Alta Test Track Build (In progress)

[snydes]

Very nice work! It sounds like you are enjoying the process, getting to operate all that machinery would be a neat experience. I certainly agree on the video editing…very time consuming!

 

[#76]

Thanks Steve. Yes, its fun playing in the big digger!. I have grown up in Construction and have always been in and around Diggers and Tractors.

I am enjoying it for sure, also have made a better "intro" video after having a go with DaVinci. Hope to start getting some more build video's out soon.

 

[#76]

OK - Been a while and things going on, but i have been busy busy down there still, lots has changed and i have been filming and taking pics as much as i can, weather has been against me all the way lol, either torrential rain with golf ball hail, or 34+deg heat. Never, never visit the U.K!.



So, where am i on this?,
...it rained hard for days on end.. showed a lot of low areas where i had various "ponds" full of water, so i waited for a few days until i dare go on there with the tractor and trailer and start to fill in the low spots with soil. That worked so was happy with that and managed to spread the soil out enough to take up all the water and raise the low areas up to no more ponds.









My rake was made and delivered by Karl, impressed!...so got it on the bucket and headed down the track to make a start and to see if it will work for my stone removal process idea, after the rain stopped and it had dried out a bit.





My rake idea worked! - sort of. I spent ages going round the whole track both sides as the arm reach was not quite what i thought it would be lol, raking the stones off the top and got it all looking a lot better than it was!, was really happy how it was all coming together.....



Then...it rained, and it rained hard!....for days again & boom - all the stones that were nice and buried rose up and looked worse than it did before haha!.

So i totally Re-graded the whole track and all was set for my first ever Alta ride! (This is all on film as i got my helmet mount through the post, and i will as soon as i can, get all the footage sorted out and posted up) but all i can say is wow...just wow!, its all i thought it would be and more!, the bike is plain awesome and i am over the moon to say the very least with it!. More to come on that....But the track looked great for he first ride out....



GoPro 9 on and ready for the very first ride out, i filmed the lot and in every map from the very start, lol its funny to hear my reactions!.



There she is, brand new!....on route to the very first day of tasting the future of moto!, man i was so excited i cant remember any of the drive there!.

Had spent so much time to make sure that the very first ride out on the track was the best it could have been, was really happy wth how it turned out for the first go.






After the initial ride afternoon i realized that the jump face was way too soft as i wrecked it jumping over and over and over again!, so i decided to get some clay based soil and rip all the soft crap out and do it all again, was so much better and compacted down really tight and tracked it in hard & with the heat we had hopefully will bake it solid in time.



Clay mix on and tracked in tight, hopefully it will last!.



As more soil is turning up (big thanks to the guys who are helping me) as and when it becomes available, i decided to make a smaller table top hybrid out of the two "doubles" i had, its only small as at the time i only had about 20 ton left, but should be fun for now and i can always add to it in time. Have another one going in next week a little bigger as more soil is now here waiting for me.



So, as this soil is turning up in 16t loads i think my plan of action is going to be to basically re-surface the entire track ground with good stone-free soil, its going to be a lot of work and time but its there and i have the equipment & time to do the job, so i will make a start on it next week hopefully by doing a section at a time, so load up the tractor and trailer with the good stuff, head onto the track and tip - repeat lots!, then take the 16t machine and level it out and compact it down a little to make a harder base, then just power harrow the very top. Should work out ok if i make it deep enough, wont hurt to have the track raised up and will help with water drainage too. Lots of work but it will be nice to see no stones or wreck my tyres (tires).

So, that's the deal for the min, still hard at it and trying my best, Will be down there all next week so hope to have most if not all the new soil on and done, and the other jumps in too. Best thing out of all this is i finally got my first ride on the Alta & just totally in love with that machine!.

Was my Birthday yesterday and my girlfriend made me something very special....thank you!.



Thanks for looking and your interest in my project - Danny #76.

 

[Philip]

LOL! Happy Birthday, Danny! I really like your girlfriend's interpretation of your Alta test track!

 

[snydes]

That’s awesome! Happy birthday!

 

[C5tor]

That’s awesome! I can’t think of anyone so obsessed with their new bike that they build an entire track just to make sure their first ride is perfect. Way to go! #RelationshipGoals

I also get amused just thinking about you out there running a homemade comb lovingly over your entire track to make sure it is nicely groomed.

