I had a chance to do a couple of trail rides with the Elka this weekend. I was absolutely blown away. It is by far the best shock I have ever ridden. I usually would just describe the characteristics of the shock. With the Elka it is so adjustable that you can change the shock to get any characteristics you like. A few clicks and it truly feels like a  different shock.

I am not one of the people that was terribly unhappy with the performance of the RP23. That shock is hard to tune on the Tracer but I certainly felt like I had it as good as it was going to get. That being said I also felt like there was some performance left on the table with the Fox. The biggest benefit to the Elka is what it doesn’t do. It completely cured the the tendency of the RP23 to move excessively through the mid stroke. The bike is a totally different animal through G-outs and burmed corners. It stays nice and high in the travel. It is more plush in all the settings I tried and pedals pretty well to boot.

Out of the box the shock felt like a modern DH racing shock. The LSC, HSC and rebound were all pretty heavily dampened. I am sure it would have just eaten up a gnarly rocky and rutted course. The problem is that this is my trail bike. If I am riding anything where I would want a full face or flat pedals I take my other bike. Time to play with the knobs.

One click on any of the three damping adjusters makes a big difference. On top of that, each has a bunch of clicks. There is a wider range of adjustment than you could use on any one bike. I backed off the LSC a few clicks and the HSC a click or two. I also sped up the rebound a couple of clicks. I ended up with the perfect set it and forget it ride. The bike was super plush on the little stuff and the spring curve seemed perfect. It was still poppy on the lips and pedaled well. The travel felt deep when it should and didn’t when it shouldn’t. Very nice.

Normally, I would have stopped there and just ridden but I wanted to see what the possibilities for this shock were. I backed of the LSC, HSC and rebound a bit more. All I can say is that it was a magic carpet ride. All trail chatter was gone. The odd thing was it still felt really connected to the trail. I could tell exactly what my tires were doing in terms of traction but I couldn’t feel the bumps. There were some downsides in that the bike did tend to flatten lips in this configuration and it was a bit mushy when sprinting. It is really nice to have this option for a long days in the backcountry.

All in all, I was super impressed. I am sure there are other coil shocks that would similarly transform the Tracer. I haven’t tried them so I can only compare it to the RP23. All of the configurations were a huge improvement and the ability to choose your ride is an added bonus. Wow.

__________________
It never gets any easier. You just go faster.

 Rob Cunningham

President
3D Visual Concepts

 July 21, 2009

Thursday morning, after a big first ever day at Mosport International Raceway with Pro 6 Cycle, Raphael was all ready for the Round 4-5 of the SV 650 cup 2009 serie …
 
At the end of the day 1 of Parts Canada Superbike Championship, we saw that the track day paid off by being first in both practice, with a time of 1:34.00.
 
But the day after was the qualify and we knew that we had to beat  Rob Buzby, Jéremy Hade-Precourt, Philippe Masse, etc. Finally, after 20 longs minutes of exchanging the pole, between Jéremy and me, luck was with him with a time of 1:32.662 and me 1:32.722 …
 
Saturday morning, the last practice before the race:

About the race, It went really good, I had a good start and then I took the holeshot, in lap 2, Jéremy fell down in the corner #2 and Rob Busby was not close to me, so I just tried not to make any mistakes, win the race and beat Cody’s lap record ( 1:32.281) with a time of 1:31.807 ! »
 
Sunday, Round 5, It was going to be a really tight race, because Philippe Masse, Jody Greening did the same lap time then Raphael and Rob and Jéremy was back on his bike …

« I still took a good start  but this time Rob took the lead in corner 2 in the last lap, but I passed him at the end of the straight  and won .

I’m so happy for my championship !!! »
 
We would like to thank our sponsors … Picotte motorsport, Elka suspension, Sunoco Race fuel, Hindle exhaust, Performance friction brakes, Hotbodies, Dezo air brush, Pirelli and Suzuki
 
« … and a special thanks to Pascal Picotte for helping me when I had questions, for my bike, etc. »
 
Team Archambault Racing.
www.archambault-racing.piczo.com

For more information on the Canadian Superbike series please visit their web site.
www.cdnsuperbike.com

July 24-25 Course VTT Ste-Séraphine Qc. (ATV) www.coursesvtt.qc.ca/calendrier.html

July 23-25 Coupe du Monde MTB Ste-Anne Qc. www.montsainteanne2010.com/program

Aug. 1-2 Coupe du Monde MTB Bromont Qc. (MTB)
www.canadian-cycling.com

Aug. 7-9 Course VTT Chénéville Qc. (ATV) www.coursesvtt.qc.ca/calendrier.html

Aug. 15-16 Course VTT Ste-Véronique Qc. (ATV) www.coursesvtt.qc.ca/calendrier.html

Aug. 20-24 12 hrs PDV Pont-de-Vaux France (ATV) www.pdvracing.com/france/index.html

Aug. 22-23 NEATV MX207 (ATV)
www.neatv-mx.com/

sept 5-6 Couse VTT La Tuque (ATV)
www.coursesvtt.qc.ca/calendrier.html

sept 26-27 NEATV Walden MX (ATV)
www.neatv-mx.com/

oct 3 Montreal SuperMX

oct 11 NEATV Jolly Rogers (ATV)
www.neatv-mx.com/

What a race week-end in Saint Mamet, France for racer Romain Couprie who won this gruelling race in front of 36 other racers. This podium provides him with a comfortable lead and he is only one race away from earning his 5th consecutive title in the France Quad-Cross Championship series.

