Is it possible to race a modern adventure bike in a desert rally race? That’s the question we asked after watching Paris-Dakar videos from the early ‘90s. So we decided to create a modern version of Suzuki's legendary DR Big Paris-Dakar racer. We spent months building a 2023 V-Strom 800DE for the 2024 NORRA Mexican 1000 Rally, and now it’s time to go racing! Will we make it to the finish?
Ride along with Cycle World as we race 1350 miles through Baja, Mexico.
Build video: https://youtu.be/-5j7Ue_tQwE?si=OlaLx5NANbcexQhS
Subscribe to Cycle World Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/c/cycleworld?sub_confirmation=1
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6CLI74xvMBFLDOC1tQaCOQ
Read more from Cycle World: https://www.cycleworld.com/
Buy Cycle World Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/cycleworld
Ride along with Cycle World as we race 1350 miles through Baja, Mexico.
Build video: https://youtu.be/-5j7Ue_tQwE?si=OlaLx5NANbcexQhS
Subscribe to Cycle World Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/c/cycleworld?sub_confirmation=1
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6CLI74xvMBFLDOC1tQaCOQ
Read more from Cycle World: https://www.cycleworld.com/
Buy Cycle World Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/cycleworld
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SportsTranscript
00:00Most people come to Baja for relaxation and vacation, but we came to race.
00:09This is the Norah Mexican 1000 Rally.
00:14We transformed a stock Suzuki V-Strom 800DE into a fully-fledged rally racer.
00:20It's a bunch of choice modifications to race this adventure bike against a swarm
00:25of smaller and lighter bikes.
00:28There's 2,168 kilometers or 1,347 miles between us and the finish line in San Jose del Cabo.
00:37But first, we need to explain what I've got myself into.
00:41We made it to Ensenada with a rally bike, finally.
00:50We made it to Ensenada with a rally bike, finally.
00:58Right now, we went registration, we got our numbers on our bike, so now we can go over
01:04to Tech.
01:05We're going to check the bike over for all the required equipment, which is basically
01:08the tracker systems on the bike.
01:10You have your survival gear with you, you have your helmet, and then everything jives with
01:16the rules.
01:17It's almost like a slow-moving parade, and we still have to do a little bit of test riding.
01:22Right now, the bike has 92 miles on it, and we're going to go race it 1,600 miles.
01:26That's not a good combo, usually.
01:28And hopefully, they don't send us back to fix something.
01:30But I think we're good.
01:31I think we're good.
01:32Before racing begins, there's two days of tech inspections, rider meetings, and last-minute
01:40preparation in Ensenada.
01:42I can already feel the pressure building, and I might not look it, but I am nervous.
01:47Although Nora's tagline for the Mexican 1000 is the happiest race on earth, it's still
01:52a race.
01:53And as much as that's true, the teamwork, community, and camaraderie among racers to help
01:57each other get across the finish line is incredible, as we soon came to find out.
02:02I spent over 100 hours building the best racer I could, evoking the spirit of Suzuki's
02:07DR Big Rally Racer from the 90s.
02:10There's never been a beast-rom like this one.
02:12It's a real rally racer now.
02:15But I still haven't even ridden this beast in the dirt.
02:17As soon as we're done with tech, we have to go ride this thing and figure out if I got
02:21it all right or I got it totally wrong.
02:23We passed tech inspection without any issues, and the race fans were really impressed with
02:32our DR Big.
02:33Now, we just need to have the Stella tracking unit installed, and then we can get to work
02:37testing the bike.
02:38So they're putting the Stella unit on, that's the thing that gives you all the warnings.
02:45You know, something's coming up behind you fast, like if a trophy truck's coming up behind
02:51you, let you know if there's danger ahead.
02:54It gives you speed warnings in the speed areas, so it's kind of an important deal.
02:59Most people know the Baja 1000, but this race is different than that all-out, one-and-done
03:11race.
03:12Think of this as a shorter version of the Dakar Rally.
03:15There's six days of racing consisting of special stages.
03:18That's the actual timed racing, and transfer sections that get you to and from the special
03:23stages, but those don't count against your actual race time.
03:26Unlike the Baja 1000, the Mescan 1000 Rally allows only one rider to enter the race.