 

[snydes]

“We ain’t found…”

 

[JW884]

Track looks awesome! Those freshly raked photos just make me wanna go ride. Any plans to add more obstacles in the open lanes? (Personally I think a set of rollers would be a nice addition if possible) Happy belated birthday! Also if you don't mind, what gopro mount is that on your helmet?

 

[#76]

Track looks awesome! Those freshly raked photos just make me wanna go ride. Any plans to add more obstacles in the open lanes? (Personally I think a set of rollers would be a nice addition if possible) Happy belated birthday! Also if you don't mind, what gopro mount is that on your helmet?

Thanks Jason!, another year older....where does the time go?.

Its been a lot of time and work but i am so grateful for the use of the land its all well worth it!. (My lower back may not agree).

The pics of when it was ready for the first ride was after using the rake on the mini-digger for a day to get most of the bigger stone out, that was very time consuming to say the least!, but it did it's job well. I have not had to use it again. Then i went round with the discs on the Tractor, then finished off with the Power Harrow with the roller. Always looks great when you use that Harrow!.

@C5tor Thanks very much, but the rake idea was only for the bigger stone that was in there, I doubt i will use it again now i am going to "cover" the track layout in good soil, but yes I am very lucky to have the time to create my very own track for my bike & make it the best i can, so why the hell not huh!.

Plans are to add more jumps!, but rollers down the back straight is something i have definitely been thinking of doing, just also have to think about how easy it will be to maintain them. I will see what soil i have available and go from there, but its being dropped down there daily atm and i need to get down there and start moving it lol!.

Helmet mount was just a cheap one from eBay : Motorcycle Helmet Front Chin Mount Holder Brackets for GoPro Hero 8/7/6/5 2021 | eBay

Works very well!, did not have to crank it up very tight either to give a good video. So i do recommend it.

Glad you had a good time at Southwick!, way to go on the tickets too, dude what i would give to be able to have the opportunity to be able to even think about going to something as awesome as that, so lucky!. (& the little bro who bagged Forkners fender!.)

 

[JW884]

Thanks Jason!, another year older....where does the time go?.

Its been a lot of time and work but i am so grateful for the use of the land its all well worth it!. (My lower back may not agree).

The pics of when it was ready for the first ride was after using the rake on the mini-digger for a day to get most of the bigger stone out, that was very time consuming to say the least!, but it did it's job well. I have not had to use it again. Then i went round with the discs on the Tractor, then finished off with the Power Harrow with the roller. Always looks great when you use that Harrow!.

Plans are to add more jumps!, but rollers down the back straight is something i have definitely been thinking of doing, just also have to think about how easy it will be to maintain them. I will see what soil i have available and go from there, but its being dropped down there daily atm and i need to get down there and start moving it lol!.

Helmet mount was just a cheap one from eBay : Motorcycle Helmet Front Chin Mount Holder Brackets for GoPro Hero 8/7/6/5 2021 | eBay

Works very well!, did not have to crank it up very tight either to give a good video. So i do recommend it.

Glad you had a good time at Southwick!, way to go on the tickets too, dude what i would give to be able to have the opportunity to be able to even think about going to something as awesome as that, so lucky!. (& the little bro who bagged Forkners fender!.)

It flies by for sure
It made some nice defined track outlines as well
Awesome it'll flesh out the track much more with more features. And yeah if you could make them with a different dirt or harden them up that'd be best. So they won't wear down and require more maintenance.
Awesome for that price I might have to get one and try it out.
Southwick was great! Fun showing some other friends about the sport. And he was very happy. He's even in Ciancirulo's Vlog too briefly which he was excited about (in the red shirt)

 

[#76]

Been back down there for a few days , but everyday so far has been a race against the weather / running from the 360 after loading the Tractor/trailer with soil then onto the track - tip - return - jump out Tractor into 360 and repeat - so needed to crack on and get the work done!.

Lots of good soil turned up so I set about the "worst stone" section first, and that's over the back straight section of the track.









Just load after load after load and repeat!, how many tons i lost count. But its going to be a way better track once I have the whole layout looking like this, also with it being higher than the original track surface it will hopefully drain well too. I can easy add more soil to it when it gets cut/rutted out and move it about (put it back) with the scraper on the Zetor.







