Is it possible to race a modern adventure bike in a desert rally race? That’s the question we asked after watching Paris-Dakar videos from the early ‘90s. So we decided to create a modern version of Suzuki's legendary DR Big Paris-Dakar racer. We spent months building a 2023 V-Strom 800DE for the 2024 NORRA Mexican 1000 Rally, and now it’s time to go racing! Will we make it to the finish?
Ride along with Cycle World as we race 1350 miles through Baja, Mexico.
Build video: https://youtu.be/-5j7Ue_tQwE?si=OlaLx5NANbcexQhS
Subscribe to Cycle World Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/c/cycleworld?sub_confirmation=1
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6CLI74xvMBFLDOC1tQaCOQ
Read more from Cycle World: https://www.cycleworld.com/
Buy Cycle World Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/cycleworld
Ride along with Cycle World as we race 1350 miles through Baja, Mexico.
Build video: https://youtu.be/-5j7Ue_tQwE?si=OlaLx5NANbcexQhS
Subscribe to Cycle World Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/c/cycleworld?sub_confirmation=1
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6CLI74xvMBFLDOC1tQaCOQ
Read more from Cycle World: https://www.cycleworld.com/
Buy Cycle World Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/cycleworld
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SportsTranscript
00:00Most people come to Baja for relaxation and vacation, but we came to race.
00:10This is the Noram Mexican 1000 Rally.
00:15We transformed a stock Suzuki V-Strom 800DE into a fully-fledged rally racer
00:21with a bunch of choice modifications to race this adventure bike against a swarm of smaller and lighter bikes.
00:28There's 2,168 kilometers or 1,347 miles between us and the finish line in San Jose del Cabo.
00:37But first, we need to explain what I've got myself into.
00:57We made it to Ensenada with a rally bike, finally.
01:00Right now, we went registration, we got our numbers on our bike, so now we can go over to tech.
01:05We're going to check the bike over for all the required equipment,
01:07which is basically the tracker systems on the bike, you have your survival gear with you,
01:13you have your helmet, and everything jives with the rules.
01:17It's almost like a slow-moving parade, and we still have to do a little bit of test riding.
01:22Right now, the bike has 92 miles on it, and we're going to go race it 1,600 miles.
01:27That's not a good combo, usually.
01:29Hopefully, they don't send us back to fix something.
01:32But I think we're good. I think we're good.
01:36Before racing begins, there's two days of tech inspections, rider meetings, and last-minute preparation in Ensenada.
01:42I can already feel the pressure building, and I might not look it, but I am nervous.
01:47Although Nora's tagline for the Mexican 1000 is the happiest race on Earth, it's still a race.
01:53And as much as that's true, the teamwork, community, and camaraderie among racers
01:57to help each other get across the finish line is incredible, as we soon came to find out.
02:02I spent over 100 hours building the best racer I could, evoking the spirit of Suzuki's DR Big Rally Racer from the 90s.
02:10There's never been a V-Strom like this one. It's a real rally racer now.
02:15But I still haven't even ridden this beast in the dirt.
02:18As soon as we're done with tech, we have to go ride this thing and figure out if I got it all right or I got it totally wrong.
02:29We passed tech inspection without any issues, and the race fans were really impressed with our DR Big.
02:34Now, we just need to have the Stella tracking unit installed, and then we can get to work testing the bike.
02:40So they're putting the Stella unit on. That's the thing that gives you all the warnings.
02:45You know, if something's coming up behind you fast, like if a trophy truck's coming up behind you,
02:52lets you know if there's danger ahead, gives you speed warnings in the speed areas, so it's kind of an important deal.
03:00Most people know the Baja 1000, but this race is different than that all-out, one-and-done race.
03:06Think of this as a shorter version of the Dakar Rally.
03:10There's six days of racing consisting of special stages, that's the actual timed racing,
03:14and transfer sections that get you to and from the special stages, but those don't count against your actual race time.
03:20Unlike the Baja 1000, the Mezca's are a little bit different.
03:25All you have to guide you is a scroll of paper with course notes, a compass, and a trip meter
03:29housed in the custom-built rally tower sitting front and center.
03:33Not only do you have to ride well, you have to navigate well.
03:37There are plenty of riders that can go fast, but the Rally Pros can navigate, strategize, and ride smart at the same time.
03:44It's like trying to cook a gourmet meal, but you have to be fast.
03:48The cool thing about Nora is they really embraced a lot of different vehicles.
03:52It was cool, I was really stoked to see your twin-cylinder showing up.
03:56Now we've got some Ducatis, we almost had a Cove.
03:59We're going to give you the opportunity to have a really good experience on whatever bike it is.
04:04Thanks.
04:18Hopefully you get to finish it too.
04:20The question I have is actually where the start line is, I don't even know.
04:23I'm assuming it's over there.
04:27With tech inspection done, we can finally get our bike in the dirt for the very first test ride.
04:32TORQ's a little slow, or a little soft.
04:50More compression in the front, more rebound in the front, more rebound in the rear.
04:55Maybe a little compression in the rear and we're good, but it's 90% there.
04:59Brakes are actually just fine for the dirt.
05:02When you've got to gather it up really fast, the lever is still a little squishy.
05:08I think we just need to bleed it again.
05:13But overall, if I rode this as a brand new adventure bike,
05:19if I went to a press launch and they were like, here's our new adventure bike,
05:22and I got on it, I would be like, this thing is sick.
05:27What's rad about the Muses is in the rocks,
05:30like all the sharp edge rocks,
05:32dude, the bike just goes, it just goes right through it.
05:35Just goes blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
05:37Right away, I knew I had something special in this bike.
05:39All those hours of hard work paid off.
05:41The suspension is amazing.
05:43The handling is great and everything works as it should.
05:46That's one of what feels like 100 worries checked off the list.
05:51Okay, so we're back from doing our shakedown run,
05:53which was pretty short, I think it was only about 15 miles.
05:56But in those 15 miles, I learned a ton about this bike,
05:59and I got really, really close in the settings
06:03just by sitting on the stand, bouncing up and down on it in the dirt.
