Trail Rider Magazine

Flashback! Spring Forward March 2021 5 With winter, for the most part, now behind us, we're happy to be back at it with the first event coverage of the season inside this issue. Our Southeastern Contribu ng Editor Bill Pa erson made the scene at South East Extreme Riders Round #1 Covid Cu er 2.0, a three-hour Hard Enduro event on a six-mile loop of pure nas ness. Held at Holly- tree Offroad Park in the mountains of northern Alabama, the draw was huge with so much pent-up desire to race. For those unfamiliar, Holl- ytree is the only off-road park in the U.S. that's open 365 days per year. As you'll see in the full story, the terrain was brutal, but everyone who made the scene had mile-wide grins. No spectator assistance was allowed and racers worked together to help each other out of tough situa ons. We're excited about what SEER has going on this season and you can look forward to more coverage during the 2021 season. Speaking of 2021, it's hard to believe here in March, we're one full year into the Covid Pandemic. As I pack the Sprinter for our annual trip down south for the first vintage race weekend of the season, the White Lightning, I'm thinking back about the uncertainty I felt on the return trip 12 months ago. What were we in for? Would Trail Rider be out of business? Would the sport of motorcycling be able to survive? I also remember the doom and gloom seminar that the Motorcycle Industry Council presented at the 2019 AIMExpo, outlining the dire straits of the industry and what steps needed to be taken to lure millennials into riding motorcycles. Well, I'm happy to report that Trail Rider is healthy as a horse, with new subscrib- ers increasing every month, along with adver sers repor ng sales numbers blowing through the roof. In a recent conversa on with Steve Zollinger of Sco s Performance, Steve Z said damper sales have been in the hundreds day a er day for months on end! With new bike sales also enjoying an explosion, bikes have been hard to get, hence used bikes are worth more than ever. Interes ngly enough, Zollinger also men- oned how components for Kawasaki KDXs have seen a huge resurgence. It makes sense to us as the KDX was always a great bike, and it's cool to see so many seeing the light of day and enjoyed once again. As for Team Trail Rider, we've been busy prepping a few race bikes for the upcoming season. As you'll see a li le deeper in this issue, we've been busy freshening up a pair of KTM mini bikes for a couple young friends. Thanks to our local KTM dealer Maine-ly Ac on Sports, we were handed a pair of 2007 KTMs, a 50 Senior Adventure and a 65SX. We've recently completed a wheel-to-wheel resurrec on of the 65 and are looking forward to helping out our nine-year-old friend CJ in the upcoming J Day Offroad race season. We're excited about how this li le guy will take to this li le ripper. Although CJ's only 9, he's been riding bikes for more than half his life. Although he's yet to enter an organized event, he's got countless hours behind the bars on everything from Yamaha PW50s, li le TTRs, and his most recent ride a 2020 Honda CRF110F that he's mastered quite well. Now this is where it will get interes ng; CJ weighs only 70 lbs.; his CRF110F weighs a whopping 170 lbs. and only makes 7hp. Watching this li le kid rip around the property has been fun. The kid's got natural talent, with all limbs moving in unison and eyes peeled, looking ahead. The fact that CJ never sits down is pre y cool. The kid's constantly on the pegs, and he uses the en re package like a pro. Here's where it's gonna get fun. The KTM 65SX weighs in at 120 lbs., a whopping 50 lbs. lighter than what he's used to and a lot more suspension. As for horse power, we're told a fresh 65SX puts out a whopping 19hp. — almost triple the power and 50 pounds less than his Honda. As you can imagine, watching it all unfold should be fun. We full-sized adults can easily no ce a 20 lb. difference in bike weight never mind a 50 lb. reduc on in weight when the rider only weighs 70 pounds! You can rest assured we'll do our best to document this process with pictures and video posted on Trailrider.com

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