Ride with your kids. They don’t care what you ride or if you are out of shape or have an old bike or if the dirt conditions and the place you go is not perfect. All they know is that they are having a fun time with you riding.
James Lancaster Challenge #101daysbehindbars Day #1
It was New Years Day, location Browns Camp, in the Tillamook Forest deep in the hills of coastal Oregon. I had the luck of riding with Thor Drake from SEE SEE Motorcycles.
Day started off tough. The night before, Thor texted me and asked if I wanted to wake up at 5 a.m. to go ride motorcycles. Mission accepted.
So, with that, I woke up this morning and like Thor suggested, my alarm went off at 5 a.m. for what I was hoping would be a great day riding. Weather-wise, it had been sprinkling, and was about 45°. I felt okay with that because it was supposed to warm up to about 50, with some rain but not a lot. After all, it’s Browns Camp. Location means nothing, other than just that - a location. It’s a place to go, a place to ride, a place that’s open year-round, and even though it is a busy place just west of Portland, it is a place to go. With that 5 a.m. alarm, we were planning on being there by 7, which made me laugh because it’s not even light out till about 7:30 in the morning around here. That was just fine, because I have a light on my bike. So, the 5 AM New Year’s Day alarm goes off and I scramble to get my stuff together. I pour some coffee and head out to start the van.
I remember my DEF fluid is low. It’s always something.
I need to fill my DEF diesel exhaust fluid, but now leaving my hometown of Sandy, Oregon, nothing in town is open. I mean, it’s before dawn on New Years Day. I try to stop by 7-Eleven. No luck. They don’t carry any. So, I drive to Chevron, the next gas station to try and buy some. I show up a few minutes early so I have to wait until they open. As the open sign lights up, I run in. It’s just my luck, they are sold out so now I have to make the drive from Sandy to Gresham wondering if my van I’ll go into limp mode.
But it’s okay because I’m going riding.
I shoot Thor a quick text to let him know that I’m running behind and that I would try to find some exhaust fluid. I end up finding some in Gresham and I’m on my way. I don’t know about you, but this kind of thing throws me back, because I feel like I have not held up to my end of the plan. This chase has put me behind schedule. I’m behind.
It’s okay because I’m going riding.
It’s unspoken code to show up on time. Cell phones ruined that code, giving us too much flexibility and chance to change things up on your plans. You should be somewhere when you say you’re going to be somewhere. Cell phones are great and everything, but our parents and grandparents were able to make plans and show up on time without having to communicate in-between via texts.
As I roll up and meet Thor at the gas station, he laughs out loud and hands me a hot coffee. Damn, that was cool. I had some coffee from home, but it was all gone, and Thor had a fresh set of coffee in a thermos for me. We took off out of the gas station to head up to Browns Camp.
Now those of you that are reading this know that Browns Camp is kind of a collector environment - it’s where everybody goes - jeeps, trucks, four-wheelers, UTV‘s, and dirtbikes, and of all skill levels too - beginners, intermediates, juniors, pros. Browns Camp is seen as not super technical, and that’s ok. It’s New Year’s Day and we just wanted to get some riding in.
As long as the wheels are turning on the bikes, everything is good. We unloaded, got our gear on, and put our goggles on and we headed out.
It was still just a little bit dark, but we were riding and that’s what mattered. As we left our vans, we headed out. It’s just sprinkling a little bit and all the puddles were as full as they could be. It had been raining all night. We were pretty much alone on the trails, it being so early, and I all the people were still sleeping off their NYE hangovers, so there we went skipping through the puddles and having the best time.
This trip wasn’t about the location and it wasn’t about the terrain. It was just about meeting up and seeing a friend and riding our motorcycles together. My bike ran fine, no adjustments or anything were needed. I added a little bit of fuel and that was it. It has a hard hard time starting though when it’s cold. I still have all of the emissions that came on the 2017 Husqvarna 501 so it takes a little bit of time for the electric start to kick in. The batterie is OK this time as last weekend I needed a jump but that’s only because I hadn’t rode the bike enough.