06:07I only had to do a few clicker settings.
06:09This thing's ready to go.
06:10I'm really, really surprised how close I got it.
06:13I was honestly sweating the whole time we were getting to go test the bike,
06:18and now I'm totally ready.
06:20I'm ready to go racing and I'm not even stressed.
06:26I forgot that I needed clear goggles to ride to the staging area
06:30because it's still nighttime.
06:33I was like a kid waiting for Christmas morning.
06:35There's very little sleep and lots of scenarios running through my head.
06:39But now, there's nothing to do but race.
06:41Day one, we'll run from the west coast port of Ensenada
06:44to San Felipe on the Sea of Cortez,
06:46spanning 360 kilometers or 223 miles of racing
06:51over two special stages and two transfer stages.
06:54There's a pit in my stomach, and as soon as I can get to riding and navigating,
06:57the better I'm going to feel.
06:59I think we're in a good place.
07:01I mean, it's everyone's first time doing this type of race, right,
07:05and getting ready for this type of race.
07:07So it's just organization, but there's a lot of things you don't think of.
07:11And we find that out as we realize we haven't thought of them.
07:15So, but overall, I think we're good.
07:18Okay, good morning, everybody.
07:20Morning.
07:22Justin Dawes, 11th.
07:24Morning. How you doing?
07:25Morning.
07:26Is this yours?
07:27Yeah.
07:28Lovely.
07:29Thank you.
07:30Nice choice.
07:31I'm Simon.
07:32Nice to meet you.
07:33I'm Justin.
07:34Yeah.
07:35I didn't know you were busy, so I wanted to introduce myself and say,
07:36no worries.
07:37Nice.
07:38I knew it was coming.
07:39Interesting choice.
07:48First time loading a road book.
07:49I've seen a dot on TV.
07:54So I think we got it.
07:55It's a little crooked this time, but we'll get better at it.
08:00Two months ago, I started with a stock Vstrom 800DE,
08:03and now I'm just seconds away from proving that this adventure bike
08:07can be a hardcore rally racer.
08:09It's finally time to start.
08:11I'm focused.
08:12The prep is done.
08:13The bike is ready.
08:15And now it comes down to what feels like one single moment in time.
08:19The start.
08:20Out on the course, all worries left.
08:23I just concentrated on riding well and paying attention to the course notes.
08:27The first day is all about points, and I'm looking back at my team today
08:30and think, wow, I believe now.
08:33I have my first win for the week.
08:35I'm just starting out, but my heart is filled with confidence.
08:38I'm going all out and I'm going to try to win this,
08:40but I have no doubt that I'm going to get better.
08:42I'm not looking back.
08:43I'm just going to get better.
08:44So I'm going to try and get better.
08:45Let's get started.
08:46So I'm going to try and get better.
08:47I'm going to try and get better.
08:48The first day is all about finding a groove and limiting my mistakes.
08:52You can't win a rally on day one, but you sure can lose it.
09:18We're here at the first assistant zone, waiting for Justin Dawes.
09:21Hopefully he comes in, no bike changes, nothing's wrong.
09:24We'll just get back on the road and make up some time.
09:29So you're going to ask me what's going on right now.
09:31And the truth is, I don't really know. None of us really know.
09:33We've been waiting here for a while at the assistance point.
09:36A lot of bikes come through already, even a couple vintage bikes.
09:39Which isn't the best sign because they started pretty far behind us.
09:42We're hoping it was just maybe a little bit of a navigation issue.
09:45Dawes got off course, and he just took a little time to find his way back.
09:50It's day one, so if that's the case, we can make it up.
09:53At worst, you know, there was maybe an incident.
09:56I just hope he'll be okay.
09:58But yeah, I don't know. I think we just don't know right now.
10:01We don't know. We're still waiting.
10:03And yeah, fingers crossed, Dawes gets back in here pretty soon.
10:08And if there are any issues, we can take care of it pretty quick and get him back on the road.
10:16He's pulling it.
10:18He's pulling it, and then the Stella fell off.
10:21This thing fell off like six times.
10:24And then I got lost for like 20 minutes.
10:27Am I like one of the last ones?
10:29Probably.
10:33This one's still here, but we've got to put a bolt in there.
10:36Right here. Right above the bolt.
10:39I passed a bunch of people, and then my Stella flew off.
10:45And it's banging around over here.
10:47You can see the holes there.
10:53And then, so, I stopped.
10:57I put it back on, and it went again.
10:59And then it fell off again.
11:01Put it back on. Went again. Put it back on.
11:04Then I zip-tied this big old zip-tied spot.
11:07You don't need to fill it. You don't want it full, do you?
11:09No, I've got to go 90 miles.
11:11It doesn't need to be full-full.
11:13Two minutes to fixing that, and then I was lost for like 15 minutes.
11:18Like, how far ahead did the first test come through a half hour ago?
11:22An hour.
11:25As I came to find out later, the situation I found myself in
11:28is common for a first-time rally racer.
11:31Even after receiving some sage advice about slowing down or stopping
11:34when you realized you missed a turn or direction,
11:37I pushed forward and hoped I'd find the next waypoint ahead of me.
11:40But I didn't.
11:42It was much harder to find my way back on course.
11:45Now I'm way off the pace, and I have to calm myself down and focus
11:48rather than push too hard and make even more mistakes.
11:52I need to remember what my friend Ned told me.
11:55Think of navigation as a casino, and you're a card counter.
11:58When you know the deck is stacked against you,
12:00slow down, be careful, and be sure of what you're doing.
12:04When the deck is in your favor, push it and go faster.
12:07But right now, I feel like I'm barely able to even play Go Fish.
12:20The start of Special Stage 2 was a reset one.
12:23Forget the disaster of Stage 1 and concentrate at the job at hand.
12:27In front of me was El Diablo Dry Lakebed
12:30and what seemed like endless amounts of sand surrounding me.
12:33Here, I'd learned my second rally lesson.
12:37Even though this was just the first day,
12:39I felt a competitive urge I haven't had since I was racing in my 20s.
12:43That's over 25 years ago.
