07

Ihe Buslne$$Journal62.00 Siqle Copy

Beuerage battle erupts ouer loopholeIegislators rush to the aid of spirit-flavored beverage-makers

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Fes of spirit-llavored malt beverages,such s Smirnof Ice, Baddi Silver, SkyyBlue ed Stolichmya Citrona, should sitback, relax md grab mother cold one. GovTed Kulongoski signed m emergency billJuly 8 embling flavoreal malt beverags tocontinue to be sold in Oregon grccerystow though state regulatore indi-€ted tlose sales break Oregon's tight lawson liquor control.

The move 6su6 a prolonged row with-in the state's alcohol indusfry where I]HycritiG wet spfit-flilored nalt beverags t@ 8fiIU Puge ll

local firmcreates ge, tf , lr0r me prOsThe addrns that letbiken strut their stuff

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I tr ountain biling md dirtIl Ja motorcycling bring upI It I rmaSes or youg men lnr - [ brightly colored clothingild outlardish haircuts, s$inB offjmps ud ripping up the landspe toa eudbrack of speed"melal msicYet only a block &om the shops mdboutiques slling books md childEn'stoys on the quiet main stret ofMultnomah \Rllage, a small @mpanycreats pats for ths exheme formsof two-wheled entertaiment. Someof the nation's premier moutain bik-ere ed off-r@d motorcydists, whochun through mud ad m up gul-lies, obtain speia.l metal parts for their

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flGI!mJ6tJch Lris, rho g6 by ttc titlc 'fls C.p-th." e*d a lc of od-rsd eiElHr iito .Fir of h!*ffi &a e b ffii. Ulc ad DtorF|c rirl6.

mrruIftECox Ted Xslmgctl sigmd e bill $al rill lespiriL0ecd rliils st in !rerT su6

Employeesnot helpedto kick habit

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BBins leadere battered by the risingmt of health insllm@ premims maybe able to contain costs by coveringsmoking cessation, accoraling to tworecently releasedstudies by Radnor, _

"l m r lclmrthatyn tudddr rlut yon crob |rlp poph$ritlPflNE{ NTEESC0

€fftrtiw in helping smokeE kick the habit(s cmph). Some iME cite 6t mn-erns md quEtioru about the elrstivsns of smoking wtion progms sl:wm for not offering the bereiit.

One imtane of heat failm. which ismuch more iikely in a smoke!, @sts maverage of 923,234 a year in medical

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VOLTJIVIE 20, NT,IMBER 19 FORTIAND. ORDGON JtrLY 1r, 2003

to be dcilied s spirits md eld in statecontrolled liquor stores. Beer-makeE,already in defeEive mode frghting a pGposed excis tax, have been outspoken.'"Ttre taes that @uld be mU€ted frommalternativg if they were eld s distilledspidts rculd make up for a lot of the tax6they m trying to get from the breweF- Itd@sn't mal{e a lot of *re to me." sidJim Pdkec ex4utive director of theOregon Brewer's Guild.

But Kulongcki's office sid the graeIEriod, which giv6 muufactrc utilDec. 3I, 2004 to comply with state laws, ismerely a chane to let v{io$ partiB pre

pare for m renhral permment cbilge inthe law. 'lt pwrys the statu quo for afixed mout of time," sid Kulong6kiSpokffim Mary Ellen GlJm.

A batde owr spirit-flavored MIt bever-ags hs ben brewing in rent yeas as9rcry store sales of the drinirs sky-rocketed, chewing into beer sales."Malternative" hde crcwded on to grery store shelvs next to beer ild winecmlere.

By padaying th€ir nm6 onto the bot-ds of malted beverag€s ild into grery

Pa.-based actuarialcompuy MillimilUSA.

Ilowewx, rffihb'y the 'Ibba@FteC€lition of Oregonshows that fewOregon iswre rcu-tinely orer @lrel-ing md even fewermver the medi€-tiom shom to be

RevolutionariesRebecca Haas andlennifer Karfurbdttucturye

Small BusinessPage 31

Affordabittyvtut it afrbilobleImtsingand wbois buiUing it?

FocusPage 17

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springs mnecessary But Paris wasalready into other products. He hadacquir€d a ftiend's compary that ws mak-irg a patented devie caled a chain guidethat prevented bicycles from thmwing oStheir chains.

"In a mce, tvo things @ €us you notto nnish-you get a !l,at tire or you chaincomes oE" Pais sid. Roud metal platessurcmd the bicycle's ftont cha.in rirg edbright omge wthue rclleE kep thechain ir pla@ at top md bottom.

The chain guards, which trry the bmdlme MRP-Mostain Racing Prcducts-retail for $125 to $209, a pri@ for which youcould pucb# a complete bicyde at amas"muket retailer. But thes Dartsmn't intended for the mffi market.

Pilis acquired Fdtway Performmce,eother local company in 1999. He sid tiemotorcycle division hs grcm lm Iprentin the last yes md he expects the smemout of grcwth in 20(8. Last yea, sals

of moutain bike Dets made up 70 perentof mwnue; this yeil Pilis expects themtio betwen bicycle md motorcycle partsto b€ evenly spljl

F$tw4y makes stainle$-stel f@tpegsfor off.Md motorcydes that ile larger ildmore aqjustable the the slck ones. Thecompany also makes handgudds thatattach to the hildlebas to prctmt ridere'heds, tr well 6 the brake md dutch con-tol leveF, which m be dmaged in acmh.

"Their claim to fme is tleir fmtpeg,"sid Raym Conlcy parts meager at PowerYma]la in Sublimity "It hs adjstable€mb€r, adjustable height, replaceablepire. It's defnitely something the cus-tomers wmt."

Mst of the momtain bike parts de out-ewed, but a milling machine on sitehfm out pats for the F6tway division.

IrEtead of puchsing much advertising,Pilis works with editom of mageines like

Motu>X Action. Dirt Bike Md, Dirt Rid.er toget editorial coverage for his prcducts."They ride it, test it, ud wite about it," heeid.

TtIe compily maintains relationshipswith prcfssional ridere of both motorcy"des ad moutain bikes, ed its colorfftyeady mtalogs featue photos of ridersteiling ttmugh the mud. "Ow productsre so critical to their performece that wehaven't had to pay them," Ptris claim.

Sine the late '90s, the interest il mom-tain bike mcing hs tapered oF, replacedby the kind of visuaily exciting jmps ild"extr€me" sports that have ben leatuedin my youthoriented TV comercials.

Mowtainsp€ed's new product, called theBores Combo, is an attractive, black-fin-ished combination crank and bottombmckel made of stel to withstand theabwe dished out by extreme rideF doingjmps ud stunts.

Stel is heavier t}le alminm, but alsostrongen Some rideF now leap their bikesup on to nilings md "grind" along themIike skateboarder do. Stel hs a second-try benefit of Bliding on rouSh surf,aceslike mncrete better thm alminm. whilethrowirg of visually exciting spadG atnight.

Momtaispeed h5 nine people on staff,md hs b€en in its Mdtnomah lmtion forthr@ yeas. The biggest chalenge forPeis, sle prcprietor of this S corpomtion,is lffiting fimding to build up his invertory md fill the distribution p:p€line."Demild outsFips supply some monthstrc to one," he @mptraired.

Strong demild is good, but Psis isawe that his customers wmt imediategratilietion. If they cm't get his parts,they may tun to a competitor instead.

Rwing a compmy leaves Pris lstime to ride. but he still ventms otr rodat local momtain biking spots like ForestPark, Powell Butte md Henry Hagg l€ke.JNt s he did when starting out, he con-sideF his riding adventum part of thereeh ad development pruess. El

including prescriptiom edcowiing through its t:rrehealth irsuu@ pl,ans.

Pine, who quit smoking 10yeils ago, mys he is a betteremploy€ be€Ne of it. Heagreed with Robbins thatstedard cost-beneht ualy-sis reveals that cesstion is agood strategy+ven if onlyone smoker successfullyqurts.

"Even if a minority ofyou employees are smok-ers, smoking is il extremely difficult habit to breakmd it's a hindrilce to prGductivity. You take morebreaks md have more timeoff the job than otbersbecaue you're more prcnelo minor illness. I am abeliever that you should do

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cm do to keep the premims dom,"M@re said.

Regence Bluecross Blueshield ofOregon spokeswomen Angela Hult a8xtrdthat cessation programs add cost forprice-sruitive premiM puchsers. Thecompany offec coureting md drug ben-efrts for members with heart. mthm ordiabetic conditions, but for less riskymembers it offere estion only s arider !n the pLan.

"Each time we add a new benent it rais-es the cost of health insuile to ou con-smers. We continually review the effe-tivenes studies of tobacco cessation prc-g]ms ild lhe results to date don't justifythe added costs lhat we would have to passalong to ou employer grcups," Hu.lt said.

Hult said tie company will continue toevsluate cesstion for possible coverage.

Pine said business leaders who re notsmokes m smetimes reluctant to covercessation because of a negative biastowtrd smokers.

"I think lt 's real easy to ask,'Whyshould the rest of us pay for sommne elseto lquit] a habit?"' Pine sid.

But both Pine and D'Ame cilmore,executive director of the OregonCoalition of llealth Ctre purchasers,argue that tobacco cesstion cil help con-tain healtb cm costs for everyone udbenelit all employ*s though increasdworkerproducuvity O

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Gear: Mountain bike uorh leads to new marketsFn0ll PiSE Ibicycles md motorcycles i:om a compmyin a small building on Southwest 35thAwnue.

The company comists of two divisions:Mountainsp@d makes moutain bil€psts and Ftrtway Performane buildspilts to enhe@ off-rod motorcydes.

Compay omer and fomder Josh Ptrisis soft-spoken, but his b$iness card, whichidentifies him as "Flu Capacitor," isadorned with silver flmes on a blackbackgmmd. He knows this youth{rientedbsiness ftm the inside out.

Pilis, 35, grew up w6l of Fomt Crcve,ridirg oFroad motorcycles ftom the age ofnre ad st€ring BIVD( bicyeles over bupydilt coffi. He put in several yem sllingKirby vacum demeE d@r to dmf, whichhe eid helped him later in the buineswodd. His compmy dates ftom 1995, whenhehad the ideaof substitutingstel springsfor the ineffetive rubber bmpers in theftilt suspemiore of moutain bikes.

"I sld my us€d @ md gmbbed whatev-er nickels I could rub together md had aItral company make a st of springs formq" he recalled. Puis felt his bicyde's ha-dling ws much imprcved by the additjo!of his springs. "I muld go tbrcugh ternh Iws formerly bouced off ol" he sid.

So he had 500 sts of springs made mdtmk them to two important moutain bikenes in the slJlmer of 1995, the NORBANationals held at Mmoth Moutai! ildBig B€il, Calii Frcm his b@th at the mceqPdis p€rsuded the coufy's top nceF totry his spril8s. Altho[gh the goal of hiscrude busines pLan ws to *ll S30,000worth of springs his fmt yeal he madeback that money in the lmt month. Pdissaid his company h6 ben in the blackever sine, with over a million dollm insales each yea sine '99.

Jxt s importmt, at the nces he madeimportmt contacts with distributon, rac-ers and otheF in the indusky By i998,mufactwE of Aont sspeEioN hadimprcved their products, maldng Paris'

O.c of f6twa, Prrfo@b prcducrg ls a hddgr.rd thar pmrcds ofr-rfid bilm. ttc cmpaayal$ mrft6 slalnlG{teel fooDcgr, sd bmk€ od clutch @nhls.

