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Gearing guff
For a beach race the gearing is critical as you generally have at least one long straight followed by a lot of killer dunes. If you make your gearing too high for top speed on the straight you will cook your clutch trying to keep the puppy movin' in the dunes. Alternatively, if you keep your gearing absolutely stock you'll lose too much time on the straight.
On the CR the stock gearing is 13/50. For the beach race Al runs the puppy on 14/45. Remember folks, this gearing may work for a pro rider but maybe not a beginner so always think of your ability and work to that. Maybe you can find a compromise that works for you midway between the two extremes.
Filter fun
Without a well prepped air-filter system you're not going to get to the flag - three hours is a long time and your bike doesn't run well with sand and salty water being pulled into the motor!
Alan runs a nifty set-up in the filter department of the CR. A well oiled filter is covered with a filter second skin then, to finish the job off, Al has prepared a set of his best tights with a string pull affixed to the rear mudguard so this third skin can be removed during the race.
Also, you can see the rear grab handle fixed behind the seat. When things get jammed up on the dunes its handy to have the grab handles to release your bike from the sand's grasp.
Cunning coolery
WW: Bloody 'ell Al! You won't have any tights left in a mo!"
AH: "Shut it Walker! These aren't mine they're Nat's!"
WW: Yeah, right oh!
Even the rad louvres are covered with tights - they are easily removed during a pit stop when, after they've done their job for the first few laps of the race when the roost is at its most dangerous, you can whip 'em off allowing a breath of fresh air through the rads.
The duct tape on the mudguard will fend off some spray from Jussi's eyes on the straight - it may not stay on board for the duration but if it's there for one trip up the straight it's worth the effort.
Last tip here is to run a 1.8 rad cap. These bad boys do their best to keep some coolant in your rads and motor when things get ugly!
Peg protection
This one's a cracker. Al picked this tip up from Robbie Reynard's dad when he had the one-off ride for CAS in Belgium a couple of years ago. Reynard senior cuts up a perfectly good inner tube and makes these neat footpeg spring covers.
This stops the wet sand getting under the touching surfaces of the pegs and peg carriers, thus stopping the pegs sticking in an upward position - simple yet effective in extreme conditions.
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Paw protection
Handguards are an absolute must on the beach. Paws stay drier and a little bit warmer behind guards. Al has built the guard up with some duct tape to give Jussi a little more protection. If the wind catches these bad boys the Finnish flier could be in trouble...just kidding Jussi! As you can see, there's some low-density sponge packed in around the front brake for extra protection.
Silicone seals
Water will get into any electrical part on the bike that's not protected. So Al silicones every electrical joint throughout the bike. This helps keep the damp out and the bike running to the end.
I told Al I wouldn't take any of the credit for giving him the idea to cover the Works Connection easy-adjust clutch - so I won't. The sponge deflects the crud allowing the adjuster to be used throughout the race keeping the clutch in tip-top condition.
Prepped puppy!
All the work was worth it in the end. Jussi and the CR250 made it to the finish much to big Al's delight. The guys took seventh place even after a wee fuel running out experience and a pretty serious over the bars departure for the flyin' Finn.
Cheers to Al, Nat and Titch for the hospitality. Also a big up to Gareth Hockey and his team for putting on a great show. Well done to all the runners and riders who took part in the two days of the WBR madness!
Alan and his finished article...
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