12:45But I wasn't the smartest racer back then,
12:48and I might not be right now.
12:50I'd been catching riders in the sand,
12:52and now I set my sights on the dust ahead of me on the dry lakebed,
12:55determined to make up time.
12:57Problem is, I forgot the golden rule of running tire muses.
13:01Rather than a tube inflated with air,
13:03a solid foam gives the tire its shape and prevents flats.
13:06But you have to limit your top speed so you don't overheat them.
13:10When you overheat, they break down and they turn to mush.
13:13I was traveling well over 100 miles an hour,
13:16and combined with the 473 pound weight of the bike,
13:20it was just too much for any muse to handle.
13:31That's the finish line.
13:33Justin Dawes with a complete flat rear tire.
13:36I'm sure that wore you out a little more than you anticipated, didn't it?
13:40Yeah, I think I cooked the most balls on the dry lakebed.
13:45I was doing over 100 on the dry lakebed,
13:48and I was having too much fun.
13:51You got a little too excited and got a little throttle heavy,
13:55but hey, you're out there having fun,
13:57but coming down the road, I was like, what's he doing?
14:00Oh, he's got a flat tire that's just dancing all over the place.
14:03I thought you were trying to show out a little bit.
14:05No, I finally gave up just right at the finish, so it was fine.
14:09Okay, so you made it here,
14:11and obviously you're going to put a new rear tire on this one.
14:13Yeah, yeah, we got a whole stack of tires in the van.
14:16Okay, and I was going to ask that question.
14:18I'm not a motorcycle guy.
14:20I like them, but I don't ride them.
14:22But do you plan on changing the tires?
14:24Front and rear or just rear?
14:26Front and rear.
14:27Okay, so get in here, get cooled off,
14:30have some tacos, some cervezas,
14:32and then go check out the bike,
14:34get it ready to roll for tomorrow's stage number two.
14:36Exactly.
14:37Awesome.
14:38Well, John Dawes made it here,
14:40and we'll let him get out there and have a screw check everything out.
14:43Another great showing on the Baja spirit of getting to the finish line.
14:47Another great showing on the Baja spirit of getting to the finish line.
14:56I don't know, it was fun.
14:58There was really fun sections,
15:00but all the sand was so soft.
15:03It wasn't like silt, but it was so soft.
15:08So there was a few times like the bike was just knife,
15:11and I had to catch the bike.
15:13It spent a lot of energy just not dropping the bike,
15:16and I fell over when I passed the camera.
15:19He blew a corner, so I slid into it,
15:22and then tried to get through the sandy section,
15:25and the front end knife, and I fell.
15:28So he stopped and helped pick it up.
15:31Then we got going again, so I let him lead out,
15:34and then he ran out of gas probably ten miles later.
15:39And then I stopped, and we tried to figure out if we could loan him some gas.
15:44I didn't have enough.
15:52Alright, here's what we learned.
15:54The moose balls got pushed a little hard today.
15:56Justin was riding pretty aggressive with some high speeds.
15:58We have a fresh set of wheels and tires already prepped with moose balls.
16:02We're going to try again tomorrow, adjust the riding style,
16:04and hopefully we can run them the rest of the trip.
16:08The plan today is to ride smooth and smart and navigate well.
16:12Yesterday, I lost a lot of time getting lost,
16:15and if I had not, I got lost.
16:18I'd be much higher up on the timesheets.
16:20I'm right in the middle, I'm 12th out of like 30 people,
16:23but I could have been up in like the top five.
16:26If I had not, I got lost.
16:28So, second half of the day,
16:31I felt like I didn't ride as well as the first half of the day,
16:34I felt like I didn't ride as well as the first half of the day,
16:37but I didn't get lost, and my times were the fourth fastest of the day.
16:41So, that shows that navigating is just as important,
16:45if not more important, than going fast.
16:52I think the team's learning all around,
16:54and we'll just keep getting a little bit better each day.
16:56So, by the end of the trip, we should be doing pretty well.
17:01It's day two, and I'm sitting in 12th overall.
17:04Although I had huge issues on special stage one,
17:07I crossed the line in fourth place at the end of special stage two.
17:11That's an unexpected and awesome result.
17:14Today, we race from San Felipe to Guerrero Negro
17:17for a total distance of 501 kilometers, or 311 miles.
17:23It's one long special stage bookended by two long transfers,
17:27which we have a solid plan for.
17:30Would I be able to make up time,
17:32or were there more hard lessons coming my way?
17:35We have a plan to take care of the rear tire and the nooses,
17:40and not ride so fast in the street,
17:42and not so fast on dry lake beds and things.
17:45I talked to Alexander Smith, and I was like,
17:48oh, I screwed up the rear tire on the dry lake bed,
17:50and he's like, just so you know, I went 60 miles an hour on the dry lake bed.
17:54I went like 120, so that's where it went wrong.
17:58So in our class, we're allowed to transfer the bike on the road,
18:25so we're putting the bike in the van and driving it the next 100 miles.
18:55While I thought the second half of day one was tough,
19:11today was even tougher.
19:13The navigation was trickier, the sand was deeper and softer,
19:16and there are plenty of places to make mistakes that could cost you a lot of time.
19:20However, I rode well despite a few tip overs
19:23and reached the gas stop in a good position
19:25as I passed a bunch of other riders where navigation was confusing and tough.
19:39You need cold water on your back?
19:46I think it's good news. I mean, he came in, he was on time.
19:51Not too slow, not too fast, just cruising.
19:54I think everything's good. Bike looks good.
19:57He didn't crash it. Couldn't ask for anything more.
20:10Then, a small riding error turned into a big issue,
20:13but I went offline into a rock and boulder filled lake.
20:22Great. Train came off.
20:37I was in the trail, I hit it, knocked me off trail,
20:41and I cased it into that big old rock over there,
20:43and then it ripped my chain off.
20:47Not cool.
20:52Now I'm very tired because
20:57even just that little bit is tiring compared to just riding.
21:01Not that riding isn't tiring, though.
21:10It's fun.
21:15It's been really hard to keep track of Justin
21:17just because we don't have Starlink.
