Saxonator's Sick Enduro Video Diary

[saxonator]

As my 64 year old buddy from Austria is still finding new tracks every time he goes out we added a new trail we shall call "The Pirates Gate" it's one off those trails off the Mae Jo Loop and connects after a very steep descent to the entry of "Dinosaur Park" (another crazy trail that connects to the Monitor Trail but not rideable at the very moment), but instead of descending further more down there we connected the upper section to just yet another cool trail and that one kept us going for some time, very steep climbs and insane drop offs - even if don't get to see those in the video - you can assure you it was very steep...it is very seldom that I get off a bike for pushing it down a hill...in this scenario I couldn't help to do so. After the last downhill section we entered into an almost dry creek bed with massive rocks and boulders all over the place. My worn off Quick tires tried the best they could to stay on track without loosing too much grip....those Quicks are great tires, somtimes I wished I had tubeliss or Mousse installed. Even we had a nice KTM with us today we could keep up with it pretty good, just our age and limited skill levels hindered us at going faster in those gnarly sections. Hope you guys enjoy. Have fun out there, it's rainy season

 

[saxonator]

7. August it was time for the Enduro Race in Samoeng. Oskar and me woke up pretty early to get going as fast as possible. We still had 70kms to ride in heavy rain. We left 6:30 and got to Samoeng at 7:30. Went straight to the booth to get registration for the race, got the number and then we had to wait....and wait and................................wait, until maybe about 10 am the first riders left for the starting section. No rain at the very moment and Oskar was more then happy to be able to start in the dry. He got number 291 and the riders cued up and it took longer then expected. An hour later it started pouring down like crazy again. Oskar was now just a few bikes away from the start line. The rain kept hammering down having no mercy on those riders. Oskar was now more then ready to start and the first time racing a Honda CRF250L. We got away really good and kept pushing until the first hillclimb were riders were stuck and big chaos began. It was so damn slippery that bikes were just tipping over, sliding away. Oskar had decent attempt at it but didn't get far enough up the hill to clear it. He turned around went down again but had dumb his bike down again when heavy traffic was unavoidable and slid down into the bush. It took hime there a lot of time to get the heavy CRF out of that situation. He outpowered himself there, but somehow made it up that hill again. This time the farmer lady came towards the riders and started beating them with her stick. This was a bit crazy but I guess that's just part of it. Now he was just maybe 5 meters away from the entry into the bush, but now the clutch failed and he was not able to cotinue. He called me and very disappointed told me that it's Game Over for him. But I totally understood, it's so easy to fry a clutch in those slippery conditions. Anyway Dude good effort and shall next time more luck be with you

 

[saxonator]

Before all that heat right now, Chiang Mai had some serious pour downs and so we epected the trails to be super slippery. Today we rode with the Champion of the Samoeng Enduro Race and Ice Phrao who is in 3rd. place after a couple of rounds of the Enduro Championship. All pretty awesome riders and some newbies aswell to make it more challenging. After the fast entry section we descended the mountain and came out close to ViP MX track. One rider went down pretty hard and we had to stop for about 1 hour, he was shortly unconcious and felt dizzy just after that. Then the group shrunk down to approx. 10 riders and we picked up a bit of speed. The trail got gnalier by the meter and the stamina from most riders went down. Also it was very hot and on top of the mountain the temperature was as hight 39 degrees celsius. On top of the mountain we had a small pick nic with some recovery time, by now it was already 3.30 and it was time to think of a way out of here, which we found not too far from the top, but it was extremely steep and it took some time to get all those bikes down the hill. On the way back home we stopped for some drinks at the local super market and some important small talk and motorcycle philosophy

 

[saxonator]

another reason not to take part in an Enduro Event here in Northern Thailand, as much fun as it seems for those watching, most of the bikes will have clutch failure and will be damaged heavily by the end of the race, I really enjoyed watching those guys having fun in the mud and at the same time was more than happy not to be part of this, other than that another interesting race in the rainy season

 

[saxonator]

and this Friday after a far too long break it was Oskar time again. My 16 year old son was more than happy to go out riding with Daddy. Half into the day I had some electrical issues and I called my mate. He told me to meet him in half an hour at the MX track in Mae Jo. I fixed the electrical issue and we went to meet our old friend. Next we saw ourselfs riding some very Romaniacs style trail. Big rocks and boulders and very steep passages made this one a very special one. we had so much fun and than it just got bloody hot and by 3pm we were all exhausted, out of water and energy, so we called it a day.