03:32All you have to guide you is a scroll of paper with course notes, a compass, and a trip meter
03:36housed in the custom-built rally tower sitting front and center.
03:40Not only do you have to ride well, you have to navigate well.
03:43There are plenty of riders that can go fast, but the rally pros can navigate, strategize,
03:49and ride smart at the same time.
03:51It's like trying to cook a gourmet meal while wrestling a bear.
03:55Am I the cook, the meal, or the bear?
03:57We'll soon find out.
03:59The cool thing about Nora is they kind of like really embrace a lot of different vehicles,
04:04and it was cool.
04:05I was really stoked to see your twin cylinders showing up.
04:08Now we've got some of the Cotty's.
04:09We almost had a Cove.
04:11We're going to give you the opportunity to have a really good experience on whatever bike
04:16it is, and hopefully you get to finish it too.
04:18The big question I have is actually where the start line is.
04:21I don't even know.
04:22I'm assuming it's over there.
04:26With tech inspection done, we can finally get our bike in the dirt for the very first test ride.
04:31Forks a little slow, or a little soft.
04:49More compression in the front, more rebound in the front, more rebound in the rear.
04:54Maybe a little compression in the rear and we're good.
04:56But like it's 90% there.
04:58Brakes are actually just fine for the dirt.
05:01I mean when you got to gather it up really fast, the lever is still a little squishy.
05:07And I think we just need to bleed it again.
05:10But overall, like if I rode this as a brand new adventure bike, if like I went to a press
05:20launch and they were like, here's our new adventure bike and I got on it, I would be like, this
05:24thing is sick.
05:26What's rad about the mooses is in the rocks, like all the sharp edge rocks, dude the bike
05:33just goes, it just goes right through it.
05:35Just goes blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
05:36Right away, I knew I had something special on this bike.
05:39All those hours of hard work paid off and the suspension is amazing.
05:42The handling is great and everything works as it should.
05:46That's one of what feels like 100 worries checked off the list.
05:50Okay, so we're back from doing our shakedown run, which was pretty short.
05:54I think it was only about 15 miles.
05:56But in those 15 miles, I learned a ton about this bike and I got really, really close to
06:02the settings just by sitting on the stand bouncing up and down on it in the dirt.
06:06I only have to do a few clicker settings.
06:08This thing's ready to go.
06:09I'm really, really surprised how close I got it.
06:13I was honestly sweating the whole time we weren't getting to go test the bike and now
06:18I'm totally ready.
06:19Like I'm ready to go racing and I'm not even stressed.
06:21I forgot that I needed clear goggles to ride to the staging area because it's still nighttime.
06:33I was like a kid waiting for Christmas morning.
06:35There's very little sleep and lots of scenarios running through my head.
06:38But now there's nothing to do but race.
06:41Day one, we'll run from the west coast port of Ensenada to San Felipe on the Sea of Cortez,
06:46spanning 360 kilometers or 223 miles of racing over two special stages and two transfer stages.
06:53There's a pit in my stomach and as soon as I can get to riding and navigating, the better I'm going to feel.
06:58I think we're in a good place.
07:00I mean, it's everyone's first time doing this type of race, right?
07:04And getting ready for this type of race.
07:06So it's just organization, but there's a lot of things you don't think of.
07:10And we find that out as we realize we haven't thought of them.
07:14But overall, I think we're good.
07:17Okay.
07:18Good morning, everybody.
07:19Good morning.
07:20Justin Dawes, 11th.
07:22Good morning.
07:23How you doing?
07:24Good morning.
07:25Is this yours?
07:26Yeah.
07:28Nice choice.
07:29I'm slamming.
07:30Nice to meet you, Justin.
07:31Yeah.
07:32Didn't know you were busy, so I wanted to introduce myself.
07:34This is nice.
07:35I'd do it with commentary.
07:36You've got a interesting choice.
07:46First time loading a road book.
07:48I've seen it done on TV.
07:50On the easiest.
07:51And on the car show.
07:53So I think we got it.
07:54It's a little crooked this time, but we'll get better at it.
07:56Two months ago, I started with a stock V-Strom 800 DE.
08:02And now I'm just seconds away from proving that this adventure bike can be a hardcore rally racer.
08:08It's finally time to start.
08:10I'm focused.
08:11The prep is done.