That’s kind of why I was here. I needed a ride, more simply, I needed to just ride a motorcycle. I’s not about riding all the cool places, and it’s not about riding with only the cool people. It’s just about riding. After losing grandpa this year, and having a little more time to think about the things that are the most important, including doing what I love, like riding my motorcycle.
Which brings me to my riding thought this day on New Year’s Day 2021, is that we are just simply riding. We are riding because we can. We’re riding because we have just enough money to pay for these dirt bikes we are riding because we are healthy enough and, during this global pandemic we’re riding because some people can’t some people can’t afford life in general so we shouldn’t be complaining at all if we can ride or cannot ride it’s all about the act.
When my wife Meagan worked for the ALS Association she taught me a very important lesson. At dinner time, we used to sit down and talk about our day. She would ask me, “Joey how was your day?” I’d reply with something like “Oh man, I got a flat tire today.”, Or "Man, I really didn’t the thing that I wanted to happen with so-and-so account didn’t come through, so it wasn’t a very good day.” And I would ask her about her day.
Sometimes, she’d reply with something like “Well, you remember so and so and his family from last year right?”, and I’d nod, and she would go on to tell me that he passed away from ALS and that she had to talk his family today about what was next for them and how the ALS Association was going to help. My point is, her bad day was trying to talk someone through a death in their family, while my bad day was having a flat tire or having something not important at work not work out. Sometimes, it’s the little things, the small lessons that really stick with you and remind you what really is important.
And with that, we went riding because we could. We were riding because we had two legs and had just enough money left over to own a motorcycle and we had just enough time left like New Year’s Day to get in a quick ride at Browns Camp.
So this is the challenge in memory of my grandpa James Lancaster.
We challenge you to this. 101 times, ride a motorcycle this year. No, that’s not necessarily 101 trips - maybe you live in the city or maybe you have a minibike or maybe you have a street bike you could ride to work. Simply throw your leg over a motorcycle 101 times in the year of 2021. It’s the James Lancaster Memorial Challenge and 101 time challenge.
Let’s see if you can do it. This was my day one.
It’s okay because I went riding.
Dirt Bike Cartoon Adventures
A few adventures we have had that turned into Dirt Bike Cartoon Adventures. Get out there and enjoy all kinds of dirt biking. Old, New. Motocross and Off-Road.
Do it!
Snow adventure in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho.
Rory Sullivan pondering life in the Gifford Pinchot forest.
Ryden Cunningham enjoying some 21 and Hammered event ride at Browns Camp.
Jason Matheney ripping the old RMX 250 at Browns Camp.
Our old 1979 XR250 we built for the Hangover Scramble.
A trip in Moab Utah.
Wheelies in Moab.
Pool Party in Baja Mexico.
Joey Lancaster on the starting line at HRMC in Richland, Wa
Mt. View Cycle Park
Sitting on a big rock in McCall Idaho.
Bikes warming up at Baumgartner campground in 14 degree weather so we can get them to start.
Joey Lancaster with a “No footer, one hander” on the old XR500 during the 21 and Hammered vintage bike event at Browns Camp, Oregon.
How we found the 1984 YZ125 we use at the 125 Dream Race.
Pulling your bike out for spring
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How to prepare your bike for riding after winter from someone probably not qualified enough to talk about maintaining a bike.
First things first, start off by brushing off the pressure washer and washing the bike. Unless you keep your bike in a bubble, no doubt there is a layer of dust and possible cobwebs. My prefered way to wash my bike is spraying it down with only water to get the large clumps of dirt off. Then I'll mix a spray bottle of Simple Green or our local Dirt Bandit with water. Spray the bike down and let it sit for a minute or two to break down the dirt and other contaminants then spray it off. Then you are done!
Now that you have got a clean bike, you can start checking bolts and other necessities.
Firstly, go over all of your 8mm bolts. All plastics, as well as clutch cover and water pump, use 8mm bolts to keep them in place. Then move up to check 10mm bolts. These typically hold the seat, subframe, forks, and front axle in place. Of any of these are loose, it could be very dangerous on track and could injure you or other riders. Move to checking the linkage and shock bolts. At this point, it might be beneficial to disassemble the shock linkage and regrease and replace the bearings. Running these dry will not allow the rear shock to function properly, which could mean stability issues because the forks will be working extra to compensate.