STAGE 1

Romain managed to take the holeshot and distance himself from Adrien Mangieu and Greg Lassaigne.

1. Romain Couprie
2. Adrien Mangieu
3. Grégory Lassaigne

STAGE 2

Romain didn’t have as easy as stage 1 because of a bad start, but nonetheless he was able to catch the 5th spot.

1. Clément Jay
2. Grégory Lassaigne
3. Matthieu Bonnard

STAGE 3

Couprie continued to be as agressive as when he started and won the final battle.

1. Romain Couprie
2. Adrien Mangieu
3. Clément Jay
4. Matthieu Bonnard
5. Matthieu Ternynck

Couprie will now be able to take it easy for a short while before the final race of the season which will be held in Antagnac.

Elka’s momentum will reach another level as we can confirm to all of you that our Support and tech crew will be at the next Dune Fest which will be held from July 28 to August 2^nd. – This 5-day event draws thousands of ATV enthusiasts to Winchester Bay, the heart of the Oregon Dunes. This event won the Ovation Award for THE BEST SPORTING EVENT  IN OREGON 2008

Look for the Elka booth to learn how to fine-tune your suspensions as our crew of technicians will answer all of your questions and give you practical advice about our products. Our representatives will also be on hand to provide you with the latest information about what’s going on at Elka Suspension.

For this special occasion you’ll be able to save 15% for a brand new set of Elka shocks and our support crew will be there to help you dial-in your new shocks according to your weight and riding style.

Many other industry heavyweights will also be there.

Contact Information:
Reedsport/Winchester Bay Chamber of Commerce
P. O. Box 11
Reedsport, OR 97467
Email: reewbycc@charterinternet.com
http://www.reedsportcc.org/
Phone: 541-271-3495
1-800-247-2155

This great title says it all, and it comes from Freida Rozelle who is the Youth Contingency Program Director. She has been working hard for the last 3 years with the ATVA and Racer productions in making sure that the future of the racing scene can be assured for our younger riders. In a few years, these young riders will become pros and ambassadors of our sport.

Freida also spoke of the advantages many parents should realize when they get involved with their kids in racing. Instead of playing in the streets and increase their chances of hanging around with others you would not recommend, the family can get together during race weekends and have fun.

Freida quoted « We want to see the ATV youth classes grow each and every year, we are not promoters of any kind and only want to help all youth riders. This will be the 3^rd year of the program as last year was a great success with us raising over $60,000 in prizes for our 12 youth classes. Each child that attended the last race was put into a drawing and won a prize along with each child receiving a bag of merchandise at the end of the night. – We would like to make the last National a special race for the youth classes, Make it the SUPER BOWL of the ATVA. Our goal is to have businesses send us products or gift certificates to be given away on Friday night  to the different youth classes. We hope to bring more youth riders back to the racing circuit and to let all youth riders have a chance to win some wonderful prizes whether they come in 1^st or last place at the races, everyone will win an awesome prize»

Elka representatives said: « We at Elka Suspension are proud to be a sponsor of this event. Elka will be there for many years to come and some of these young riders will surely ride one day on Elka’s . As an industry leader we value this event and I encourage every player of the industry to give strong support to the Youth Contingency Program.»

For more information please contact:

Freida Rozelle

If you have any questions feel free to email me at lilbuddy7@charter.net or call 1-931-260-9856 or 931-853-0388

Many ATV and Side by Side enthusiasts feel intimidated when they want to properly fine tune a new suspension kit. Elka Suspension staff is aware that it can become a challenge for non expert riders. This is why Elka Suspension continues to offer free technical training and support at certain events like the last Sand Fest that was held in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.

Visitors and crowds gathered around the Elka booth during these 15 days and learned how to dial-in their Elka shocks so that they can take advantage of the benefits a professional grade suspension kit can provide in different riding conditions. A few clicks clockwise or counter clockwise can dramatically improve the way your machine will feel and handle.

Eric St-Louis of Elka Suspension quoted « These events really give us a unique opportunity to teach to our customers everything they should know about shocks. We have built our reputation by providing this free service and it is greatly appreciated by our users. Once they acquire the knowledge to really fine-tune their shocks according to the way they ride, they always come back to give us 2 thumbs up. It’s quite rewarding for us to get this positive feedback».

6th July 2009
Scottish Quad Racing Championship 2009
Round Six Leuchars

John Mitchell took the overall win this weekend as he made a surprise return after nine weeks out with a shoulder injury. Racing in round six of the Quad Racing Scotland SACU Championship, John was competing against some of the British Championship contenders at the Leuchars track.

