ATV World / Duncan Racing Pont
De Vaux ATV Build
Baltimore, MD - This year marks the 20th anniversary
of the most prestigious international quad endurance
event, the 12 Hours of Pont de Vaux in southern France,
which will be held this weekend, August 18-20th. Since
my first PDV in 2004 in which my team finished 6th overall,
I have been determined to get on the podium. For 2006,
with the full support of Duncan Racing and ATV World
and a great team including Ricky Tordoff and Jason MacBeth,
I feel that we have the best chance as ever to earn
a spot on the Podium riding a Honda TRX450R. Even though
the odds are still against us considering a four stroke
ATV has never won the PDV as the Yamaha Banshee has
been the dominate machine for years, but it will only
be a matter of time before the four strokes rule the
roost at the PDV.
| |
| Brand
New 2006 Honda TRX450R still in the crate |
In pursuit of building a Podium worthy machine, my
mechanic, Jim Quesinberry, and I got an early start
on building our race machine, which started with a
brand new 2006 Honda TRX450R kick start model, we
picked up at the Motorcycle Factory Dealership in
Virginia. If you are serious about winning a 12 hour
event, there is no way around starting without a brand
new quad. The PDV is the equivalent of a 12 hour high
speed motocross race, so you can imagine the wear
and tear on a quad that has been ridden in the equivalent
of 20+ national motos with no service in between,
not even an oil change!
Once we arrived at Dirt First in Baltimore, MD, It
was time to the 450R out of the crate and begin the
race preparations. The first order of business is
to strip off anything that will not be used on the
finished race machine. This is where we just go to
town with battery impacts until there is nothing left
but a carcass of a quad. All the little bits that
will be needed to reassemble the quad are arranged
and kept on the side so we are not wasting time searching
for hardware during the rebuild.
|
|
| take
off parts arranged for re-assemble |
performance
add-on parts ready to bolt on |
| |
| Duncan
Racing provides the engine components for the
ATV World Teams |
I usually do the engine work first while the plastic
and other obstructions are out of the way. Duncan
Racing’s Loren Duncan does the porting and valve
work on all his customer's parts, and for the PDV
quad he ported a new cylinder head, installed shortened
valve guides and 1mm oversize valves. We are using
a Duncan race cam and spring kit with a 98mm JE piston
with 12.5:1 compression. This is basically the same
motor I run in my GNCC national quad, and it has proven
its reliability over the course of 9 races this season
with no work done to it other than routine valve clearance
adjustments. To increase the clutch life a Hinson
basket replaced the stock unit. A Vortex ignition
is installed to get some extra revs, which is vital
when trying to turn 15-36 gearing for maximum speed
on the high speed straight-aways. The jetting and
needle were changed in the stock carb, and we installed
a Pro Design filter kit with a K&N air filter
to get the maximum air flow volume to squeeze out
any extra horsepower. Of course, a FatBoy4 complete
exhaust is installed, and the quieter HQ silencer
is used to try to keep the sound below the super low
94db limit.
Once the engine is done, we start on the front end.
A Roll Design +3 Lobo A-arm set is installed, with
Elka Elite series long travel shocks. These are a
full 20" long, which is the same length as the
shocks on my XC Roll front end. Elka sets up the PDV
shocks very similar to motocross valving. We were
fortunate enough to get a pre-production Elka System
5 steering dampner, and installed it with a Roll Design
+1" steering stem. Duncan braided brake lines
and a Duncan front bumper complete the front end.
The rear swingarm we use is a 19" long Roll
Design arm with skidplate mounts and chain guide.
I prefer the 2005 450R rear shock linkage geometry,
and the Elka ProDual linkage is installed along with
their Elite series long travel shock. A Team Industries
Firestick axle is used with a Team Industries carrier
and anti-fade nut. The maximum width allowed at the
PDV is 51", so we run everything very wide. Chain
protection is mandatory, and I installed a PRM swingarm
skidplate that was cut to clear the shock linkage.
I made a rear bumper to give even more chain coverage.
The last thing I want is to fail tech inspection and
have to scramble around to make something work. A
Duncan braided brake line completes the rear of the
quad.
|
|
| Elka
Elite Long Travel Shocks paired with Roll Design
Lobo A-Arms |
Elka
Elite long travel rear shock and ProDual linkage
mounted to a Roll Design Swingarm |
For maximum comfort and safety I installed Roll/IMS
footpegs, nerfbars and heelguards. The Works Connection
billet clutch lever assembly with hot start is the
best out there, and adjusts very easily on the fly.
A pair of Renthal Fat Bars with Spider grips completes
the controls. The Cycra ProBend handguards are vital
in protecting the levers in case of a rollover, and
offer good protection against flying roost. The roost
is very bad at the PDV, and after the race I have
had bruises and welts on my arms and chest where the
my roost deflector didn't cover.
The lighting system I prefer is a Baja Designs 8"
HID unit. It bolts on easily, and uses all the stock
electrical components and wiring. It allows me to
retain the stock lights, in which I install high output
PIAA bulbs. I keep the stock headlight switch and
attach it to the back of the headlight frame. We start
the race without the headlight installed, and then
put it on at the last pitstop before it gets dark.
Installing the headlight take only seconds, and can
be done it conjunction with a refueling stop with
no extra time lost. The 8" bulb has a clear plastic
cover that keeps roost from damaging it.
This is what it takes to build a quad to finish the
PDV. You also have to remember that every part needs
to be inspected, tightened, torqued, loctited, and
double and triple checked to give the best chance
for a flawless race. This type of preparation gives
me that warm fuzzy feeling that the quad is put together
well, and all I need to concentrate on is riding it
to the best of my ability.
The quad is taken out for a break-in ride, and the
motor is taken through multiple heat cycles. After
riding the valves are checked and then all the fluids
are drained in preparation for shipping. The standard
crate which the TRX450R comes in from Honda is very
flimsy sheet metal, and isn't wide enough after installing
the mx axle and a-arms on the quad. We use a different
Honda crate from a Rubicon utility quad. This crate
is wide enough and is made of square steel tubing.
We pack all the spare parts in boxes and strap them
to the base of the crate, then cover the outside of
the crate with 1/4" plywood. Once the crate is
secure, it can be taken to the HazMat certification
shop, where it is checked for fluids and labeled for
the flight to Manchester, England. ATV World is a
shop in England similar to Nac's or Golden West Cycle.
They will receive the crate and unpackage it. They
will put wheels on it and transport it to the track
in France, where my mechanic Jim Q and I will meet
them and do any necessary detail work before tech
inspection. ATV World teams have won this race more
than any other shop, and the ATV World Banshee of
Doug Eichner and John Mitchell has won the last two
years. Hopefully this year my team will be able to
mix it up with the leaders and end up on the Podium,
and I once again look forward to sharing the experience
once I return from Home from France.
|
|
| Pont
De Vaux race ready Honda TRX450R ready to ship
to France |
Dissembled
and re-crated for the long trip over the Atlantic
Ocean to France |
In the meantime, you can follow the action on August
18-20, 2006 at www.pdvracing.com
ATVriders.com
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