Habit: Emplryers claim adding benefi,ts raises costsf[0xP 8tIexpenses, according to a study onOregon's commercially insued. TheMilliman study ti0ed "Mtrketplae CostData for a Model Smoking CessationProgrm," calcu:ates that it costs about 29cents per member per month to cover aneffetive prcgrm to help smokers quit.

"It's simple mth," sid Dam Robbins,health policy cmrd.inator for the ?obaccotrle Coalilion of Oregon. "For the cost ofthat one heart attack, a business could buya yea's worth of tobac@ cesstion benehts for 6,4t1 employes ud dependents. "

SmokinS is the leading €w of prevent-able death ad disbility ir the UnitedStates, according to the Centers forDise Control. It is a risk factor for slh-ma, diabetes, lug disese ed childbtthcomplications. Studies show that whilehelging employes quit smoking won'teliminate disee, it makes a dillerencetowild deresing it.

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The Wshington, D.C.'based Center for whatyoucantohelppeoplequit-thepay- toquitsmoking.Tobacco Cessation htr fowd when indi- ofr is better pmductivity and it b€nents Grant Moore, owner of Innovationviduals combine mmeling*gmup, indi- €veryone," Pine said. Benefit Plans lnsurance agency ofvidua-l or telephontswith philmacologi- Tobacco use costs $3,500 per yee for il Portland, said it's possible that manycal treatmert such s Zybil, the €ffetive- employe's health costs and dtrreased plm don't cover drug benefits becaus ofnessof treatnertdoublesortiples. employe produclivity according to the the cost. Premiws ile on the ris, md

Patrick Pine, corpomte benefrts meag- CDC and the Oregon Deptrtment of inssance compmies know employerser for stel paris milufactuer ESCO, sid Health md Hmm Services. se l@king for svings.employers sbould cosider smoking a pm- Oregon's 2uI2 Behavioral Risk Factors "Drugs [ike Zybilj tre cosu]i md a lotductiyity issue. ESCO employs 600 md Sweillmce Swey revea:ed that 80 per- of it comes back to employeF wmting tooffere a viliety of cestion strategies cent of the state's smokere sy they wmt kep the premims dom, ilything they

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(D) United States PatentPrris

rrI|ltttlttlllllusm633997281(ro) Petent No.: US 6J39,972 Bl(cs) Date of Patent: Jm.22,2402

(75)

(73)

( ' )

(54) MOTORCYCLE F1OOT PE|G

lnvenlor: Jochua A. Parls, Portlald, OR (US)

Aseignee: Mountalnrpced, Fortlrnd, OR (US)

Notice: Subjecl to any disclaimer, the tcrm of thispatent is extcndod or adjusted under 35U.S.C. 154(b) by O days.

459t.179 A 5/1986 Nakrmun4,638,&2 A lll9gl Michiyama4,771,651 A 9/198E Hrro5-1S8.5nr A 3/19rr5 Cbm5.609.069 A 3/1997 Sqrcoson5538,721 A 6/|9q7 Un5,673597 A lfllg9f Uo5,6-a7.617 A llll9f/ Wells5.85,9(I} A ' l{Y|998 Stcclc ........................28J.m1

FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS

GB 2{64732 . 6n981 .................. 74t563' cited by eramincr

Prinory Examiter--1,11*y Ann Graen(741 Attoney, Ageil, or Firn--{,ober1 L. Harrington

(s7, ABSTnACTA fmt pedal for a cycle bas adjustable components on ilssurfae to eltcr thc cngagoncnt of lhc pcdrl wilh lhc bod ofa rider of thc cycle. Pegs are tbrcr&bly ictallcd in borcs inthe pedet and arc adjustablc upurardly rnd dowowrrdly toprovide e variencc in tbe surfra of the pedrl. ln orcembodiment, tbc frame of the pedel hrs replaoeeble supportbbd<s for reeiving thc rdjustablc pcgs. Anothcr variationho upstanding teeth in ombination with the adjusablepes.

7 Clalmq 2 llrawlng Sbeets

(21) Appl. No.: lXl/4lt{14(22) Filed: Od. f4, 1999(51) lnr. cl.' ............................ GosG vlt; B62J 25l0O(52) U.S. Cl. ............................ 74554; 74/563: 2ffi29r(58) FfeH of Scarch '1415U,563,56O,

7 4/594.7, 594.4, 594.6; ?3O/291; DIA 125:'296/75

(56) Reletcnces ChedU.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS

27OPn A . l/1883 Woodwsrdcral. ........-..741563388,4{0 A ' 91888 Day .........................74/564X388,981 A' 9/1888 B.Ibe... . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74/5AXD26337 S 1V1896 Sklwcll

l9?9,86r A ' ll/1934 hllock ....................741564X3,16r,(f,8 A lUr96.4 PoblkampI}242j52 S ?1986 Nista

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o2) United States PatentParis

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rror Patent No.:r+sr Date of Patent:

us 7,104,356 82Sep. 12,2006

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(s7 ) .\RS'l 'RA(:1'..{ rnctlrtld and apparatrrs is provided that pertains to arrad.iuslable lixrl support ot a ntolorizet! vehiclc. -tn inscn isplaced in a borc ol'lhe ftx)l supp()rl nrounting menrber or thenrounting bracke-t mounting mcmbcr lo cnablc couplirrg ()t'afi)ot supfnrt lo:r nlr)unting bracket attachc-d to the motorizedvehicle. 'l 'he insert can bc insencrl lront eillrer an upJrr sideor 1r lowcr side ol'thc rnounting rncnrber. which will ad jtrstthe lilteral posiliou ol'the lirot supp(ln rclalive k) thc nrount-ing brackc't. thcrctry cryonomrical ly acconrmtxhting dillcrcntriders' ntrds and prelbrcnces.

2(l ('laims, 2 l)rawlng Shcctr

30

32

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ALTER EGO:WOODS WARRIOR

$UaUKI RM25,OBuilt for snot, rocks, roots and hootin' at the moon

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ALTER EGO:WOODS WARRIORsuzuKl Rnil250

THROUGH FAST EYESJosh pretty much built the RM250

for his buddy Trev. His own machine,a very manicured and focusedYamaha YZ25O (tested in Dift Bike.May '05) is, in his words, the best ofthe best. When he started this projecthe honestly had no clue that the yel-low machine had the grit to make himenvious and drooling. In Josh'swords: "This was a very deliberateprocess and I knew from past experi-ences nearly everything required topull this off. The only part of theequation that I wasn't sure of was theSuzuki RM 250, since I had no historyconcerning the characteristics of themotor and the handling. Trev and Itook the machine out for a test ride instone stock moto condition, andfrankly, I was stunned. lt made greatpower, the suspension was too muchfor our rooty woods, but the handlingside of the machine was seriouslygood."FIRST MOD-SUSPENSION

The woods of the Pacific Notthwesthave been the home of many ISDEQualifiers and are very eclectic in feel,the myriad of obstacles and varianceof elevation. lt's rocky, rooty, snotslick and there's big hil ls, both up anddown. Josh went to work on the sus-pension first thing. "First off, the sus-pension in stock form is tolerable atbest. While it's good for big hits, itwreaks havoc for the normal pilot,and unless you're Rodney Smith fast,you have to make it more tolerant inthe little garbage. Generally, formotocross the basic theory is heavyvalving/lighter spring rates, which ispolar opposite of my theory for off-road, which is heavy spring rates andvery light valving mated to oil levelsto keep it from bottoming metal-to-metal. My local suspension guruDarryl Reid (Suspension by Design) isa master when it comes to keepingthe wheels planted and tracking inthe cobby, rooty and hacky stuff.Darryl bumped the spring rates uptwo notches at each end and startedhucking valve shims out of the mid-valve with the idea to keep the weightof the bike and rider 'up' in the travelso that it floats through the chop.

34 www.dirtbikemagazine.com

lltah Sport Cycles prcvided the underbelly armon FMF a Fatty for good long pullingpower and a JD Jefting kit for prcper fuel metering, To help shape the etgos for tallerrtderc, Fastway's Evo pegs, mounted in the lowboy position, made the cockpit rcomier.

A BridgestoneM&2 is an excel-lent meat andwo*s well in ver-satile conditions,Rad's l8-inchrear wheelcombo translatesinto morc bite forthe snappy RM.

Fastway's FIT system handguards mated to a GPR steering damper. Both are credi-ble mods for all otf-road machines.

Ride Engineering provided a steelbraided frcnt brake line and, with a setof Honda pads, drastically imprcved theaction. Suspension by Design monkedon the fo* and shock, making bothends dramatically adept at handling off-road obstacles.

TreV not a tiny boy manhandles hismodified RMn near the testinggrcunds in Oregon. Great power andpolished damper action were caboosedby awesome traction control via theRekluse clutch. This machine is a full-blown woods cheater.

Valving is used to control the mid tobigger hits and g-outs, with a focuson eliminating any spikes on sharpedges (roots, rocks). This is mucheasier said than done, especially withShowas, as they have a bit of person-ality (meaning they can talk back toyou if you go too far one way or theother). Funny as it sounds, but therebound circuit can have more of aneffect on compression (especially thelow and mid valves) so it's a delicatebalance."MOTOR MANAGEMENT

Josh says, "Motors are like dia-monds; some are rough and someare brilliant and the RM 250 in stockform is dazzling. There are times thathaving an unbalanced powerbandcan dramatically affect the handlingtraits of the machine. This couldn't befarther from the truth with the RM250,as it is as near to a Works 250 motorin stock trim as I have seen right outthe of the box. The only thing I want-ed to accomplish with the motor ismanageability by pushing more of thepower to the bottom and mid, andpray that I wouldn't carve too muchfrom the top end. To start I installed aBoyesen Carbon Reed Valve (leavingthe stock reed spacer block, whichmakes for a stronger bottom to midresponse). Boyesen also has waterpumps and impellers to increasecoolant flow and keep the motor ascool as possible, which keeps it in thepower (hot motors lose power!). NextI added the FMF Fatty pipe andTurbine core 2 spark arrester, as theFatty mimics the stock powerband,but gives it boost all along the way.The FMF combo did a great job ofadd some ponies, keeping things qui-eter and keeping the forest rangersoff our hide.

"The final motor management aidwas a flywheel weight, and sinceSuzuki comes with the lightest stockflywheel of any of the 250s, I wentwith the heaviest flywheel Steahlymakes-ten ounces. This keeps thebike from stalling and allowed the RMfour-stroke-like traction. I have neverexoerienced a 250 two-stroke withthis much available traction; usuallyyou are dancing all over the bike toget yourself in the right body positionto help make traction. Now, there area couple of other facets of motormanagement that aren't directly relat-ed to the motor that have a hugeeffect on the outcome. and the first is

gearing. I knocked off one tooth ofthe rear sprocket from a 50t to a 49t,which aids in smoothing out the tran-sition of the motor (and now with allthe other motor mods it carries thisgearing with little effort) and second isgoing from a 19-inch rear wheel to an18-inch rear wheel. Because the 18-inch rear has more mass and weight,this also aids in traction, which trans-lates in more effortless speed. RADMfg. makes arguably some of themost beautiful CNC machined hubs inthe industry so the addition of 18-inch rear wheel would not have beencomplete without a matching 21-inchfront both in Suzukiyellow hubs (theymake them in red too!) with CNC alloyspoke nipples also in Suzuki yellow.

