.

Between your knees, you end up with about 1/2″ of fuel tank extra on either side. In the center, you end up with the standard Acerbis look of a slightly too tall fuel filler. This is due to Acerbis needing to be able to fit their dry break fuel filler system. Not the end of the world, but if you’re used to sliding up on your tank all the way up to the bars, you’re going to have a nut buster of a problem.

When on the bike you don’t really notice the tank all too much. Yes it’s there, and yes there is a bit more fuel sloshing around, but there is no avoiding that with adding fuel. So far I’m happy with it. My only gripe at this point being that the gas cap breather hose nipple broke off before I even touched the tank. Mildly frustrating, though luckily the tank is still usable without that.

– UPDATE –

I contacted Acerbis regarding the broken cap. They’re sending me a replacement cap. Excellent Service & Response.

Acerbis Part #:2367750147

Fox Valley Off Road Open B Year End Results

Posted on September 25, 2014 by admin

The results are in…..

Saturdays GP: B Class, 3rd Overall
GP Results

Sundays HS: Open B, 1st – Overall, 9th/49
Class Results Overall Results

Fox Valley Off Road Overall (Open B):
1st/25
FVOR Overall Points

Suffice to say, I’m quite thrilled. It feels good to have finally won some form of overall series since my Advanced Trials class in 2009. I rode far less than normal this year, but seemed to grow more and more confident in my riding. Thanks to my wife, family, and friends for all the support.

Andrew

Multiple reports update – June & July FVOR Race Results

Posted on July 21, 2014 by admin

I’m just a wee bit behind on my updates here. Real quick on the June race. I’d like to not think about it too much, but if I don’t keep the past in my mind, I’ll likely repeat it. I don’t want that. Junes harescramble at FVOR went like this:

I got a poor start. I was then stuck behind a good deal of slower riders in my class and got frustrated. Not the end of the world, as I started passing people, but I unfortunately let a lot of their mistakes affect me. I went to make a hasty pass on a rider on a downhill section. I attempted to pass him on the outside, which was fine until he crossed over into me. I slammed on the brakes hard, but still managed to clip his rear wheel with my front. Front VS. Rear, Rear always wins. I cartwheeled down the hill. I picked up the bike, noted the bars were tweaked, as was the front fender. Each bump I heard a loud grinding noise. I was a bit mentally defeated at this point, and thought I was having little fun while trying to navigate some arrows & blown tape in the wooded areas. I wasn’t having fun, end o story. I called it quits early. Packed up and went home.

That’s the past and I aimed to do better come next race. This Sundays race, I kept calm. The little B & Big B classes grouped together for 1 line were too big, so they split us into separate lines at the start. I liked this, as I had no one on the immediate sides of me. I wear ear plugs when I race, so dead engine starts can prove to be tricky as I have a hard time hearing the motor start. I kept calm, and pulled the holeshot. I was holding a decent pace, but early on tucked the front in a slick turn. I got back up as quick as possible and kept pushing. I noted I was getting some arm pump pretty bad early on. I don’t normally get arm pump, so I figured it was a combo of not riding off-road enough & possibly having tossed a different set of bars on the bike (and pushing to keep up my early race pace). I calmed myself down and dealt with it.

On the second lap I tried getting a sip of water from my camelbak. Nothing. I thought Ice had clogged the hose, so I kept going. Next lap as I noted I slipped into 3rd place, I again tried getting some water from my camelbak. Nothing. At some point I decided when I had a decent gap from whoever might be near me, I would have to stop. I knew while I was plenty hydrated, I’d have a hard time making 105 minutes without water. The dust in some open sections had been coating my mouth & it was needless to say, not pleasant.

