Wanna quit racing!

[Stock 400 rider]

Man i feel horrible today and all this weekend I spent thinking of my "ATV LIFE". I just raced saturday morning and this is the deal:
I was the favorite and the best rider here in my city, i could say in the state!! But this race was going to be diferent cause all the riders of the country would race!!!I got 6th when I was supposed to win the race!!This wasn't the worst part, every rider that passed me was so Dam fast, all I could see was rocks every where hitting my plastics and headlight!!!This guys mess up my head and now I think I suck big time!!Every time I raced I was going like Shane Hit sad: I FEAR NO ONE!!!Not anymore!!!
And to complicate some more I don't have condition I mean physical. The race time rased 20 minutes and at the end I couldn't hold my quad and keep my hands on the bars. It was terrible, this feeling of wanting to gas but didn't have what it takes to do it, everybody passing me...I'm thinking serious of quiting cause I'm afraid of this guys with $10000 Raptors passing me all the time and I not having any conditions to get them
what should i do?
i suck

[killed300ex]

dont quite thats like surrendering and admiting you have no self confidence. I mean so what you loose if you still enjoy it do it. Just go get a membership to a gym and get in shape and ride you will find it better and it will make you faster. Also if they are faster than you i guess its time to sink some money money into the quad to get it faster. Dont stop racing if thats what you like to do
killed

[Stock 400 rider]

man that's why i like this site
u helped me a lot
and i know that this is what i have to do
quit will just sound bad for people that likes me

[BadA$$440]

Whats your name and what state do you live in?
If your the fastest and favorite one your state then we might have heard about you?

I take it you have a stock 400 ( from your name) Get some a-arm, shocks, axle, tires, engine work, etc and you should do good.

[MSL]

Winners never quit and quitters never win;)

[Nausty]

don't give up, we all can't win. If you want it that bad your gonna have to practice and train. Also if your racing try not to be nervous and try to be as smooth as you can as to not get arm pump or get tired. What class do you race.

[Stock 400 rider]

I live in Brazil, that's the reason why I don't wanna do some engine work, peolple here( don't know if it's true) say that this power kits to transform your 400 into a 415 or a 460 do some damage in your machine and reduce the life time of it. In other way, if I get this kit I'll be spending money all the time rebuilding it. Is that true or it's like a normal engine like a stock one?The only thing I know it's that I have to run with some kinda race gas

[Stock 400 rider]

nausty, here in brazil they make a terrible mistake
they separate the classes by the rider skills and not by the bike!
that's one big reason why i lost!!
my stock 400 runs against a prep raptor!

and just a question, what's your age?

[400grl]

That's OK - here in AZ they do the same thing - they don't split classes based on machine size - it's just rider ability. The ones who want to win bad enough will put their $$ into their quads to stay competitive....or they learn to ride a stock quad like no one else! :)

Don't worry about the engine thing - I am running a 440 in mine, and it's been incredible. I have raced it hard and haven't had a problem yet. Make sure whoever does your mods knows what they are doing, and keep the maintenance up. I change my oil about every two races (should do it every race) and check it constantly - I keep an ear out for any different sounds....clean and check your filter regulary....run race gas....just be smart about it. Know that your engine is going to take some serious TLC on the maintenance end and you should avoid alot of problems with it on the repair side. Make sure you get the right piston and cam for the job, too. Although - I'd spend my money on suspension before I did any motor work. You can't go much faster on stock shocks/a-arms even if you have a few more cc's......however, with some good suspension, you can tackle alot more with your stock motor. Just my .02.

as 2 pac once said, keep ya head up, here they seperate by ability, ....a 416 wont effect relaibilty much....i have a fmf pipe ...my only engine mod.....i race banshee, z 400, 250rs , some times soem have big bores, tons of motor mods suspension and so on, u need to get in shape and practice alot

if i can pull a start like this weighing 245 pounds on a stock motored 400ex so can u

sometimes i feel your pain:ermm:




thats me back of the pack with the green helmet:bandit:

[Stock 400 rider]

Hey I didn't knew that a arms and shocks were so important!!
so if this power kits are so good wich one should i get?
getting this i need to buy a new ignition system right?

