Trail Ride with Mika Metals Handlebars

Yesterday, I had the chance to go on a trail ride with my buddy in Delaware.  After spending the past couple of weeks tearing a part my bike and going through everything, the bike was finally ready for a nice trail ride.  One of the biggest changes for this year was running a new line of handlebars, chains, and sprockets by Mika Metals.  Yesterday, I tried out my Mika Metals 1 1/8" handlebars which are made from an aircraft aluminum.  I chose to go with the CR low bend this year because I have been told by multiple knowledgeable riders that the lower bend will help keep my weight over the center of the handlebars and help with turning.  Last year, I ran the Renthal RC/ Mini handlebars which are extremely tall but come not as wide so you don't have to cut them down.  On my Mika Metals handlebars, I cut 0.75" off of each side which is the most you can take off of them in order to have room for your controls.  With these handlebars, I am also running the Torc 1 Racing enduro grips with their grip donuts.  My friend and I went out to the farm and made a nice 1 mile loop that had perfect sandy dirt that provided great traction.  After breaking in this loop, I was very impressed with the way the Mika Metals handlebars felt.  They enabled me to get my elbows up in the corners and provided me with nice cornering.  At first, I was over-steering in some of the corners but then got a hang of the way these handlebars were working.  They seem extremely strong and I am excited to use them for the rest of the year.

I can't tell you how much of a blast it was to ride yesterday.  I am looking forward to a strong year in 2012.  I am confident in my equipment and I feel that I have the best support so far from my sponsors.  Next time, I will be trying the Mika Metals sprockets and chain.  Stay tuned for more updates!

New Sponsor: Mika Metals

I am proud to annouce that I have picked up a new sponsor called Mika Metals.  After being sponsored by DT-1 filters last year for the first time, I went back to them this year for more support because I was very impressed with their high quality products.  Paul Temmerman at DT-1 filters informed me of their new line of handlebars, chains, and sprockets under the new name, Mika Metals.  I took this opportunity to build my relationship with DT-1 Filters and Mika Metals, and I am excited to have them on board for 2012.  I just ordered my new sprockets, chains, and handlebars so I am excited to try them out over Christmas Break.  I will add more pictures of their products once I have them.

New Sponsor: MotoFIT

With the help of a close friend and ECEA AA rider, Bill Baker, I have now teamed up with MotoFIT.  With the help of Mike Omahony from MotoFIT, I look forward to progressing my racing in 2012 in both the ECEA Enduro and Hare Scramble series.  MotoFIT will be my source for KTM parts, information on the best set-ups, and bike help when I am ready to get a new KTM.  By executing my part at MotoFIT, I hope to bring their shop more business and show that they are dedicated to racers.  With this key support behind me, I am looking forward to the 2012 season!

The Off-Season Begins

With the start of my sophomore year of college, things have only gotten more hectic with my racing.  Since the start of college back in August, I seem to have been sick half of the days at school.  For some reason, I have caught every cold and flu going around at school.  Additionally, school has been extremely busy with lots of hours spent reading textbooks, doing sample exam problems, and watching podcasts.  Unfortunately, I was unable to make it to the last two enduros with my hectic schedule.  However, I am looking forward to a strong season next year.  

As of now, I have sent out most of my resumes and I am waiting to hear back from a few companies right now.  With the start of a new season, I have made one change so far which is buying a pass to our great training facility at Penn State.  I will spend an hour or two at the gym everyday in order to build my cardio for the upcoming season.  In addition to working on making my body stronger for next year, I will also focus on riding more in the off-season.  Most winters I have been unable to train or ride much, but this year I am going to try to go south a couple times in order to ride and I will try to get to Blue Diamond MX park as much as possible.  In addition to this, I have worked harder in trying to build relationships with sponsors for 2012.  Soon, I will release all the sponsors for 2012 once I have everything figured out.  Until then, keep riding and have fun!

ECEA Round 16: RRMC Enduro

Race Report: ECEA Round 16: RRMC Enduro

WER Rider: Zack Huberty

Bike: KTM 200 XC

Result: A-200 3^rd

Point Standings: 3^rd

^{(Photo Credit: Kevin Novello)}

Before the Race:

            It has been a while since my last race report.  Since then, I have started my sophomore year at Penn State Main Campus.  The semester has been a lot harder than I have expected.  All of my free time has been spent doing homework or studying for an upcoming exam.  This has been my first real break where I have been able to write.  Additionally, I have come to the conclusion recently that I haven’t been having as much fun racing as I used to.  Not sure if it has to do with the difficulty of getting to and from races while in college, or that I am putting too much pressure on myself to win.  But, at the end of the day, there is nothing like to desire to ride and race on the weekends!  I am hoping to figure out ways to make it easier to get to the races next year so that I can raise that level of fun I was used to.  

Report:

                After two cancelled enduros due to rain and my club’s race, I was pretty pumped to race.  Leading up to the RRMC enduro, it rained, rained, rained, and rained some more.  My dad, sister, and I drove up to New York Saturday night and we were greeted by rain the whole drive up.  We slept through the rain and woke up to it as well.  I woke up Sunday to the temperatures in the low 40s and a muddy day ahead of me.