Moving onto controls, replace or apply some WD-40 to throttle and clutch cables. Having either of these stick or not work properly can one, inhibit the control of your bike to ride it at your best and two, can potentially harm other riders in an accident. Make sure to let the air out of spring forks to maximize fork travel.
Lastly, these should be done before every ride. Changing engine oil is essential to keeping your engine running clean and making it last the longest it can. Cleaning your air filter is the best preventative maintenance to do. Having any dirt getting into the motor can become very costly. Go over all spokes to keep the wheels in true. More personal preference but check tire pressure before every time riding. Too low will result in debeading. Follow the ol’ 3 finger rule for chain tension and use chain lube to protect against rust. Check coolant at the beginning of every ride day and fill it with water if needed. Now get yourself some fresh 92 in the gas can and you are almost ready to go! “Give’r a kick” (or press the button) and make sure the bike is operating correctly before making the trip to the track or trails.
Have fun and ride safe!
If all else fails, just steal your brothers bike to go ride. Sorry Joe.
This post was written by MototheNW contributor, Logan Feeder.
Snow Biking - Is it cool or just cold?
Well, I bet you have seen all of the photos of your buddies buying up the snow bike kits and bolting them up to their moto bikes. A few weeks ago, I contacted fellow adventure-seeker and local rider Jake Metteer, and he offered me the opportunity to hit up the picturesque area around Mt. St. Helens and see for myself what the elusive snow bike was all about. Up for grabs was a 2017 Kawasaki KX450 with a Camso snow bike kit bolted up, courtesy of Bent Lever Motorsports, and you better believe I grabbed it!
This year, we've received an incredible amount of snow and like many around our area, I found myself wishing for the weather to change to our wet northwest spring so I could get back outside on a bike. Instead, this was the year I gave snow biking a try.
On the day we headed to the mountain, the weather was a little warm. Rain down low was expected, but we pushed on in search of white. As we parked on the side of the road I started to get my gear on and unload these contraptions. I've been around motorcycles my entire life, and I can say I have never felt so alien around a dirt bike. I was standing there, wondering what in the heck I was doing. As I doubted myself, the little voice inside reminded me that it's just a dirt bike and I'd be just fine.
The rain was constant and soaking, as we took off and headed down the slushy, snow-packed road. My first impression was WTF? I was all over the road, fighting the bike like I had two flat tires. I felt like I was in for a ride. We had a ten-mile ride, just to get to the area we planned on riding and it was a fight most of those ten miles. When we finally stopped, I said, "This is hard and I suck at this." The other riders all laughed and told me that they had never ridden on these crappy of snow conditions. They assured me that it will feel effortless when we find good snow.
Man, were they right! We found the snow. The bike started to float over it all and my face started cramping up from my smile smashed in my helmet. You could go wherever you wanted, not needing a track or a trail but only the snow. You could aim for a big pile of snow and send it. As my confidence grew, we started racing straight through the woods. We were making our own trail. We could go anywhere. As we popped out from under the tree branches, there was a hole over a creek that decided to grab one of the rider's bikes. This is where the serious part starts to set in. Luckily, we were a group of seven, so dragging a bike out of a hole like that was easy. But if it was just you or you and a buddy it can very quickly turn into a survival trip. We were able to pull it out and were off again, shredding around the open meadows and jumping snow piles. It was crazy fun.
In the end, I was freezing cold, hungry and soaking wet. Was it cool? Hell yeah, it was cool. Will I buy a snow bike kit soon? I will probably buy one if the winters are like this year every year, but as for now, I will be running it just like the way I look at having a new ski boat.
Ski boats are cool. I don't own a ski boat. But, I have a buddy that owns a ski boat and he will let me use it.
The Ted Hoosk
Have you ever heard of Steve McQueen? I hope you have because he's a damn icon, and so is the bike he rode in the famous film, On Any Sunday.
Over the summer, Joey and I had planned on hitting Albany MX for a 125 Dream Race shoot, and by planned what I mean is he called me from the road the morning of and told me to meet him somewhere on the side of the road. If only we'd known the gem of a day we were about to have.