[ROGERS]

I have been racing for about 10 months and for the first 4 months it was on a stock bike. I have a homemade pipe and a-arms and elkas now. That is it. After I got used to the riding style necessary to win (which is a little different from roadracing 2-wheelers) all it took was a lot of practice. I found that moving up a class to novice helped my skills more than racing with the other green beginers, b/c you have to ride much faster just to not get last place! Then I moved up to intermediate and got my butt kicked again. But now I have won a 1st in an arenacross and in a 7 race series (against built Raptors & R's, and Z's)

What I am trying to tell you is if you don't think you are fast enough, then get on it harder and longer and start to race with the fast guys. You will learn to beat them eventually. Sure, sixth place sucks, we have all been there. Just don't worry about it :( and do better next time and build on your experience!!!! :D You will win eventually.

Go get 'em
-Josh

[400grl]

A-arms and shocks are extremely important - along with a wider rear axle. Think about it - what makes it hard to go into a corner wide open in 3rd gear? You are going to flip over.......if you get wider (I'm +3 in the front and +4 in the back) then you can go through corners much faster and keep all 4 wheels on the ground while doing it. How about those great big potholes that appear in the middle of the track? On a stock quad, I had to slow down for those or I would wind up over the bars....with good shocks I just pin it and hold on....and I make it through. Whoops? I hate them, but with good shocks, I go through them much faster. Those big doubles or step-ups? On a stock quad I was limited on how high or far I could jump, simply because of what would happen when I landed - I'd get bounced off my seat and my quad would crow-hop....even on the softest settings. With nice shocks, I can even case jumps and still keep racing....I can get major air and not worry about getting bounced off anymore.......you gain all these benefits without ever having to touch your engine. If you do your engine work first.......you still have the same problems due to your stock suspension.

You don't have to change your ignition system if you do some light mods........just your piston, sleeve, gaskets, jetting, might as well port and polish it while you are in there......and get a new cam if you want, although I hear of people leaving it stock and it's fine.

[400exRacerX]

Never go into a race expecting to get first place. Because you wont preform your best. I go into a race with my mind focused on one thing at a time. Don't rush things always wait for the best line or best pass. And don't quit because you got in 6th. Doesn't it really suck when your in the back getting pelted by rocks and dirt?? Thats the stuff that pumps me up to get in front.

[Jay300ex]

400grl, you really know your facts , I give you a thumbs up!

Stock 400 rider,

I dont race or anything but I can re emphasize what 400grl said. If you do well on a stock machine then if you make a few simple mods to it then you will feel more comfortable keeping it wide open then before.

First off, what you want before all that power is to be able to control it, which means, of coarse, investing in new A-arms and axles, along with front and rear shocks. This is important and you can tell mostly because to get these mods, is very expensive usually lol.

After you get that down, you can start getting into motor mods. You dont really need to invest in a huge bore kit, rather you should think about getting the port polished and, a large caberetor, along with a better cam, rocker arms, ect. And when you get them, it almost, makes perfect sense to get a lighter, higher performance piston, raise your compression and run race fuel, keep it properly jetted and think about changing your gearing. there you go, race ready machine.


always keep up on your maintenance and such, listen to your machine, the machine is only as good as the person who rides it and who takes care of it.

Good luck!
Jay

[400grl]

Hey! Thanks Jay!! ;)

I know how frustrating it is-when i started racing in beginner, I was just happy not to get lapped. The more I raced, the faster I got....then I found myself sandbagging the beginner class. I got moved up, all cocky and used to the trophies. Now I'm in Novice and find myself midpack again - struggling to place in the top 3. It's frustrating, and my first race I was very disappointed in myself - I was just like you. I thought I sucked - felt like I had gotten slow all of a sudden.......but I was even more determined to better. I stepped it up a notch - I take alot more chances now, and I follow the faster riders as much as I can to learn their lines and see what they do. Roost sucks, and I get alot of it. But i know that I will master this class and move up again and the cycle will start all over. That's racing - you have to get beat to get better. :)

[oj250r]

man im bout ready to quit all together too..not because of a race or anything it is because i broke my quad the last time i rode it(Dec.)and i got a job and everything and i cant seem to get the money up to just get it running again.....it pisses me off every time i think about it cause i go to work for no ****in reason cause i cant even get my **** running again....my mom and step dad wont even help me like everyone elses parents help their kids...i got to fix it myself with a bull **** job the doesnt even pay enough to get it running again.....im bout to the point of sellin everything and just quiting quads all together.....