                With new tread, mud guards, and a desire to ride, I lined up at the starting line.  I was looking forward to riding in the sloppy mud as it tends to always be a race of human and bike survival.  5 4 3 2 1 go! And I took a slow start as my wheels spun on the slippery ground.  I gained speed and shot down the straight-away and lost control at the first dip, which sent me sliding (stupid me).  As I was sliding, I pulled in the clutch and was able to get back upright without losing much time.  The first section of the day consisted of 7.5 miles of their hare scramble track.  It had a lot of grass track which was tricky since it was hard to find traction on it.  Once in the woods, we rode through tricky areas with slimy roots, run-off water that formed into rivers, and big mud holes.  The first section went pretty flawlessly for me as I made my way through the woods without getting stuck and used good throttle control in order to get as much traction as possible.  I liked the challenge of trying to keep the bike hooking up in the fields and being on the verge of sliding out but keeping it together.

                After an 8 minute break, we headed across a deep stream and up an ATV trail into the heart of the woods.  Water was flowing down the mountain from all angles and everything was as slick as ice.  Once we got towards the top of the mountain, the woods started to tack up and I was able to get more traction than I thought.  I felt good and confident.  I rode smart which was my goal.  At the end of the section, we had to go down a hill which was very slippery.  My bike almost slid down the side of the hill so I had to carefully maneuver my way down the mountain to the check.  By the end of the check, I was ready for a new pair of gloves and decided to go without goggles for the rest of the day.  After the club sent us through a couple more deep streams (3 feet deep in some areas), muddy fields, and a lot of blacktop, we got to the first gas stop of the day.

                At the gas stop, my dad worked on my bike by getting all of the mud off of it.  Usually my dad races with me, but this weekend we had to bring to my youngest sister along so he couldn’t.  It was nice having him at the gas stop because he was able to get my camelback re-filled, tighten my chain, and get all of the mud off the bike.  It was a big help.  After the gas stop, we had three more sections before the end of the race.  In the 3^rd section, I got off to a great start and was following AA rider, Jarod Kulp, and I felt comfortable with his pace.  He would pull away a little in areas but I was able to reel him back in.  After 2 miles, he started to pull away and before I knew it, we were both stuck on a bank.  I tried to get up the one side but fell into the creek with my bike.  After struggling for 5 minutes or so, I got up the bank and was exhausted.  I knew I wasted my chance for having a good day.  I was frustrated coming out of the section as I knew I had made one mistake.  In the A class, the winner is the fasted rider but also the rider who makes the least mistakes.

                I went into the 4^th section determined to ride smart and make-up time but I got stuck on a steep uphill that was covered with slick rock.  I struggled to get up the bank and eventually made it after falling a couple times.  My energy was shot and I just tried to minimize my errors while tired.  I came out of the 2^nd to last section feeling defeated as I knew my day was done.  As I rested, I remembered my goal going into the day, and it was to have fun.  I started the last section of the day making sure I finished the race on a good note, and that was enjoying what I do. And that is riding/racing.  The last section of the day was on a part of the course that we had already ridden earlier in the day.  I was able to zero this section which I was happy with.

                At the end of the day, I was able to end up with 3^rd which was 6 points off of 1^st.  I felt as if I had the speed to win, but my two mistakes cost the win for the day.  I will re-group and try to come into the next race even stronger.  I will be switching things up next race by racing the NEOC Series and trying to win a couple dollars with their A pay-out.  Until the next race report, I will be putting in the work and wrenching on bikes (although the majority of my time is spent sitting at my desk doing homework).

            Once again, I could not have done all of this without the support of my family, especially my dad for his race support, as well as my sponsors which are Johnny Limp at Torc1Racing, Drew Smith at WER Suspension, PowerSeal USA, FMF, BRP, EKS Brand Goggles, P3, All Balls Racing, Galfer USA, Sixsixone, Kenda, N-Style, Vertex Pistons, AXO, DT-1 Filters, AP Brakes, Motorex, Acerbis, Matto Cycle, MotoConcepts, Renthal, Clockwork KTM, and Topar Racing.

For more information:

Check WER Suspension out at Facebook “Works Enduro Rider (WER)”

Check Zack Huberty out at Facebook “Zack’s Racing”

Check-out Zack Huberty at http://zackhuberty323racing.blogspot.com/

Trail Rider Magazine Clock Run Enduro Article

Check out pages 27 and 28 of this month's Trail Rider Magazine for the article I wrote... Get your subscription today at trailrider.com!

ECEA Round 10: Foggy Moutain Breakdown

(Pictures courtesy of Erin Lyn Photography)

Race Report: ECEA Round 10: SORR Foggy Mountain Enduro

WER Rider: Zack Huberty

Bike: KTM 200 XC

Result: A-200 2^nd

Point Standings: 3^rd

Before the Race:

            Prior to the Foggy Mountain Enduro, I spent more time than usual on building my endurance.  Swimming at the pool and small runs helped build my endurance.  I also recently got a membership to blue diamond but I haven’t been there recently with the excessive heat.  After Foggy Mountain, I did our routine maintenance on my bike and got everything ready for Foggy Mountain.