"The finale of the motor manage-ment is the all-important clutch; hav-ing used Rekluse's Z- Stad centrificialclutches for many years, the benefitspay huge dividends in the woods andin my opinion no two-stroke woods,rider should be without one. You can'tstall the motor-ever! You can ride inany gear and any time, you can stopin the middle of any hil l or any mudbog without getting stuck or stopped,and you freewheel on downhills. Icould go on and on about theseunbelievable gizmos! Rekluse hasmade some important improvementslately, which make the engagementand disengagement of the clutcheven more positive and better, all forthe benefit of traction and soeed."ERGOS AND BITS

While the RM250 cannot be con-sidered cramped, for riders over sixfeet (which all of the riders in this testare) adding some room to the cockpitand pegs makes it easier to be fasterfor longer periods of time. A set ofFastway Peformance Evo 2Footpegs allow the user to changethe ergonomics on any bike; simplyby flipping a collar you can open upthe seat to footpeg area by as muchas an inch. Next, a Guts Racing seatfoam, (which is available in threehardnesses: soft, medium and firm)and two heights (stock and tall), wasfit using a medium firmness and tallfoam. In addition, Guts Racing makesa good gripper seat cover. A set ofRIDE Engineering red triple clampsfirmed up the steering precision andallowed us to go to taller bar risers,which were rubber-mounted to helpany trail jar. At the same time, GPRsent down one of their prototype

OCTOBER 2006 I DIRT BIKE #

Gearing was made taller and Renthal handled the driveline chores while BRP's guide kept things in line. A Pro Moto Billet side-stand is a stellar pefiormer; IMS large fuel cell is totally thin and does not hinder rider mobility. A Guts tall seat foam, RideEngineering triple clamps and Renthal bars gave breathing room for the rider.

damoers made for under the bar andover the steering nut for a super lowprofile and amazing performance.Finally, a set of Renthal Fat Bars in theWindham bend got us in the perfectposition both standing and seated.

In off-road, protection for your steedis mandatory and we went with UtahSport Cycle's skid plate. lt's thick, burlyand wraps up around the clutch coverand water pump. Works Connectionhandled the radiator guards, the brakecalipers, frame guards and their excel-lent AOF clutch perch. Fastway perfor-mance handled the rear disc guardduties with their black anodized discguard, and BRP provided is with theirnew frictionless chain guide."

Josh has the annoying habit ofbeing quite anal about the little stuff,and said "The devil is always in thedetails; I always think backwards whenbuilding a new ride, as those litt lethings in setup make the differencesbetween a good day on the bike or abad day. In stock form the RM'sbrakes are okay, they do the job. Butyou just don't get that feel at the leversthat you know precisely when or how

36 www.dirtbikemagazine.com

much you wil l slow down when youpull the trigger. So I junked the frontbrake line for a Ride Eng. steel braidedline and removed the perfectly goodstock Suzuki brake pads (which feelmushy) and replaced them with stockCR pads (they fit perfectly) and bledthe l ines with some Motul high-tempfluid. The results were outstanding inperformance and feell Jetting wasnecessary so I put in a JD jet kit whichconsists of triple tapered needles, aton of brass, and ended up with thered needle in the third position, 42pilot and a 168 main. The result wascrisp response throughout the range.Renthal took over the drive train dutieswith an O-ring chain, rear and frontsprockets and a pair of their diamondgrips. IMS gave the RM some fuelrange with a very nice low profile 3.4-gallon fuel cell and Pro Moto Billet'skickstand (yes, we're trail riders firstand like having a stand!) is excellent,tucks in under the side panel andmounts up using the footpeg bracket.It's super strong with a huge footprint(large enough to hold the bike up in amud bog) and the internal spring is so

strong you could full-on motocrosswith itl"TRAIL TEST

This modded Suzuki RM250 turnedinto the full cheater trail bike. While themachine in stock trim is pretty stinkin'wonderful, the smoother suspension,GPR damper and absolutely dialed inergos made this bike a joy to poundthrough the woods. Then, when youadd 100 percent traction (via theRekluse clutch), no stalling, gnarly goodpower and the lightweight corneringtraits of a motocrosser, there really wasno losing anywhere on the trail with thisbike. Incredibly, you could dancethrough slimy woods and up tree root-ed uphills like Rodney Smith, or do itour way hanging off the back of thebike, fighting for control, two gears toohigh and lugging the bike, and then letit pull you over obstacles with nary agrimace. We can't say enough goodabout it; she handles, she eats hackyterrain and the combo of the Rekluseand the Suzuki power allow you toupshift and lug while maintaining per-fect traction and incredible momentum.Yahoo, great machine. tr

fltvl25c et gJein s ! .Fltvlzz|5)) l Throw two machines. onea woods modified RM250, the other awoods modified RMZ450, against eachother in competition. The event wouldtake place in Oregon, basically in chal-lenging mountains of the Norlhwest,where the Trask ISDE Qualifier washeld for many years. Both machinesreceived focused modifications to thesuspension, the setup, and the ergos,along with the proper woods accouter-ments that let you slam-dance over theplethora of obstacles that plague theterrain.

" ir, l t 's self-serving really; thetwo-stroke has segued from the dom-inant force in the dirt bike world to adinosaur. The four-stroke, forever thesumo wrestler and never consideredto be a threat to the two-stroke incurrent day motocross and enduro, isnow king. And to be honest, in amotocross head-to-head we com-pletely concur. But just knowing thatmost of the top brands are yanking inthe strings on two-stroke technologyand development. and several ofthem have openly announced the endto their production despite the factthat the two-stroke is the most domi-nant force in closed-course off-roadracing, just makes our skin itch.

We spent considerabletime swapping between three riders,all of them A class pilots with varyingresumes" Ages covered the vet tosenior (we're being nice to Webbhere) and the trio leans much moretowards woods riders, rather thanmoto heads. On the final day of test-ing we set up a five-mile course witha good 70 percent being nasty tight,ugly rooty and menacingly rock-infested. lt was very mountainous,

72 www.dirlbikemagazine.com

having both vertical ascents and sev-eral seat-sucker descents. lt also hada good fast section, which was rhyth-mic and flowed well through thewoods. and the final oortion was adrag race up a dirt road

, We stuck with one man-ufacturer (Suzuki) for several reasons.First, we were already slated to test awell-modified RM250 uo in the PacificNorthwest. Second, its stroker broth-er is the most dominant force in thepro motocross-racing world, and thirdand probably most impodant, Suzukihas owned the 250 two-stroke worldfor the last two years yet is slated todrop the machine from their l ineup.This conjures up a vast doodle pad ofquestions, l ike what are their GNCCracers going to pilot in the planet'stoughest off-road series?

The RM250 is featured in this mag-azine. Look there for details, but takethis to the bank-it 's gnarly good.Building an BMZ450 into a woodsmachine is really quite a chore. With abig throbby powerband shoehornedaround a four-speed gearbox sooth-ing the powerband, relaxing the sus-pension and dressing the entiremachine in pajamas rather than gladi-ator duds is one tall order. To handlethe suspension chores we connedMike Kiedrowski's 'Works' RG3 sus-pension out of h im. This one decis ionwould take the hit and miss out of thehandling questions. Motor wise wepretty much left it stock, though jet-ted dead-on. We fit an FMF PowerCore Ti exhaust with a quiet insertthat really pedormed wonderfully. Avery quiet note and strong powerhighlight the system. As far as thewoods jewelry, we left it to JoshParis, and he spent weeks adorning

the steed with a montage of superbgismos. Left on its own, this machinewas flat wicked. A smoother power-band, superb suspension and asweet cockpit got it as close to aviable woods machine as possible.

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'ltIJEIitJA IWhite it may not seem tike a hugewelght disparity, 18 pounds and lotsmote motor mas€ hurt the four-strokeon nasf obstacles. The RM25O couldpq down hE root-riddled trail whilethe Z rcqutrd morc rider input, clutchworl< and pilot diligence. t>-

This taught us two very importantfacets to the 2 versus 4 woods wars.First, the two-stroke is light, easy tomaneuver, takes nothing to start andhandles the nastiest of off-road

' uglies. lt's really as good as its setup,as focused suspension, jetting, cock-pit and, depending on the terrain, theclutch, have a dramatic effect on thesmile factor. With the four-stroke, thekey is the button. Having an electricstart strips away some of the stressof stalling. With that little gem, afocused thumper may stand a chancein the war of the stroke. f,

Whbre does the four-stroke haul the mail? Once it opensup and.the pilot can rip the slide out of the carbun cr.

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Josh Paris is our buddy fromOregon, who happens to own FastwayPerformance Products and spends hlswaking hours tinkeing with productsand exploring the off-road world. Thefollowing is a story on his personalmachine, a brand spankin' newYamaha Y2250, and one that Joshequipped with a gaggle of mods,updates and changes to focus thebrute MX appeal of the machine andgive it a dose of woods manners.

My love affair with deep woods,axle-deep mud, potholes that eatJeeps for breakfast, clay-infested hills,and miles of slimy roots and rockscame at a very impressionable age ofnine years. Growing up in the OregonCoast Range had many benefits. Onewas being so close to the infamous"Trask" riding area that you could tastethe mud every time you stepped out-side.

From our farm it was about a ten-minute ride to the power line roads,which could carry me to freedom inalmost any direction. The trail systemsstaded after about an hour of sluggingthrough the power line 'roads' into anarea called the "Tillamook Burn." Asthe name suggests, it was a famousforest fire in the '30s that burned prettymuch everything in sight within a thou-sand souare miles. The Burn had moremiles of trails than I could ride in aweek's time. And not one of them hada name or sign, at least not known tome. Each trail was laced with densefoliage of fir trees, ferns, rocks, rootsand lots and lots of mud.

Over the years, and a summer jobon a Christmas tree farm, bikes wereupgraded and improved upon. Hoursand hours were spent in class day-dreaming of the next adventure.Bedtime was always spent hiding

under the covers with a flashlight and adirt bike magazine. Everyday ridingwas an 'epic ride' and I only rememberwalking home once...

Fast Forward to 2004...After the lastfour years of checking valves, remem-bering NOT to twist the throttle whenloading and unloading, changing oilevery ride and hearing the constantbase thump in my helmet, I opted for achange to mixing gas and the sound ofring ding ding. So I sold my 2004CRF250 and bought a 2005 Y2250.Odd considering that the last two-stroke I owned was 1999 KTM 300EXC (l did have a 2002 Husky WR125,but that doesn't really count, does it?).

The YZ has been successfully racedfrom SX to Hare Scrambles, and is verylikely one of the most versatile bikesmade. lt has solid handling, a greatmotor, and super track records withguys like Ty Davis, Randy Hawkins,

56 www. d i rtbi ke magazi ne. co m

The brand new machine was strippedof all extemal clothing prior to the re-launch.

The Paris Project was the brainchild ofFastway ownerloperator Josh Parts. Hechose the YZ%O based on the excellentchassis, big torque motor and lightweight. The gaggle of parts he hung onthe machine was focused on makingthe weapon into a trail bike.Jason Raines, and Barry Hawk all win-ning Championship Titles on them. DidI mention I'm a trail rider? I'm a single-minded and large-bodied 37-year-oldmarried guy with a child who is not thefastest kid on the block. I would muchrather spend a day in the woods rip-ping up the trails with a couple buddieswith no starting gate (or starting timefor that matter) and no finish line or rollchart.THE PROJECT BIKE

Okay, now for the project bike: Ichoose the aluminum framed Y2250because of the chassis, the big torquemotor, solid handling, good brakes,and because it's one of the lightest inits class. But my end goal here is real-ly transforming a 50hp monster into atrail kitten. This machine was all aboutbuilding something that hurts my egoand allows me to ride it all day. My egoloves all the bling bling, but my bodyscreams in protest at the 30-minutemark and I get arm pump and crash.Most of the trails I ride require 100yards of straight trail to a 90 degreeturn, up a muddy hill. Repeat every tenseconds with a downhill and watercrossing thrown in. lf you're riding a bigbore thumper it is a quarter turn of thethrottle for five seconds and one hand-ful of brakes and the other on theclutch. On a good day this is a lot ofwork and on a bad day it can bedownright painful.