After rendezvousing at a nearby store, Joey began telling me about his latest idea. He has about 1,001 every day, I'm convinced. Although I don't remember that one, what I do remember is Joey telling me that an old fellow came into Apex Motorsports, and told him about an old Hoosk 400 Cross he was selling. When Joey clarified that is was a running Husqvarna 400 Cross, his eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store. The man with the Hoosk for sale was named Ted, a genuine bad ass. Apparently, Joey wrote his number on a napkin and said he would be in contact.
As we're driving through Salem on our way to Albany, Joey gave old Ted a call to make arrangements to check out this mystical motorcycle. I was excited to see this thing after hearing how he came across such a deal. After all, Ted wanted all of $800 for his machine.
Once we got to the track it was all business, roost, and photos. Joey came to the conclusion that his 125 still ran, but needed a rebuild. We wondered if Ted had gotten back to us about the Hoosk, so we packed up and hit the road back toward Portland. Joey's phone rang with Ted on the other end and it was on! Joey needed to get the cash together and go scoop up this bike, but there was a problem. It was a Sunday and Joey's bank was closed, with his ATM limits maxed out. So, he made me grab the other half of the cash we needed. Our hope was restored.
Upon arriving at Ted's home, we knew by looking at the old Chevy pickup in his driveway, that we were in for a treat. He took us to the side of the house where this mystical 400 Cross sat, perched against the fence, still covered in mud from a recent trip to the Tillamook State Forest.
Ted shared some of his riding adventures with us (Ted is in his 70's, by the way, and finally thought it was time to give up riding off-road). When you meet a guy like this, something hits you. For me, it was imagining myself when I'm this guy's age having to give up riding dirtbikes. It kind of sucked for a minute. Then I remembered. I've got years to go, and smiled. Ted started the stubborn old bike in his shoes, after mentioning he'd broken his foot once starting it cold. Joey and I looked each other and chuckled.
Our story got even better as Ted left us alone for a minute, and ran into the garage. He popped back out with the original manual and tool kit, something we could have never expected. It was obvious Ted loved this bike, cared for it, and even though the scratches and dents told us it wasn't in perfect condition, it's the scratches and dents that give the bike its opportunity to tell its own story. And those are good stories.
You know riding is important to someone when they tear up as their motorcycle gets loaded into someone else's rig, but Ted knew we would give the bike years of adventure, so we shook hands and we were off.
We got it home, took some photos, and then I got eager. I had never started a cranky old big bore two stroke. Wearing Vans, I threw my left leg over the bike, got a compression crank and went for it. Joey about fell over laughing at me, as it kicked back and killed my foot and almost threw me off the bike!
I found my boots and eventually got it started (before Joey of course). We then proceeded to ride it up and down my neighborhood street, smiling from ear to ear like we were little kids.
Joey calls this the Holy Grail of vintage bike finds. It's the bike that Steve McQueen and Malcom Smith rode in the classic On Any Sunday film. Sometimes, the motorcycle buying experience can be ruined by anti-personal, online transactions. These purchases are loveless. A big part of the love that we have for all motorcycles starts with the story. It starts at the beginning. If you're lucky to find one of the most classic, vintage motocross bikes, that's one thing. But if you're lucky to sit down with the original owner, learning the history and the adventures the bike has been through, you can commit to continuing the story while feeding the soul of the motorcycle. It will feed your soul too. Sometimes, bikes find you. This bike found Joey in the most old school, organic kind of way.
So, is it for sale? Never.
- Kit
When track days aren't just about the racing.
Spring and summer are so busy.
Spring and summer are so busy when you have kids.
Spring and summer are so busy when you have kids and hobbies and you spend nearly every weekend at a motocross track. Before you know it, spring and summer are over, and hopefully, you're left with pictures to remind you that busy is good.
Busy is really, really good. Sharing weekends together at the track is even better, and it's not just about the racing.
Track days are about so much more. I'm a wife of an endless adventurer, one who has also dedicated days and months and years to racing motocross. My husband has celebrated huge wins and suffered big too, now donning an amount of internal hardware similar to the nuts and bolts section of the local Ace Hardware Store.