Report:

            I spent most of my Friday night double-checking everything on my bike.  Sunday morning, I got up early to make some changes to my skid plate which was somehow denting the back of my pipe, and my dad shaped up a new hand guard.  Around 4, we headed up to Foggy Mountain which was a two and a half hour drive.  Once there, I got all of the enduro information programmed on the bike and settled in for bed.

            Sunday morning, I got up early and was feeling good.  I was looking forward to a fun day of riding.  I had a small mishap before going to the starting line because I forgot to turn my gas on when warming up my bike.  The bike sputtered out so my first assumption was a fouled plug which was not the case.  After turning the gas on, I rolled up to the starting line.  After taking off, I realized that it would be a very dusty race and that passing would be difficult.

            After a short ride, we headed into the first section of the day.  This section consisted of grass track, woods trail, and some rock gardens.  I was surprisingly feeling good and confident, and I was able to keep with a rider on my row who normally easily beats me.  I was able to follow the rider in front of me the whole section but the dust was so bad that I could not pass.  Another problem with the section was that the arrowing was bad and this resulted in me missing a few turns.  After the section, I found out that I was one point off of the leader’s pace.  We then headed to the next section of the day where I was able to ride smoothly with the 3^rd fastest time for my class.  I was feeling great with little fatigue after the section.  My suspension was working great as well.

            We then had to ride a ten mile transfer section which was overgrown with vines and weeds.  I started to get in a rush as I saw that I was starting to get behind.  While riding between a log that had a slot cut out of it, I snapped my right side foot peg off.  I looked down and nothing was there at all except the pin.  I ran back down the trail and picked up the peg.  At the next reset, I took a bunch of zip ties and tried to attach the foot peg back on in some sort of way in order to create a platform.  Unfortunately, we had two sections to ride which scared me.  One mile into the third section, the foot peg snapped off the zip ties.  For that section and the next, I had to ride without the foot peg.  Riding without the right foot peg is a lot harder than it seems.  I was not able to stand and I could not weight the right peg in corners.  It left me uncomfortable and I had to hold up my leg for a full 9 miles of racing which is a difficult task.  In the fourth section, I was not feeling very comfortable as the trail opened up.  I wanted to keep a good pace in order to minimize damage, but I had my worst crash to this date.  I was going down a rocky ATV trail when my rear end kicked up throwing me into an eight foot fence.  I went face first into the fence which knocked the lense out of my goggle.  I got up stunned and finished the section.  After the section, I noticed that the rear end was a little crooked from a broken fender.

            At the gas stop, I was able to run into my dad who offered to give me his foot peg off of his bike.  I had found a friend who had an extra one but it was in his truck down the rode.  I did not want to risk the chance that there would be another section in between that and his truck, so I took my dads.  I am so thankful that my dad gave me his.  In the last two sections of the day, I was able to put in two solid times.  Even though I lost 3 points to Pete Wright (leader), I felt good and comfortable.  I was mentally exhausted from the bike problems.  When you have something break, all you can think about is finishing the race and the effect it will have on your points.

            At the end of the day, I was surprised to see that I placed 2^nd and around 40^th overall.  I am glad that I was able to make up more points on 3^rd place but that is not where I want to be overall.  I dropped a 28 on the day, but without the footpeg problems, I think I could have dropped a 24-25.  As we head into the next race, I hope to practice some more and make more adjustments to my bike.  I look forward to writing about the BER National Enduro.

            Once again, I could not have done all of this without the support of my family, especially my dad for his race support, as well as my sponsors which are Johnny Limp at Torc1Racing, Drew Smith at WER Suspension, PowerSeal USA, FMF, BRP, EKS Brand Goggles, P3, All Balls Racing, Galfer USA, Sixsixone, Kenda, N-Style, Vertex Pistons, AXO, DT-1 Filters, AP Brakes, Motorex, Acerbis, Matto Cycle, MotoConcepts, Renthal, Clockwork KTM, and Topar Racing.

For more information:

Check WER Suspension out at Facebook “Works Enduro Rider (WER)”

Check Zack Huberty out at Facebook “Zack’s Racing”

Check-out Zack Huberty at http://zackhuberty323racing.blogspot.com/

ECEA Round 8: HMDR Shotgun Enduro



This skidplate took a lot of abuse but saved my engine case and frame. Thanks BRP!