Now it may sound strange at first,but in order go fast, you have to goslow. The goal is to make a 50 hp,250cc two-stroke into something man-ageable by removing the 'hit' off thebottom and into the middle part of thepowerband, eliminating any surprisesin the Nodhwest slime.

Gearing is probably the least expen-sive and easiest way to get big gains in

A Steafthy 13 ounce (?) flywheel boftsonto the stocker, improving trcctabil@and making it less prone to stalling.

control, and the folks at Dirt Trickshave the goods. The lronman sprock-ets are the toughest on the planet.Chances are you'll need a new bikebefore these sprockets even show anywear! | decided to go from a 507down to a 48T in the rear and leave thestock countershaft sprocket. This willmake the motor work a little bit moreoff the bottom and thus helo smooththings out and give a bit more top endfor the fire roads.

Next, flywheel weights are essentialfor slowing the revs off the bottom andthere is none better than SteahlyFlywheels. I chose the middle 11-ounce which did just the ticket!

How about a billet throttle tube tochange the powerband? Soundsstrange to me too! But when I didsome snooping around I came acrossan adjustable throttle tube. I found outthe scoop and eventually contactedSam from G2 Ergonomics, the manu-facturer of the Throttle Cam Systems,and he quickly explained the hows andwhys. lt's basically a throttle tube witha twist, as it comes with three differentcam profiles. Each one changes howmuch throttle cable is pulled in differentparts of the throw. One cam mimicsstock and the other two pull less cableinitially and more at the mid and end ofthe throw. Very cool! The kicker is thatthe end of the billet throttle tube is abillet plug that can be punched outeasily for use with handguards! | lovethe adjustability, and it really worksgreat. lt is quick and simple to change!Very slick!

Auto clutch: for those of you whohaven't tried one of these, the bestway I can explain it would be to imag-ine a little guy on your handlebarsmodulating your clutch absolutely per-fectly at every given moment. I haveused these on several four strokes andjust loved it, so I thought it would be agood chance to try one on a twostroke. I was not disappointed. Al, the

MAY 2OO5 / DIRT BIKE 57

DB AL Ft\J-f ttVt\Y'S 'l-/.25U !y99_DJ JylgD:i6'2" frame.

As they say, the 'devil is in thedetails'. First, fuel range. The stocktank is good for about 40 miles, whichwill get you to your destination, but notback to the truck. Zip-Ty Racing hasan excellent large capacity tank. Notonly does it carry a whopping 3.2 gallons and your favorite mixer, but it alsocarries it very low in the chassis andnarrow in the thighs. Perfect fit. Zip-TyRacing also has some necessary pro-tection for the cooling systems; somevery stout and light, wrap-around radi-ator guards to prevent damage in caseof a fall.

I put on several products that wehave developed at Fastway. OurUniversal F.l.T. System Hand Guardsare stout, and prevent twisting duringlow sides or high sides by beingmounted to the top bar mount clamp,which also allows your handlebars toflex naturally and helps eliminate trailimpacts. The Fastway F.l.T. Systemdesign allows all your cables, brakelines and controls to easily mount onyour bars without clutter. Most off-roaders need a side stand, and theProMoto Billet Kick stand comes inquite handy, is beautifully machined,and the tension springs are enclosedwithin the stand itself. lt bolts up inabout five minutes and you never evenknow it is there until you need it. lt's agreat product and package.

Wheels and tires were next. I optedto go with a 20-inch front wheel andtire combo for two reasons. One, toaid in the handling and ensure properbite in the corners, and secondly, thelarger air volume tire aids in the little

G2's throttle system allows you to alterthe internal cam for a longer pull. Thisis really good for the off-roader. I-essballistic feedback makes for more con-trol when accelerating.

Josh put on his Fastway Universal FIThandguards, which mount to the barperch, give great hand mobility andplenty of room for the controls andcables.trail trash and flat prevention. lt mightbe a little 'old school' now, but I tellyou the 2O-inch works awesome. Inmy opinion it makes the bike handlemore like a four-stroke. lt provides thefeeling that the weight bias is on thefront wheel, giving it a very sure- foot-ed ride. Sneakers are also a bit 'oldschool', but I haven't found a bettercombo yet so I keep using them. Onthe front I went with a BridgestoneM59 2O-inch and for the rear a Dunlop756 on the stock 19-inch wheel. Iwould have out on an 18-inch wheelfor flat prevention, but I prefer the han-dling of the 19-inch. More so, it justholds the lines a bit tighter.

After only a few rides so far on thispro1ect'05 YZ 25O, I have a newfoundrespect for the two-stroke. I wasn'tsure if a two-stroke could be made intothe ultimate woods weapon, especiallyfor the Great Northwest where four-strokes are traction kings, but the two-stroke can, and it sure is sweet! And Iknow once the trails dry out somecome summer it will be even sweeter.The new Yamaha Y2250 is light, flick-able, agile, fast, sure-footed, with anunreal motor. But most of all it exudesconfidence...which allows you to ride itto your potential all day long.! D

An lronman stainless sprocket (two teethless than sfock/ is hugely strong and madefor a smoother transition of power whenre-geared. A D.I.D O-ring chain replacedthe stocker, mandatory for goo riding,

Pro Moto Billet's sidestand rs extremelysano. Mounting is quick; the springmechanism is sheltered and tucks outof the way handsomely.

!E4.99 oANADA $s.es

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MY HOTTEST HONDAlndustry insiders tell you what they

LICHTSPEEDCARBON FIBER

LEFT CASE CUARD"Our CRF250 Carbon Fiber Left Case Cuard

($59.95) offers the highest level of protectionwith the lightest possible weight! Made from100 percent carbon fiber, it is shaped to deflectimpact by hugging the case while addinggreater protection. We also offer a one-pieceglide platdcase guard assembly that includesthe left and right case guards for the CRF250for $199.95 retail."

Lightspeed's Willie Amaradio- (7 1 4) 990-5767.

2 04 www. motocrossa ct ion m ag. com

T

MYHOTTEST HONDA

FASTWAYEVOLUTION IIF3 FOOTPEGS

"Fastway F3 Footpegs' standout fea-tures arc the super wic lc wir l th and t rac-t i on p i ns , wh i ch g i ve t he r i dc r unpa ra l -le led contro l and comfort . In addi t ion, a l lour footpegs have an ergonomic featurewhich al lows them to bc nosi t ioned instandard height or Iowboy (up to 5 iBinch down and backl . This is a r t reat ben-ef i t t ,or the CRF250's crampecl quarters.Fastway's footpegs are stainless steel forsupcr ior st rength. Thc F3's reta i l for$ l 09 .99 wh i l e t he F4 ' s so f o r $99 .99 . "

f.r-slrlu!"s losh Paris t50 i ) )11 lJJ6u.

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FACTORYCONNECTION WORKS

SHOCK PRELOADR I N C S

"Fac:tory Conncct ion 's 'works 'a l um inum Shock P re l oac l R ingsa rc mach ined f r om 6061 -T ( r a l u -m inum and a re j us t l i ke t hc p re l oadr ings seen on factory b ikes. L ighterthan stock and a larger are.r adjuster aretwo of the major benef i ts . You can makcyuu r sho t k l ook l i ke , l 'w ( , r ks ' sho rk w i t hou lt he 'wo rks ' p r i ce t ag . Ava i l ab l c i n s t anda rc l a l un r i num fo r $39 .95or in anodized red or b luer for $,19.95."

Lt( l ( ) ty ( ( )Dnect ior ' .s Sleyt , l ioss ( lJO)) 221 7560

2 1 2 www.motocrossactionmag,com

MY HOTTESTHONDA

FASTWAY F.I.T.SYSTEM

HAND GUARDS"Fastway's F.l.T. Hand Cuard system protect the

bike and the hands from roost or impact. Ourdesign dif fers greatly from tradit ional hand guards,which are prone to twist ing and exposing handsand levers to impacts. By attaching our crossbars toa solid surface on the top bar clamp (as opposed tothe handlebar), we gain an amazing amount ofstrength and protection. This also al lows thehandlebar to flex naturally for rider ,",4,comfort . In addi t ion, anotherkey benef i t for the CRF is ourtop bar mount, which t ies the t"\-two rubber-mounted bar t Iclamps together and preventsunwanted twist ing in a crash. l t isava i lab le fo r $125.99 ( the sh ie lds a reavai lable in four colors for $14.99)."

Fastway's Josh Paris- (503) 241-8368.

21 8 www.motocrossactionmag,com

N$\\t\\t\\R\$RP\\\Rt'\\\\11U\\N$N1b\SN\\\\\\\NR\\\\\\RT\N\t\

ome may think we arbitrarily select a product for this honor orthere may be an influence based on support for the magazine.We can only rebut by saying neither is true. While some years ourwinning product clearly stands alone and the testing and deci-

sion phases are fairly cut and dried, there are times when practical and cost-effective products catering to the vast array of off-road and motocross enthu-siasts are not prevalent. This year, our theme for Product of the Year is basedon innovative ideas from the aftermarket sector, both off-road and motocross.

Al l of these products are imaginative, yet not al l apply to the masses.Inventions such as Simons' inverted fork an early 'Bos patent that is now aneveryday item in the world of off-road and street motorcycling-ultimatelypush technology forward.

Broken down into two cateqories. al l-around r idino and off-road. here arethis vear's winners.

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EFF.READPREDUtrT EF THE YEAR

FAETWAY II.T. gYgTEMHAND GUARDSWhen it comes to off-road riding, one of the first productsadded to a bike often happens to be hand guards. In theearly years they w€re nothing more thafi bits ot plastic tohelp deflect rocks and brush. Later vears saw tbe intro-duction of the Bark Buster, an aluminum bar that wrappedaround and attached to th6 haildlgbar ends. That conceptunderwent redevelopment, and atl sorts of plastic andaluminum guards popped up. The problem with this con'cept was thal, during a crash or when bru$hing upagainst trses and rocks, the guard mounls twisted andended up pushing the guard down or up'very annsying.The result was you had to beat the guard back into placewith either your list or a swiit kisk of a boot. This year,Fa$tway took hand guards to a new level.

What makes the Fastway f,|.T, system so innovative isil circumvents the lraditional two-pieca clamp on ths barilself and mwes thB mounting position to th€ top bar-mount clamp-very ingenious. The system is also capa-ble of hooking up a Scotts or GPR stabilizer with theaddition ol an $82.33 mounting kit. The guard systemitself goes for $125.68, plus $14.99 if you wish to includeplast ic shie lds.

Compared with standard aluminum guard systems,the Fastway setup retains more of the bar's flex capabili-ties due to its mounting position. For thinking outside thebox and imprwing an existing product, Fashiyay wifls OirlRlder's Off-road Product of the Year Award.

