XC Must Haves?

[ShiftFMX]

Well as some of you know, My first race is next weekend. What are some of the things that come into your head that I will need. I bought a CamelBak and some nice padded gloves. I also equipped the R with Engine Ice! Now, I dont have any hand guards, are these a must have? I was looking at pics from my local series and pretty much everyone has them!

[my88r]

deff handgruads tether cord and check the rules

[ShiftFMX]

Originally posted by my88r
tether cord

Also Bought that the other day as well

[Ruby Soho]

tear off goggles?

[Mxjunkie]

The basics are really just handguards, killswitch, nerfbars or heel guards, skids (specially swingarm) and if its muddy dont go overboard with taping like some.. The engine ice was a good idea! If it's muddy make sure you wear something to keep you dry but not something that's going to restrict your movement or make you hot as hell, Tear off's or roll offs are nice but you can do a xc race with a regular pair of goggles if thats all you have.

And just a tip, if its muddy try and keep your grips/gloves as clean as possible, nothing is worse then racing for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours with slippery grips, It's going to be hard without handguard's but just try and avoid huge puddles and take your time through creek crossings. :blah:

Other then that you should be set, you can run a stock quad but for me to race any XC I have to have nerf bars specially around my area, hitting a tree sideways kinda sucks without them :p

[ShiftFMX]

I am going to order Powermadds Monday. My Custom Backgrounds/numbers will be here wednesday. I will pick off tear offs this week as well.

Heres how she sits as of about 5 minutes ago...

Got my light taped up...

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k216/ShiftFMX/DSC02060.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k216/ShiftFMX/DSC02061.jpg

Think theres room for hand guards...?

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k216/ShiftFMX/DSC02062-2.jpg

[LeGaCyGiAnT124]

lol have fun with the cut fenders if its really muddy :D but yes you should be alright. If you plan on racing overtime you should invest in a steering stabilizer and some big handguards.

[nicker71]

Handgaurds are not must haves for me. Sure they look nice but really dont offer much of anything. The powermadds are small and will only protect a small amount of your hand. The only way they do much is with the extensions and the side mounts. This is all extra. ANd even with all this extra stuff you really are not protected much more than without them from mud and water.
I have them on mine and that just how I feel about them.

I just got into racing xc 2 years ago and I wish now The first thing I would have added was a steering dampener. It makes all huge difference. After the first year of racing C class with a mostly stock yfz, I started to have weird pains in my hand through my elbow. (doctor said carpaltunnel. Im only 25) And both of my wrist hurt all the time from being sprained. All of this from only 6 races. ( I hit alot of suff, rocks, trees, other people, etc..)

this year I added aftermarket suspension and flex bars with a denton steering dampener and what a difference it makes.
No more wrist problems or carpalltunnel symdrum.

Good luck and have fun!!

[mx428]

Laminated tear offs or a Roll off system.

i'd get a aluminum skid plate, that plastic one wont last

[Sjorge450R]

look into the lonestar setup for the swinger skids. I have it and its soo much better. The GC is amazing! I run powermadds with the MSR extensions if its muddy. My hands stay clean the entire time, but I could not run a race without roll-offs.

[Kendall33]

STEERING STABLIZER... I know its an expensive investment but it is definately worth it in every aspect in the long run...hand guards and skid plates are also two great things to have

[hetrick_racing9]

little tip if it gets muddy... put rubber latex gloves or watever kind you haveo n first the thin ones
and then put ur gloves on then
your hands dont get all dmap and feel like **** also if you get some double sided sticky tape and wrap it around your grips thick it will also help your grips to stick lastly ... take tie downs and space then apart evenly on your grips to fit inbetween your hands if its muddy so that the little bumps on the tie downs hold your hands on the grips better...

also if it is muddy and you dont have many tear offs get a old dirt lense or even cardboard and tape it to the top of your visor to make your visor longer that way if u do get roosted you can tilt your head down a little still seeb ut the visor will block a lot of dirt with the cardboard taped tightly too it

just a few easy and free ways to help you;) :D :p

But lastly you wanna stay clean ..... STAY OUT INFRONT :macho

[swampfoxsc]

One of the best things to have is goggles with rolloffs AND the tearoff system to put 3 or 4 tearoffs over the rolloffs. The tearoffs are great for the start and first lap before you even get to the rolloffs.