Race Report: ECEA Round 8: HMDR Shotgun Enduro

WER Rider: Zack Huberty

Bike: KTM 200 XC

Result: A-200 3^rd 

Point Standings: 4^th

Before the Race: 

            Prior to the enduro, I spent a lot of time getting my bike better set-up for the rocks.  After the RORR Enduro, I had a good half hour phone call with Drew Smith at WER Suspension and he gave me a list of possible set-ups and changes to try to get the bike to better handle in the rocks.  His main focus was re-distributing the weight on the bike instead of stiffening the front or rear.  With this list of suspension suggestions, I headed up to our club’s enduro location to dial in my suspension.  In the morning, I attended a club ride with a couple other club members.  After the morning trail ride, I went back out by myself to get a better feel for the bike.  This riding was perfect practice for the enduro because the HMDR enduro uses the other side of the mountain.  At the end of the day, I felt a lot more comfortable in the rocks and I felt ready for the HMDR enduro.

Report:

            The 8^th round of the ECEA Enduro Series brought riders to the mountains of Delano, PA where the HMDR crew promised a better ride than last year.  I headed up to the race alone early Sunday morning prepared for a tough one.  My dad opted to not go because of how tough the race was last year.  After signing up, I headed to the starting line.  The start of the race began with a nice warm-up section that included woods trail and a small grass track.  The first section was the same as last year and ended with an emergency check which all 4 of the riders on our row were able to get a 0-0 which is rare in the ECEA Enduro Series.  The next section of the day was the least rough of the day and the most fun of them all.  It consisted of creek crossings, roots, and some muddy spots.  This section however is a gamble for most riders.  Like last year, the section turned out to be only a check-out which left those daring riders with scores better than the AA riders.  If there is one thing I have learned, it is better to be safe than sorry.  My line headed into the section a minute early as we creeped through until we were not early anymore.  We soon realized that we would have to push hard as there was only a check-out.  I was able to ride smoothly through here and my Kenda Triple hooked up great.

            The race only got more technical and tricky as we continued on through the day.  We rode through very rough sections with high weeds and shrubbery that left it almost impossible to see what was around the next corner.  The trails were wet, slimy in places, and the rocks were big.  This area was a lot more bony than what I rode on my club’s trails.  These technical sections left my arms burning, but I held on strong until the end of the sections.  I was able to ride well through these, but it was in no way a good ride.  One of the dangerous parts of the day was a creek crossing that left me tank deep in water and mud.  Luckily, my DT-1 triple layer filter kept all of the water and mud from getting into my carb.   The sections only got tougher throughout the day as the rocks were relentless.  This was definitely one of the tougher ones and I regret not trying a trials tire for it.  My Kenda Tires kept me hooked up all day but the trials tire seemed to do the unthinkable for riders. 

            At the start control to the final A/AA section, I put my head on my handlebars as I struggled with exhaustion.  I was just tired and I had enough of the rocks.  The last section of the day consisted of lots of boulders, a stump field, and some off-camber trails through the woods.  I made my way through the first 2-3 miles of the section with minimal problems.  I got to one boulder section where I tried to get across the tops of the rocks only to get stuck on a boulder.  The bike just stood off the ground as the boulder acted like a MotoConcepts bike stand underneath my skid plate.  After getting unstuck, I continued down the trail.  I was then faced with another obstacle which was a wall of a rock that angled towards a tree.  We were forced to go between the rock and tree which was sketchy.  With some help from a club member, I made it through but the rock broke/bent my rotor guard into my rotor which bent my rotor (I discovered this later).  The final obstacle of the day was a mammoth of a hill where riders were just waiting at the bottom.  I took my turn and struggled to get up the hill as my bike started to steam and club members helped push me up.  I became so tired that a father of my buddy helped get my bike over the peak of the hill. From there on, I was in survival mode to the finish.

            At the end of the day, I was surprised to see that I had placed 3^rd place and I was happy that I lost by less than the previous race to the first place finisher.  When I looked at the score cards, it was obvious that I had lost to second place because of my mishaps in the final section.  I am happy this is the last tough rock ride of the year, and I am looking forward to the other ones to come.  I am hoping to put in more solid rides and close in on the first place rider at each race.  I will be doctoring up my bike this week as it needs a new rotor, rotor guard, and pipe… Ouch….. my wallet hurts.

            Once again, I could not have done all of this without the support of my family, especially my dad for his race support, as well as my sponsors which are Johnny Limp at Torc1Racing, Drew Smith at WER Suspension, PowerSeal USA, FMF, BRP, EKS Brand Goggles, P3, All Balls Racing, Galfer USA, Sixsixone, Kenda, N-Style, Vertex Pistons, AXO, DT-1 Filters, AP Brakes, Motorex, Acerbis, Matto Cycle, MotoConcepts, Renthal, Clockwork KTM, and Topar Racing. 

For more information:

Check WER Suspension out at Facebook “Works Enduro Rider (WER)”

Check Zack Huberty out at Facebook “Zack’s Racing”

Check-out Zack Huberty at http://zackhuberty323racing.blogspot.com/

ECEA Round 7: RORR Enduro

Kenda Triple, great tire!

Race Report: ECEA Round 7: RORR Enduro

WER Rider: Zack Huberty

Bike: KTM 200 XC

Result: A-200 5^th  

Point Standings: 5^th

Report:

            The 7^th round of the ECEA Enduro Series brought riders to the coal mines of Tamaqua, PA.  With new Kenda Triples on the bike, I was ready to tackle the rocky terrain; however, I was a little nervous about riding in the rocks for the first time this year.  With the forecast calling for a day in the mid-90’s, I knew it would be a long day.  After getting all of my gear on and warming up the bike, I headed to the starting line.