[Nausty]

Originally posted by Stock 400 rider
nausty, here in brazil they make a terrible mistake
they separate the classes by the rider skills and not by the bike!
that's one big reason why i lost!!
my stock 400 runs against a prep raptor!

and just a question, what's your age?

I'm 15, I raced a half a season in c class and I did pretty well but I had a lot of mechanical failures causing me to dnf which happened twice probably. Both times in first and another I did it in a heat and had to race the semi main which sucked. I won it easy and just showed off the whole time. I would of liked the see the 2nd place guy get the first place though cuz I shouldn't of been racing with them. Anyways its not all motor on holeshots either last year I got the holeshot almost every time and most of the time I didn't even have my aftermarket exhaust.

[400exBro]

ya this is my first year going into the Actually racing...

i am a little nervos and worried.. and i don t want to look like a jack *** out there either.... but the truth hurts someone has to get last...

the thing i concentrate is getting a good holeshot the rest falls into place... and having a good shocks setup.. tires, axles, and a arms are necassary...

one question what do you do before a race to get the nervous out of ya.... ???

and i hate when i jump the gate...:mad: pissed me off one time.. the 250r next to me start to go and i jump thinking the gates were going to drop and they didnt and i was like oh ****.. slamed on the breaks and just as i did that the gate drop came out last...

so keep your head up and don t pay attention to anything else but what is in front of you..

[Teufel]

Sounds like to me you have already Quit :eek2:

[forum]

hey bro. That mishap that happened to you is a technic i use all the time to try and screw up the guy beside me. Its never worked as well as you explained. But yea. you gotta totaly forget the people beside you. the bigest thing is to just relax and tell yourself its all for fun. but when your going for a good holeshot its all in body position. Anyone can hamer the gas and switch gears but the best guy out there knows that you wants to be on the verge of wheelying or slightly wheeling for the first straight. that means you got maximuim traction

[QuadTrix6]

try and remember why you race.....to have fun, and then you might start to place better if you focus on your riding and not everyone elses,...just work harder and ride harder...but don't quit

[Nausty]

Originally posted by 400exBro

one question what do you do before a race to get the nervous out of ya.... ???





lol, is how I get the pre race jitters out of me is just by stretching while waiting at the gate and pumping myself up telling myself i'm gonna do good and getting in to the "no fear" mode. I pop my knuckles, flex my muscles just to loosen up and relize how much tougher and in better shape then half the people at the gates.

Holeshot help? lol, those are my favorite. Right when the the lights start flashing I got my clutch just barely grabbing so i'm just moving inch by inch closer to the gate and that way I can let it out smoother out of the start to slowly put on the power to keep traction and not wheelie. Also the truth is its not how quick you can shift or how much power you have to a point but most of it is just technique. I start out a in the front/neutral and in 2nd gear and gradually move my body back and get as low as possible. And by the time i'm in the middle of third I'm so far back and so low I can't even touch the brakes or shifter and most of the time I never enter 4th.


Also the best places to make up time is in the turns, beleive me if you can get through that corner at a higher rate of speed that means your exiting out of faster, braking later and keeping your momentem up. Another tip is to be as smooth as possible and learn to use the track to gain speed just by just using your body. Like for instance bmxer's they use obsycles(spel?) to gain speed like a whoop. They would lift there front end up and put it on the back side and push down and as the rear wheel is about to go down the back slope of the whoop they move their body back to gain even more speed down the whoop.

lol, just my bits of information that i've learned through my couple years of riding. I hope some of its useful to some of you.

[400exRacerX]

What Nausty said about just barely having your clutch grabbing is the way your supposed to wait when the gate is about to drop. I like to apply alittle bit of the front brake to keep me from rolling too much.

BUT just remember one thing, when you set your bike at the gate make sure you set it a couple inches back so when the gate drops you dont get caught under it.