FASTWAY PERFORMANGE: 503/244-8368;wwwf astwayperf ormance.com

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Emergency room: Don't be intimidated by theFastway Evolution footpegs. The lhnm-long

removable screyys may look scary, but they wo*better than the shorter screws. Your feet will

FATWAY EIIOLUTIOII FOO]PEGo Ever since the ill-foted, but creotive, swivel footpegs of the eorly'90s, {ootpeg development hos been stuck ino rut. The only thing thot's new is the size. Fostwoy's Evolution peg chonges oll thot with removobre ondodjustoble teeth. Footpegs qre o double-edged sword. The shorper they ore, the better they grip, but the higherthe rlsk of bodlly horm. Fostwoy's screw-in teeth ore just cs deodly os trqditional footpegs, but they ollow you tounscrew eoch tooth, which is reolly o miniqture Allen bolt, ond replcce it with o shorter or longer on '. Bychoosing different tooth sizes for dlfferent ports ol the peg, o rider con fine-tune not only tooth length, but qlsotooth ongle.

Additionolly, the Evolution pegs con be odjusted for ongle on the frome. Colled the FKMS (Fost KomberMounting System) o threod-in bolt is used os on ongle odjuster, much like o broke-pedol height odjuster, ioollow the whole peg to be tilted in relotionship to the ground. This is ochieved by using shims to spoce out theodjuster bolt. This feoture ollows one set of Fostwoy pegs to fit on mony dlfferent models, which meons whenyou sell your bike, you cqn keep the pegs for your new bike.WHAT DID WE IIKE AND DISTIKE?

During our tesiingr we discovered severol things: (I) The footpegs look nosty. (2) The teeth in the center of thefootpeg ore not very importont. Do not mqke them toller thon the teeth on the outer edges. (3) Even though thelongrer Allen bolts feel too oggressive initiolly, they grip better thqn the short bolts. (4) Fostwoy needs to includeo chart thot tells potentiol buyers exoctly how mony woshers they need to use for eoch bike opplicotion. Wehod to switch the wqsher configurotion on our YZl25 three times to get the footpeg level. We linolly ended upwith one big ond one smoll wosher. (5) The small Allen bolts Iill up with mud ond grit qulckly. This mokesremoving or replocing the teeth on iffy proposition down the rood. We spent some time with o smoll pick, flick-ing dirt out of the Allen heods.WHAT DO WE THINK?

These pegs ore wider thon onything mode, offer the broqdest ronge of odjustment imoginoble, ond ore verylight. However, they ore expensive. Luckily, Fostwoy offers the pegs with non-odjustoble teeth qnd in regulorsteel for less dough. Thls is the Creotivity Aword winner of the 2000 motocross seoson. A greot ideo looking forriders smort enough to buy in.

Contact: Fostwoy ot (503) 497-9099. o

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Your Off-Road Protection Experts

FASTWAYADAPTABLEFOOTPEGSProduction footpegs, levers and air f i l -ters are al l qual i ty parts to begin with, sowhy change them? Well, Fastway's pegsare larger than slock and somewhatadjustable in their location. The largersurface gives quite a bit more stabi l i tyfor your feet and ankles, and there is achoice ol press{i t pins or adjustable-he igh t se t sc rews to r boot t rac t ion .Being able to lower the pegs opens upthe r ide compartment, making i t easierto go from sit t ing to standing and pro-viding more room for a tal ler r ider.

When we tested these footpegs on the'03 KX250, we instal led them in thelower, sl ightly rearward posit ion. Thismade r iding the bike a lad easier on theknees but i t meant less weight over thefront wheel and thus the t ire not holdingas well in the corners. Also, the foldablepegs got stuck in either the up or downposit ion. Fastway says ours were pre-production units and the problem isbeing remedied.

Then we instal led the pegs on ourCRF450R. lnstallation on the Honda waseasier, and the pegs moved up and downthe way they should. We bolted them on atthe stock height, and after adjusting thelevel of the footpegs, we were happy withtheir performance. The bigger platform

definitely offers a more stable feeling foryour feet and ankles on jumps and roughbraking bumps. The coolest part about thepegs is that, with the different shim andspacer kits available, they will work on anybrand. The peg plattorm looks massive incomparison with the stock pieces or justabout any other aftermarket peg available,yet didn't seem to hinder moving our festup or down to shift or apply the brake. Andthey seemed to grip our boots at leastas well as stock footpegs in sl ipperyconditions.

FASTWAY PERFt 'RMANCE:5rJ3/244-A3 6El; www.FABT-lvAYPERFEtRMANCE. CCtM

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IJNEIFIEA}<AEILEThe double jointed clutch lever

peg-type springabout an inch away fromthe actual pivot to do all thedirty work.

W'e've been usingone fora fanrmontlsand are delighted to report that wehaven't broken it. Of coursE we don'tcrasrh every srngLe dry. But we have beenknswn to occasionally hit the gmund.The only way that the lsver could b€ vul-nerable is fiorn a hit from the bottom ortop. And in that case. rrnless the perch isovertightened, the rvhole lever shouldrotate on the bars. The ASV ntight wellbe close to unbreakable.

lf the product sounds familiar, that'sbecause yon read about another suchievcr in Dirt Bikc a few months ago-the"ARC." Yeah, it's kind of strange thatthere are trvo such oddbail products outthere with similar names, but it was theend result of a messy busincss divorce.

double-joined clutchleven

The only real difference between thet$'o, as f'ar as we can tell, is that the ASVcomes u,ith a perch. It sells for $70,which is a bargain considering thearnount of rnachining required. 'lo con-tact ASV call ll77-ASV-7000. Outside ofthe U"S., the nunrber is (714) 775-5855. -l

LEVEFI

There's an dd grdlt thatcomes when your bike isdameged more than youare in a cnsb- Your inoo-

cent steed truss )rou at k;the controls, and not only doyou drive it straight to disaster, but yurwalk away scot-free. It's even wors€when you place it pmrly on its stanat atdtum ysur back" then hear a crssh. Youturn to see it on its side in a puddle ofgas.A few f'eet away, you see half a clutchlever laying on the grorrnd. Guilt, massiveguilt.

ASV Invcntions rnakes a gui l t rerne-d.y. The unbreakable clutch lever is dou-ble jointed. It bends backrvard r,r'hen ittakes a hit, then returns to its originalposit ion. ' fhe lever is CNC machinedfrom bi l let alunrinurn. I t must takehours fbr an over-rvorked rnill to popout a single lever. The lever uses a foot-

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FASiTWAY FCICITPEGiSTitaniuln with a twist

ranklr'. if vorr har,c ove r $200 to spend on firotpegis, ',r,rthink t,otr 'rc rr t icak. lJut there are a lot of f i 'caks out

there rvho are u, i l l ing to sport l htrge chunks of rnone-v f irr l i t -t le chunks of t i tani irnr. l i rr our cash, rve r.voulcl l iker to getsomething bes' ides thc prcst ige of a classv nratcrial. ' f l rat 's*,h_v r,,,e're irnpresscd rr,ith I.astw'uv I.'l pcgs. Of all the pcoplein the Ti-peg business, thcsc rrc thc onl,r, guvs rvith a l i t t lc bito f in rag ina t ion . Ins tcar l o t . jus t n rak ing t l ie s tock peg a l i t t l cu' ider ancl (rna,vltc) a l i t t le l ightcr, t l ie-y gavc i t sonrc fcatr.rrcsno other pegs have. I :or onr t lr ing. thc anglcof the plLrtf i rrrn is adjustal l lc. Ale t,ourf i ro tpcgs bc{ inn ing to r l roop?'i'hat happens ',vhen the stops onthe pegs start to dig into thefiarne. With the Fls. the stop isactual ly the head of a hardenedbolt. Several shirns arc providedthat go rrnder the head of thebolt to adjust the angle of thepeg. That same feature allor.r,sthe I r l s to f i l ou r * i r l c va l i c l - r ,of bikes. Dicl vou trade vourHonda fbr a Yarnaha? Nd prob-leml just keep thc shirns. and t l .repegs should go on -\'onr ncxt bike.'I'he teeth are alsu unique. fhere trren't anv. Instead, theFls use 22 little set scrcws that stick orrt of the fbotpeg's plat-

fonn. ' l - l te. i , gr ip.t ,orrr boots just as u,cl l i rs convcntional teethrnd thc,\ ' can be arl iusted (sl ightlv) ancl lcplaced i f the-rr everget dLr l l .

We instal lct l thc Ir ls on a YZ and l ived happil-v ever after.' I 'hele rr,as a brief ai l j rrstnrcnt per' iod rvhen u'c discoveredthat the f irotpcgs u,ere sightl-v lorve r than sfock, rvhich rnadethc shif ter rnd brakc levcr seerrr higher. We got usecl to i t .t , ikc al l ' f i peSs. the lrastrva.vs trLc r,xpr:nsive at S220. But thev

oflcr a lot rnore fbl thc nroncv. And thev*, i l l probabl-v orrt last -\ ,our next three

ntotorcvcles. Iror rnore infbrmation,con t r c t Fas t r vav a t

Mountain Speed lnc.,(.503) 244-8368. B

The world is tull of $ffi titanium footpegs these days. Forthat kind of money, you should get something special. That'swhy the Fastway Fls exist

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fqsl komber mounflng syrlem (FKMS)

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fast kambef morntinQ system (FKMS)

US and foreign patents pendifg

FIT:

Yamana

YZ 125 /250 YZF| WR 426 (S9 00)

YZ 1251 2501 YzF I WR 400(97 98\

Suzuki RM/ Rl!4X (DM com ng soon)

Honda CR 125l 250 (2000) requ res CR Mount

cR 125l 250/ 500 (95-99)

XR 250-400-600 (comlng soon)

Kawasaki KX 125/ 250/ 500 (97-00)

KT1\4 125/ 200/ 250/ 300/ 380/ 400/ 520 (98-00)

Husquavama' CR/WR 125/250/360 (S9-00)'Soacer Mod fecessary

The "Original" Bil let Aluminum Throftle Tubec0mpre€ry seae0 syslem

won t break ike stock p aslic tlbes

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Honda CR/XR

Kawasaki K/'/KDX

ramaha YZAVR

Suzrki R[4/DR-Z

KTI'I 1251200/250/300/360/380/400/520 SX & tXC

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Honda CR

KAWASAK K/VKDX

Universal Brake Saver Kit

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uniquemountino tab attatches directlv to motor mouft bo t

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M O U l V T A / / V B IKE A C T I O l V S U S P E N S I O N

HOITTOH||T.N||DIn the world of motocross, there are

two separate gurus of speed: thehop-up artist and the suspension techni-cian. Of the two, the hop-up artist has iteasiest. All he has to do is make themotor pump out more Power than themotorcycle's chassis can handle. It ispossible to make a motor so awesomethat the rider wil l say, "It 's too fast!"Because of this, most engine tuners spendtheir time trying to make "manageable,""usable" or "tractable" power as opposedto "brute" power. On the other hand, thesuspension technician has a more difficulttask. By fine-tuning the suspension, hecan make an equally significant improve-ment in the rider's lap times. However,he can never get a rider to say, "It's tooplush!" The curse of being a suspensionguy is that the more you improve the sus-pension quality, the faster the rider willgo . . . and the faster he goes the more hecomplains about the suspension.

The MBA wrecking crew wants tomake you complain-especially if yourwhining is due to the fact that your sus-

Spring thing: Looking for the insidesecret to building the ultimate set of Judyfo*s? Look no further than replacing thesix microcellular bumperc with a coilspring. Disadvantage? Four ounces.Advantage? Fo*s that work.74 MOUNTAIN BIKE ACTION / NOVEMBER 1995

TOUNJUDT$

What the Pros don'twant you to know

pension is so trick, you are able to gofaster than ever before. To that end, theMBA test crew set out to improve themost popular suspension fork on theNORBA circuit today-the Rock ShoxJudy. We will reveal inside tricks thatonly the Pros know. If you feel like com-plaining after hot-rodding your Judys, wewill have done our job.SPEED SPRINGS TO THE RESCUE

The need: Bright suspension tunersknow you can't beat coil springs for theultimate in suspension feel. You can keepyour elastomers, microcellular foam andair-nothing touches coiled steel. How-ever, even dumb suspension tuners knowthat no one makes a coil spring fork formountain bikes. Now, though, thanks toSpeed Springs, you can have the samestraight-rate, coil spring action that manyof the world's top riders have secretlyslipped into their forks.

