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Easy Enduro – Dirt Rider Magazine

By: Jesse Ziegler

Monday, July 12, 2010

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<p>Motocross people are scared of Enduro racing and possibly off-road racing in general. Maybe it’s the name: Enduro! It sounds sort of scary, I guess. It surely sounds difficult. If it weren’t tough, I guess it’d be called an Easy. But the name’s no reason to be frightened, moto guys and gals. Now, more than ever, the National Enduro scene is rider-and bike-friendly.To prove this point, Enduro Engineering-a group of non-wimpy old-school off-road guys from Michigan who also promote the AMA Rekluse National Enduro Series-built us a 2010 Yamaha YZ250F (yes, a motocross bike) to race at the Enduro season opener in Sumter, South Carolina.Before we get into the bike, I’ll let you in on a few secrets to the brain-sucking complexity of Enduro racing. As a motocrosser-turned-Enduro addict, I have the scoop. First, you have to pre-enter. These races are very popular and sell out early (600 riders raced in Sumter). Second, you need to show up with some gas. Third, you need to race. That’s it. Don’t worry about timekeeping, computers, watches, mileage or burning checks. The everyday rider can come to a National Enduro with his buddies and enjoy the best trail-per-dollar ratio of any off-road series known to man. Where else do you get to ride a guaranteed 65-plus miles (for A classes, B and C classes run slightly shorter courses) of single-track while being timed through scoring sections via transponder? Talk about a riding buddy rivalry builder! Yes, it’s that much fun.Now, a motocross bike like Yamaha’s YZ250F is not ideal for a seven-hour off-road race on tight single-track in the tight trees of the American Southeast (at least not for most). Ideal Enduro bikes are generally off-road-born machines customized for each rider, not motocross machines modified for off-road battle. Things like more compliant suspension, electric starting, off-road gearing, traction-biased power delivery and protection for the engine’s vital organs (as well as your knuckles) are all reasons to ride the right bike for these races. It’s generally easier to do so starting with the off-road section of your dealership.However, if you want to give Enduro a whirl on your modern four-stroke motocross bike, it’s really no problem. In fact, it’s quite easy. To do so comfortably, smart must-haves include hand protection, a quiet exhaust with a spark arrestor and some friends to meet you at gas stops so you don’t forget to refuel your MX-sized gas tank. That’s all you “need.” Additional bike protection, a tool pack and off-road-intelligent motor modifications are up to you and your budget.Enduro Engineering did all the simple, required modifications to make this motocross bike Enduro ready and legal. On went EE Evolution Debris Deflectors and a Leo Vince sparky-equipped exhaust, and EE even provided a “friend” in the form of Gary Hazel who was my personal bike minder and nicely waited for me at the gas stops and refueled the bike. However, since this is an Enduro Engineering project they decided to take this YZ-F a few steps further in an attempt to truly dial it in for the race.The first additional mod EE did was to tune the suspension. Softer springs and lighter valving were the call to ward off roots, rocks and other sharp obstacles the moto-stiff stuff would possibly deflect off of at my intermediate speed and skill (faster guys usually like stiffer stuff, but not always). In the tight trees a lot of riders sit down for clearance, comfort and better control around extremely tight obstacles. When doing so a comfortable seat comes in handy. The guys at EE stuffed their tall seat foam under one of their grippy seat covers to give the YZ-F a little more height and cushion while seated. They followed suit with trick-looking machined bar mounts-adding more room to the seated position.
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<p>Bike armor first came in the form of highly effective EE radiator braces. These are the external cage-type that truly resist radiator twisting and crushing. For many, guards like these are a necessary mod for moto anyway. Next up was an EE rear disc guard and carrier assembly to help this YZ-F slide through the rocks and save the rear rotor. If I needed to do any tire work, EE axle pulls were mounted up front and rear for quick and easy axle removal.Motor modifications come in to the bigger end of the pot. Taking a motocross bike’s hit and transferring that into usable power for a multitude of conditions is fairly easy. The Leo Vince exhaust system here