21:19A lot of people have internet service through the Starlink and a tracker.
21:22We've kind of been able to piggyback off some people
21:24and get a rough idea of where he's at on the course.
21:27We think he should be coming in pretty soon,
21:30but not too sure, honestly.
21:33A couple things we do know from the guys that have come in are now
21:36is that this morning was really technical
21:38because of the sand,
21:39and the afternoon was really technical because of the rocks.
21:42It was a bunch of rocky uphill stuff,
21:44so we're expecting him to be a little bit tired coming in.
21:47We'll get him some water and stuff like that,
21:49but after that we're basically wrapping up with the day.
21:52And, yeah, get him into town,
21:54and we'll digest the day, see how it went for him,
21:57and move on to the next day.
22:01Well, problem number two.
22:04Tubing cracked.
22:08I'm nervous.
22:10This rally tower wants to leave the bike.
22:14We're here at the second assistance zone.
22:16Dawg should be coming in pretty shortly.
22:18Then it's a transfer stage.
22:19We're going to throw the bike in the van and work our way to the finish.
22:22This sucks so bad because I can't go fast.
22:26I have to go slow because you beat the rally tower to death.
22:31I don't have anything to fix it with.
22:34Zip ties.
22:36The boot seal I would think would work,
22:38but it would just break again.
22:42Here I am, just cutting along, beating myself to death,
22:46instead of skipping over everything.
22:50Day 2
23:05All right, Dawg just arrived here.
23:07A little bit of a mechanical.
23:08We still got to diagnose it.
23:10Bike's in the van.
23:11Take it to the finish.
23:12Baja spirit.
23:13Just got to get there.
23:15I'm all right.
23:16I'll be okay.
23:19I'm really disappointed in today because the bike was running good.
23:22I felt like I was going really good in the first half.
23:25The first half of today was harder than yesterday in actual physical riding,
23:30but I felt like I did good.
23:33Then I was a little tired.
23:35I was still catching people, moving through the dust, passing them.
23:39Then I made a mistake.
23:42I took the chain off the bike.
23:44Then I had to spend 10-15 minutes fixing the bike.
23:48I got video for you, at least.
23:50Put up the GoPro.
23:54Then I got going again.
23:56Then I found a second wind.
23:58I was feeling really good and flowing and starting to rip.
24:04I wanted to reel in all the people that passed me while I was broken.
24:07Then the rally tower started moving a little bit.
24:10I'm like, what's going on there?
24:12I grabbed in. It didn't feel that loose.
24:14Then a few more bumps, big bumps.
24:17It was like a pond.
24:19It was completely broken on both sides.
24:21It's the very bottom of the stocks, the Suzuki piece.
24:28It's a lot of leverage, I guess, even though that stuff is not very heavy.
24:33I think if we can weld some,
24:36just full-on Baja style,
24:39weld some angle iron on it,
24:41strengthen it up, it'll be fine.
24:43I'll make it through.
24:45I was worried about smashing all the rally gear apart,
24:48so I went really slow.
24:50I think I gave up a solid hour.
24:52I think I would have been here an hour earlier
24:54because there were sections that I was going,
24:57I don't know, 30 miles an hour that I could have been doing.
25:0060, 70.
25:04That's racing.
25:06It could be worse.
25:08You could be on fire.
25:10The big question was how long it would really take to get the tower welded up
25:13and get the bike back together.
25:15I had a feeling we'd be up all night working.
25:20Despite having to ride slowly after the tower broke,
25:23we crossed the finish line in 14th place for the stage
25:26and moved up in the overall rankings to 11th place.
25:30So we got into basically the final destination for today.
25:34There was a guy here who's opening up a motorcycle shop.
25:37He already knows some people in town,
25:39one of those being a welder.
25:41He's already coming our way.
25:43We're ripping the hardware around the tower off right now.
25:46He's going to come weld this thing up.
25:48We should be butting back up hopefully soon,
25:51and that is the good news.
25:54What we have here is the fairing stay for the front.
25:57It holds the fairing, the dash, and any clusters.
26:02Baja durability testing.
26:04We lost it here. It broke here and here.
26:07We're going to take it and have it welded back to the bike
26:09and be ready to go in the morning.
26:19We'll have it back together in an hour.
26:23So maybe an hour and a half of work to get it fixed.
26:26That's pretty good.
26:27We didn't have a welder and we didn't know anybody.
26:30That's how Baja is.
26:32Everybody knows everybody and they're always willing to help,
26:34especially racers.
26:37They will help a racer out no matter what.
26:48So we learned a lot today.
26:52Building a custom rally bike out of an adventure bike
26:56and then taking it racing without any testing at all is a bad idea.
27:02That's what we learned more than anything.
27:04But we found a couple things that were not set up properly,
27:11like the rally tower.
27:13I expected it to hold the weight,
27:15but then we found out that the tubing is a very thin wall
27:18from the stock cowling holder from Suzuki.
27:22So it cracked and it broke.
27:23That cost me probably an hour of time on the course.
27:29The other thing we learned is you can lose a lot of time
27:32screwing stuff out,
27:34but you can make a lot of time if you're just careful, meticulous,
27:38and you pay attention to what you're doing.
27:41So with those learnings, I think from here on out,
27:44I think we've sorted most of the bugs out.
27:49So with that done, tomorrow should be a problem-free day.
27:54Day 2
28:00We had issues, but I got some stuff fixed.
28:03We had a lot of maintenance to do.
28:05It was really cool that everyone stayed up late
28:07and worked on the bike while they let me go eat and go to bed.
28:10So I want to thank the team for that.
28:13Probably 10 o'clock, right before the restaurant was closing down,
28:16we were still wrenching on the bike.
28:18One of the last guys in, but we got the work done.
28:22The bike's prepped, ready to go, should be dialed, and we're here.
28:26So it's on to another day and keep trucking along.
28:29Baja spirit, baby.
28:32Bug's worked out.
28:34Jimmy says today's going to be fun,
28:36but Jimmy's definition of fun is different than every other human being on the planet.
28:40So when he says fun, it's going to be hard.