08:12The bike is ready.
08:13And now it comes down to what feels like one single moment in time.
08:18The start.
08:19Out on the course, all worries left.
08:20I just concentrated on riding well and paying attention to the course notes.
08:26The first day is all about finding a groove and limiting my mistakes.
08:38You can't win a rally on day one, but you sure can lose it.
08:42Out on the course.
08:43Out on the course, all worries left.
08:44I just concentrated on riding well and paying attention to the course notes.
08:48The first day is all about finding a groove and limiting my mistakes.
08:51You can't win a rally on day one.
08:54Out on the course, we're here at the first assistant zone waiting for Justin Dawes.
08:59we're here at the first assistant zone waiting for Justin Dawes hopefully he comes in no bike
09:22changes nothing's wrong you just get back on the road and make up some time
09:25so you're gonna ask me what's going on right now and the truth is I don't really know none of us
09:32really know we've been waiting here for a while at the assistance point a lot of bikes come through
09:37already even a couple vintage bikes which isn't the best sign because they started pretty far
09:41behind us we're hoping it was just maybe a little bit of a navigation issue and Dawes got off course
09:47and he just took a little time to find his way back you know it's day one so if that's the case
09:52we can make it up um at worst you know there's maybe an incident and I just hope we'll be okay
09:58but yeah I don't know I think uh we just don't know right now we don't know we're still waiting
10:02and uh yeah well uh we'll just fingers crossed uh Dawes gets back in here pretty soon
10:08and uh if there are any issues we can take care of it pretty quick and get it back on the road
10:11and then the stella fell off this thing fell off like six times and I got lost for like 20 minutes
10:26am I like one of the last ones
10:28I passed a bunch of people and then my stella flew off and was banging around over here
10:47and then so I stopped I put it back on and went again and then it fell off again put it back on
11:02went again put it back on then I zip tied this big big old zip ties you don't need to feel it
11:07you don't want it full do you no it's gotta go 90 miles it doesn't need to be full full
11:12minutes to fixing that and then I was lost for like 15 minutes like how far ahead did the first
11:19test come through a half hour ago an hour as I came to find out later the situation I found myself in
11:28is common for a first time rally racer even after receiving some sage advice about slowing down or
11:33stopping when you realized you missed a turn or direction I pushed forward and hoped I'd find the
11:38next waypoint ahead of me but I didn't and I made it much harder to find my way back on course now
11:45I'm way off the pace and I have to calm myself down and focus rather than push too hard and make even
11:50more mistakes I need to remember what my friend Ned told me think of navigation as a casino and you're
11:56a card counter when you know the deck is stacked against you slow down be careful and be sure of what
12:02you're doing when the deck is in your favor push it and go faster but right now I feel like I'm barely
12:09able to even play go fish
12:20the start of special stage two was a reset forget the disaster of stage one and concentrate at the job
12:26at hand in front of me was el diablo dry lake bed and what seemed like endless amounts of sand
12:32surrounding me here I'd learned my second rally lesson even though this was just the first day
12:39I felt a competitive urge I haven't had since I was racing in my 20s that's over 25 years ago but
12:46I wasn't the smartest racer back then and I might not be right now I've been catching riders in the sand
12:52and now I set my sights on the dust ahead of me on the dry lake bed determined to make up time
12:57problem is I forgot the golden rule of running tire muses rather than a tube inflated with air
13:02a solid foam gives the tire its shape and prevents flats but you have to limit your top speed so you
13:08don't overheat them you overheat they break down and they turn to mush I was traveling well over 100 miles
13:15an hour and combined with a 473 pound weight of the bike it was just too much for any news to handle
13:36at the finish line Justin Dawes with a complete flat rear tire I'm sure that uh bore you out a little
13:42more than you anticipated didn't it yeah I think I cooked the tire balls on the uh or the moose balls
13:47on the dry lake bed I was doing like over 100 on the dry lake bed and I got a little too I was having
13:54too much fun you got a little too excited got a little uh a little throttle uh yeah throttle heavy
13:58but hey you're out there having fun all smiles but coming down the road I was like what's he doing
