I'm looking to get into ice racing - any advice?

[Ductard]

I guess the first question is race venue - I'm in the Boston Metro area (Somerville) so I'm thinking about doing the Sturbridge races. Does anybody here compete / hang out there?

I heard there also might be some places to ride near Nashua, but I haven't heard of any specific race series.


The second question would be around bike / gear.

I have a KTM 520SX, some Fredette's mounted up, and a cold weather / no fog helmet, and some knee / elbow pads courtesy of Walmart, and snowboarding gear, but that's about it.


As far as bikes,

I hit a pond in upstate NY this weekend and had a blast.

I was very comfortable on my friend's CRF 450.

On my bike....ehh....if anybody wants to grab a beer sometime we can talk about that happens when you ride the ice after the shop mounts your rear tire backwards

So I don't know at this point how my bike will ride when the tire is on the right way, but it is set up as a roadracing sumo.

My friend's bike had some other tweaks to it for the ice.

I remember his bike was set to run rich and his suspension was lowered.

Is there anything else I should do?


Any tips would be appreciated!

[R7]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMRy8hpiNvM
So I don't know at this point how my bike will ride when the tire is on the right way, but it is set up as a roadracing sumo.

My neighbor mounted his backwards at first as well...it was night and day when it was flipped around in the proper direction

[Mr. Kurtz]

I'm following this conversation closely...but have nothing to add.

[Ductard]

I'm following this conversation closely...but have nothing to add.

Yeah, wasn't really expecting to hear crickets chirping on the subject from this group.

I saw that you were asking some questions on the Sturbridge page. Are you thinking about racing this Sunday?

[Mr. Kurtz]

I saw that you were asking some questions on the Sturbridge page. Are you thinking about racing this Sunday?

No, but if they have the races(I believe they are very weather dependent) I was thinking about going as a spectator to scope it out.

[Imbeek]

No, but if they have the races(I believe they are very weather dependent) I was thinking about going as a spectator to scope it out.

I might jump on the spectator bandwagon and see you there...please post up here if you find out its on or not

[tls25rs]

Yeah, wasn't really expecting to hear crickets chirping on the subject from this group.

To my knowledge the majority of the people on this message board that ride on the ice do it as a recreational activity. There are a couple of guys that I have heard that race/raced down in Sturbridge but they have been few and far between.

A few guys that I know off the top of my head that do/have raced in Sturbridge are Bill Rowe and Glenn Coolbeth. Not sure if either one of them is on NESR but you may be able to pick their brains on Facebook if so inclined.

God luck and most of all have fun doing it!

[Mr. Kurtz]

I might jump on the spectator bandwagon and see you there...please post up here if you find out its on or not

Will do Gary.

To my knowledge the majority of the people on this message board that ride on the ice do it as a recreational activity.

This is my primary interest, also. I expect most of my ice riding will be screwing around on a pond with people I know, but I'm interested in at least scoping out the Sturbridge thing.

[McBiggity]

I go to Hamilton at least once per year to spectate. It's fun. I do get a kick out of seeing the little kids fly around the track. And I can get my fill of B.T.'s on the way home.

They update this FB page frequently regarding the races/ice condition

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sturb...52954604756438

[Paul_E_D]

My neighbor mounted his backwards at first as well...it was night and day when it was flipped around in the proper direction

heads out to check rear tire...

[repete513]

Im a Little late to the party here but i raced sturbridge on sunday. It was my first ice race ever. Saturday was only my second time on the ice and my first with a big bIke.

-As far as saftey equipment
Ice fenders. Rule is they must cover below axle line. Most of these are home made with some scrap metal, threaded rod and mx front fender. They usually use the threaded rod through the axles like axle sliders to bolt on and then tie in somewhere else to keep it from rotating. In the front that's usually the axle pinch or fork guard bolts. They extended forward and used a large hose clamp around the swingarm.

-tether switch. They don't want the bike taking off across the lake.

Other tips.

Get your practice in BEFORE raceday. Practice is complete bullshit. They gave us 4 laps. 4 FUCKING laps.