            The first section of the day was a great warm-up piece for me, but I struggled to ride smooth and fast.  I was about a minute off the pace through this 4 mile section that consisted of some woods trail, off-camber trail, and rocky hill climbs.  We then headed into the next section where I was once again off the pace of the other riders in my class.  I just couldn’t get into a groove nor was I was feeling comfortable.  One of the problems was that I had gotten so used to using my front brake in the sand, and using the front brake the same way in the rocks just put me on the ground. 

            By the middle of the race, my day started to go down-hill.  My physical fitness was not there and I was riding horrible.  I ended up getting stuck on the side of a ridge where I used all of my energy to get up the hill in order to not risk sliding down the ridge into a creek.  After this disaster of a section for me, I tried to gather my bearings.  In the next section, I was able to keep it together a little better and kept an A-4 stroke lite rider in my reach the whole section.  But I got stuck in a stream that we had to go through towards the end of the section.  My front wheel got wedged between two rocks in the stream so I had to get off the bike.  We had a gas stop before the final section where I tried to re-energize myself.  My dad was there with a cold rag and had the air conditioning on in the truck.  I tried to cool-off as much as possible. I was not looking forward to the last portion of the day which was around 10+ miles.

            In the last section of the day, I learned a couple things about myself and my bike.  With my new WER suspension on the bike, the bike acted a lot different in the rocks.  The bike consistently traveled in a straight line through the rock gardens and I felt more comfortable on the bike.  My confidence was down in the rocks so this was preventing me from going at a faster pace.  I also realized that I wanted to make some changes to the front forks as it seemed to be dipping in the front more than I would have liked (I ended up fixing this after a phone conversation with Drew Smith).  My endurance was also poor.  I got tired early in the last section which kept me at a slower pace than normal.

            At the end of the day, I placed 5^th which is not where I would like to be in the results.  Coming into the day, I had hoped to be in the top 3.  With some hard work between the next couple of races, I hope to get back on the right track.

            Once again, I could not have done all of this without the support of my family, especially my dad for his race support, as well as my sponsors which are Johnny Limp at Torc1Racing, Drew Smith at WER Suspension, PowerSeal USA, FMF, BRP, EKS Brand Goggles, P3, All Balls Racing, Galfer USA, Sixsixone, Kenda, N-Style, Vertex Pistons, AXO, DT-1 Filters, AP Brakes, Motorex, Acerbis, Matto Cycle, MotoConcepts, Renthal, Clockwork KTM, and Topar Racing. 

For more information:

Check WER Suspension out at Facebook “Works Enduro Rider (WER)”

Check Zack Huberty out at Facebook “Zack’s Racing”

Check-out Zack Huberty at http://zackhuberty323racing.blogspot.com/

Product Spotlight: Vertex Pistons

Vertex Pistons and Rings

About:

As the OE supplier of two-stroke pistons to KTM, Vertex pistons has an outstanding reputation for quality and performance. Each gravity cast piston is created with only premium aluminum alloys utilizing an 12-21% silicon content.
The silicon content in Vertex pistons is crucial to the quality of the piston. Silicon is critical in decreasing thermal expansion which, when an engine reaches normal operating temperatures, can change the geometry of the piston. Controlling this expansion means that a Vertex piston can be run at tighter tolerances for more power, less noise and a longer lifespan of the piston. Plus, the silicon content decreases wear on the piston skirt which also aids in the life of the piston.
In addition to the silicon, each Vertex piston utilizes a unique Molybdenum Disulphide (MOS2) coating which aids in the break-in process and reduces overall wear.

Site: http://www.na.vertexpistons.com/ProductInfo.aspx

Feedback from the Rider: 

 As most riders know, KTMs come stock with Vertex pistons.  With so much advertising these days, riders can choose from Wosner, Wiseco, Vertex or other after-market pistons out there.  I have always gone with Vertex pistons since I have been on KTM and have had great success with them.  The coating they have on the outside of the piston allows for the piston to wear-in correctly during the break-in process.  They also last along time between piston changes.  Last season, I ran our enduro race bike on one piston and it still had great compression at the end of the season (I won High Point B on it at the last race).  I would never run another piston besides Vertex!

MotoStand Strength Test

This is my first year using the MotoStand by MotoConcepts.  I have been very impressed with these and they are built great.  They have a nice rubber mat on top and are very strong.  They can also be customized with your name and number as well.  For more, go to motoconcepts.com  Check out this great video!

AP Brakes Promo Video

Trail Rider Magazine Article: Curly Fern Enduro (pages 36-37)

Check out one of my articles in Trail Rider Magazine's May issue.  Sorry if your name is spelled wrong in the pictures, auto-correct seemed to mis-spell them.  Additionally, there is another article earlier on in the article that I helped write as well for the ECEA.  Enjoy!