14:03oh he's got a flat tire to just dancing all over the place I thought you were trying to show out a
14:08little bit no I finally gave up just right at the finish so it was it was fine okay so you made it
14:13here and uh obviously you're gonna put a new rear tire on this one yeah yeah we got a whole stack
14:17of tires in the way okay and I was gonna ask that question I'm not I'm not a motorcycle guy I like
14:23them but I don't ride them um but do you plan on changing the tire every day or only when you have
14:28issues every day yeah front and rear or just rear front and rear okay so so get in here uh get
14:34cooled off have some tacos some cervezas and then uh and then go check out the bike get it ready to
14:39roll for tomorrow's uh stage number two exactly awesome well John Dawes made it here and we'll let
14:44him get out there and uh have us through check everything out but another great showing on the Baja Spirit
14:56oh no it was fun there was really fun sections but
15:00all the sand it was so soft it wasn't like silt but it was so soft so there was a few times like
15:09the bike which is knife and I like had to catch the bike and so it's been a lot of energy just not
15:14dropping the bike and then I fell over when I passed the camera because he missed it he blew a corner so I
15:21slid into it and then like tried to get through the sandy section and the knife front and knife and I fell
15:28so he stopped and he helped pick me up pick it up and then we got going again so I let him lead out
15:34and then he ran out of gas like probably 10 miles later
15:39and then I stopped and we tried to figure out if we could loan him some gas
15:44I didn't have enough
15:48whoa
15:49all right here's what we learned the moose balls got pushed a little hard today Justin was riding
15:56pretty aggressive with some high speeds we have a fresh set of wheels and tires already prepped
16:00with moose balls we're gonna try again tomorrow adjust the riding style and hopefully we can run them
16:05the rest of the trip
16:12the plan today is to ride smooth and smart and navigate well uh yesterday I lost a lot of time
16:17getting lost and if I had not I got lost I'd be much higher up on the time sheets I'm right in the
16:23middle with 12 out of like 30 people um but I could have been up in like the top five if I had not I got
16:29lost so second half of the day I felt like I didn't ride as well as the first half of the day
16:36but I didn't get lost and my times were the fourth fastest of the day so that shows that
16:42navigating is just as important if not more important than going fast
16:46I think the team's learning all around and we'll just keep getting a little bit better each day so
16:56by the end of the trip we should be uh be doing pretty well starting order 423 it's day two and
17:02I'm sitting in 12th overall although I had huge issues on special stage one I crossed the line in
17:08fourth place at the end of special stage two that's an unexpected and awesome result today we race from
17:15San Felipe to Guerrero Negro for a total distance of 501 kilometers or 311 miles it's one long special
17:24stage bookended by two long transfers which we have a solid plan for would I be able to make up time
17:32or were there more hard lessons coming my way we have a plan to take care of the rear tire and the
17:39nooses and not ride so fast in the street and not so fast on dry lake beds and things I talked to
17:46Alexander Smith and I was like I screwed up the rear tire on the dry lake bed he's like just so you
17:52know I went 60 miles an hour on the dry lake bed and I went well I went like 120 so that's where it went wrong
18:09so in our class we're allowed to transfer the bike on the road so we were putting the bike in the
18:26hand and driving at the next 100 miles
18:34I'm coming with you
18:36I got it
18:56while I thought the second half of day one was tough today was even tougher the navigation was
19:13trickier the sand was deeper and softer and there are plenty of places to make mistakes that could cost
19:18you a lot of time however I rode well despite a few tip overs and reached the gas stop in a good position
19:25as I had passed a bunch of other riders where navigation was confusing and tough
19:39need cold water on your back
19:46I think it's good news I mean he came in he was on time you know not too slow not too fast just cruising
19:54I think I think everything's good bike looks good if you didn't crash it you couldn't ask for anything more
20:10then a small riding air turned into a big issue but I went offline into a rock and boulder filled rain
20:16crazy
20:23great chain came off
20:25because in the trail I hit it knocked me off trail I cased it into that big old rock over there
20:43and then it ripped my chain off. Not cool. Now I'm very tired because
20:53even just that little bit is tiring compared to just riding. Not that riding isn't tiring though.