 

[saxonator]

so we had some unexpedted heavy rains here and the morning we started we weren't sure if we would stay dry for the day. Luckily we had an awesome ride, with just a bit of very light rain. My 16 year old son trying out the CRF250L on those trails. Nice useable power but heavy like an iron tank when picking up. Also the ground clearance is not too great on those bikes in standard mode. Other than that we had a very smooth ride with a few light crashes and some great trails in the area around Mae Jo. The camera angle sometimes is a bit off, excuse me, I hope you all still enjoy.

 

[Eoin Christie]

so we had some unexpedted heavy rains here and the morning we started we weren't sure if we would stay dry for the day. Luckily we had an awesome ride, with just a bit of very light rain. My 16 year old son trying out the CRF250L on those trails. Nice useable power but heavy like an iron tank when picking up. Also the ground clearance is not too great on those bikes in standard mode. Other than that we had a very smooth ride with a few light crashes and some great trails in the area around Mae Jo. The camera angle sometimes is a bit off, excuse me, I hope you all still enjoy.

Looks like a great day out, Rudi. Thanks for sharing.
What tyres are on the CRF?

 

[saxonator]

Looks like a great day out, Rudi. Thanks for sharing.
What tyres are on the CRF?

IRC front and Quick rear, was good fun with the kid and my buddy

 

[Eoin Christie]

IRC front and Quick rear, was good fun with the kid and my buddy

Thanks, Rudi. I'm leaving Malaysia for Angola shortly, and am looking at importing a CRF300 from South Africa. Import duties + taxes are very high, so the low starting price is attractive (along with the long service intervals).

 

[saxonator]

So I got this call about 10 days ago, my dear old friend Mr. Wood called me and said there's a bunch of guys coming up from Bangkok to ride hard enduro around Mae Jo area. As matter of fact it turned out that those guys are
indeed the Champions of Hard Enduro known as Lang Phlay actually spoken Lang Phlan. One of those guys was Non he is famous here in Thailand for his professional riding and the other name was Tom, who is a former MX Champion from Norther Thailand. But everyone was better then I expected, top notch riders, every obstacle we threw at them was cleared without any complications, also their stamina didn't let go until the very end of the day about 3 pm, when we decided to have a late lunch. Shorty after that Mr. Eak came over to do with those guys some hill climbing sessions. A fun filled day with absolutely brilliant riding terrain and a dream team to ride with. Thank you so much guys you rock, each of you. Hope to see you soon in Chiang Mai again and good luck tomorrow for the Enduro Race in Mae Orn....Enjoy

 

[saxonator]

 

[saxonator]

wow wow wow, that trail really sucked all the juices out of me, it is still in a not very rideable condition and it needs a bit of work here and there. Especially the bamboo has to be cut and some rocks have to be placed between the big boulder so it makes riding more flowing, other than that I really enjoyed that day, after the heavy rain the day before the air was nice but in no time it got super hot. Now here's the video...hope you enjoy

 

[saxonator]

drop it

 

[DavidFL]

drop it

All good fun, you nutters. Aw shit he said. Love it.

 

[saxonator]

All good fun, you nutters. Aw shit he said. Love it.