Installation: Speed Springs are incred-ibly easy to install and the improvementsin spring rate, resistance to bottoming,supple transitions and lively feel are nlorethan worth the $50. All a backyard me-chanic has to do is unthread the Judy cap,pull out the shish-kebab skewer, slide offthe microcellular marshmallows and slipon the Speed Spring. It's a five-minutejob (ten minutes if your friend helps).

Spring rates: Speed Springs come inthree spring rates: soft, medium and firm.Downhillers need the firm spring, but forriders from 150 to 190 pounds, mediumsprings are just right. The medium springrare is 53.2 lb./in.

Weight: The total weight of one springand one aluminum seat is just a hair over90 grams. Is that heavy? That depends onwhether you are more in terested inweight or performance. The microcellular

stack weighs 36.5 grams per six-pack.The difference is approximately twoounces per fork leg.

Spring specs: Want to dazzle yourfriends with techno-babble? Get ready tomesmerize them with the fact that SpeedSprings have 23.75 coils, 3.89 inches ofspring stroke, fit Rock Shox Judy andManitou EFC forks and have a 20.6mmouter diameter.

Bad stuff: A coil spring kit for the Ju-dy fork is a wonderful thing, but all is notwell in Mudville. If we had our druthers,we would make a few changes: (1) SpeedSprings aren't made from the highest-quality wire. The springs showed consid-erable buckling (lack of straightness)within a relatively short amount of time.(2) 3.89 inches of spring stroke is waytoo much for use in a Judy XC, SL orDH. When a fork only travels two tothree inches, you don't need four inchesof spring stroke. Less stroke would meanless spring and less spring would meanless weight . . . and if you followed this toits logical conclusion, world peace would

[0l-ffibe the inevitable outcome. (3) With a lit-tle more thought, Speed Springs could hitthe scales closer to 65 grams withoutcompromising performance. Shorteningthe spring and using a spacer would less-en buckling and make the system moreeconomical (in bulk if not in price).

Good stuff: They work! The faster youride on the stock marshmallows, the far-ther they sink, dive and settle into a verylow spot on the suspension totem pole.When you really need full travel, progres-sive spring resistance and an active feel,the microcellular 'mallows are all usedup. It 's harsh city! Not so with SpeedSpr ings. Overal l r ide qual i ty takes aquantum leap upwards. The fork remainssoft and compliant for the first third ofthe travel, gets increasingly.firmer in themid-stroke and fights bottoming with avery stout final increment. Great springs.Worth the money . . . and worth the fourounces on a rough trail.

Contact: Mountain Speed, 9220 Bar-bu r B l vd . , # l 19 l l 48 , Po r t l and , OR97219: (503) 241-2t63.-Conege prep: Take Rock Shox's Judy forkfrom good to great in two easy ressons.MBA installed some prototype stee,Speed Springs to wake up the elas-tomer's tepid midrange pertormance anda White Bros. hydraulic cartridge to fine-tune both compression and rebounddamping. >

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FEDER-VORBAU'ETZTOLGEDAMPFTQ oftride, Verfechter von gefeder-l.)ten Vorbouten, enhrickelt seineModelle longsom zu echten High-Tech-Ports. Mit oufwendig gefr<i.sten PorollelogromnrHebeln, neuen G.leidogern und einem exter-nen Oldcimpfer sollen die Vorbouten ouch den horten Gelcinderongo problemlos ijbersbhen.Fiinf Zentimeler Federweo sbhenederw€g siohen

dem Fohrer zurVerftigung.Fiir Moteriol-Freoks gibles ouch einen

Titonkif.

STAHTFEDERN VONI,.IHITE BROTHERS UNDMOUNTAIN SPEED\ A /eil viele Fohrer mit den Federungseigen-Y V schoften ihrer Rock Shox Judy nichf zr.r'

frieden sind, bieten einige kleine Firmen ietzlStohlfederTuningkits on. Vorne weg: WhiteBrothers und Mounloin Speed. Beide ersetzendie Elostomere gegen Stohlfedern. Die Vorfeilegegenijber den Gummipufforn: lcingere Lebensdouer und sensibleres Federungsverholten.Weil die serienmciBige kimpfung der Judy mitden schnellen Stohlfedern schnell iiberfordertist, gibt's speziell obgestimmc D<impfungsDofronen. Sie bcsbhen ous Aluminium und sol-len deutlich holtborer sein ols ihre Kunslstoff-Kollegen ous der GroBserie

GABET MIT20 ZENTIMETERFEDERI^lEGQotte 20 Zenlimeter Federweg besitzt Don Ho-s)nebrinks Long-Trovel-Gobel. Aber ouch sonslbietet die grelle Downhillforke Moforrodtechnikpur: Eine Doppelbriicke, 30 Millimeter dickeStondrohre und eine 25 Millimeter dicke Noben-Klemmochse. Dodurch soll die Gobel exhem ver-windungssteif sein. lm lnncrn orbeilen .wohlweiseStohlfedern oder Elostomere. Oldcimofer-kortuschen holten die Schwingungen unfer Kon-holle. Die Dcimpfung ist iibrigens in Druck- undZugstufe verstellbor. Nochteil der ExtremGobel:Mon konn sie nur mit einer speziellen Rohmen-geometrie fohren. Fiir Serienrohmen gibt es eineentschorfte Version mil weniger Federweg.Hilh, vt het moirc *lototod-Gc&ct geHout? llancl'ine

vu| nkht; dos Ding im EH isa scitrc nrrr li&+'GolcL

CARBON-FEDERGABEL FURTEICHTBAUFREAKS

ewichbersoornis ohne Reue versorichl Girvinbei seiner Veclor€orbongobel. Der Shock-

obsorber soll knopp 1000 Gromm wiegen undtrolzdem noch steifer ols sein AluGegenstiicksein. Die Porollelogromm€obel bietet nebenden CorbonGobelscheiden jede Menge interes-sonler Feolures. So konn mon die Vorsponnungder Elostomere und ouch die Kinemotik desPorollelogromms ver<indern. Je noch Einstellungtoucht die Gobel donn im Wiegehitt mehr odcr iweniger ob und spricht unterschiedlich sensibel i'ouf kleine Bodenunebenheilen on. Seit diesem !Johr besiizt die Girvin Vector ouch einen hydrou- llischen Dcimpfer, der die unkontrollierfen Schwin- .Egungen der Elostomere unterbindef .t

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I ie Revoluiion findel im Ver-| | borgenen stott. Mon hort| | nichts, mon sieht nichts,f mon riecht nichts. Doch imInnern von Rock Shox & Co.geht's rund - und den Elostome.ren on den Krogen. Stohlfedernfiir Federgobeln liegen voll imTrend: Auf der WM in Kirchzor-ten woren fost die H<ilhe ollerRock Shox Judy- oder MonitouEFC-Gobeln mil den stcihlernenSpirolen best0ckt. Die Argumenteder Pros: Leichleres Ansprechver-hohen, mehr Komfort und einehohere lebensdouer. lm Motrcr-rod- und Automobilbou sind dieFronten lcingsl geklcirt. Die Fede-rungen orbeiten fost ousschlieR-lich mit Stohlfedern, wdhrendElostomere in erster Linie dieFunktion von Anschlogpuffernoder Schwingungsddmpfern iiber-nehmen. Worum olso Elostomerebei Fohrrod-Federungen? DieAntworl ist einfoch: Es ist dosGewicht. Wdhrend zum Beispielein Rock Shox Judy-Elostomer-

poket mif 36,5 Gromm zu Bucheschlcigt, bringt es eine Stohlf€deroul immerhin 90 Gromm. DosheiBt, die Federgobel mit Stohlfe-der wird um mehr ols IOOGromm schwerer ols dos ver-gleichbore Elostomer-Pendont.Doch wos sind schon die poorGromm, orgumentieren die Renn-fohrer, wenn sich die Fohreigen-schoften des Bikes durch dieS|ohlfedern deutlich verbessern.

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Doch Stohlfederkits sind nichtnur den Pros vorbeholten. JederBiker konn seine Rock Shox Judyund Monilrou EFC mit SpeedSpring-, White Brothers. oderPure Power-Umriistscitzen tunen.lohnt sich der Umbou ftir denNormolfohrer? Die bikeTesrcrewhot die Probe oufs Exempel gemocht und eine umgeboute RockShox Judy Sl- und Monitou EFCdurchs Gelcinde getrieben. Dos

Workshop: Stahlfeder-Tuning ftir Rock Shoxund Manitou

FllcgGndEFll,cGnsclElaslomePB Faus, $tanlledernFein - ein gutBs Rez8]|l, w8nnRsnnlanPer aul dle scnnellelnre Federga[8ln uePmssePnuroll8n. Doclt ura$ DFingl dcPumbau liir lloPmalbitteP?Ergebnis: Die Federgobeln bekommen eine vollkommen ondereChorokteristik. Sie sprechen super-sensibel on und geben dem Foh-rer eine bessere Riickmeldungilber den Slreckenzuslsnd. Monhol den sublektiven Eindruck, dieGobeln besdBen zwei Zenlimetermehr Federweg. Der Grund:Durch die - besonders im mifileren Bereich - ehros steilere, lineoronsleigende Kennlinie sinken dieFedergobeln bei Gewichtsverlo-gerungen oder beim Bremsennicht so sto* ein wie elostomer-besttickte Shockobsorber mit ih-rer teilweise sehr flochen Kenn-linie. Es steht olso mehr effekliver

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WHEELS OF THE FUIUREI)ue to prc-productiort sttrtus oJ' the Sun and Ringli Ti-Stixwhtels we weren't ttblt to ritle thcm as part oJ our wheel shootout.Both cttrnpunics pronri,,,'rl us ridtble versions d.( sool ds they ttrcavailable. Here's a preview:

3Ut tu r !Break out the bell bottoms-our wheel came with a thoroughly disco-ized multi-colorpattem woven into the carbon. For the less funky, anall-black version is available as well as a rcd and gold striped model.

The Sun is similar t0 the Hed wheel in appearance, but offers someunique features, Most obvious are the exposed spoke nipples which sit0n an aluminum strip just inside the edge of the carbon fiber. Brassnipples are mandalory because truing the carbon requires very highspoke tension. The rim is designed specifically for tho Buz wheel.

A big advantage to this wheel design is the ability to true the wheelwithout removing the tire. 0ther pluses include increased strength andlighter weight due to the shorter spokes.