21:13It's been really hard to keep track of Justin just because we don't have Starlink. A lot of people
21:19have internet service through the Starlink and a tracker. We've kind of been able to piggyback off
21:23some people and get a rough idea of where he's at on the course. We think he should be coming in
21:29pretty soon but not too sure honestly. A couple things we do know from the guys that have come in
21:35are now is that this morning was really technical because of the sand and the afternoon was really
21:40technical because of the rocks. A bunch of rocky uphill stuff so we're expecting him to be a little
21:46bit tired coming in. We'll get him some some water and stuff like that but after that we're basically
21:50wrapping up with the day and yeah get him into town and we'll digest the day see how it went for him
21:57and move on to the next day. Well problem number two. Tubing cracked.
22:05We're here with the bike. Rally tower wants to leave the bike.
22:13We're here at the second assistant zone. Dodge will be coming in pretty shortly then it's a transfer
22:18stage. We're going to throw the bike in the van and work our way to the finish.
22:22This sucks so bad because I can't go fast. I have to go slow because it's repeating the rally
22:29power to death. I don't have anything to fix it with. It's zip ties. It's a boot seal I wouldn't
22:36think would work if it would just break again so here I am just running along beating myself to death
22:45instead of skipping over everything.
22:47All right. Dodge just arrived here. A little bit of a mechanical. We still got to diagnose it.
23:09The bike's in the van. Take it to the finish. Baja spirit just got to get there.
23:14I'm all right. I'll be okay. I'm really disappointed in today because the bike was running good.
23:21I felt like I was going really good in the first half even though it was like the first half of today
23:27was harder than yesterday in actual like physical riding but I felt like I did good and then I was a
23:33little tired but I was still like catching people moving through their dust passing them and then I
23:39made a mistake and then I took the chain off the bike so then I had to spend like 10-15 minutes fixing
23:46the bike. I got video for you at least. Put up the GoPro. And then I got going again and then I found
23:56like a second wind and I was feeling really good and like flowing and like starting to rip you know
24:02like I was going to reel I wanted to reel in all the people that passed me while I was broken
24:06and then the rally tower started like moving a little bit and I'm like what's going on there
24:11and I grabbed it it didn't feel that loose and then a few more bumps big bumps and it was like
24:17a pond and it just was completely broken on both sides and it's the it's the
24:22it's the very bottom of the stock Suzuki piece and I mean it's just it's a lot of leverage I guess
24:30even though that stuff's not very heavy so but I think if we can weld some choose full-on
24:37Baja style weld some angle iron on it strengthen it up it'll be fine I'll make it do it so but I was
24:44worried about smashing all the rally gear apart so I went really slow so I think I gave up a
24:51solid hour I think I would have been here an hour earlier because there was sections that I was going
24:56I don't know 30 miles an hour that I could have been doing 60 70
25:01that's racing it could be worse you could be on fire the big question was how long it would really
25:11take to get the tower welded up and get the bike back together I had a feeling we'd be up all night
25:16working despite having to ride slowly after the tower broke we crossed the finish line in 14th
25:25place for the stage and moved up in the overall rankings to 11th place so we got into basically
25:32the final destination for today there was a guy here who's opening up a motorcycle shop he already
25:37knows some people in town one of those being a welder that guy is already coming our way we're ripping
25:43the kind of hardware around the tower off right now he's gonna come weld this thing up we should
25:47be buttoned back up hopefully soon and that is the good news what we have here is the the fairing
25:55stay for the front holds the the fairing the dash and any clusters Baja durability testing we lost it
26:04here broke here and here we're gonna take it have it welded back to the bike and be ready to go in the
26:10morning from those pieces we'll have it back together in an hour so maybe an hour and a half of work to get
26:25it fixed that's pretty good then we didn't have a welder and we didn't know anybody that's how Baja is
26:31everybody knows everybody and they're always willing to help especially racers like they will help a racer
26:38out no matter what so we learned a lot today you know building a rally custom rally bike out of
26:55adventure bike and then taking it racing without any test testing at all is a bad idea that's what we
27:02learned more than anything but we found a couple things they were you know not maybe set up properly
27:10like the rally tower like I expected it to hold the weight but then we found out that the tubing is