does quite a bit in taming down the bark, as do most quiet exhaust systems. They don’t reduce overall power output; in fact, most make more power than stock even though they’re quieter and they make the spread of power more usable. Jetting on carburetor-equipped bikes like the YZ250F can be affected by exhaust systems, so be sure to test before race day. You don’t want stalling from poor jetting happening when you have to kickstart in a race.Further into popular engine mods for off-road are flywheels. Heavier flywheels have a calming effect on power and can take fast-revving motors down a notch so they can become more torque-heavy with less wheelspin and snap. Steahly Flywheels supplied a prototype for this YZ-F (since it doesn’t make a production unit yet).Remember: This is all extra stuff! None of it would be considered necessary to race unless you work for a magazine. Just about 90 percent of riders who own a motocross bike can be happy slapping on some guards and a spark arrestor and hitting the trail with their moto bike. If you hate your hands, skip the guards, but you’ll be crying later. Also, if you’re paying attention while you ride or you discover a love for the benefits of racing off-road, you might want to consider upping the ante. Racing off-road is just like racing anywhere: Your personal preferences and bike-setup quirks are going to pop up. So pay attention to what works for you.For me, the YZ-F seemed like a smart choice for an off-road motocross experiment. Its bottom-end improvement in power delivery for 2010 is ideal for tight and technical-but still fast-riding. Yamaha suspension is plush initially with great bottoming resistance. Clutch life is good, the bike generally doesn’t overheat excessively, it has a decent stock skid plate and the riding position is user-friendly. It has great all-around potential. The only thing I don’t agree with on the ’10 YZ250F is the carburetion. It’s got an annoying sputter in the chug-zone that can really screw up off-road flow. Fuel injection has spoiled me.<strong>How’d It Work?</strong><br />
Throughout the course of our seven-hour race test and a couple hours the day before, this YZ-F and I really went through the paces. We ended up swapping the high-rise bar mounts for the stockers about halfway through race day so I could turn better, and I continually stiffened the compression clickers on the suspension to keep the bike up in the stroke. The off-road valving Enduro Engineering did was nice at soaking up the bumps-especially as I tired-but I discovered quickly we went too soft with the spring rates. That’s what we call learning and these were really the only changes I made the entire weekend.The motor on the YZ-F was really good for Enduro racing. Race time temperatures were in the high teens (brrrr!) so the carburetor had a challenge ahead of it, for sure. Luckily for me, Hazel militantly test-rode this bike in the tundra of his homeland and had the cool-weather jetting settings close enough. The finicky YZ-F needed some fuel screw adjustment to calm the blubber in the meat of the power, but it didn’t show up much at race pace.
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<p>What I really used was the bike’s protective armor. There’s something about motocross people and trees that don’t necessarily get along. We hit them often and hard. In case you’re keeping score, trees win in that game. Thanks to EE’s Debris Deflectors and radiator guards, I finished the race in one piece and the bike did, too (mostly).I have a lot more stories from my great weekend in Sumter with the SERMA club and Enduro Engineering. There is truly no group of people cooler than the off-road crowd and the Enduro scene is testament to that. Jump online to find more reasons to get off-road (including a full parts list for the Easy Enduro YZ250F). Oh, and if you’re one of those who key in on results, I have some advice. I raced the Vet 30+ A class in Sumter because the Internet told me I should (after winning a round in the Vet 30+ B class last year in my home state of Montana). The Internet was wrong, as usual. While I finished 25th overall in the Vet A class, my time would have put me 16th overall in the B class-hardly the sandbagger they told/convinced me I was. The lesson learned: Ride the same class you do for moto and don’t be surprised if a bunch of older, better, fatter riders with older gear on dirty bikes whoop up on you! Enduro guys are badass like that.<strong>Find More Online</strong><br />
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www.nationalenduro.com
www.sermaclub.com
www.dirtrider.com
www.enduroeng.com

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