I am now really starting to struggle with the little 1.5t machine...been looking now for a while for a new digger, well new to me, at least a 3t digger - up to an 8t, but there really is nothing local to me for sale, most are near always plus the VAT too, and with machinery prices in general going through the roof its not easy. But I'll keep looking and find something hopefully. I did manage to find a good deal on a Low Loader trailer, as I'll need it once i find a bigger digger.

If I try to do the entire track like I have here I will just knock the shit out of my machine, and not to mention me too!. Raking out by hand as I go before I track the soil in... but as said it will all be worth it in the end to run on that good soil.......when I get to have a blast on it.

I did add a Step-up jump in!, will get some pics for the next time as I still need to finish the face and landing, I tracked the 16t machine on the track for that build.

Plans for a few more jumps are in the works, trying to get as many in there as possible, and a roller section - not sure on how far apart to space them out?, I'll sort it.

Anyways, that's me for now. If you need me you know where I'll be

 

[snydes]

Looks great! Interesting following along on this build!

 

[C5tor]

Have you named all the parts of the track yet? Rock Garden Straight? Boulder Alley? Comb-Over Corner? Wanky Whoops Section? A good track needs some good feature names to add character.

Definitely looks like you are putting your heart and soul into this build. Just remember to enjoy it sometimes.

 

[JW884]

Comb-Over Corner?

I second Comb-Over Corner to be the corner with the plants growing just over the edge of the berm And yes hopefully it drains much better since it is raised above. Also can't wait to see the step-up! And my guess for rollers would be just over a bike lengths spacing in between and very low (maybe 1-2ft tall?) Looking great so far!

 

[#76]

Have you named all the parts of the track yet? R Alley? Comb-Over Corner? Wanky Whoops Section? A good track needs some good feature names to add character.

Definitely looks like you are putting your heart and soul into this build. Just remember to enjoy it sometimes.

lol, no. Not even thought of it, been too busy building it to name anything. All though I have muttered under my breath many, many names while working on it!.

I am putting everything I have into this build. But yes your right, I really do need to take a step back sometimes and remember to actually enjoy it too.

So been down there today and prepped it all up for tomorrow, thanks!.

 

[#76]

Forum is a little quiet so something to look at...

Been working hard on the track still, but had to have a weekend just doing some repairs to the implements!.

Had my friend "Karl the welder" here doing some bits to help me out, as I once had a go at welding in the 90's sometime and gave my self arc eye so bad (yes, was wearing a mask but very old) that I said never again!. So he was busy busy for a fair few hours getting bits repaired and replaced as I was taking bits off and getting prepped up for the welding.



Discs always take a hammering, and needed some new bearing housings and bolts, so stripped the lot off and replaced (A lot easier said then done!), had to do some major heat to get some of the rusted bolts out but got there in the end....



The poor old Power harrow was in a bit of a sad state from the people that I bought it all from, so I stripped it out and had the scraper bar repaired, both the bar stops were cracked in half too so had to make some plates to fix it, not very pretty but its solid and now ready to go again!. Why people don't look after stuff I don't understand?.



Also the old Trailer that I have been using for carting the soil has taken a beating, mainly from the bucket of the 16t machine!, so had to make new tabs for the tailgate to swing from, also needed to straighten out some bits on it.

Hope to finish off some jumps today as I am planning on some friends to come down on Sunday for a ride out. But I did enjoy a quick test ride on Wednesday after the Gym (even tho I came up short on the step up because I totally forgot about it!) how I did not break both wrists I don't know. I did hit my chest on the bars, knee on the new LHRB master and did twist my bad wrist that's held together with plates and screws, so after I did that I put on my TP199 guards and my wrist brace lol!!....classic. Its all on the GoPro.



The LHRB was a little weird at first, but then how awesome is it!, went for the rear brake a few times but soon got to know how it all worked and the advantages it also gives, awesome!. Looking forward to using the bike more and getting used to it all.
Had the big D9 Dozer in to scrape up all the "rough land" the other side of where the track is, he can use that machine!, so its all nice an level now and lots of car parking spaces and area's for the little one's to ride/learn as you can see behind my awesome machine on charge...new soil already turning up just on the left as I still have 75% of the track to put down a good base. Also made a entrance onto the track and off but i will add the pics in next time.



She just turned the first 100 miles!.