27:16very thin wall from the stock cowling holder from Suzuki so it cracked and it broke and that cost me
27:24probably an hour of time on the course and the things we learned is you can lose a lot of time
27:32screwing stuff out you can make a lot of time if you're just careful meticulous you pay attention to
27:38what you're doing and so with those learnings I think from here on out I think we've sorted most of
27:46bugs out and so with that done tomorrow should be a problem free day red issues better get some stuff
28:02fixed but a lot of maintenance do it was really cool everyone stayed up late and worked on the bike
28:08while they let me go eat and go to bed so I want to thank the team for that probably 10 o'clock right
28:14the restaurant was closing down we're still wrenching on the bike one of the last guys in but we got the
28:21the work done the bikes prepped ready to go should be dialed and we're here so it's on to another day
28:27and keep trucking along Baja spirit baby bugs worked out Jimmy says today's gonna be fun but Jimmy's
28:37definition of fun is different than every human being on the planet so when he says fun it's gonna be
28:44harder it's now day three the course would leave the oceanside town of Guero Negro and head to the
28:49oasis of San Ignacio there's 401 kilometers or 249 miles to cover with just one special stage that
28:57requires two fueling points with the tower fixed and the bike prepped I was ready to put the last
29:02two days behind me and have a good solid day of racing there's gonna be some tough riding especially in
29:08the first 20 miles but even so today was looking to be our best day so far the goal was to move up the
29:15overall ranking yet again you come into like where it shows a little rancho or speed zone always always
29:22cows so really I'm saying this again don't let a cow make you have a bad day I don't know what I gotta do
29:35differently to get to the finish is hopefully nothing breaks and I'm just gonna ride smooth and smart
29:44do what I gotta do see where I shake out see
30:05as promised the first dune section was tough navigation through the soft dunes was tricky
30:13and caught nearly everybody out just the slightest deviation on the compass or cap hitting could lead
30:19you into some very soft sand as I soon found out as did many of the competitors the great part about
30:26rally racing is the camaraderie between the racers and their willingness to help out and I needed some
30:32help as it's some other guys right at the same time we work together to upright each other and
30:37the race was back on it's rare to see this kind of selflessness and teamwork among competitors in
30:42any other form of racing so me knucklehead got out of the sand or out of the dirt onto the pavement
30:50was safe then decided it was a good idea to try to get back in the dirt to help the first man that
30:55got stuck and got the Ford van the biggest van we brought super stuck got stung by a scorpion digging
31:01up the sand have this huge roadblock going down on a two-way road one-way road and we're stuck in
31:09the mud stuck in the sand literally so we're in a pretty bad situation luckily we got some good locals
31:14helping us out hopefully we'll be back on the road soon so we gotta go find dogs we don't even know where
31:19dogs is he needs gas he needs help I mean we're stuck right now but we'll get it out it'll get
31:25out we always do right but um yeah we're stuck it'll probably be a little bit only concern is
31:30obviously hoping we get to the next checkpoint before Justin does because we got to get Justin
31:34some gas so the sooner we get it out the better all right vans are out well the Ford van was out that
31:43was the big one that was stuck got it out thank you to the locals man that was a huge help getting us out
31:48all right so we are three minutes away from the checkpoint and we just saw him transfer from the
31:55road off into the dirt so I assume that he got some assistance because Jeff was a little bit of
32:00ahead of us so we'll just have to hope and see that he's good and we'll get more updates here shortly
32:07fact is I didn't get gas the assistance point your time is neutralized mean the clock is paused but only
32:15for 10 minutes at the end of those 10 minutes you have to leave or you get a penalty I knew I had
32:20two gallons in a jug and a Nora splash gas 40 miles down the course but that might not be enough to get
32:28me to the finish line I knew I'd have to be mindful and keep the revs down to conserve fuel calm is I had
32:35more dunes to cross all right we beat Justin to the second assistant point he's about 45 minutes
32:41away according to our local guy right here with the Starlink got the van prep to load him in transfer
32:46him to the finish fuel conservation also kept my speeds down on my dry lake bits that's good news for
32:54the tires and I used up nearly every single drop of the 800 DE's 5.3 gallon fuel capacity but I did make it to
33:03finish line the I had to stop and adjust the clutch and the nut adjuster nut was so tight that I
33:10couldn't get it loose so I had to use a tool to me do that cost me probably three four minutes and then