PRIcE: 0399 (fl; $475 (r) welcsr: (pre-produclion) I lb. 14oz. (fl cornct ?19/267-328L

t 3 D / l r f e L l r t . t t t tTraipsing through the halls 0f the Anaheim bike show, we were practi-cally pulled out of our shoes by the ever-enlhusiastic Geoff Ringl6 whoeagerly wanted to show us his latest innovation. The ultra-newHed/Ringl6 Ti-Stix wheel is an all-new version of the Hed wheel welested. What's ditferent? The new wheel uses a specially designedSuperduperbubba hub that places lhe spoke nipples inside the hubflange-opposite ol where they normally are. This allows the wheel t0be trued wilhout removing the tire, tube and rim strip, solving a prob-lem that plagues the regular Hed wheel. Like the standardSuperduperbubba, the Ti-Slix hub features D-shaped axle and oversized end caps. The Ti-Stix shares the same Sun rim as the standardHed XC, but only uses 24 spokes versus the XC's 32. The TFSlix gelsits Ti designation from the use 0f radially laced titanium bladed spokes-very trickl Weight savings is three ounces over the standard XC.

pRIcE: $395 (fl wtrcxr: (pre-production) 2 lbs. 1 oz. (flc0NTACTT 800/327-0606

3 4

SPEED SPII I I IS

HIT: Easy to install; big parformence upgrade ilIss: A bit bouncypRIcE:150 (slgel); N275 (l itanium) wrtcHT:205 grams (iwo sfeelrprlnga rnd two seats) IDTAL BUYER: Anyon! looking for moru lifein thcir fork. Aggressiva ridtrs. c0NTAcr:503/497-9099

Ever get super-excited about a and less prone to bottoming out.new chi-chi only to find out that it Our testers noted lhal the perfor-doesn't work like you think it mance was especially good withought to? The folks at Mountain theimproved'96Judydampeners.Speed felt this way about the per 0f course, weight freaks will pointformance of their new suspension out the weight gain-Speedforks. So they took matters into Springs weight 205 grams com-their own hands. Borrowing a pared with 70 grams for a pair ofproven idea from the motorcyde Judy elastomer stacks. (ilote:world, they designed Speed Riders with a two-inch lnvel lorkSprings, a sleel coil spring lo may ri,ant to choose a slighllyreplace the slandard elastomer stiffer spring than recommcnded.bumpers. (See top right photo, A two{nch fork will not comprcsswhich shows a fork with elastomer a spring as much as a three-inchbumpers nextto alorkwith Speed and will not hke full advantage ofsprings.) Many 0f the top pros are the spring's progresive naturo.)now using coil springs, and they'll Mounlain Speed recommendslikely be standard equipment for coupling its springs with Riss6most'97 forks. Racing's Jem cartridge lor Judy

We dropped a pair in a set of forks. Riss6 will custom valrte lheirJudys and hitthe trail. Simply put, cartridge h take full advanlage ofwe liked 'em. A lot. Tnvel through- Speed Springs. Speed Springs areout the stroke was more progres- available for Rock Shox Judys,sive. The springs felt especially Manitou 3, 4, Mach 5, EFC,goodattheendolthetravelwhere Cannondale HeadShok EDM andMCUs are packed up and dead RST Mozo. There are lour rates:feeling. 0verall, the Speed Springs extn soft, soft, medium and lim.made our Judy feel more lively -Matt Phillips

m o u n l e i n b l k ! / l€n u a p v r f 8 b p u e r y 1 9 9 6

I WERIITETEIGH ITOilOUAil'S

TUORLII GHAIIPIOilSHIPrhe Queen's BIIIE Mongoose Amptifier 2

=- I li?:rn'i ff' J."*,iT':.?,"'l'"',ll-payroll: Leigh Donovlland Brian Lopes.

Both picked up the NORBANational Downhil l t i t les for- '95,

and Leigh went on toscore a gold medal (the only'senior lo ld medal for th lU .S . ) a i t he Wor ld Cham--p ionsh ip

downh i l l i nGermany. Mongoose was not-the least bit shy about hand-ine l€ieh Donovan's '95 race-bi[e oi"r to the MBA wreck-ing crew for a close-up look-and ride-a-thon. Mongoosewas a lso not shv about the- full-suspension movement. Itwas among the f i rs t o f the

tube rear sect ion. I t has a Horst L inkdropout and a swingarm pivot about twoinches above the bottom bracket center-

l ine. Rather than a true Mac-strur, theAmplifier 2 has a trombone shock. Whatis a trombone shock? The shock's thru-shaft is bolted to the underside of rhe topand seat tube. The shock slides back andforth on the fixed thru-shaft like a trom-bone. The seat stays are atrached directlyto the sides of the shock. The goal of thetrombone shock is to eliminate all shock

flex from the rear suspension and shortenthe effective length of the seat stays.

To balance the bike's unusual rear sus-pension, Mongoose chose adual-cartridge Rock ShoxJudy DH fork (one leg canbe tuned in compressionand the other in rebound).With everyone seeking thatall-important, race-winningsetup, the new Judy's tun-ability gamers major speedpoints for the descendingdivas of fat.

INSIDE LEIGHDONOVAN'STROMBONE

The actual thru-shaft ofthe Mongoose's shock is0 .75 " i n d iame te r -ove rtwice that of most coil-overdampers . The ove rs i zedshaft ensures that any later-al force in the rear end willnot be translated into later-al f lex. Clickers on eachend of the shaf t contro lrebound and compressiondamp ing fo rces . Theshock's a gas-charged, oil-damped unit with a wave-washer valve stack (similart o t he No leen and Foxdesign). The reservoir, pro-truding from the lower endof the damper, holds extrao i l t o keep the shock ' sinternal temperature downduring each run. In techni-cal terms the reservoi r ismore accu ra te l y a gas -cha rged , an t i - cav i t a t i ondev i ce des igned to pu t

pressure on the seals and keep the systemfrom developing vacuum bubbles at highdamper speeds.

To experience Leigh's racing setup. weleft the bike's suspension exactly as sherides it. Leigh's shock was set up fast inrebound and slow in compression-muchlike the bike's Rock Shox Judy DH forkperforms.

APRIL 1996 / MOUNTAIN BIKE ACTION 91

i -b ig-name manufacturers to

I make the switch.t-!l-

- For years, Mongoose ridersi campaigned AMP Research-- built Mongoose Amplif iers.

The MacPherson strut AMPl-- Uites were designed as cross-1 country rac ing b ikes, and- while they were extremely

successful in both cross-coun-l-- try and downhill racing, thereI was intense pressure to de-- velop downhill-specific bikes.

AMP Research was not inter-l - "ested in bui ld ing downhi l l

b ikes, and Mongoose went- looking for its own factory

one-off descender.Mongoose's new downhil l

bike u'as designed and built- in Germany by an engineernamed Karl Nicolai. The bike- was c leve r l y named theAmp l i f i e r 2 . Le igh ' s Ger -

- man-built Team model uses an Easton ta-

_ per-buned front triangle and rectangular-

{ Streaking to victory: Leigh Donovan- brazes a straightaway on her way to the

NORBA national title. The ex-BMX rider- won on consistency and her ability to

remain coo! under fire. Leigh was the sur-prise victor and only medalist tor the USA-"1 at the Worlds.

on vlhre, p.rtormrror,liltovrton, usdifiaa* l|d qdl!|

Ecfited byJim Largley

I

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c|| abohut dhttrlkribrr 3, a rd 5; thc Rock

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AsrdodSovo.3tral coab hrr€rF hharfitdei$ng, rn*ing tho Judy f€d tb

futrtty <lam@ via rts non- .-.oilcartrklge. Ihb,

tho ccib'liBar spdng rate.the .:adtjdge work3arxl vJear3 ouacker.SpnrEs are avaibble rrr

rnediur-1. or fimr rates. Oullfuund tesierus€dtt€rn€diuns 3nd lo!?d them. ri oarr

sp.tngs adds about | 00to 3 fork. Mountah

l-J tutti fruiti @ O @Okanaganb Sport bel! erc mado otttlrltt ftom truat J4as on to3tcr put lt "thcy taste likc od food.' So lw dothoycompac rutritiondtyto an cnc.gyb#? W.compar€d on to fhc bcrc$mar* Poror8ar,u,tadr ilsbout lhe srtr. nct reigftt F5 gnamc! md hcr |o|4fi lherame nrnbcr olcalodce fas, or 5 more than e Spoftbarf.Okanaganb poduct contains less ffi (t gram y!. a, rdtcaoohydrate pA grarm va 47f, mo|r pesdum fiO nrgvs. 2dtl, and morc diatary itbcr (l gr.mr vs. 31. APowerBar hes more protoln, calchm, and hon. Ecd<laedeasant, frtli tasto, thc Sport ba. i8 oacy to cfiar, Andyou car eagly Fmovctha wrappcrev€n whncwcrip

ti ful-fing€r glovcs. Flavort include applc-4ricot, SI+! raspbery, and apptc-straurtery. Cost b l'1.@ pc br a8 lO5 tor a Uox ot 2{. Grabbor tntomation l ,U[tlliz3-l?r}3.

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Spe€d 503.t97-g09€ (OR)

FineTunesMountainspeed was an idea born out of necessity.

josh Paris, who had taken up mountain bike racing,was so dissatisfied with the performance of two$600 suspension forks that he decided to dosomething about it. He realized that properly tunedsuspension provided better wheel tracking andimpact absorption, allowing the rider to achievehigher speeds. Paris, who had done everything frombeing an Alaskan fisherman, door-to-door salesmanand owner of a T-shirt print shop, to starting acompany with his wife that made jewelry from oldbicycle components, thought that the performancecould be improved by designing better replacementsprings for the forks. He and a partner put theirheads together and designed a set of coil springs forthe forks, then they contacted a local coil spring

Josh Paris devel-oped SpeedSprings to meet aperformance need,

maker who madethem some prototypes. The difference inhandling was remarkable, Paris says. "lt waseverything we could do to keep our mouthsshut for about three months while we gottogether enough money to start thecompany," he adds.

They took a thousand sets of springs withdifferent rates to the Mammoth bicycle racein 1995, their first foray in sales. "We madeone small error,"Josh says. They hadconfigured the springs for the Manitou forkdesigns, but they wouldn't quite fit RockShoxmodels. "On the second day of the race, thedemand for RockShox springs was so highthat we had to do the biggest no-no possible:we went out and bought a grinder.'We got pretty lucky, though," Parishcontinues. 'We were only about one- to 2-millimeters off. We had to grind down thefirst few coils so they would fit the shocks ofall these racers who were lining up to buy theproduct." (Later the company replaced mostof those springs with a properly designedmodel at no charge.) "l ' l l never make amistake like that again," Parish adds.

At the end ofthe race, Paris wascompletely worn outfrom his (literally)

gr inding ordeal.Despite wearing ahuge sombrero that he

had traded a set ofsprings for, he came back badly sunburned from. working outdoors at the grinding machine.

Nevertheless, the two menknew they were on to something.The next weekend, they went to

Big Bear. By that time, racers had already heardabout the springs through word of mouth. Theyreturned to Portland, their car fil led with orders.

Speed Springs remains Mountainspeed's mainline; currently replacement springs are offered for allmajor suspension forks. "The line has expanded. Ithink we fit about 95 percent of all shocks now,"Paris says. He stresses the company's commitmentto advanced manufacturing: it uses heat treating,shot peening, pre-setting phosphate and powdercoating on all its coil springs. Eibach springs are usedexclusively for manufacturing, he adds.