28:45It's now Day 3.
28:46The course would leave the oceanside town of Guaronegro
28:49and head to the oasis of San Ignacio.
28:52There's 401 kilometers or 249 miles to cover
28:56with just one special stage that requires two fueling points.
28:59With the tower fixed and the bike prepped,
29:01I was ready to put the last two days behind me
29:04and have a good, solid day of racing.
29:06There was going to be some tough riding,
29:08especially in the first 20 miles,
29:09but even so, today was looking to be our best day so far.
29:14The goal was to move up the overall ranking yet again.
29:18You come into where it shows a little rancho or a speed zone,
29:21always, always cows.
29:24So really,
29:27I'm saying this again,
29:29don't let a cow make you have a bad day.
29:33I don't know.
29:35What I've got to do differently to get to the finish is
29:40hopefully nothing breaks,
29:42and I'm just going to ride smooth and smart
29:45and do what I've got to do.
29:47See where I shake out.
29:49So, we'll see.
29:51So...
30:08As promised, the first dune section was tough.
30:11Navigation through the soft dunes was tricky
30:13and caught nearly everybody out.
30:16Just the slightest deviation on the compass or cap heading
30:19could lead you into some very soft sand,
30:21as I soon found out,
30:23as did many of the competitors.
30:25The great part about rally racing
30:27is the camaraderie between the racers
30:29and their willingness to help out,
30:30and I needed some help,
30:32as did some other guys right at the same time.
30:35We worked together to upright each other,
30:37and the race was back on.
30:39It's rare to see this kind of selflessness and teamwork
30:41among competitors in any other form of racing.
30:45So me, knucklehead,
30:47got out of the sand, or out of the dirt,
30:49onto the pavement, was safe,
30:51then decided it was a good idea to try to get back in the dirt
30:54to help the first van that got stuck
30:56and got the Ford van,
30:58the biggest van we brought, super stuck,
31:00got stung by a scorpion digging up the sand,
31:02have this huge roadblock going down
31:04on a two-way road, one-way road,
31:06east direction,
31:07and we're stuck in the mud,
31:09stuck in the sand, literally.
31:11So, we're in a pretty bad situation.
31:13Luckily, we've got some good locals helping us out.
31:15Hopefully, we'll be back on the road soon.
31:17So, we've got to go find Dawes.
31:18We don't even know where Dawes is.
31:20He needs gas, he needs help.
31:22I mean, we're stuck right now,
31:24but we'll get it out.
31:25It'll get out.
31:26We always do, right?
31:27But, yeah, we're stuck.
31:28It'll probably be a little bit.
31:29Only concern is obviously
31:31hoping we get to the next checkpoint
31:32before Justin does,
31:33because we've got to get Justin some gas.
31:35So, the sooner we get it out, the better.
31:39Cool.
31:41All right, vans are out.
31:42Well, the Ford van was out.
31:43That was the big one.
31:44That was stuck.
31:45Got it out.
31:46Thank you to the locals, man.
31:47That was a huge help getting us out.
31:50All right, so we are three minutes away
31:52from the checkpoint,
31:53and we just saw him transfer from the road
31:56off into the dirt.
31:57So, I assume that he got some assistance,
31:59because Jeff was a little bit ahead of us.
32:02So, we'll just have to hope and see
32:04that he's good,
32:05and we'll get more updates here shortly.
32:08Fact is, I didn't get gas.
32:10At the assistance point,
32:11your time is neutralized,
32:12meaning the clock is paused.
32:13But, only for 10 minutes.
32:15At the end of those 10 minutes,
32:17you have to leave,
32:18or you get a penalty.
32:19I knew I had two gallons in a jug
32:21and a Nora splash gas 40 miles down the course,
32:24but that might not be enough
32:27to get me to the finish line.
32:29I knew I'd have to be mindful
32:31and keep the revs down to conserve fuel.
32:33Problem is, I had more dunes to cross.
32:36All right, we beat Justin
32:37to the second assistance point.
32:39He's about 45 minutes away,
32:41according to our local guy right here
32:43with the Starlink.
32:44Got the van prepped to load him in,
32:46transfer him to the finish.
32:49Fuel conservation also kept my speeds down
32:52on the dry lake bits.
32:53That's good news for the tires.
32:55And I used up nearly every single drop
32:58of the 800DE's 5.3 gallon fuel capacity.
33:01But, I did make it to the finish line.
33:04I had to stop and adjust a clutch,
33:07and the adjuster nut was so tight
33:10that I couldn't get it loose.
33:11So, I had to use a tool to do that.
33:15So, that cost me probably three, four minutes.
33:17And then, somehow the starter solenoid
33:21just stuck on while I was riding.
33:23It started trying, like I heard this noise.
33:25What is that noise?
33:26What is that noise?
33:27And then I finally stopped,
33:28and I turned the bike off,
33:30and the starter kept going.
33:31I turned the key off,
33:32the starter kept going.
33:34So, then I had to like rush
33:37and like get the battery disconnected.
33:40And then I was like, huh.
33:42And then I connected the battery again,
33:43and it kept going again.
33:44So, then I pulled the solenoid out,
33:46hit it with a wrench,
33:48and did it.
33:49It was fine.
33:52Well, that was fun.
33:54Starter solenoid stuck on.
33:57So, the bike was trying to start itself,
33:59and just wearing down the battery.
34:01Dumping fuel onto the bike.
34:05Even with the key off.
34:07So, we're currently on our way
34:09to the finish line in the transfer stage.
34:12And the bike is definitely being pushed to its limits.
34:15Justin is still in his competitive spirits,
34:17which is great.
34:18You just got to remember, you know,
34:20you can never beat Baja.
34:22You just got to survive it.
34:28Crossing the line at San Ignacio,
34:30there were just a few bikes parked,
34:32signaling that there was a chance
34:34that I had maybe made up some more time on the field.
34:36Turns out, I was 8th for the day,
34:39and now I'm 8th overall.
34:41Things are looking up.
34:46So, we're here in San Ignacio with Justin Dawes,
34:50the 3.23 in this Suzuki.