Speaking of that my friend Sean has just bought his little girl a brand new Kuberg "start" and all the gear from head to toe, so will look forward to seeing her there soon and watch her progress into a future E-WMX star!. Pics soon!.

All for now, hope everyone is well.

 

[C5tor]

Awesome progress. Add farm implement repairs and fabrication to the #76 resume.

How is the site setup for water? Can you water down the track? Or are you just relying on soggy UK weather?

 

[#76]

Been a while.... "electricdirtriders" now....

(C5Ttor = no water atm, just good old shit U.K. rain and work with it for now until i get a track on my own property then a bore well and pump/holding tank set up).

OK, so not really been into it all if i am honest going into the end of last year, other things and life kind of got in the way and i was starting to give up a little on the whole idea of my own track, as i did have a day down there with a few friends and with in an hour had phone calls for noise....was just a 125 and a 250f....really got to me that. No surprise really tho as people suck!, but i wanted so much for them to be able to come and enjoy all the hard bloody work i did and have some others to play with!.

So last year ended not very well and even thoughts to sell the Alta and just retire...fuck it. It's a weird time when all you want to do in life, you don't want to do.

I left the track and never went back, bad huh. I know i know but that's how much it all got to me. My Girlfriend also had due a very serious Hip/Pelvis operation and that meant i was needed to take her to the operation (5hr drive each way) and to look after her and go back and forth for follow ups etc so if i crashed my brains out she was on her own and that's not fair so all in all i packed it in and just hit the Gym to keep me focused on something.

January rolls in and she is walking now on crutches and soon to be in the next few months back walking and driving about so i have the all clear IF i want to go back to the track or go back riding at all...I had a crap load of other work to do on my house to get it ready to sell so we can move to a bigger place with some acres i can build all this again on my own land, again IF i want to...So house all done and here we are.

I have tried to talk myself in and out of going back to the track and to continue to ride....bad huh. But i have pulled my thumb out my ass and got to work on the track last week, wow how over grown is it!...so i dug out my trusty little digger and serviced her up, got my rake i had made bolted back on, filled the strimmer (Weed wacker) up and a crap load of HD weed killer and headed down there with a positive attitude too lol.

This was back in January, was not too bad at all.






Had a front main oil seal leak on the Zetor last year that got worse as the cold came so had that to strip out and repair as i knew i will need her for this year all 100% if i went back, not too hard of a job and all done, serviced and discs are ready too. Old and new updated seal.




Things did not go too well first time back there haha!, got into it with the strimmer covered in wet weeds and plant slop strimmimg away and all was ok with the world....back at my track and getting it into shape!...no...i hear this funny noise, you know the type of funny noise that's sure as shit not funny, yep... strimmer gearbox has stripped its teeth.



Mmm, ok..ok.. i have the digger with the rake, i'll go use that, got on the digger and all ok again....making good work of stripping the weeds out and grading it back up again...




....hang on...ah crap....welded in bolt snapped!... mmm, ok home time.



So, that was my start to everything for this year ha!, I got home and drilled out the snapped bolt and also beefed up the other one and added a third too.
Went back next day and finished off, sprayed as much as poss but wind was too much so will wait, also need the new strimmer head to finish off the jumps etc where the grass has grown alot!.
Then i will head down with the Tractor and discs and get it ripped up!. Hope for some rain really to help as, wait..wait we have had none for ages, yes i still live in the UK!.

Have even got my MXR out from hibernation and also the battery from its nice warm corner and started the re-build up ready to go.





I even have bought some of the little GasGas bikes for some of my friend lil'ones to come and enjoy having a blast on and learning all about the E-Future they will get to enjoy, it really does make me thankfull for this track and being able to give back something.



But most important, I have some help now everyday from a new special friend - meet "Dozer" (As in BullDozer)!. He keeps a very watchful eye on me and makes sure everyone behaves themselves too!.



Well, that's all for now, I hope everyone is well and still riding, all the best.

#76.

 

[C5tor]

Dogs and diggers and kids and motorbikes. What more does a guy need? Sounds like fun should be had by all.

Interesting they complained about the dirt bikes but not the heavy equipment noise.

 

[Philip]

Interesting they complained about the dirt bikes but not the heavy equipment noise.

Heavy equipment noise means someone is working. But noisy dirt bikes means someone is having too much fun, which is obviously completely unacceptable!