[Jay300ex]

Well guys, I have never raced quads, but you know I really really like to just go to the track and ride through it with a rhythm you know. I have a pretty much stock ride and like 3 times during the summer last year I went to the local track where there were people practicing, they had the gate droping and they were pretty much racing. So I decided to jump in on a few of them, I let everyone else get ahead of me because I didnt want to get in the way of the people who were seriously into the race, so I was far back, getting used to the roosts lol, and I was just having fun going for the best lines, hitting the jumps and clearing them smoothly and gassing it with good speed off the landings. But one thing I learned from racing BMX and MX on the bikes is that if you are lining up for a jump and you know the jump, where to hit it, how to land, you can do what Nausty said, and the term I like to use is 'pumping'. Its not as effective with 4 wheels cause you have to concentrate on keeping it under control, but it IS very effective, and I had found myself actually passing people, and I found that really, I wasnt a very bad racer, it only takes practice. And with a stock machine, I gained confedence in myself on the track. But I like XC more than MX for quads, but the only scrambles here around my area they make us start with our left hands on the back of our helmets, blah. hehe.

Jay

[zzbudzz]

seperate by riders skill!not in my district (13 ) atv 2 stroke and 4 stroke thats it ! the guy that won every moto run pro at nationals .last year was my first year racing with a stock 400 i came in 3rd -5th -7th -10th overall in the 4 races i was in. h*ll, they let the 2 strokes out first about a 1/3 lap head start and I passed a few of them?! (MUST OF HAD SOME PROBLEMS ) but i had tons of fun thats what counts ...right!

[zzbudzz]

oh , i forgot ..on top of all that other crying i did .they never spell my name right!:mad:

[Nausty]

you think thats bad, I won a heat race and led every lap of the race and they missed my number at the end or something and they ranked me as last. I was so mad because I about didn't even check because I was for sure I was gonna be in the main. Sure enough tho they kept track of the laps before and I was in the lead the whole race and they just missed my number the last lap.

[Davids440ex]

I have felt like quiting to but i can't thses last month has been all down hill for me.

It started off like this about a month ago i did quad wars real fun riding with the people cheering for you. but anyways i did there laps and my wb rev box went out. the day after was a sunday and i fixed my bike to race on sunday. well when i got to the track the sunday, we were first practice, and i guess some people in your class like to roll the jumps durin pracice, not me. Well i landed on some guy. flip a couple of times, when i got up i walk over to my bike and i snaped both ball joints on my a-arms(left side). Lucky me i lived 10 mins. from the track, so i drove home real fast and got my stock a-arms. took about two hours and a lot of hammering, to put them on. so in the first moto, i was in first, and there was a little up hill double right before i took off some guy rear ended me, sent me flying off my quad agin.
ever sence that point my mind hasnt been 100% on racing.

Then 2 weeks later i was passing for second, and us quads got screwed agin, so we had back to back moto's. Me and my bike both can't do that. so are second moto, last lap i let off right befor a tabletop and landed a bit to far on the front wheels. snaping another left side ball joint, it sent me flying off my quad agin. well i got up cut half of the corse and still went over the start finish line to finish the race.

sence those last couple of races i have lost some of my confindence.

well last sunday the quads were the 28th moto out of 2 biggest turn out ever. so we went trail riding. on the way back i hit a rock and put a gash in the side one of my holeshots. we tires every thing ti try to get it to hold air, nothing work, so i went to the starting line with a flat tire, thank god for beadlocks, so i let some air out of the other side to make it a little even. well when the race started it was a challenge to keep my bike under controll.

that race was the first time i had fun racing in the last couple of months.

:)

I;m just glad to share this with you guys because i almost wanted to stop racing. but now my confindence is back up. and i want to race agin.

[Stock 400 rider]

that's right man this forum is the best thing ever!!it's so good to hear good things that make you want to race again!
thanks everybody!!
i'll do my best!
every month we have a race here
i'll let u know the results
thanks again!
specially 400 grl!!!
i would like to see a pic of u!
ps how old are u?