555 in 30 years I never had to drop a bike like that, looks like the more old I get the more crazy I get....enjoy

 

[saxonator]

drop it

 

[saxonator]

so today was not a normal ride, my mate forgot his body armour in the jungle and he wanted to get it back. He lend me his Hengjian 250 2t bike and he went on his Electic dirt bike. I wasn't geared up for extreme riding, I was thinking we might have to walk for a while, so I decicded to keep it very basic. After more or less sucessfully climbing the Stairways Trail, we came to the T-Junction in the Jungle, instead of going uphill, we decided to to downhill and will try to get to the site from there. The trail was nice but the bamboo and a lot of bushes with thorns poked holes into my skin and it was not a pleasant experience. After some bush whacking we were close to the site, but had to leave our bikes behind and walk the rest. We found his armour and returned back to the bikes and slowly rode back.

 

[saxonator]

well a couple of years have passed and I was riding the almighty Honda XR250 until it was beyond repair, so I decided to get another Honda XR400 ND08, which is the Japanese Motard version with the magic buttom. I got the bike with book and numberplate for a good price and just couldn't resist. Everyone warned me about the weight the suspension etc. But they didn't know what my plan was. I was lucky enough to get a complete fork and shock set for little money and I just had to rebuild the rear shock, which was done by K100 suspension Chiang Mai. I had this bike out a couple of times now and the heavy weight is only and issue, if you have to pick it up several times. It got already a fair bit lighter as I ditched a lot of unneccesary parts. I have more parts that I will take off, to make it even lighter. So the "Dinner" trail put this bike through the extreme test and it was so awesome to ride, except maybe for the forks, where I need a bit more tuning. Probably doing the valve stack mod and take some shims out. So this complete hard trail it was performing without any issues. Just at the very end I became a bit worn out and I dropped the bike in a very bad position on a steep off camber section. No more water, no more juice left in us. So my buddy insisted, we should leave the bike there for the night and pick it up the next day, when we are fresh again. So that's what exactly happened the next day. For sure one to remember. That's all folks. Hope you enjoy watching. cheers

 

[DavidFL]

Bloody hell, you're still beating your body up & getting away with it.
Glad you're still enjoying the good times while ya can.
Take care out there.

 

[saxonator]

sometimes I wonder myself, how long I will be able to do this, every time I go out like that and get home I feel like a smashed up potatoe, but being in the Jungle surrounded by the intensity of nature, where time stays still is so soothing for my soul, I need this once a week....we are getting older mate but our spirits get younger and stronger by the day....555

 

[DavidFL]

sometimes I wonder myself, how long I will be able to do this, every time I go out like that and get home I feel like a smashed up potatoe, but being in the Jungle surrounded by the intensity of nature, where time stays still is so soothing for my soul, I need this once a week....we are getting older mate but our spirits get younger and stronger by the day....555

Maybe it is all a fantasy?
I long for the good ol days of the original Sax Bar, nothing prove, just plain old good fun, zero attitude.

 

[saxonator]

Maybe it is all a fantasy?
I long for the good ol days of the original Sax Bar, nothing prove, just plain old good fun, zero attitude.

yeah those were great times, that unfortunately will never come back again...so many good memories

 

[saxonator]

what is better than go riding with a good friend and your very own son. At the young age of 17 he's already riding much better than me. We swapped the cameras around to get some good footag of that ride. All bikes ride very ok, I still need to tweak that fork more, might go for the shim stack mod, which is a common thing on the XR400, the trail was in an awesome condition, we had good traction and everyone did really good on this ride. Ok hope you guys enjoy the video. cheers

 

[saxonator]

For those, that are on a budget or just want an Enduro bike, that isn't street legal and lightweight. My first attempt to do an honest review about those Chinese Dirt bikes, that keep coming to Thailand more and more. A lot of people start using them and even racing them with good results. There's a lot of those machines out there. So here's my take on the Hengjian CB250 4t 2 valve machine

 

[Wayne66]

Hi
Are there any distributors in Thailand? Or websites to buy them, not Facebook as I don't do it. As I cannot seem to find any when searching online.
Also do you know the price?

Thanks

Wayne