It was the first time this fantastic track was being used to race quads and it had been prepared to a very high standard. John was riding his ATV World Yamaha YFZ450R Fuel Injection to a standard setup. Feeling a little apprehensive, John rode steady in race one and started from the back. Working his way round the track, John still didn’t feel 100% fully fit and was very pleased with his fourth place finish.

In race two, John decided again to start from the back and began to find some race pace, working his way through, John said that he felt lucky as he crossed the line in first place. In the final race of the day, John had the confidence to push hard from the start. Unfortunately his shoulder became so painful he had to stop, stretch it and re-join the race. John still managed an incredible second place finish and first place overall.

Clearly delighted with his performance John explained that he found the days racing hard going and very sore but had given him the confidence on the bike to push harder for the next round of the British Championship in two weeks time. John also wishes to thank Paul Gowland for helping prepare his quad for this round.

Norfolks ATV World Youth rider Tyler Soar made the trip to the ACU Southern area championships round 6 this weekend which showed him back on form with an 11 second lead win in race one with a best lap time only 3 seconds of his 450cc championship class counter parts.

His winning ways were cut short in race 2 when a failing spark plug hampered his progress, but his dogged determination paid off to bring home a second. With a new spark plug installed it was out for race 3, where a poor start, which is something that Tyler has suffered with all season left him having to battle through the slower race runners and after 2 laps get up to the race leader and apply the pressure.

At this point it turned in to one of the most electrifying races of all the classes all day with position changes in the final laps by both riders. The race was unfortunately shortened due to accidents in previous races so when Tyler and his rival George Callaway came over the final jump on to the finish line together you can imagine the tension in the crowd and the cheers. unfortunately there was point 1 of a second separating George and Tyler so Tyler had to settle for another second place.

Changes to Tylers bikes gearing will be carried out this week in preparation for a long trip to the Scottish borders this coming weekend where he will compete in round 5 of the ACU North East championship, where hopefully poor starts will be made a thing of the past.

Story courtesy John “Doogie” Howell of Quad
http://quad.transworld.net/2009/07/02/project-whirl-is-finished/

PopSci staff photographer/madman John Carnett has realized an unholy dream long in the making: an ATV powered entirely by a jet turbine. And then he took it to the woods and pushed it to the limit; to the edge of logic, control and sanity.

As if intent to cement his internal reputation as the resident DIY crazy man, Carnett told me last year that his next project was going to involve a jet turbine and something he could drive. Unsurprisingly, Carnett didn’t feel the least bit hampered by the fact that he lacked a turbine, a vehicle, and any real knowledge about how to put a turbine on a vehicle. But after ten months, untold thousands of dollars, a big hand from our buddies at QUAD magazine and the equivalent of a college degree in jet-power gleened from dozens of grizzeld old shop guys around the country, Carnett’s turbine-powered ATV, dubbed the Whirl, ripped up some ground in upstate New York last week, reaching speeds of 60 mph and torque that would launch it over an obstacle like the Duke boys escaping Boss Hog.

The vehicle is built around a donated Polaris RZR, a two-person quad that’s been stripped of its engine, roll cage, suspension, shocks, battery, drive axels, wheels, tires and electrical system. When Carnett tried to buy a new turbine and explained why, manufacturers hung up on him, but he soon discovered the gray market of jet-power enthusiasts. His turbine, a former military powerplant manufactured in the 1960s, came from a guy who’d been using it in his Honda CRX and was trading up. The rest of the parts were either fabricated in John’s Philadelphia shop, custom made by someone sympathetic to the project (like the shocks Elka whipped up just for him) or acquired from the far-flung reaches of the Internet (parts for a 40-year-old turbine being typically out of stock at Lowe’s).

Beside the obvious logistical challenges of cramming a jet turbine spewing 1300°F exhaust on a small platform inches behind the driver’s head—throwing off the weight and balance of the entire vehicle—and accounting for an entirely new set of mechanical and electrical systems, is the fact that small single stage turbines like to run at 102 percent of power 100 percent of the time, but it’s a little hard to steer a four-wheeler going balls out through the woods (well, for very long anyway). Carnett’s solution (and a good portion of the ten-months spent building it): install a hydraulic drive system in between the turbine and the built-in gear box. A single axis joystick style controller, like those that control massive mining equipment, acts as an accelerator, adjusting the current flowing to the hydraulic pump, which regulates how much of the turbine’s power makes it to the drive shaft.

After an initial cop-taunting run around the streets of Philly, Carnett took the beast to the woods for its initial off-road run last week, and sent back this note, which pretty well sums it up: “This past Saturday I took the WHIRL to a 14-acre area for R&D. The machine exceeded my dreams, scared a few people and made me smile so hard that it hurt. It’s rather like standing next to a 114db hot dog cooker that could explode at any time: tens of thousands of RPMs by your head, 8,000 RPM by your ass. The danger seems to defy the logic of the device. You get into an adrenaline rush that is unlike anything you could imagine—faster thru the woods, mud flying- at the very edge of control; then still faster; you get to the point of almost crashing prior to slowing down. Limits appear; the blurr stops; the turbine whine slows; you get out then fall to the ground with a body bruised yet feel no pain…