A Harley doing the Dakar Rally?
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There are so many jealous people out there it cracks me up. Thanks to those of you who understand this event, and appreciate the challenge and what it takes to get there. The rest of you need to study up on the V-Rod. Its not your grandpas motorcycle! The Suzuki I had in this bike before left us stranded in the desert, leaking oil like a gusher. Read about that on the bottom story on our Hog Wild News page:
http://www.hogwildracing.com/blog/
Or see for yourself here:
http://www.hogwildracing.com/misc/dirty_broken_shifter.jpg
Were going with the motor that is holding up the best, independent of which brand it is. This year thats the V-Rod.
Some of you also seem to forget that more that 50% of ALL vehicles fail to finish this race. Thats the goal of the organizers! The DNFs include MANY of the top pros on high-dollar factory teams. We may or may not finish, but at least we will be out there giving it our best, and having a BLAST doing it! Those of you knocking our effort, or anyones Dakar effort, are just losers who need to put winners down in order to feel better about your own non-achievements. Get off the couch and do something challenging with your life!
http://www.hogwildracing.com/blog/
Or see for yourself here:
http://www.hogwildracing.com/misc/dirty_broken_shifter.jpg
Were going with the motor that is holding up the best, independent of which brand it is. This year thats the V-Rod.
Some of you also seem to forget that more that 50% of ALL vehicles fail to finish this race. Thats the goal of the organizers! The DNFs include MANY of the top pros on high-dollar factory teams. We may or may not finish, but at least we will be out there giving it our best, and having a BLAST doing it! Those of you knocking our effort, or anyones Dakar effort, are just losers who need to put winners down in order to feel better about your own non-achievements. Get off the couch and do something challenging with your life!
Joined
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137 Posts
The reason it's such a big deal is because Harley's don't do this sort of thing, which is pretty pathetic. I'd say 95% of Harley's sold live pampered lives with heated garages, covers, and constant attention. On the flip side Japanese bikes tend to be ridden hard and put away wet, raced, abused, and actually used like a motorcycle should be.
Also Japanese bikes have been doing this sort of thing for what 30-40 years, also most bikes they build we made better by competition. I tell you what, when they do this for 10-15 years I may give them some respect..
Oh yea, I started racing motocross when I was 14, I'd say that's challenging, no??
Also Japanese bikes have been doing this sort of thing for what 30-40 years, also most bikes they build we made better by competition. I tell you what, when they do this for 10-15 years I may give them some respect..
Oh yea, I started racing motocross when I was 14, I'd say that's challenging, no??
Good luck to them I say! If the chassis design and build are good enough plus the rider experience, theres no reason why the V Rod motor wont take the punishment. Its robust, compact and puts out enough power for the task. I remember when US and European armchair experts and critics ridiculed the Russians for entering a team using Kamas trucks .How stupid and arrogant they looked when the "antiquated and low tech " Russian trucks left the supposedly cream of the world buried and broken in the desert sands.
The standard turn signal module kills the engine if the bike tips over (safety feature). On a sidecar, if you turn really hard (i.e. race), the sensor thinks the bike is tipping over because the sideways G-forces are so high. It's not helpful if you're racing and the engine shuts off every time to take a corner hard. SO . . . if you're going to race a modern Harley (or many other bikes with similar tip-over-sensors), with a sidecar, you have to find a way to disable this. On the V-Rod, the bike won't run without the turn signal module because that's part of the anti-theft system. My solution was to open it up, reverse engineer it, and find a way to trick the G-sensor into thinking it's always level. I did this with a circuit trace cut and two resisters. The result is a "race modified turn signal module".
On the surface some things may seem ridiculous. But when you know all the facts, it all makes sense!
On the surface some things may seem ridiculous. But when you know all the facts, it all makes sense!
Just for the record, I admire the "effort", but I question the brains. (Does that still make me a "Loser"?)
Probably not a loser, just someone who has different goals, desires, and knowledge.
One of the finer point, if it wasn't for the subscription money of all the "losers" we wouldn't know you existed.
I guess you missed our photo on the MO homepage a year ago, with mention in corresponding article. And you missed our feature on 2-Wheel Tuesday on SPEED channel a while back. And you missed the dozen print magazines and hundreds of web sites that have featured our project. And you didn't seeing us on ESPN winning the Pikes Peak Hillclimb several times. But no matter, our fun comes from being on the track, not being famous. There are plenty of "winners" in here, just not everyone.
Probably not a loser, just someone who has different goals, desires, and knowledge.
One of the finer point, if it wasn't for the subscription money of all the "losers" we wouldn't know you existed.
I guess you missed our photo on the MO homepage a year ago, with mention in corresponding article. And you missed our feature on 2-Wheel Tuesday on SPEED channel a while back. And you missed the dozen print magazines and hundreds of web sites that have featured our project. And you didn't seeing us on ESPN winning the Pikes Peak Hillclimb several times. But no matter, our fun comes from being on the track, not being famous. There are plenty of "winners" in here, just not everyone.
Joined
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1,900 Posts
Let me back up, I think what you are doing is very cool. I also think you guys are nuts. I first ran across your website when researching "hacks" after the Old Hwy 40 race at Donner.
My point is, insulting the readers or viewers of the media that is promoting your sport seems short sighted and rude. The reason these events have sponsors is because they are going to get media coverage, and the circle is complete.
No harm, no foul. Best of luck.
My point is, insulting the readers or viewers of the media that is promoting your sport seems short sighted and rude. The reason these events have sponsors is because they are going to get media coverage, and the circle is complete.
No harm, no foul. Best of luck.
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