My gap (perceived or whatever) opened up enough where I felt comfortable stopping to fix the camelbak. Bladder out, and saw the quick release hose had released itself. A quick click back in and I was back going. Around 30 seconds loss I’d say. The rush of cool water was an instant boost and I felt a resurgence of energy. Unfortunately a group of guys had passed me (4 or 5). They were in different classes, but it meant I’d have to deal with passing them again. Not a big deal, but each person you gotta deal with passing is precious time lost. I managed to pass them within the lap, so that was good for me mentally.

As the race progressed I could feel I was making some costly mistakes. I let a few riders mess me up on some hill climbs. Both times I had selected alternate lines, only to mess up and lose my momentum. Not the end of the world, but HUGE energy sucks. I felt the end was nearing, and saw there were approximately 20 minutes left on the clock. At this point I had been lapped by the AA guys. I knew my lap times were over the 10 minute mark, so tried to push that next lap to try and maybe find the 2nd place guy. No such luck.

Last lap, my body was feeling it. My tweaked ankle (from a skateboard incident) was really bothering me, and I felt the blisters on my left thumb really cropping up. On the first real downhill, I managed to tuck the front (and subsequently destroy my left footpeg). I hadn’t noticed the footpeg, so I just tried trucking on best I could. I pushed when I could, I kept calm and knew no one was too close behind, and felt OK with the ~~(unofficial) 3rd~~. Official 2nd Place

I saw the checkers and relaxed as I crossed the finish line logs. I was definitely sore & out of breath. The early half of the race without being able to quench the dryness in my mouth hampered things a bit. I can really tell I haven’t been riding off-road enough. The past several years I’d been spending almost every weekend riding dirt. Lately it seems I’ve only been riding at the races. This does not help me keep my speed up. I’m going to have to figure out how I’m going to work around that. Having my messed up ankle (rolled it while skateboarding) didn’t help either, though this should be 100% by the next race.

So there we have it. I’ve got an unofficial 3rd place. Overall I’m happy with my performance given the circumstances. I’d really like to be winning every race, but well I’m trying to be as realistic about my situation as possible. I’m looking forward to the next one.

-Andrew

Update: Official result = 2nd in Open B. 28th Overall.

ps – I’ll post pics as soon as I can find any online.

Fox Valley Off Road Harescramble Report (5-11-14)

Posted on May 13, 2014 by admin

First race is down and in the books. I’ve been him-hawing about racing this year. I’ve just been enjoying riding my bikes, so the hassle of dealing with a race was a bit less than appealing. In the morning, I was kinda hoping it was down pouring and I’d stay home and relax all day. It was the opposite, and we had perfect weather all day.

My wife and MIL came with to the race. My MIL hadn’t seen any of my races, and wanted to see what it was all about. When we got to the race, my buddies morning race had just started, so we went over and watched some of the action from the start area. This gave me a chance to eye up the first few turns, and see where the faster guys were starting to brake for the first dash into the woods. After a bit of watching, I figured it was time to start prepping myself for my race.

I like to be geared up and ready to roll 30-45 minutes before my race. I don’t like to really talk to anyone before, preferring to put on my headphones and mentally prep myself. About 15 minutes before the race, I start to do some mild jumping jacks\stretches\etc. Get the blood flowing a little bit and try to just zone in. About 5 minutes before the race is supposed to start, I head over by the starting area (where no one is really even lining up yet) and do some screwing around on some mulch piles and figure I should try out some dead engine starts.

My past 4-stroke & e-start bikes had cost me some terrible starts. Nothing like pushing the damn button and watching the rest of your class just launch away. I tested in 1st gear and 2nd. 1st didn’t seem to want to let the motor spin quick enough to fire, so I tried 2nd. It seemed to work well, but hey….I was uneasy about it. That is one thing I miss about the 2-stroke. With that RMX, you look at it wrong, and it starts up and roosts away. These 4-strokes…not a chance.

Wardy (land owner\race organizer) finally shows up, gives a speech which I can’t hear (ear plugs), and the bikes fire up, waiting for the flag to drop. B class guys are all on Row 4. That gives me 3 chances to do test dead engine starts.