For example, Mountainspeed's combination ofbare-metal spray phosphate treating and electrostaticpowder coating ensures maximum corrosionprotection, Paris says. This is important in maintaining

1 2 B I K E P U L S E

II|IIIII|]TAIII ETIE

WormDrive: 26 x 1.90 kevlar beadPro-Deal $18.50 Retai l $36.99

Gf uteus: 26 x2.'lO kevlar beadPro-Deal $18.50 Retai l $36.99

fnstinct: 26 x2.'lO kevlar beadPro-Deal $18.50 Retai l $36.99

Helter:25 x 1.95 kevlar beadPro-Deal $16.00 Retai l $31.99

Skelter: 26 x 1.95 kevlar beadPro-Deal $16.00 Retai l $31.99

Hefter DH: 26 x 2.35 I 2ply casingPro-Deal $25.00 Retail $49.99

Skefter DH: 26 x 2.35 I 2ply casingPro-Deal $25.00 Retail $49.99

BtUfr

MaxxDaddy: 20 x 1.85 knobbyPro-Deal $7.50 Retai l $14.99

MaxxDaddy: 2O x 2.25 knobbyPro-Deal $8.00 Retai l $15.99

MaxxDaddyz 24 x 1.85 knobbyPro-Deal $8.50 Retai l $16.99

SfickWiffy: 20 x 1.75 semi-slickPro-Deal $8.00 Retail $15.99

SlickWilly: 20 x 2.00 semi-slickPro-Deal $8.00 Retail $15.99

For a limited time, Maxxis will be offeringse/ect tire models at Pro-Deal prices to dealer

employees and industry members! Thefollowing tires qualify for Pro-Deal purchase:

Call 800.4.MAXXIS, for Pro Dealconsiderat ion and the ul t imate t i res andtubes at Pro-Purchase prices. We accept:

Visa, MC, Am.Ex., Checks, and C.O.D.

Dealer Direct lnquiries invited.Call for a MaxxisAuthorized Representative in your area.

*Please be prepared to offer your business card or payrollstub, and work phone number for Pro-Deal consideration.

Pro-Deal prices available through July 31st, 1998.Ouantities are limited.

1 4 B I K E P U L S E

The UltraSpeed 1-Downhil l chainguide is a unique system of twoguide plates which sandwich thechainring, and two rollers toguide the chain and providetension. Both the inside plateand the outside plate rotatewith the chainring, while twosealed-bearing urethane rollersguide the chain both on and offthe chainring without addingunnecessary drag or friction,the company says.

andZl BAM and are available in medium and firm rates only.

the spring's rate and integrity. There is also an emphasis onstaying abreast with the latest suspension technology.

The rear coil springs are designed for optimumperformance with 20- to 3S-percent of of sag, Paris says.Springs are offered in 50 pound increments for differentstroke length shocks. The springs, made out of a chromesilicon, are typical lighter and better made than thecompetition, according to Paris.

New products are constantly in development, but Paris iscareful that, like the Speed Springs, they fulfill a realperformance function. "lf it doesn't improve the performance,we won't offer it," he says. 'We ride what we sell."

In 1997 Mountainspeed purchased MRP, whichmanufactured a chain retention device for downhill, crosscountry and BMX. "lt 's a nice balance for us, because a lotof people who purchase the springs also purchase the MRPdownhill stuff," he says.

MRP got OE spec for 1998, and is looking for morefor 1999. The MRP Chain Device was awarded a U.S.patent in March and has foreign patents pending,Parish says.

Sales are done directly to both distributors and dealers.There are some 50 SKUs in the line currently, "and we'reworking on new ones every day," Paris says. Among theproducts offered are a bottom bracket conversion kit, theSpeedLube drive train lubricant, SpeedCrease, a generalpurpose grease, as well as the MRP chain guide systemsand coi led spr ings.

For more information, contact Mountain Speed.Phone: (503) 497-9099, Fax: (503) 221 -7930. r

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I osh Paris was so dissatjsfied withI the performance of two $600

,#n'"lffi:il"".H1:.T'..something about it. Paris, who haddone everything from being an Alaskanfisherman, door-to-door salesman andowner of a T-shirt print shop, to startinga company with his wife that madejewelry from old birycle components,thought that the forks' performancecould be improved by designing betterreplacement springs. He and a partnerput their heads together and designed aset of coil spring+ then contacted a localcoil spring maker who manufacturedsome prototypes. The difference inhandling was remarkable, Paris says."It was everything we could do to keepour mouths shut for about three monthswhile we got together enough money tostart the company," he adds.

They took a thousand sets of springswith different rates to the Mammothbirycle race in 1995, their first saleseffort. "We made one small error," Joshsays. They had configured the springsfor the Manitou fork designs, but theywouldn't quite fit RockShox models."On the second day of the race, thedemand for RockShox springs was sohigh that we had to do the biggest no-no possible: we went out and bought agrinder," Paris says.

"We got pretty lucky, though," hecontinues. "We were only about one- totwo-millimeters off. We had to grinddown the first few coils so they wouldfit the shocks of all these racers whowere lining up to buy the product."(Later the company replaced most ofthose springs with a properly designedmodel at no charge.) "I'll never make amistake like that again," Parish adds.

At the end of the race, Paris wascompletely worn out from his (literally)grinding ordeal. Despite wearing a

Josh Paris developed Speed Springs because he was dissatisfied with theperformance of his forks.

NOVEMBER 1998 75

IIIIIIIIt

huge sombrero that he had traded a set of sprir-rgs for, hecame back badly sunbumed from working outdoors at thegrinding machine.

Neverthelest the two men knew they were on tosomething. The next weekend, they went to Big Bear. Bythat time, racers had already heard about the springsthrough word of mouth. They returned to Portland, theircar filled with orders.

Speed Springs remains MountainSpeed's main line;currently replacement springs are offered for all majorsuspension forks. "The line has expanded. I think we fitabout 95 percent of all shocks now," Paris says. He stressesthe company's commifment to aclvanced marrufacfuring: ituses heat treating, shot peening, pre-setting phosphate andpowder coating on all its coil springs. Eibach springs areused exclusively for manufacturing, he adds.

For example, MountainSpeed's combination of bare-metal spray phosphate treating and electrostatic powdercoating ensures maximum corrosion protection, Paris says.This is important in maintaining the spring's rate andintegrity. There is also an emphasis on staying abreast withthe latest suspension technology.

The rear coil springs are designed for optimum perfotmancewith 20 to 35 percent of sag Paris says. Springs are offered in 50pound increments for different stroke length shocks. Thesprings, made out of a chrome silicory are typically lighter trndbetter made than the competition, according to Paris.

New products are constantly in development, but Paris iscareful that, like the Speed Springs, they fulfill a realperformance function. "If it doesn't improve the performance,we won't offer it," he says. "We ride what we sell."

LnL997 MountainSpeed purchased MRI', whichmanufacfured a chain retention device for downhill, cross

The UltraSpeed 1-Downhil l chain guide is a unique system of two guide plateswhich sandwich the chainring, and two rol lers to guide the chain and providetension. Both the inside plate and the outside plate rotate with the chainring,while two sealed-bearing urethane rol lers guide the chain both on and off thechainring without adding unnecessary drag or fr ict ion, the company says.

MOUNTAIN BIKING

IIIIIIIII

76

The 21 SpeedBomb is a dual stagecoif repf ace for the Marzocchi 21Bomber. The main spring is designedto be dramatical ly st i f fer than any OEspring avai lable. This design f i ts Jr. T.,Mr .T ,21 andZ l BAM and are ava i l -able in medium and f irm rates only.

country and BMX. "lt's a nice balancefor us, because a lot of people whopurchase the springs also purchase theMRP downhill stuff," he says.

MRP got OE spec for 1998, and islooking for more for 7999. The MRPChain Device was awarded a U.S.patent in March and has foreign patentsn a n , l i r l o P r r i q c : r r cr - ' . " . , . t f , ^ * ' ^ - . ' . J . .

Sales are done directly to bothdistribubrs and dealers. There are some50 products in the line currently, "andwe're rt orking on new ones everv day,"Paris says. Among the products offeredare a bottom bracket conversion kit, theSpeed Lube drive trt.r in lubricant,SpeedGrease, a gcrreral purpose grease,as u'ell as the MRP ch.rin guicle systemsand coiled sprines.

"We bui ld tht 'best products wecan because we want to win," P;rr isadde'ci. "We bel ie'u'e the u,av to f inishfirst is to be the iastcst, becar-rsc speeclis everything." /vlB

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Indy'" $peedSprings.Al l models (C, XC, SL and LongTravel loo!)

. Progressive SpeedSprings

. Inslant Upgrader Awsome Feelo No Weight Penaltyr Very Active and Super Supple. Get the Performance that 's

in the Name!

SPEEDBOMBMarrocchi Bombers-Travel Upgrade Kilslncrease Travel From:Z2- 65mm to 75mm21- 100mm to 125mm

Goi l Spr ing Upgradefor Moto 120*. No St ic t ion, Super ior

Wheel Control. Consistent Compression

and Rebound. Easy to Tune. Get SPEED/

Also Available:SpeedShok- Cannondale Headshok*Mult iPro- Rock Shox*, RST*, Manitou EFC*3 Stage Spring System

SpeedY- High Performance Swingarm lor Trek Y*SpeedSpr ings- 25 Appl icat ionsSpeed-O-Rock Shox DH-0*

* ] *ng7 Judy-. Superior Performancer4 Diflerenl Rales.The Fastesl Springs on Farth.The Firsl and the Finest.Speed$prings

D ,1 2J :{ tCoil Spring Upgradesfor all 0DS* Syslems

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"Adding these to your ProFlex wil l givei t a r ide that can ' t be matched. . .Mounta inSpeed SpeedPro spr ings gel an A."

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3207 SW 1st Ave #215 Porl land, 0regon 97201 phone 503.497.9099 lax 503.221.7930

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llanltou FS"Spe49ldnga lulniff(tacls sx).id nor "lbr lh. nai 3urDonrlon w@3207 SW lst Ave #215 Poilland, 0regon 97201 phone 503.497.9099 far 503.221.7930

e'mail: [email protected] http://www.teleport.com/-mtnspeed Ask lor MountainSpeed products at your local dealer.

IHE gort sPnrtoAOVAI{TAGE vs.

MCUs, Air & Elastomers. Better lmpaclAbsorption

. More Activelconstant spring lorcel

. More Tunable

. More Usable Travel

. Ouicker Response

. ldeal wheel cont ro l

. Consistent Gompressionand Rebound

. Rel iabi l i ty

. Perfecl Spring Rates

. More EfficientSuspension

503.497.9099 fax 503.221.7930e-mail: [email protected]

http ://www,teleport.con|/- mtnspeedAsk lor Mountainsp€ed products

at yow local dealer.

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SpeedSpring rM

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Blockproof. Lightest Oual i ty SpringsAvai lable

. Highest Ride Oual i lyo The Most Applications. Phosphate and

Powdercoated. F1-approved Chrome-

Sil icon Al loy Wire. Competition TestedSuperior quality, precisionand accuracy over allbrands

@@@@€ Bicyctins Mar s6"The ultimate in suspension feel."

Mountain Bike Action Nov 95"Great springs...Worth the money."

Mountain Brke Action Nov 95"Simply put, we l iked'em. A lot."

Mountain Bike Jan/Feb 96

Travel

FullSpeedFlacerTravel conversionkit for all SpecializedFSR bikes

See all our new products for'99on our updated online store

ln i ir.mountainspeed.com

ffi(503)497-9099

srg /sag/ vb t to drmp orsettle from or as if from presure 2: to lose firmness or vigor

3: The amount a bicycle settks when a rider is aboard in a normally seated poeitftn.For rear suspension this amount slrould be 25 to 35 percent, frmt srspcnsim 15

25 percent oftotal suspensim travel."Suspension trefincd

Tho p.rtormancc ls undrnlablc &Th6y ar6 thc f lnr.t col l rprlngr.nyuhcrc. AG

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503.497.9099 fax 503.221.7930emai l mFp @ mountainspeed.com