Dirt Rider was one of the first outsiders to have been allowed to ride a race bike during the season (it was actually the 250F test bike for Davi Millsaps and Andrew Short) and make some changes to it to have a taste, even as small as it was, of the secrets of the Red Riders. From lever position and shock clicker setting to getting the opportunity to ride a second engine with a different setting, Matt Armstrong and I were "in." To top it off, Short's mechanic, Chris Loschiavo, was very attentively watching over us as if we were his riders (wouldn't you if your bike was in the hands of amateurs?). We were getting star treatment, which meant being bombarded with questions such as, "What did you think of that?" and "How did this work?" McGrath was there to pick up a test bike and even dished out a few pointers to me, as he does for the team riders in his role as test rider and rider coach. "Just leave it in third," he told me. Why do a lot of top riders always tell me that? "I've never seen that done before," jokingly referring to my riding in places on the track that had been touched only by tractor cleats previously, never motorcycle tires. And it was late in the afternoon and beginning to get dark when the action really became intense. That's because the Honda test track in the foothills of Corona, California, has stadium lighting, set up so riders could better acclimate themselves to ride under lights, and the team is able to test in conditions more similar to a true race scenario. The air density is different, there is moisture coming out of the ground, things change when night sets in. Travis Preston was there testing some clutch stuff on his 450. Later Jake Weimer and Tommy Hahn showed up to do laps on their Sobe/Samsung/Honda bikes.
Riding the Championship BikeI've heard it from everyone. From the beer-in-hand fan sitting next to me in the stands at a supercross event or an outdoor national to the struggling oh-so-close-to-a-real-ride privateer: "If I had that bike, I'd..."
Well, if you had that bike, you'd better, or you won't be on it for long. The steep slope off of a factory race bike and team is as breathtaking as learning to ride one of these super-stiff, fire-breathing monsters. Take it from me, you and the rest of us 99-percenters are better off on a stocker. But it never hurts to dream.
Every time I ride a real factory race bike, I'm dreaming, dreaming that I can actually ride it like I'm supposed to. Since the bike we were riding was Short's, it had his setup as a starting point. He runs it pretty standard with a normal-bend Renthal bar and a standard footpeg position. The seat is standard height and the foam is stock as well, just replaced often. About the only abnormal thing is the clutch lever, which seems to have the bend of a 1979 XL500, just machined out of billet! And attached to a very trick bike! Titanium, anodized billet and a lot of secret stuff grace the CRF. Just getting near the bike, you can smell the high-dollar race gas. Once running it has a higher idle and slightly cammier rumble to it. The jetting was changed before we even climbed on the bike as Loschiavo looked over his detailed notes on the bike. He adjusted the jetting for the current temperature and pressure conditions of the air just by feel. These guys work like a machine.