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The Loose Moose
By Dennis Oaks
The weekend started out with a drive from southeast Wisconsin
to the grand upper peninsula of Michigan. The 8th annual "Loose
Moose enduro". I have been riding upper Michigan a bunch
lately and enjoy every trip.
With a seven hour drive each direction, I knew this trip
would be more windshield time than bike riding time, but those
who know me understand the passion. Although I did have some
company along this time… they didn't really know what
this event was going to be like (nor did I for that matter).
A national event brings riders from all over. We talked with
guys from New Jersey to Baja Mexico… they all came for
the same reason, to win! or maybe at least a chance to place
in the top five. The count had to be well over 250 riders
and as usual Ktm was the biggest showing.
The day was going to be hot and you could feel it even in
the early morning as we got ready. Our minute was 45 and that
means that 44x5 riders had already left before us! I saw numbers
in the high 60's so this gives you an idea how many bikes
would be on the course.
The route was over 100 miles and the average speed is set
at 24mph. This may to some seem a bit slow but just try and
ride a dirt bike through trees and rocks up and down steep
hills and maintain that average (very tough!).
I rode my Ktm 300exc for this event and was very excited
because not only was this going to be a fun event for me but
I had just installed a motorcycle automatic
clutch . I was really going to give this clutch a workout
and I new the event would be the ultimate test to see if the
Auto Clutch is really everything everyone said it would be.
When our minute was up we took off in the normal dead engine
start. My bike was ready to go with the engine off and the
transmission in 2nd gear, my hand was not holding anything
but the grip (clutch lever no longer needed). I kicked started
the bike, twisted the throttle and off we went! Wow this was
cool no clutch and no wheel spin. Bike took off strong and
all I had to do was hold on! The first part was dusty and
I had to ride close to Nick who was riding in front. Nick
is a great rider but I knew with this being a very long race
I needed to give him a "pep talk" before we left,
just so he would not burn out to early.
We were still holding a good pace and not more that 2 miles
the rocks started and then the hills and some more hills and
some more rock. This was some nasty stuff! The area of Marquette
is heavily wooded and mountainous. This makes for some amazing
riding. I could start to feel the air temp climbing very quickly
and could see other riders getting whipped much earlier then
they expected.
Climbing through rocks and trees was fun (at least for me)
the Auto clutch was working fantastic. This device gives you
such a big head! You can go up anything and over some really
rough stuff with out even missing a beat. It makes you carry
your speed and ride very steady without stalling! Passing
riders on the steep up hills was a hoot, there were bikes
everywhere and you could just drive right through them and
over them in a few cases. Talking to Nick (who also just installed
a Auto Clutch)
said he could have never made it through the stuff we were
riding if he didn't have the auto clutch. You can not manually
work the clutch better than this Auto device can!
We came to a point around 28miles were there was a drop 60-70
feet down. This looked pretty scary with a sharp right turn
at the bottom. I drop down and what a ride! I pulled over
after the check and waited for Nick and Wolfgang. While I
was waiting I saw 2 guys come down real good and 2 guys "rag
doll" all the way down (ouch!). This was not for the
meek. When Nick and Wolfgang finally showed up they were exhausted
and I could see the heat was taking its toll. There was I
nearby lake and a "head dunking" was in order. This
brought back some life for the guys and we headed down the
course. Arriving back in the pits, it this was the 2nd gas
stop and my fellow riders were done. We had only gone a bit
over 30 miles and this took 3 hours! With the long drive home
ahead of us I too called it quits and we loaded up the bikes.
As we were leaving I looked at the thermometer in my van
and it showed 107 degrees outside air temp! I told you it
was hot. It was starting to get hard to even breathe.
All in all I know we had a great time. I also must say that
if you have never rode a bike with an Auto
Clutch ride one! You to will be convinced that it is
hands down the most valuable add on you can make.
Hope to see you on the trail!
Dennis
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