34:52Everything, the bike still looks good.
34:54How much fun did you have out there today?
34:55Today was good. It was really fun.
34:56It was fast.
34:58Navigation was tricky in just a couple parts,
35:00but overall, it was just fast and flowing.
35:02Besides the sand dunes in the beginning,
35:04it was really, really fun.
35:05Yeah, the navigation with these bikes
35:07is just something we're not quite used to.
35:10And the cars, we've got the GPS.
35:12We've got two people.
35:13Yeah, you've got a co-driver to help,
35:14and that's an actual piece of paper, right?
35:16Yeah, yes it is.
35:17It's an actual piece of paper that rolls around.
35:19You've got to move it up and down all the time.
35:23It's incredible.
35:24And for you to start in the Bay of LA
35:27and then end up here in San Ignacio,
35:29right in front of this beautiful mission.
35:30Awesome.
35:31I mean, you kind of are in the barren desert
35:33out in the middle of nowhere for so long,
35:34and then you get here,
35:35and it's just a beautiful oasis.
35:36Yeah, it's awesome. It's really cool.
35:38I'm glad to be here.
35:39I'm ready to go take a shower
35:41and hang out at the oasis and chill.
35:44Absolutely. Well, I'll let you do that,
35:45because we've got a great fiesta that just kicked off.
35:48We've got some beverages, some grub,
35:50and I'll let you chill out, get cleaned up,
35:52and enjoy your day.
35:53All right. Thank you.
35:54Right as we ended the street section,
35:56I had to adjust my clutch,
35:57and then I started seeing your dust,
35:59and then when we got on that nasty rock and stuff,
36:01I just saw your dust go away.
36:04That 650 just eats those rocks up.
36:07It's still scary.
36:08You don't want a knife in front of you.
36:09I know.
36:10Awesome.
36:11Good job, man.
36:12So day three is done, and it went really good.
36:15It's the best day we've had yet,
36:17and I think we got a lot of the kinks worked out.
36:19I only had one small issue towards the end of the day
36:22with the starter solenoid,
36:25and just took a little tap with a wrench to fix that,
36:27and all was good.
36:29In the morning, the sand dunes were tough,
36:32and then after that, it was like, let the thing eat.
36:35It was super rad, super fast, super flowing,
36:38and then right in the middle,
36:39there was a little tough spot
36:40going through a bunch of camel grass and sand dunes.
36:43It was a little bit tough,
36:44but after that, again, it was like,
36:47pin it and have fun.
36:48It was a really fun day.
36:50The boys had like a little issue on their own,
36:53but it didn't hurt us at all,
36:55so that was a good thing.
36:57So I'm looking forward to the marathon stage tomorrow.
36:59I think it's going to be really good.
37:01I think we got the kinks worked out,
37:03and now we just got to make up time.
37:12It's day four,
37:13and the first portion of the marathon stage.
37:16A two-day test running a total of 672 kilometers,
37:20or 417 miles.
37:22Today's stage is just 196 kilometers,
37:25or 122 miles from San Ignacio
37:28to the fishing village of San Juanico.
37:31The big question in my mind
37:33was how tough those 122 miles were going to be.
37:37From the start of today,
37:39the team can't help me at all
37:41until the first assistance point tomorrow,
37:44so if anything goes wrong with the bike at all,
37:47I have to fix it myself,
37:49and if something breaks,
37:51it's going to be a problem,
37:53but we've got all the bugs worked out.
37:55The bike ran almost flawlessly yesterday.
37:58I think we are going to be jamming today,
38:00and I'm not really worried about it.
38:02It's a shorter stage, so that's nice.
38:04One thing I don't know is if it's going to be fast
38:06or it's going to be technical.
38:08If it's fast and it's short,
38:10we should do really well and move up in the standings again.
38:13If it's tight and technical,
38:15we'll see where we end up.
38:17It's going to be work, but I'm excited about it.
38:22Thank you.
38:24Thank you.
38:49After a few speed-restricted zones,
38:51the course opened up to a fast and flowing blast,
38:54but again, I had to watch my top speed
38:56as there were some salt flats
38:58that could trick you into going too fast
39:00and melting down that rear tire.
39:02Restraint is the key,
39:04along with solid navigation.
39:12We just talked to Justin on the phone.
39:14He already arrived at the bivouac.
39:17He's done for the day riding.
39:19I think he had a good day.
39:26The course was just rough enough
39:28for me to be able to use the V-Strom stability
39:30to smash past the competition,
39:32finishing 5th overall for the day
39:34and 2nd in class.
39:36One little navigation error cost me 3 or 4 minutes,
39:38but overall, I'm very happy with the day.
39:42I don't have to camp here tonight.
39:44I'm going to the hotel with you.
39:46We're here at the Impound,
39:48so I can't touch this bike until the morning.
39:51Then I can gas it up in the morning,
39:53and then no mechanic work
39:55until assistance 1.
39:57We'll just fill it up and go.
39:59I checked it over.
40:01I stopped out front, checked everything over.
40:03There was nothing to be done to the bike at all.
40:06So I was like, okay.
40:08We thought we had to stay
40:10like a marathon stage like in Dakar,
40:14where you're out in the boonies
40:16and you're out in the desert
40:18and out in the boonies and sleeping.
40:21But it turns out that
40:23only the bikes have to be impounded.
40:25So the marathon is really for the bikes
40:27more than it is me,
40:29which is cool because the bike is an adventure bike.
40:31It's made to go thousands and thousands of miles at a time.
40:34So it didn't even phase the thing.
40:37We only raced, I think, 140 miles today,
40:41but we did it fast.
40:43It felt like we started and then we finished.
40:45It was just super fast.
40:47I battled with three guys on regular dirt bikes all day long.
40:51We swapped positions quite a bit
40:53in terms of who was leading out.
40:55It was really, really fun.
40:57Today was the best day yet,
40:59and I think I made up some more time on the field.
41:01So maybe my position will change.
41:03We'll have to see tonight after the times are posted.
41:06And today was the shortest day.
41:08It was like 120 miles,
41:10and I did it in two hours and 53 minutes.