[deerman]

sissy boy :rolleyes2

[QuadTrix6]

Originally posted by Stock 400 rider
that's right man this forum is the best thing ever!!it's so good to hear good things that make you want to race again!
thanks everybody!!
i'll do my best!
every month we have a race here
i'll let u know the results
thanks again!
specially 400 grl!!!
i would like to see a pic of u!
ps how old are u?

settle down there buddy ;) ...jp good luck man

[MxDale71]

Classes should always be split by rider skill. It doesn't matter how powerful your motor is. I'm willing to bet that a stock 300ex w/ +3 a-arms, shocks, wheels, MX tires, and a axle will give a 727 Raptor w/ stock a-arms, axle, shocks, tires, etc a good race with equally skilled riders. Anybody can hit a jump, but races are won in the corners.

[400EXrider#91]

don't quit...keep your head up and haul arse!

[Mxbubs]

It seems you lacked SA. SA means "Situational Awareness". When you pulled up to the line, you should have been prepared, mentally and physically of WHATEVER might happen in the race. You need to be prepared for whatever unplanned, unexpected situation you may or may not end up in. You need to prepare yourself, know that you are fast, but if for some reason you get dead last, know what you are going to do to fight back, and know how to stay composed mentally even if you come in dead last. When I pull up to the line, I am prepared mentally and physically to confront any problems I may run into while racing. What are you going to do if you over jump that double? Short the double? What if you lose your brakes? What if you run thru a turn? What if a UFO lands on the track.

Be Prepared, Be Aware. Situational Awareness.

[Jay300ex]

There you go!

[400exBro]

mxbubs i thought i was the only that had a ufo land on the track... man i thought i was seeing things that day...:eek2: :rolleyes:

and that brings me to my next point don t do drugs...:huh

[Mxbubs]

Sure it wasnt just mud on your goggles?

[400grl]

It was probably one of those little mud dingleberries that levitates inside your goggles when you are on a jump.......

[MxDale71]

I hate when UFO's land on the track. Nobody else sees them but I do and thats what always slows me down ;) :D. I swear, it's not my riding, it's the UFO's :eek2: .

To be honest, I've decided to start riding smart and not really caring. The not caring part might sound bad, but just hear me out. I care about quad racing A LOT, I care about going fast, but I don't care about what place I get. As in, I don't get all worked up and p!ssed off if I get stuck way back in the pack. Ofcourse I want to do good in the race, but I'm not going to try so hard that I'll try to jump over someone rolling a double that I usually jump or take some big risk like that. Quite honestly, that has made me a faster rider. I just let the person infront of me know I'm there and constantly put pressure on him. I also like to put pressure on people in corners by getting right up on them on their inside for a few corners and then when we come up to a corner that's easier to pass on, he'll expect me to be on his inside and then I'll go around him on the outside (Sometimes I switch that around... i.e. pressuring him on the outside and then making the pass on the inside later on). Most everyone here is an amature racer and will fall for some kind of move like that.

I guess instead of saying I don't care, I could have said I'm more patient (sp?). Besides, who would want to absolutely dominate the class and just leave everyone behind? I pay to race, so thats what I plan on doing when I go out there. It's a lot more fun when you're battling with someone than when you leave everyone behind.

[newjacksm]

keep racing do some work to your quad and if you came in 6th on a stock 400ex and you say your that good andyou raced 10000 raptors thats pretty good i think

[Nausty]

yah somone said it right, not everyone can get 1st and there always has to be somone in the back. Just try to be competitive and have fun.

[Moded86R]

I hear what you are saying.I was the best rider in my school.(not to brag but I was)Also the best rider out of any of my freinds.I was a 14 year old kid on a moded 250r kicking the crap out of everyone lap after lap.

That is when my dad decided it is time to see what I can really do.I entered me first race.At the time I just had a pipe,nerfs,and wheels and tires.The suspension was stock.I entered it and believe I got a dnf the first moto.and 2nd to last the second moto.Well we figured it was the stock suspension.So I got some jd performance +1 +2 A-arms.So me white bro's white power shocks with piggy back res's that are fully adjustable.And a durablue axle.And new holeshots all the way around.My next race I was way faster still not as fast as the other guys.Now that I look back on it.I had alot more fun the second time around then the first.


Now it is 2 years later.My dad's gone.My R is broke.And I am trying to fix a 300ex to be competive in the woods.So I can try my hand at hare scrambles.One day I will ride my R again.One day I will race mx again.