33:18somehow the starter solenoid just stuck on while I was riding it started trying like I heard this noise
33:24what is that noise what is that noise and then I finally stopped and it I turn the bike off and the
33:30starter kept going I turned the key off the starter kept going so then I had to like rush and like
33:37get the battery disconnected and then I was like huh and then I connected the battery again and it kept
33:43going again so then I pulled the step solenoid out hit it with a wrench and we did it that's fine
33:49well that was fun starter solenoid stuck on so the bike was trying to start itself and just wearing
33:59down the battery dumping fuel into the bike even with the key off so we're currently on our way to
34:09the finish line in the transfer stage and the bike is definitely being pushed to its limits Justin is still
34:15in his competitive spirits which is great I just got to remember you know you can never beat Baja you
34:22just got to survive it crossing the line at San Ignacio there were just a few bikes parked signaling
34:33that there was a chance that I had maybe made up some more time on the field turns out I was 8th for
34:39the day and now I'm 8th overall things are looking up so we're here in San Ignacio with Justin Dawes the
34:50323 in this Suzuki Everlinga bike still looks good how much fun did you have out there today today was
34:55good it was really fun it was fast navigation was tricky in just a couple parts but overall just fast
35:02some flowing besides the sand dunes in the beginning was really really fun yeah the navigation with
35:07these bikes is you know just something we're not quite used to in the cars you know we've got the
35:12GPS people yeah you got a co-driver to help and that you that's an actual piece of paper right yeah yes
35:17it is it's actual piece of paper that rolls around you gotta you gotta move it up and down all the time
35:22it's incredible and and for you to start in the Bay of LA and then end up here in San Ignacio right for this
35:30beautiful mission awesome I mean you you kind of are in the barren desert out the middle of nowhere
35:34for so long and then you get here and it's just a beautiful oasis yeah it's awesome it's really cool
35:38I'm glad to be here I'm ready to like go take a shower and like hang out at the oasis and chill
35:44absolutely well I'll let you do that because yeah we got a great fiesta that just kicked off we got
35:48some some beverages some some grub and I'll let you chill out get cleaned up and enjoy your day all right
35:53thank you right as we ended the street section I had to adjust my clutch and then I started seeing
35:59your dust and then when we got on that nasty rock stuff I just saw your dust go away I think that
36:05650 just eats those rocks up yeah it's still scary you don't want to knife the front end I know
36:10awesome job so day three is done and it went really good it's the best day we've had yet and I think we
36:19got a lot of the kinks worked out I only had one small issue towards the end of the day with the
36:24starter solenoid and just took a little tap with a wrench to fix that and all was good in the morning
36:29the sand dunes were tough and then after that it was like let the thing eat it was super rad super
36:36fast super flowing and then right in the middle there was a little tough spot going through a bunch
36:41of camel grass in sand dunes it was a little bit tough but after that again it was like pin it and have
36:48fun it was a really fun day the boys had like a little issue on their own but it didn't it didn't
36:54hurt us at all so that was a good thing so I'm looking forward to the marathon stage tomorrow I
36:59think it's gonna be really good I think we got the kinks worked out and now we just got to make up time
37:05it's day four and the first portion of the marathon stage a two-day test running a total
37:17of 672 kilometers or 417 miles today's stage is just 196 kilometers or 122 miles from San Ignacio to
37:29the fishing village of San Juanico the big question on my mind was how tough those 122 miles were going
37:37to be from the start of today the team can't help me at all until the first assistance point tomorrow so
37:45if anything goes wrong with the bike at all I have to fix it myself and if something breaks it's gonna
37:52be a problem but we've got all the bugs worked out the bike ran almost flawlessly yesterday I think we
37:58are gonna be jamming today and I'm not really worried about it it's a shorter stage so that's nice one thing I
38:04don't know is if it's gonna be fast or it's gonna be technical if it's fast and it's short we should
38:09do really well and move up in the standings again if it's tight and technical mmm see where we end up
38:15it's gonna be work but I'm excited about it
38:24thank you
38:34after a few speed restricted zones course opened up to a fast and flowing blast but again I had to
38:55watch my talent speed as there were some salt flats that could trick you into going too fast and melting
39:00down that rear tire restraint was the key along with solid navigation
39:12we just talked to Justin on the phone he already arrived at the bivouac he's done for the day riding he had a good day