Here is a piece from the article:

ECEA/MSR Enduro Series

Round 3: Curly Fern Enduro

This month, local A-200 Rider, Zack Huberty, gives readers an inside look at the ECEA enduro series.

            Round 3 of the ECEA Enduro series brought racers to the Atsion Gun club right near the Wharton State Forest in New Jersey.  This has been the location of the enduro for the last couple of years.  Due to restrictions by rangers on the type of trail that could be used, most riders were interested to see what the race would be like.  The rumor going around was that the race would be extremely fast, and it would have its signature whoops.......

To read the whole article, go to Trailrider.com and get yourself a subscription!

            

ECEA Round 9: Barbed Wire Enduro

(This BRP Hand Guard Mount saved my hand and my day at the Barbed Wire Enduro as I took a very hard crash that completely twisted my handguard.  These mounts did not break or bend, and took the torture of the crash)

Race Report: ECEA Round 9: STER Barbed Wire Enduro
WER Rider: Zack Huberty
Bike: KTM 200 XC
Result: A-200 2^nd
Point Standings: 4th

Report:

            Coming into the STER Barbed Wire Enduro, I was feeling anxious to see where I could place.  I added two new elements to my training program that I hoped would better prepare me for the enduros.  I started trying to swim a couple days a week at the local swim club as well as riding at the motocross track one day a week.  Due to lots of rain and a busy work schedule, I wasn’t able to ride at the motocross track before the enduro, so I was worried I would not be prepared.  Instead of riding the week before, I spent most of my time dialing in my bike.  I got our new Kenda Triples on and made some much needed changes to the carb.  On Saturday, we left around 2 to head up to Gillett, PA.  Two hours into our drive, our truck started to shake and rattle as we pulled into a gas station near the Poconos.  Within minutes the engine light came on, and we were on our way back home with a loaded trailer.  By 7, we were on our way back to the race in our F450.  Around 10:30, I took the wheel in order to give my dad some rest from driving.  An hour into the drive, we were getting close to the race and we used to GPS once we got closer.  However, the GPS took us on a tour of neighborhoods, dirt roads, gravel roads, and woods trails that eventually got us to the race site at midnight.

            I woke up Sunday morning with a stiff back from the hard trailer floor.  I headed to sign-up and got my rider pack.  I was on row 12D with fellow club member and competitor, Pete Wright, along with his brother, Jamie Wright.  I rolled up to the line of the enduro ready to go and took off soon after.  After a nice warm-up, we soon headed into our first check.  This section was part of the warm-up section last year so I was a little surprised that we would be racing it this year.  I surprised myself in this section when I was able to keep with Jamie Wright who has been in the top 15 overall at most races this year.  I followed him the whole section and only got separated from him towards the end when we had to start passing slower riders.  I felt great in this section as it consisted of tight woods trail, flowing woods trail, and some rooty sections.  I dropped a 3 in this section and missed the flip by just a few seconds which was disappointing.  After sitting out the reset, we headed into the next section of the day.  This section is one of my favorites and starts out with a run down a creek bed and a trail through a tunnel.  I enjoy this part as the fans are standing along the creek and tunnel which provides encouragement.  Right after this section, I passed Jamie in a field section where he slid out.  I was able to keep him off of me for a couple miles until he passed me on a big uphill through the woods.  The club let us race down these plowed fire roads that were absolutely awesome.  I continued to follow Jamie and was able to keep him in my sites until the end of the check.

            The third check of the day started out as a start control.  I tried my best to keep with the group but made two stupid mistakes and fell down in the turns.  I was able to get back into my groove and kept Jamie within my sights.  Slowly he slipped out of my sight, and I decided to run my own pace.  The trail soon broke out into an MX section which I loved.  It featured some field sections which I cruised through and then a couple jumps with bermed corners.  As we made it back into the woods, I bit it really hard on a downed sapling that was hiding under the dust.  As I got up, I noticed that my hand guard had been twisted a full 90 degrees.  As I continued, I got lost twice and missed a corner.  I felt horrible in this section but gained my composure and finished strong.  To my surprise, I only lost a minute in this section to my competitor which isn’t that bad considering my bad crash and getting lost.  On the way back to the gas stop, I lost my focus and tried to trim a corner in a high grass section and ran my leg and knee right into a stump.  With a little leg pain and a completely wrecked hand guard, I rolled into the gas stop with a 30 minute pause.  With the help of Dean Kulp, I put on a new hand guard.  I also lubed the chain and filled up my bike with gas.  I then re-fueled myself and looked the bike over.

