I went out riding with some friends yesterday. That's the first time in about 2 months. I just got the engine back together after losing the decompression arm and runnig lots of metal through the motor. Fortnately, I caught it early and there was minimal damage. Anyway onto the story...
There were a couple Banshee's, a Z, and a Warrior. Around here, most believe the 'shee is god's gift to quick sport quads.
I've never dragged a 'Shee and I definitely have all the respect in the world for that awesome 2-stroke power plant, there's definitely a world of horsepower to be made there. One of the 'shees was stock and the other had some Toomey's. I gotta' say I Love the sound of Toomey's on a Banshee- they just sound sweet! The Toomey ???????????????shee was widened by Durablue on the back and Burgard on the front with some Work??????????????????s holding it up. Along the way, we stopped at a store for some drinks. These guys are all life long friends with a competitive streak between them that will never die. So, obviously the talk didn??????????????????t take long to turn to racing. Warrior boy was talking about how the KFX 700 would put everything down. I chimed in about having picked a little KFX meat out of my teeth before. So, someone asked how the ???????????????dale would do against the Banshee. Toomey boy was talking some smack about taking down a 'dale a while back and how the 'dale didn't have anything for him. I didn't argue that the dale was quicker- if he beat it, he beat it, I didn??????????????????t know any different, but I also wasn??????????????????t convinced I didn??????????????????t have something for him- he??????????????????d have to prove it.. So, near the end of the ride, we were at what appeared to be a good spot for a little dragging action. So I told him we ought to line 'em up. Of course he was happy to oblige!
So we headed to the end of the straight in the pit. The place is barely ridden anymore and the grass was scraggly and grown up to about a foot high. There??????????????????s a 12?????????????????? pole that goes about 30?????????????????? into the air(no joke!) with a sign on it that says No Tre-something. I, ummm, couldn??????????????????t read it that high and assume it said No Trees, since there weren??????????????????t any around it. Hehehehe! Anyway, we didn't preride the straight, but you could tell it was a little rutted. Ain't Skeeered!! He had new 18" Tamers. I was riding some well worn 20" Holeshots. The ground was hard and dry, advantage Banshee in my book. We got to the end and lined up. We decided I'd count to 3, on 3, let 'er rip. I started the count....One....we're starting to rev a little...Two.....about the time 2-3/4 comes-he's off. I yell 3 and we're outta' there!!! So he had an ever so slight jump on me. Got about 1/2 quad ahead. As I wound through first, yes first, he's not pulling away. I hit second and it??????????????????s kind of even for a split second. As I get through second, I start pulling. Near the end of second and into third, we're close to even. Remember the straight we didn??????????????????t preride?? I??????????????????m focused ahead and out of the grass comes an old tire! There??????????????????s no going around it. I pull back a little and over the top I go. It threw me around a little, but I was pulling on the ???????????????shee and **** sure not about to lift. I rocked on through fourth and had pulled ahead. By the time I hit 5th, which was about as far as we got, I??????????????????d say I had about 1-1/2 to 2 lengths on him. It was a pretty close race, but he was smoked!
We turned around and raced back. I totally blew the start and he got me. So, it was one and one. Third run and I took him again about the same as the first. The Z joined in this time and I never even saw him. I did miss the tire that time, too. Needless to say, the 3 onlookers that had gathered were in awe of the dale's 4 stroke kick. They had been drooling over the Banshee just a few minutes earlier and hadn't given my 'dale the time of day. It had definitely earned some respect!
We had a good ride and I look forward to the next time me and my boys can get together to do it again! I plan on running my first harescramble next weekend and feel my quad is in excellent condition- now it's time to see about me!
I Love my Cannondale, and it has no other name!
Handmade in the USA!:usa