Going racing on my Alta Redshift MX!

[Philip]

My 1st race of the season is one week away. I just signed up for Round 3 of the WORCS racing series in Lake Havasu City, AZ:

https://worcsracing.com/round-3-4-mc-crazy-horse-lake-havasu-az-march-23-25-2018

The race is 55 minutes long, and the battery will probably not last to the end. But I still want to try it.

This Saturday and Sunday I will be practicing 55-minute motos at another local track. I want to know what to expect from the bike and also from myself. I haven't raced for almost 3 years since I busted a couple of ribs back in 2015. Just did not feel like it. Also, the local practice tracks do not have frequent races, and the local race tracks do not have frequent practices. But on this bike, I am thinking, I want to try again. There is nothing like the thrill of racing a motorcycle!

I raced the same race 3 years ago. I hated it. Too long, and there were occasional large rocks in the middle of the track, which is something that I am not used to, being from the Midwest. My front suspension sucked at that time too. But I think this time I got everything dialed in. Also I have been practicing local trial riding in the desert, rocks and all, and I am getting more comfortable with that. We will see...

I will keep you posted.

 

[snydes]

Good luck! ?

 

[Philip]

I had a practice yesterday. I wanted to see how long the bike and myself would go on one charge.

The bike lasted two warmup laps and 35 minutes of racing. A total of 40 minutes to drain the battery.

Myself not as long. I was out of breath and had to slow down after 25 minutes. I had a heart rate monitor on my hanglebar, tried to stay under 170 bph. Anything above that is not sustainable for me for loger than 10-15 minutes -- anaerobic threshold, I think.

So, my racing stratedy is now different: get a holeshot and lead for as many laps as I can, LOL!

We will see. The starting straigs is short, and I am not familiar with the track. So, I will just go and have fun for as long as it is fun. Yes, that's my plan.

 

[snydes]

What map were you on? Did you run it till it shut off?

 

[Philip]

I was using Map 2. It is relaxing and has a high regenerative braking. Although at the track the regen braking does not make much of a difference, I just like how the bike decelerates more.

EDIT: I ran it until the last bar on the battery status stopped blinking. You still get to limp a couple of miles after that.

 

[snydes]

How were the track conditions (hardpack, sandy, etc.)? Were you expecting that amount of run time out of it? Sorry for the 20 questions, I'm just curious how all the different factors affect the run time.

 

[Philip]

The track was hard pack but freshly groomed, so it was pretty soft. Not great for rolling resistance.

Yes, about 40-45 minutes is what I expected at the racing pace. If I could stop and let myself and the battery cool down, maybe it would have been 50 minutes. I do not think 55 minutes is possible at a motocross track on my 2017 MX battery.

Oh well... just one more excuse to get the MXR. I am curious when customer reports about its battery life come out.

 

[Philip]

A quick update: I just finished racing. Was going in the top 3, maybe even 1st, in my usual here in the southwest 40+ C class.

As expected, the battery died after half of the race. Oh well, I ran out of steam myself a few minutes earlier. But I think I would have been able to relax and finish without losing any positions, I am sure everyone else slowed down as well.

The bike is super awesome! I was able to take the kind of lines I've never dreamed of! Tight, wide, outside-in, inside-out, across ruts! Passing people was super easy, even too easy.

I worried that being quiet everyone would be cutting me off unknowingly. Well, in a race people cut off each other knowingly all the time, and with my bike being so quiet they were not prepared to cut me off. They just never knew what hit them, LOL!

The bike handled like a dream. The track was soft sand, and I have do not even like sand! This bike is changing everything.

I will post a longer report soon, along with videos. Going to work now. Dammit, they just cannot do without me there.

 

[snydes]

Damn work always cutting into our free time....
Was it a similar ride time as your last practice? One other thing... (if you don't mind me asking) what is your weight? I think that's something people need to take into consideration when talking about ride times.

 

[Philip]

This track had a lot of deep sand. Power sliding in sand is awesome on the Alta, but it is hard on the battery. The track was very long too, I had only 7/8 of the battery left after a 7-minute sight lap. So, on this track I pulled over after just 27 minutes of racing. That is 34 minutes of run time. The last 1/8 of the battery was blinking, and I didn't want to go another long lap with a reduced power.

I weigh 200 lb, or 235 lb with all the gear.

 

[snydes]

Ok, great information. That doesn’t surprise me being it was deep sand. I suppose you were probably getting the thermal warning light as well.

I was riding sand a couple days after my demo ride earlier this month and was thinking the Alta would be a blast in the sand. Too bad the sand is so hard on power though.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Philip]

No thermal warning light. I was in Map 2 all throughout the race. Same power as in higher maps but delivered more smoothly, efficiently in the sand. Plus I really like the engine braking in Map 2.

I've seen a thermal warning light only once, and that was on a hardpack track in Map 4.

 

[Philip]

Upon reviewing the videos...

The sight lap was 7 minutes long. I pulled over after just 27 minutes of racing. A total of 34 minutes on the track in deep sand. The last 1/8 of the battery was blinking when I pulled over.

And, YES! I was leading the race after 3:10 minutes! I've led a half of the race, 4 laps out of 8. Until I pulled over at 27 minutes.

Sorry for the dirty lens in the video. Too much dirt was flying, and I also forgot to wipe it after the sight lap.

 

[Philip]

This photo cost me $25. This is what they charge for trackside photos these days.

 

[snydes]

Nice picture ?. Definitely looks deep!
The video is still not available it says.

 

[Philip]

It's official! I have led half of the race and also had the fastest lap time! Woo-hoo!

The race started at a ridiculous 8am. I am not a morning person, I never liked sand, and I haven't raced in 3 years. I am crediting all the great results to the bike. Go Redshift!!!

http://www.tracksideresults.com/worcs/results/current/laptimes.asp?s=2&e=20&c=57&rnd=

 

[Oded]

Interesting how different these races are from country to country.
In Israel, the races are much more technical, therefor at lower speeds.
Here is an example of an extreme hill climb event over here.
The Redshift will be great for these events -

 

[Philip]

The Redshift is awesome at climbing hills. In mode 1 I have climbed such hills that I was afraid to look at when I was on a 2-stroke.

I am glad that hill climb video was slowed down and not sped up, LOL!

Oh, and welcome to the forum, Oded. I've heard that Israel will be one of the first international markets that Alta plans to enter.

 

[Oded]

Thanks for the welcome! Such forum can be a real asset.

Alta started selling Redshifts in Israel. So far 2 EX were sold, I am one of them...

I doubt many MX/R will be sold here since they can not be insured due to not being road leaga
l.

 

[wilhelm192]

Mammoth motocross starts tomorrow. 6-15-18 . Hope to see some Alta motors on the track.