When we met, I thought the time at the track was about earning a coveted spot on the podium. We'd pack the moto van with the 2004 CRF 250, PB&J fixings, sleeping bags and a few post-race cold ones. At the time, I thought it was all about the racing. I thought that I was tagging along to watch him do his best to snag a win and help drive his tired and sore body home. But I look back, and for me, it was all about the adventure.
It was about spending time together, supporting each other and feeling supported. It was about creating some kickass memories while earning a few bucks if the day turned out as we hoped it would. I wasn't giving up my weekends after all. I was gaining so, so much.
Those few bucks piled up, and eventually bought me my engagement ring. I joke now that I'm ever indebted to the sport. Smart move, right?
Now we travel differently. We fill a ridiculously sized motorhome full of toddler gear, real meals, and endless snacks. We bring dirtbikes (plural) and strollers and bicycles. We pack so much that I'm in awe every time that I will, in fact, forget something important. I don't forget to pack pretty good wine and he still packs his PBR for post-race bench-racing. I still stand by the fence, my hands wrapped in the chain-link and my heart still drops when the gate does. I still cheer and I still hold my breath when he hits the triple. The big difference now is that my other hand is wrapped around our daughter's. We're raising a track kid, and we're working hard to be an example to her that track days aren't just about the racing. Sometimes, I still drive his tired and sore body home. But, we're doing more than just that.
We are celebrating each other and our hobbies. We are teaching our kids how much fun it is to turn off the television, get outside, run and jump and play, get dirty and sleep hard. We are making the kind of memories that will last a lifetime and we are loving our real and true life friendships that we've made over the years.
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate a top three finish. But I appreciate even more the weekends traveling together and waking up on Monday morning, knowing that my weekend was probably better than everyone else's at the office.
Building fun dirtbikes out of crap dirtbikes
A before and after. The XR250 was clapped out.
For just $175, we scored a 1979 XR250 and a parts XR500 from Craigslist one very lucky evening. We already had another parts bike we got off the internet a few months ago. It was posted as a XR500. It was located in Central Oregon, hours from Lancaster Land. I called in a favor from a buddy who lives in the area, and he picked it up for parts and delivered it for $200. When he dropped it off, I discovered that it was a 250. Bummed with the discovery, I then turned it into a opportunity to build the XR parts bike with the other parts bike.
Did you watch the tear down video? If not, do yourself a favor and check it out. It is on our Facebook page.
So, what was up with these bikes?
- One of the bikes was parked from a broken head bolt when the owner tried to put a new timing chain guide in.
- The other bike had a broken rocker arm in the head.
- The Craig's special came with a new Clarke plastic tank.
- The Central Oregon bike had never been washed in its life.
Can you believe there was only 1833 miles on this clapped out piece of awesome and it came with a Supertrap exhaust. That was a plus.
For the build, we were able to use both engines to come up with one fire-breathing XR250, or more like 70 year old chain smoking chugalugger.
The rear axle took four beers and three guys to beat out with a hammer, WD-40 and a torch. We went with the other bikes rear wheel because it had better bearings.
We were able to finish piecing it together with the exhaust and cables from the parts bikes. And...it ran! I did forget to mention that with both bikes, we only had one head engine mount. We had to make one out of a old YZ250F skid plate. It's all about creativity. And after a couple of beers, we were feeling pretty creative.
We added an old 1975 21' Elsinore front wheel to get rid of the 23' wagon wheel that comes on the XR. Finally, we added fenders. Now she is ready for action. And just to give us the boost we needed, GoldenTyre hooked it up for fresh rubber.
Pre race photo of the bike ready to race at Washougal for the Hangover Scramble on New Year's Day 2016. It would be a battle between Joey and our buddy Rory Sullivan (#272) on old bikes in the AA class. Rory was on a sad TTR225.
Although she was slow, she sure made it fun to take in the track in a different way and turn normal bumps into sweet jumps.
Rory had some engine problems on the first lap. We didn't get to have a epic battle, but we still had to take a XR victory shot over his sad Yamaha TTR.
In the end this is a story about having fun with cheap dirt bikes. It's about spending some quality time with your buddies in the shop, a few beers and taking your contraptions to the track.
Do yourself a favor and try it. Your new bike may just sit on the stand the next time you load up to go ride.
Cheers.
#motothenw