Trivia Question

[Tri-Z 250]

Pull up a bench and tell us more, please. Still break out the X? Did you have any idea 3WW existed and lots of us never made the switch to 4 wheels? As you know the search for lost items is very hot topic. Swingarm, frames, motors, Tiger 500's you know the stuff you only hear about. Being a non-supported rider did you test product from any aftermarket Co.'s. Do you have any old boxes of stuff you'd like to share? I need to see the 200x - R beater...I gotta believe some stroker work was done...you out ran a 250R across the sand? WOW, and welcome

[B2V8384]

Pull up a bench and tell us more, please. Still break out the X? Did you have any idea 3WW existed and lots of us never made the switch to 4 wheels? As you know the search for lost items is very hot topic. Swingarm, frames, motors, Tiger 500's you know the stuff you only hear about. Being a non-supported rider did you test product from any aftermarket Co.'s. Do you have any old boxes of stuff you'd like to share? I need to see the 200x - R beater...I gotta believe some stroker work was done...you out ran a 250R across the sand? WOW, and welcome

I'll try to answer everyone's questions.
Some of them will be covered when I write about the ATC Golden Days (Good old Days?) of Desert Racing, which in my opinion, was up to about 1986.

My 200X.

It may surprise some people but the motor combination I ran was not that radical.
The 200X motor I raced was 199cc (stock was 195cc) with a 10.5 to 1 compression Wiseco piston.
It had a lightened crankshaft so it would rev quicker but no stroke work was done to it.
It had a ported head, larger stainless steel intake valve and bronze valve guides. I used a Web Cam with a mid range grind and high quality valve springs. I used a 30mm round slide Mikuni in the desert (more top end speed) and a 28mm flat slide Mikuni (better bottom & mid range power) on Gran Prix type tracks. K&N air filter in the stock air box with the screen removed.
I ran a pretty much wide open exhaust with no spark arrestor, it was really loud, kind of intimidating when I would pass other riders, plus I rode it on the pipe most of the time.
You had to ride the 200X like a 125 MX'er, keep the revs up and try to maintain your momentum, every time you slow down it takes time to get back up to speed.
My buddies that worked my pit crew in the desert races called my 200X "Thunder" because it was so loud. They said the could hear me coming before they ever saw me, they could tell my trike from all others just from the sound.
There were a lot of people that ran much more radical motors with 11 or 12 to 1 pistons and super high lift cams but I was a desert racer, I needed my motor to be strong, but to me it was more important for it to still be running at the end of a 100 to 500 mile race.
The old saying couldn't be more true in desert racing, to finish first you must first finish.
Not only could you lose the race if your motor blew, but you might be 50 miles from nowhere if it did. You do not want to spend the night in the high desert in the winter, you would freeze.
I built my own motors, the only thing I did not do was the valve job or the bore job. I was lucky to have an older gentleman who worked his magic on the machine work. I do believe his work did give me an advantage.
His shop was called MicroBore, his name was Len Norris, God rest his soul.
I had very few motor problems, probably why I won over 100 races, my bike continued to run.
The only time I had a motor completely fail was when I was talked into letting Curtis Sparks build me a motor for the Parker 400 (more on this another time).
Even though I ran a non radical motor I was constantly accused of running a cheater motor because I would beat the other 200X riders by so much and also beat many of the 250 riders.
I was under powered compared to the 250 riders and would have to work twice as hard to pass them. I would pass them in the rough or tight stuff only to have them fly passed me going 15 mph faster than my 200X would go when we hit a smooth dirt road or dry lake bed.
Some of you that have never ridden in the California Deserts may think there are miles and miles of endless sand dunes, but we have two different types of desert out here, the high desert like Barstow all the way to Vegas is rocky mountains with cactus and sandy whooped out trails connecting them. The terrain can be very rough and can actually be low speed, technical riding, perfect for the lighter 200X.
You need to be on your toes in this type of terrain, if you crash into cactus or on volcanic lava rock, it is gonna hurt. Trust me, been there, done that.
The Low desert is different, much faster, wide open type desert. Not many rocks, much higher speeds riding down there.
I was good in the high desert terrain but prefered the low desert because the rocks in the high desert would damage your trike, bent wheels, skid plates, broken frames and many flat tires.
That gets expensive.

One thing I did have on the 200X was good suspension, that was a big part of going fast in the desert.
I used a 2 inch longer chromoly swingarm and a Fox Twin Clicker shock in the rear and ATC 250R forks with semi stiff springs on the frront.
When I won B to V I weighed between 165 and 175 lbs.

I never switched to Quads either, I did not like riding them, when they basically outlawed 3 wheel racing because of the CSPC scare and the insurance companies would not cover them, I switched back to 2 wheel motorcycles.
I spent 5 years, almost every weekend racing ATC's in the desert, and honestly, they beat the hell out of me.
When I quit racing them I didn't care if I ever rode one again.

My 200X is in mothballs, stored in a garage.
I have not ridden it since 1986.


I always hated to see that 200X motor sitting there in the corner of the garage collecting dust because it was such a strong running little thumper.
About 7 years ago I was looking for a Dual Sport bike, one that was barely street legal but lightweight with good suspension.
I decided to build my own and I took the 200X motor and installed in a CR 125 chassis and used Honda XL 250R body work on it.
It was a lot of work but worth it, it is really light, it handles great, I love riding it, plus I still have my trusty old friend (200X motor) with me when I go riding.

The pic posted is of the CR 125-200X bike.

More later.....

[Texas 200x]

Think you'll ever put the 200x together and ride it again?

[B2V8384]

3 Wheeling Magazine took this pic, we were testing the new 350X near Palm springs, Calif.

[Nick_R_23]

When you ran a wide open exhaust on that 200x, did you use a gutted muffler, no muffler, extend the header pipe, or another way?

-Nick

[B2V8384]

When you ran a wide open exhaust on that 200x, did you use a gutted muffler, no muffler, extend the header pipe, or another way?

-Nick

The pipe I ran was made by one of my sponsers, PK Racing.
It had a larger headpipe and the rear section was sort of like a supertrapp but it had no end cap.
Back when I was riding the 200X none of the race promoters ever told me I had to run a spark arrester so I never did.
I tried many different pipes on the 200X, the White Bros Supertrapp was quieter but it did not make as much power on top end.

A couple of years later they started requiring spark arresters, from 1985 to 1987 I raced a 1986 250R, I can remember having to go through a spark arrester check before some races.

[Tri-Z 250]

Looking forward to "the Good old Days" writeup. Thanks again

[trikejunky]

Dean Sundahl

[B2V8384]

Dean Sundahl

Correct, it was Dean Sundahl, that S.O.B. won everything!