Well for my first Vinduro back since taking a break from it in 2013 I picked an awesome event. It could of been even better if i didn't listen to John and his- I run my Husky at 70:1 all day with no problems : : ) : : ) : : ) : : ) : : ) 40:1 was to lean for my old air cooled girl :'( :'( :'( But you can't keep a good Husky down
Well after not getting very much time to run the Husky in, I took Saturdays ride as a sighting lap and to enjoy a ride with my old man on his trusty DR400 and my mate Rob on his PE250T. I struggled to keep my eyes on the track, some of the scenery they had us riding through was just stunning. On the first long sandy up hill the Husky started to show signs it wasn't happy and by the time i reached the top she had stopped
After leaving her to cool down for 5 minutes she was happy to fire up and still sounded sweet. So we continued riding a long and enjoying the serenity and the awesome course.
Once back at camp it was time to check over everything and lube the chain and fuel up for the next day, the Husky was all good and so was the DR400.
Robs PE had stalled after going through the last creek crossing
He eventually got it up and running, but once back at camp we found there was only one bolt holding the exhaust flange to the barrel
So we went about pulling the expansion chamber off and finding some bolts to screw here back together.
We got her into the parc ferme just in time.
Then it was time for a few beers before we headed off to the hall for dinner. The meals were great and again we had a few more beers but i was trying to take it a little easy as Rob and i had a pretty big night Friday night when we first arrived.
We wondered over to the pub after dinner and there were a few teams in full swing and really having a good time.
I think i called it a night around 10pm.
Sunday-
I was dreading the cold start and knowing the husky wasn't starting well since its rebuild didn't help. We watched the first 10 or so teams head off on there way and we were starting on the 24th minute. Once again the Husky didn't want to start so i ended up roll starting it down the little hill near the start line
Might be easier to do that next year.
As i was part of the Occidentals team twice
Something funny going on there : : ) : : ) I thought I'd have a bit of a crack and left Dad and Rob to set there own pace. So the Husky and i were off at a reasonable pace and I got my first hit of reality going under the bridge with an injured rider that distracted me enough that i stalled the bike.
I hope he was ok??
The husky still didn't want to rev out and just seemed off. On the first open paddock section i opened her up and by the end of it the Husky had once again seized and this time wasn't keen on a re-start :'( :'(
Another fellow husky rider pulled over and felt my pain and offered to send help. After about 20 minutes Dad and Rob caught up to me and we tried push starting the Husky, she fired up and sounded ok. So i continued on riding and she didn't seem to bad after her last seize.
I caught up with a few riders and rode with a guy on an Honda XR for a bit that was setting a good pass most of the time seems i wasn't game to open up the Husky again.
When i got to the pits i thought why not try putting her back to 25:1 and see if that will help her survive the rest of the day. Well as soon as I reached the other side of the first creek crossing it felt like a different bike. The old Husky was pulling like a train and really wanted to be opened up
And all i could think was my old man saying your running it a bit lean aren't you... Oil;s cheap, engines aren't... So beware of running your old air cooled bike to lean, I guess a jump from 25:1 to 40:1 was pretty big.
I finished out the day having a ball and really wishing I had just put some more oil in the fuel from the beginning, as the husky was flying with some really fast transport sections and enjoying every minute out on this fantastic course.
I ended up doing 3 laps on Sunday and finished my third lap at 1:50pm and was told i couldn't go out again :'( :'( Which now looking back was probably a good idea as I was stuffed.
A big thank you to all the sweep riders, the Harrow township, and the Veri committee for putting on the best Harrow yet. Bring on 2015.
I hope to have some GoPro footage by the end of the week too.
Cheers Dewy.