Sign up for as many classes as possible. There are a shit ton so if you only run 1 like i did you forget why your even there.

[carsick]

I definitely wanted a tether after my first ice ride. Any suggestions on reasonable options?

[Mr. Kurtz]

Im a Little late to the party here but i raced sturbridge on sunday. It was my first ice race ever. Saturday was only my second time on the ice and my first with a big bIke.

No kidding, I did head up to watch, probably saw you out there. What classes/bike/number were you running?

[repete513]

I was on a friends yz450f #915 running open am.

[Mr. Kurtz]

I was on a friends yz450f #915 running open am.

No kidding! I remember the bike specifically, we actually weren't sure of the number because of the stylized font, at first I thought it might have been 816(my old LRRS number).

[repete513]

Yeah its a hard bike to mis. Its Loud AF. The previous owner also worked all kinds of vodoo magic on it to make it a gnarly flat tracker. BUILT engine, and all kinds of hacks to the frame for lowering and carb fitment.

[Ductard]

I definitely wanted a tether after my first ice ride. Any suggestions on reasonable options?

Amazon.com: tether kill switch

Speaking from zero experience, I bet it's hard to go wrong with any of these. Except that there are two types, NC (Normally Closed) and NO (Normally open).

NO kills the engine by closing the kill circuit and drawing current away (but apparently not from the ignition circuit itself, from what I read online that is bad).

I haven't bought one yet because I'm not 100% sure whether my bike would take an NO or NC.

My current bike is an '02 KTM 520SX.
The dedicated ice bike that is likely to get added to the stable is an '05 CRF 250.

I checked the service manual to try to figure out which one the KTM took, but I'm at like a 101 level at reading schematics and this is a little over my head.

I called a dealer to make sure, and it looks like they're having to dig quite a bit to find out.

[Kurlon]

Just unplug your existing switch, and stick a multimeter on the two contacts. Set the multimeter to resistance, and watch what happens when you press the button. If you get infinity resistance when not pressing the button, you've got a normally open setup. If you get continuity when you're pressing the button, you've got a normally closed setup.

[Ductard]

Just unplug your existing switch, and stick a multimeter on the two contacts. Set the multimeter to resistance, and watch what happens when you press the button. If you get infinity resistance when not pressing the button, you've got a normally open setup. If you get continuity when you're pressing the button, you've got a normally closed setup.

Yeah, turns out that's looking easier than finding it in the service manual.

That helps with the KTM, but not the CRF - 'cause I haven't picked it up yet.

If anybody knows anything on that one just let me know.

[jimmycapp]

I wear my leatt brace on the ice. I highsided and landed on my head last year, and the brace did it's job.

[Ductard]

I wear my leatt brace on the ice. I highsided and landed on my head last year, and the brace did it's job.

Any specific model you recommend?

Looks like they have several upwards of $400....

[jimmycapp]

It's the same one I use for dirt. I bought it a couple years ago when they were first gaining popularity. It looks like the one in the first link, but they used to call it the club model, or something. If I were buying now, I'd probably grab the one in the second link, but I haven't researched the new models, like when I was in the market.


Kart - Neck Braces | Leatt® | Protective Neck Braces, Body Armour & Sports Gear

GPX 4.5 - Neck Braces | Leatt® | Protective Neck Braces, Body Armour & Sports Gear

[nhbubba]

We discussed neck braces a little here: http://www.nestreetriders.com/forum/...eck-brace.html

I bought an atlas. Haven't even had a chance to ride with it yet. But I liked the price.

[SVRACER01]

If you get infinity resistance when not pressing the button, you've got a normally open setup. If you get continuity when you're pressing the button, you've got a normally closed setup.

isnt that the same thing? if i have resistance NOT touching the button, then wouldnt i NOT have resistance with it pressed?

[Kurlon]

isnt that the same thing? if i have resistance NOT touching the button, then wouldnt i NOT have resistance with it pressed?

Bah, yeah, should have said if you've got continuity when not pressing the button... dropped a not in there. D-oh!