41:13So that's a pretty good running average,
41:16and I think the race leader did it in two hours and 30 minutes
41:21or just under two hours and 30 minutes.
41:23So it was a really fast section.
41:25It was easy. It wasn't very taxing on the body.
41:27And who knows tomorrow?
41:29That's a long way.
41:31It's over double what we did today.
41:34No mishaps today. It was awesome.
41:36No mechanical issues.
41:38I rode, I think, smarter than I did the first day,
41:41obviously, because I didn't go a million miles an hour.
41:45Two guys passed me, and then I had to pass them back
41:48because I slowed down on the really, really fast stuff
41:51that would cook the tire.
41:53I was like, okay, I'm just going to save it because it's a marathon.
41:55I can't change the tires,
41:57so I've got to keep them good for tomorrow.
41:59So we'll see how it goes.
42:12Day 5
42:16Be careful, okay?
42:19It's getting easier, but you've got to pay attention still.
42:24Day 5 is the second part of the marathon stage
42:27and is one of the longest of the rally,
42:29with 417 kilometers or 296 miles
42:32from sleepy San Juanico,
42:34the Baja southern capital of La Paz.
42:37No issues with the bike, and a long rest
42:39meant I was ready to push my way further up the rankings.
42:42Today would be the make or break for this race.
42:51Today's race distance is long,
42:53but views like this go by in a flash.
42:56This epic run down the beach will be etched in my memory
42:59for the rest of my life.
43:01Racing in Baja is unparalleled,
43:04and just look at where an adventure bike can take you.
43:10Day 6
43:14It was all going great until it wasn't.
43:17Just a small hesitation turned into a very stuck V-Strom.
43:20Can I get a little push from you?
43:22Thanks.
43:26One more go.
43:28One, two, three.
43:40With some help from my fellow competitor,
43:43I was back on my way, blasting down the beach again.
43:46But little did I know, my day, it was about to end.
44:02F*** really?
44:10Day 7
44:18F*** clutch.
44:22Back off the beach, he was stopping it.
44:24His clutch. Okay, so he was back that way?
44:26Yeah.
44:27Any guesses how many miles?
44:29Um, it was...
44:32Five?
44:33Okay.
44:34Ten, maybe?
44:35Alright, we're just outside of Scorpion Bay.
44:37The stage just started for dogs.
44:39He got out onto the beach pretty early into it.
44:42He fried the clutch in the sand.
44:44So, day's done.
44:45Sounds like Nora's going to pick him up
44:47and bring him down south,
44:49and we'll meet up with him hopefully pretty soon
44:51and try to see what exactly happened.
44:57Well, that's it for today.
45:01Somehow I fried the clutch.
45:03I got stuck in the sand dunes back there.
45:05Maybe I cooked it there, overheated it.
45:08And then,
45:11when I got to this sand hill to leave,
45:16I touched the clutch one time
45:18and then it just said, no mas.
45:20And it felt like I was spinning the tire in the sand,
45:22but in fact, my tire wasn't spinning at all.
45:25So, um,
45:27yeah, and it's not coming back.
45:29I've let it cool down. It's done.
45:31So, um, they're going to come get me
45:34and take me to the finish line today
45:37and then tonight,
45:39put a new clutch in and carry on tomorrow.
45:42So, while I was digging out
45:44the bike when I got stuck,
45:46I hit the catalytic converter
45:49in my hand.
45:50I don't know if you can see that
45:51nice gooey mess of a burn.
45:53So, while I'm here sitting,
45:55killing time, waiting for the recovery,
45:57I'm going to wash it,
46:00undress it, and take care of it
46:02because it's pretty ugly looking.
46:04Now, when I scarred, remember Baja by.
46:08Well, anyway.
46:11Now we're just going to go finish the race
46:13and have fun and enjoy riding the bike.
46:17I know you do. It sucks.
46:19I'm really bummed.
46:20I did put a lot of work into this thing.
46:23I think it would just be best
46:25to get him a little positive.
46:26Assess it and ride for the last day.
46:28Sweep seven and eight,
46:29they're going back for him?
46:31Seven is.
46:32Eight is holding there right now
46:34until we make sure that seven doesn't get stuck.
46:37Sweep eight?
46:38Okay.
46:39Sweep seven and they feel confident
46:41they can get it out?
46:42Yeah.
46:43Okay.
46:44Did they already pick him up or no?
46:45They're with him.
46:46That's all I know.
46:47We're waiting for Justin and the DR Big
46:49to arrive in the sweep vehicle.
46:50We're on the side of the road
46:51just getting prepared to switch the clutch back
46:53if there's enough time.
46:55If not, we're just going to have to
46:56head to La Paz, do it there,
46:57and get ready for the final stage tomorrow.
47:01Good luck.
47:18Oh, it sucks.
47:21So, I got stuck.
47:25First guy came to help.
47:26Stopped.
47:27One guy, no.
47:28Two people passed me that I was,
47:30that were racing with me.
47:31You know, I told them to go
47:32because I don't need to ruin their time
47:34because I got stuck.
47:37But, and then this guy stopped
47:39and he was like,
47:40I'll help you.
47:41And he couldn't help me to really get it out.
47:43And then the next guy that stopped,
47:45right after him, he helped me
47:47and it was no problem.
47:48We got out in a minute and a half.
47:51Two minutes.
47:53But, I fried the clutch.
47:56No, no, just give me a, just start it.
47:59The plan was to get to La Paz as soon as possible
48:01to fix the clutch and minimize my time penalty.
48:04I would be getting the maximum time,
48:06but we weren't sure how it was going to be calculated,
48:08so getting to the finish line as fast as possible
48:10was very important.
48:12But, Baja has a way of rearranging
48:14every well-laid plan.
48:19We're behind a teacher's strike
48:21on the only road to La Paz
48:23and it's going to be at least two hours.
48:25So, I'm going to get two more hours added to my thing.
48:29Do we know what the max penalty looks like?
48:31Don't know. I think it's probably eight hours.
48:33So that means that my whole race day is going to be
48:35like 15 or 16 hours.