Make sure your gloves are tight. The more they move around, the more you have a chance at getting blisters.

Make sure your riding pants fit your waste pretty tight. Nothing worse than forgetting to tighten the buckle and having them start getting loose one mile into the race!

In addition to the above mentioned reasons to have them, handguards keep the levers from getting smashed into your fingers if you run through some limbs or vines. If you aren't running through limbs and vines, you aren't doing it right!

Steering stabilizer!

Some kind of knee guard. Your knees will take a pounding against the tank and/or have the skin rubbed off. Even a cheap pair of knee pads are better than nothing. A knee to the handlebars is downright horrendous to a guy like me with bad knees to begin with!

Spray everything with STP Sono***un or ArmourAll except for your seat, handlebars, pegs and tank. Dirt and mud will come off much easier and mud is less likely to stick under the fenders during the race.

Engine Ice works but you get much better service from Watter Wetter. Here's why. The EI is not compatable with regular antifreeze. A jug of EI is just enough to fill the radiator with little extra. One jug of EI costs about 3 times what one bottle of WW costs. You only use about 2 ounces of WW per gallon so a bottle of WW can be used for multiple radiator fillups without reusing the same fluid more than once. Even if you don't care about the huge savings in using WW, think about this. If you have a leak during a race or out on the trail, where are you gonna get EI? You can safely add water, antifreeze or a mixture of both to coolant with WW in it. Think about all of that!

[red2004 TRX450R]

the most important XC must have is a good set of lungs. if you cant jog for 2 hours then you are not going to have a fun time if you start out trying to win the race. if you cant jog for 2 hours then pace your self the first hour.
your first race just try to finish!!

i know my first race it would not have mattered if i had $50,000 in my quad i just plain wore my self out the first hour, but i did finish! I learned that you have to be in good shape, you have to have a drink system, you should not over dress, and you should start out at a slower pace than you think you should be going. its a long race don't race the other people race the track.

I have been trail riding for 20 years and i thought I seen every type of trail - wrong the people that set up XC tracks are twisted. they make a 500 foot trail into a 3000 foot trail with 68 turns through a log pile, under a tree, over a pond, across a hill, through a rock!!!

just go try it and you will figure out what you need.

I would have a good pair of boots and a chest protector.

[Flynbryan19]

The only thing I didn't see on your quad that I wouldn't run xc without is an aftermarket skid plate. Your stocker will last one race if your lucky. Handguards are more for roost and limb protection. You don't realy have to worry about clipping your bars on a quad. Your wheels will hit first. I'd buy an aftermarket skid WAY before handguards.

As the other fella said. Pace yourself. Its not a sprint race like mx and you'll get tired in a hurry. If you come up to a real difficult section pull over out of the way and wait for a second. Watch how the people go through it and find the best line. 10-15 seconds of watching the right way will easily save you 10-15 minutes of pulling your quad out of a nasty mud hole. :)

[parkers30]

Remember guys, he is from MI. The skids are not completely necessary up there, its very sandy most places you will ride. It always suprises me, but many of the XC racers do not run skids

[my88r]

Originally posted by parkers30
Remember guys, he is from MI. The skids are not completely necessary up there, its very sandy most places you will ride. It always suprises me, but many of the XC racers do not run skids

a deff. on a steering stabilizer then

[ShiftFMX]

No Skid plates Eh?? I just kept the Swinger Skid because it wasnt broke yet! :p

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k216/ShiftFMX/DSC02052.jpg

[ShiftFMX]

Originally posted by my88r
a deff. on a steering stabilizer then

Ordered an SRP today as well! :devil:

Well, I guess the only thing I have to worry about now is pacing myself. I'm nowhere near the best shape of my life. :(

[ZSK]

My best advice, before you order anything else, just run a race or two. You'll quickly learn what you might need or not need. Make sure your tether works and come out an have fun. I've got a blue YFZ 83B I'll be there on Saturday night.

[my88r]

Originally posted by ShiftFMX
Ordered an SRP today as well! :devil:

Well, I guess the only thing I have to worry about now is pacing myself. I'm nowhere near the best shape of my life. :(

just go out and finsh and dont worry about anything else even though that seems hard