My line is up, engines off, the last check and the flag drops. The 350 fired right to life, but I don’t get the pull that I wanted into the first turn. I’m a couple riders back. I see 2 guys up front really start to scoot away, and I know it’ll be a lot of work to catch them with being stuck behind another 2 or 3 slower guys. I use it as a chance to regroup myself mentally after the start and form my plan of attack.

I slowly begin recognizing where the course is leading us, and know that my first big offensive move will be in the Endurocross section. I’d practice it a LOT the last 2-3 times I’d been there, and I felt confident in my bike. I knew the good lines through there, and I know that if I treat everything like a jump or something I can just wheelie over, I’ll pass a lot of guys. And I did just that. There seemed to be 10 guys all fiddling around through the section as I roosted on past them. That gave me a hell of a mental push to truck on and try to put some distance between anyone I passed.

Unfortunately the section right after the Endurocross section was where I had my bad crash there a few weeks prior. On the upside, they were running the section backwards, so it was like a new section. I was a little gunshy running through there, but kept a decent enough pace that I felt I was pushing fast enough, but not at a speed where I’d be screwed if things got a bit wonky.

I end up making my way through the course and get to timing and scoring. First lap through, and I see I’m 1st in Class. Again, another motivator that makes me push myself to go faster. I remind myself that at this point, it’s mine to lose, so get on the gas. I pace myself, but push in areas where I feel confident. There were a few slick spots where I didn’t trust my front tire, so I was a bit slow in those areas. Again though in the technical areas, I make my attacks. Endurocross, creek section, and the singletrack I gain a LOT of time on people. Thank God I rode trials before getting into harescrambles

Around the 45 minute mark, I feel some minor fatigue setting in. By the next lap though I get a second wind (thanks to some big gulps of icey water) and am able to keep a good solid push. At some point I catch up to another guy in my class, who didn’t realize that I was lapping him decided he’s going to try to keep pace and not move over. Not the end of the world, as there were plenty of spots I could make a move. Of course right when this happens, I end up with an AA guy breathing down my neck. We’re both hooting\hollering\revving to get the slow guy to just slide over a smidge to give us some space. We both finally find a spot to squeak past the guy. I lose sight of the AA guy pretty quick and continue on.

By the 90 minute mark, I’m feeling some pain in my hands. I know they’re blistered, but wasn’t quite sure to what level. I see at timing and scoring that the race ends at 2:20 and it was currently 2:12. I pray that my lap times were not under 8 minutes. I knew I had 1 lap left in me, but 2 more would have been rough.

I get to the endurcross section for what was the last time. All was fine until I jumped the last set of tractor tires. I land and feel all the blisters in my hand all spontaneously explode with the skin ripping off my hands. I grit down knowing that at least I won’t likely have to do the creek section again. I knew I slowed down a bit, but it was still an acceptable pace considering.

I cross the line and see the scoring still says I’m the class leader. I’ll take it.

My wife & MIL greet me back at the truck and I do my best to get my gear off and catch my breath. I was a bit exhausted, but most of all, my hands BURNED. Removing my gloves revealed some nasty blisters, but hey…as far as I knew, I won, so again…I’ll take it.

My upper body is a bit worn out, but otherwise, I’m in relatively good shape. I’m happy with my performance. I’m thrilled with my bike. I would like some new tires on the bike. The OEM DOT tires are……not the best, though oddly the rear hooks up incredibly well. I keep being told I should invest in slightly stiffer springs for the bike, but I’m quite cheap.

Overall a great day. My MIL kept repeating how amazed she was at how difficult the racing was. I knew this, but it is incredibly difficult to explain to people who don’t ride, just how difficult this racing is. There is an assumption that since you have a motor, you just twist the throttle and you go faster. If only

Some pics from the day (most action shots were from FreeMotoPix on facebook)

Filling up with race fuel (yes…I’ve learned my lesson):