            The second section of the day began with another start control.  This section had to be one of my favorite sections but was also the most technical.  It featured lots of roots, fresh trail, and ruts.  I pushed the whole section and felt in the groove.  I rode within my limits and I was able to put two minutes on one of my competitors but also lost three points to the class leader.  After this section, I faced one of my biggest fears head-on.  I rode around to what they call “The Slide.”  Going into the day and up to that point, I said I was not going to ride the slide which is a huge wall of a hill climb.  Since I was having a good day, I didn’t want to ruin it.  However, with everyone watching and a hyped crowd, I decided to tackle the hill.  I rode down and pulled a wheelie off the ledge and hit the hill in 3^rd gear.  The lip at the bottom kicked me up pretty good and once I landed, I dropped the bike into 2^nd and climbed my way up the hill.  The hill wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be but my Kenda Triple tires definitely helped me out.  We then headed to the second to last section of the day.  It featured a couple fields and some tighter woods.  I continued to flow well through these sections and rode at my level.  However, the dust was a contributing factor and kept me from being able to follow Jamie or Pete.

            The last section of the day has to be one of my favorite sections which was the same as last year.  This section was pretty dusty and it was tough to pass since the section flowed pretty well and was a one liner.  I let it all hang out in this section and tried to ride my best.  I couldn’t keep with Pete or Jamie but I knew they weren’t that far ahead.  By the end of the section, I saw Pete and Jamie just pulling into the check so they weren’t that far ahead.  At the end of the day, I earned 2^nd place which is a big improvement from where I have been.  I am slowly making improvements, and this year, I have made major improvements to the bike.  I cannot thank Drew Smith at WER enough for all he has done.  My suspension is working the best it ever has and it is helping me build confidence on the trail.  Next week we head to the Foggy Mountain Enduro, enjoy!

Once again, I could not have done all of this without the support of my family, especially my dad for his race support, as well as my sponsors which are Johnny Limp at Torc1Racing, Drew Smith at WER Suspension, PowerSeal USA, FMF, BRP, EKS Brand Goggles, P3, All Balls Racing, Galfer USA, Sixsixone, Kenda, N-Style, Vertex Pistons, AXO, DT-1 Filters, AP Brakes, Motorex, Acerbis, Matto Cycle, MotoConcepts, Renthal, Clockwork KTM, and Topar Racing.

For more information:
Check WER Suspension out at Facebook “Works Enduro Rider (WER)”
Check Zack Huberty out at Facebook “Zack’s Racing”

ECEA Round 6: Clock Run Enduro

Race Report: ECEA Round 6: PBER Clock Run Enduro

WER Rider: Zack Huberty

Bike: KTM 200 XC

Result: A-200 2^nd  

Point Standings: 4^th

Report:

            After the Delaware Enduro, I was pretty disappointed and frustrated with my results.  I sat down Monday and created a plan for me to get back on the right track.  With the help of Jamie at Powerseal USA, I was able to get some guidance and I figured out what I needed to do.  Jamie helped set me up with a plan for training, working out, and gave me some pointers for the season.  Leading up to the PBER Enduro, I worked a lot on strength, eating right, and preparing myself for the enduro by drinking lots of water.  The other key piece of advice was focus.  I needed to focus on what I wanted to accomplish, and leave the rest of the junk on the sidelines. 

            On Sunday morning, my dad and I traveled to the Chatsworth area to race the PBER Clock Run enduro.  I had a good night of sleep and was anxious to see if I could improve upon last week’s bad race.  I was also anxious to see how my new gearing would handle.  I was expecting a low scoring day and some wide open sections so I put on our Renthal 46T sprocket to give me a little more speed (normally I run a 48T).  With cloudy skies in the morning, I hoped it wasn’t going to rain but that helped block out the sun.  It was a nice 60 degrees out.

            For this enduro, my main goal was to keep focused throughout the day, maintain my energy, and ride smooth.  At 8:08, my line took off down the road.  The club did a nice job of giving all of us riders a nice warm-up as the first two checks were easily zeroed.  The next section was the first points taker of the day.  The trail consisted of lots of whoops, tight woods, and fast flowing trails.  I rode smooth through these and tried to minimize my mistakes.  I also focused on getting as much speed through each straight-away by never letting off of the throttle until I absolutely needed to.  I dropped a respectable 4 in this section.  I felt good after the section because I had rode flawless through the section without crashing.

            The next section of the day was also a points taker.  I dropped a 1 in this section.  The trail continued to be pretty wide-open with lots of whoops.  The key to all of these whoops seemed to be speed and momentum.  I was happy that we fixed the carburetor and idling problems with the bike for this race.  My only problem in the few sections was that I couldn’t get my front wheel to stay up in the whoops.  The wheel seemed to dip down when I wanted to skim the tops. 

            At the second gas stop, I was able to walk over to my sponsor, Drew Smith at WER Suspension, and I asked him about my suspension.  He was extremely helpful with it and he recommended me to stiffen up the suspension.  With about 5 clicks in on the compression, my suspension worked a lot better throughout the day.  I have to say it is very helpful when your suspension tuner also rides the same enduro series.  His experience of the terrain helped me ride smoother, faster, and gain confidence.