48:37I'm basically going to race for not to get last place.
48:40Now.
48:41But,
48:45it is what it is.
48:46If I didn't break, we wouldn't have this problem.
48:48If I didn't screw up, so.
48:50It's my fault we're here.
48:53But,
48:55what do we do?
48:58I turned in my time card at the finish line.
49:00It looked rad.
49:01Everyone was partying.
49:02They were like,
49:03where'd you go?
49:05In the back of my van.
49:06So,
49:07we're going to go get the clutch in it now.
49:09We're going to go to the Airbnb.
49:10Pull the bikes apart
49:12and fix what's gone wrong.
49:15Tomorrow, we're going to go
49:17flat out.
49:23These should be the color of normal steel.
49:25They're blue.
49:29These should be in one piece.
49:31They're not.
49:35These should have pieces of fiber on them.
49:38They don't.
49:42Man,
49:43I screwed up so bad.
49:56Day 5
50:03I ended day 5,
50:04and we just finished re-prepping the bike
50:06and fixing the clutch.
50:08It's all prepped now.
50:09New clutch,
50:10new tires,
50:11new air filter,
50:12full of oil,
50:13full of gas,
50:14ready to go.
50:15So, the goal now
50:16is to get this thing across the finish line.
50:18But first, we've got to start it up
50:19and make sure everything works.
50:26Day 6
50:40That's a relief.
50:46Day 7
50:52This is the final day of the rally,
50:54and it's time to start fresh.
50:55We're now in 16th place overall
50:57after that hard time yesterday,
50:59but this is the very last push
51:01from La Paz to San Jose del Cabo.
51:04There's just 248 kilometers
51:06or 154 miles between us
51:08and the finish line.
51:10So,
51:11I'm in 16th place.
51:14Overall?
51:15Yeah, overall.
51:16Fourth in class.
51:17I'm two and a half hours out of
51:19third place in class.
51:22Two hours in...
51:23Sorry, 33 minutes.
51:25So,
51:26I'd have to make up some big time.
51:28Big time to catch up,
51:30but that's okay.
51:31It's all about finishing at this point.
51:33We had some issues,
51:36and that was my fault,
51:38and now we're just going to
51:39get it to the end and enjoy it.
51:41Enjoy the ride today.
51:42Have fun.
51:48It's like Frogger in there.
51:50Okay?
51:51Those cars,
51:52they have two missions.
51:53They're loaded up trucks in deep sand,
51:55and they don't want to stop,
51:56and there's a bunch of people
51:57that want to come and watch you,
51:58and they're looking for cars,
52:00not bikes.
52:01Be careful.
52:02When you see road crossings down there,
52:04you know,
52:05pay attention.
52:06When you see a car,
52:07it's probably not going to stop
52:08because it doesn't want to get stuck.
52:10So, be cautious of this.
52:12This is the last chance to show
52:14what the Bistrom 800DE is capable of.
52:17Since we're now out of the running
52:18for a podium,
52:19it's time to let it all hang out
52:20and post a fast time
52:21as a sort of redemption.
52:23I'm feeling good,
52:24and the bike is running great.
52:26So, I'm just going to pin it.
52:50Woo!
53:21Look out.
53:22Look out, guys.
53:45It's only 100 kilometers,
53:46so if I can average 50 kilometers an hour,
53:51which I should be able to do, maybe,
53:54then I should be okay.
53:56Because the truck probably
53:57hasn't even started yet, I hope.
53:59The truck's been running all night.
54:01Oh, God.
54:02At the end of the day's first stage,
54:03we posted the third fastest time overall,
54:06just seven minutes back from the leader.
54:08Unfortunately,
54:09we had one more final technical gremlin.
54:12Somehow, I kicked the retaining clip
54:13off the shock reservoir hose.
54:15We're still going to go for it,
54:16but probably with a little more caution
54:19as there's no damping left in the shock.
54:21There's nothing to do but race to the end.
54:46Yeah!
55:02Woo!
55:08Oh, look at him go!
55:40We made it, oh my gosh, we made it, we reached the finish line crossing it with a new riding
56:00buddy.
56:01The shock, it slowed us down a bit, but we still managed an 8th place finish in the last
56:05stage.
56:07This is a huge accomplishment, we just finished the Nora Mexican 1000 on a Suzuki V-Strom
56:12800DE.
56:14This is so amazing.
56:15Oh it feels good to get to the end, even though I missed part of it, it was awesome, passing
56:22all these people, there were so many people out there in the sand wash cheering you on,
56:26it was so sick.
56:27It was good, I just couldn't go super fast, that's all, I had to go easy but it kept me
56:39safe because there was a lot of really hard lefts and rights in the mountains where if
56:44you screwed up, no one would find you, you would just go sailing, but I could let this
56:53thing eat when it got smooth, I was just super super rad.
56:58So I got a little lost right at the finish, but other than that, it was good.
57:02It was just like, so many turns coming so quickly and you're trying to stay up on top
57:08of the sand, you're like oh, oh, oh, you couldn't even roll the roll chart fast enough, so it
57:13was good.
57:15So knowing what I know, and even in the beginning I was joking about how many miles, how many
57:20hours do you have in this thing and it wasn't a lot, it was either going to be instant failure
57:26or and then it wasn't.
57:30When that first inspiration for the DR Big Rally Project hit me, I thought sure, let's
57:35go race, it'll be fun, but I didn't realize the life changing experience this project
57:40would bring me.
57:41Not only did we put up some competitive times, we fought through our issues and we had some
57:44very heartbreaking moments, but above all, we had one heck of an adventure and made a
57:50ton of new friends.
57:51I'll never forget any single second of this race, ever.
57:56You don't beat Baja, you survive it, and a piece of this beautiful place and amazing
58:01group of people will stay with you for the rest of your life.
58:04Bikes like Suzuki's Vstrom 800DE are so versatile and they allow you to find your adventure.
58:10We found ours here in Baja, but where will you find yours?
58:14Go out, get an adventure bike, and then do the thing you've always wanted to do.
58:19You won't regret it, I promise.