            In the last section of the day, I was able to only drop 1 point in a 7 mile section.  Stiffening up the suspension helped make the bike more manageable in the whoops.  These whoops were very soft and deep which meant that momentum was key.  At the end of the enduro, I knew that every second throughout the day had counted.  Since the points lost were so small, the race would be decided on that.  My focus and work-out plan seemed to help me out.  After finishing the race, I was able to stick around to see the results.  I was surprised to see that I had placed 2^nd and 20^th overall!  This was a great way to turn around a bad race.  The next race is in the rocks so it should be interesting how I finish.  I will continue to stick to my plan and I hope to continually improve.

            Once again, I could not have done all of this without the support of my family, especially my dad for his race support, as well as my sponsors which are Johnny Limp at Torc1Racing, Drew Smith at WER Suspension, PowerSeal USA, FMF, BRP, EKS Brand Goggles, P3, All Balls Racing, Galfer USA, Sixsixone, Kenda, N-Style, Vertex Pistons, AXO, DT-1 Filters, AP Brakes, Motorex, Acerbis, Matto Cycle, MotoConcepts, Renthal, Clockwork KTM, and Topar Racing.  I would also like to thank Paul J Freeman http://www.pjfreemanphotography.com for help with pictures.

For more information:

Check WER Suspension out at Facebook “Works Enduro Rider (WER)”

Check Zack Huberty out at Facebook “Zack’s Racing”

ECEA Round 5: Delaware Enduro

Race Report: ECEA Round 5: Delaware Enduro

WER Rider: Zack Huberty

Bike: KTM 200 XC

Result: A-200 5^th

Point Standings: 5^th

Report:

            Between the 3^rd and 5^th round, I was faced with a busy month.  Because of my final exams at Penn State, I was unable to go to the 4^th round of the enduro series.  This was a tough decision on my part, but at the end of the day, school is very important to me.  This choice was tough because missing out on a round of the enduro series skips out on the opportunity of gaining points on your competitors.  However, the decision proved to be a good one as I was able to end my second semester in a row with a 4.0 GPA.  The weekend after college was finished, I had the Delaware Enduro.  Round 5 of the ECEA Enduro series was located on the Delaware canal in Delaware.  The week coming up to the enduro was filled with rain and it evened rained some on race day.

            I am going to keep this week pretty short because it was filled with more lessons rather than good racing.  The first test of the day was the same as last year.  It featured some tighter woods trails along with some field sections.  Coming out of the check, I scored a 1 which was what most riders were dropping, however; some of the fastest A riders were zeroing the section.  The next section of the day mixed in woods trail, a sand pit, and grass track.  I felt pretty good in this section.  I faced a couple problems though.  Going into the section, my tool pack was pulled off by a limb so I had to stop and run back down the trail to get it.  My other problem throughout the section was that my bike kept on stalling.  The idle seemed to be turned too low so it kept stalling on downhills or in the corners.  Because of this, my score in this section was slower than my competitors.

            The day only seemed to get worse.  After two sections, I was already feeling tired and sore.  My forearms were tight and burned.  I was frustrated with myself because I knew that I should have been in better shape.  After not riding for a month and a half, my muscles were not used to the torture.  After the first gas stop, the day slowly went downhill.  In the 3^rd section of the day, I was feeling good until I hit a bottleneck with a few riders stuck on a ridge.  I was impatient and tried to get around them, but I ended up falling down the side of the ridge onto a log.  I struggled to get my bike untangled from the log.  Another competitor actually helped me get untangled which I appreciate.  This was my first mental mistake for the day.  Instead of waiting like I should have, I got stuck and lost a lot of energy.

            With all of the mud and slick trails, I was pretty wiped out by the middle of the race.  For the rest of the day, I played damage control as I tried to make it in one piece back to the finish.  I continued to make fundamental mistakes throughout the day.  There was one section where I tried to be ahead of time.  I ended up burning the check-in which was frustrating.  I rode well through the section.  As I was looking down to make sure I slowed down for the check-out, I noticed I was running hot.  I burned the out-check as well.  This is a mistake I can’t make again because it cost me 4 points.

            Throughout the rest of the day, I tried to work on the fundamentals of riding.  I was not focused on the racing aspect.  I wanted to ride smooth and just get to the end.  The heat also didn’t help which left me dehydrated by the end of the race.  This was one of my worst races, yet I know I can re-group from it and learn from these mistakes.  The next round goes back to the sand which I am looking forward to.  I will take the next week to figure out how I can be better prepared for the next race and the ones to come.  Stay tuned for the next race report!

            Once again, I could not have done all of this without the support my family, especially my dad for his race support, as well as my sponsors which are Johnny Limp at Torc1Racing, Drew Smith at WER Suspension, PowerSeal USA, FMF, BRP, EKS Brand Goggles, P3, All Balls Racing, Galfer USA, Sixsixone, Kenda, N-Style, Vertex Pistons, AXO, DT-1 Filters, AP Brakes, Motorex, Acerbis, Matto Cycle, MotoConcepts, Renthal, Clockwork KTM, and Topar Racing.  I would also like to thank Paul J Freeman http://www.pjfreemanphotography.com for help with pictures.

For more information:

Check WER Suspension out at Facebook “Works Enduro Rider (WER)”

Check Zack Huberty out at Facebook “Zack’s Racing”