39:20the course was just rough enough for me to be able to use the v-strom stability to smash past the competition
39:31finishing fifth overall for the day and second in class one little navigation area cost me three or
39:37four minutes but overall I'm very happy with the day
39:40we're we're here at the impound so all these bikes I can't touch this bike until the morning
39:50and then I can get set up in the morning and then no mechanic work until assistance one so
39:56we'll just fill it up and go but I checked it over I stopped out front checked everything over
40:02there's nothing to be done to the bike at all so I was like okay yeah we thought we had to stay
40:08like Ali I like a a marathon stage like in Dakar where you're out in the boonies and you're out in
40:16the desert and out in the boonies and sleeping but it turns out that only the bikes have to be
40:24impounded so the marathon is really for the bikes more than it is me which is cool because the bike is
40:29an adventure bike it's made to go thousands and thousands of miles at a time so it like didn't
40:35phase the thing it's only we only raced I think 140 miles today but we did it fast like it feel it
40:43felt like we started and then we finished like it was just super fast I battled with three guys on
40:49like regular dirt bikes all day long we swap positions quite a bit in terms of like who was
40:54leading out and it was really really fun the day was the best day yet and I think I made up some more
41:00time on the field so maybe my position will change what to see tonight after times are posted and today
41:06was the shortest day it was like 120 miles and I did it in two hours and 53 minutes so that's a
41:13pretty good running average and I think the race leader did it in two hours and 30 minutes or just under
41:21two hours three minutes so it was a really fast section it was easy it wasn't very taxing on the body
41:26and who knows tomorrow like that's a long way it's it's it's over double what we did today so no
41:34mishaps today was awesome no mechanical issues I rode I think smarter than I did the first day
41:41obviously because I didn't I didn't go a million miles an hour two guys passed me and then I had to
41:47pass them back because I slowed down on the really really fast stuff that would cook the tire I was like
41:52okay I'm just gonna save it because the marathon I can't change the tires so I gotta keep them good
41:58for tomorrow so let's see how it goes
42:01be careful okay it's getting easier but you gotta pay attention still day five is the second part of
42:26the marathon stage and is one of the longest of the rally with 417 kilometers or 296 miles from
42:32sleeply San Juanico the Baja southern capital of La Paz no issues with the bike and a long rest meant I
42:39was ready to push my way further up the rankings today would be the make or break for this race
42:45today's race distance is long but views like this go by in a flash this epic run down the beach will
42:58be etched in my memory for the rest of my life racing in Baja is unparalleled and just look at where an
43:05adventure bike can take it was all going great until it wasn't just a small hesitation turned into a very
43:19stuck V-strong can I get a little push from you thanks one more go one two three
43:40with some help from my fellow competitor I was back on my way blasting down the beach again but little did
43:48I know my day it was about to end
44:04really
44:05back off the beach he was stopping in this clutch okay so he was back that way any guesses how many miles
44:27um it was five okay ten maybe yeah all right we're just outside of scorpion bay the stage
44:37just started for dogs he got out onto the beach um pretty early into it he fried the clutch in
44:43the sand so day's done sounds like norah's gonna pick him up and uh bring him down south and we'll
44:48meet up with him hopefully pretty soon and try to see what exactly happened
44:52well that's it for today um somehow i fried the clutch i got stuck in the sand ins back there
45:04maybe i cooked it there overheated it um and then uh when i got to this sand hill to leave
45:13um i touched the clutch one time and then it just said no mas and it felt like i was spinning the
45:21tire in the sand but in fact black tire wasn't spinning at all so um yeah and it's not coming
45:28back it's i've let it cool down it's done so um they're gonna come get me and take me to the
45:35finish line today and then tonight put a new clutch in and carry on tomorrow so while i was digging out
45:43the bike when i got stuck i hit the catalytic converter in my hand i don't know if you can
45:50see that nice gooey mess of a burn so while i'm here sitting killing time waiting for the uh recovery
45:57i'm gonna wash it and dress it and take care of it because it's pretty ugly looking
46:03now when i scarred remember baja bye
46:06now we're just gonna go finish the race and have fun enjoy riding the bike
46:15i think it's i think it would just be best to get him to the positive assess it and ride
46:27the last day okay sweep seven and eight they're going back for him seven is eight is holding
46:32there right now until until we make sure that uh seven doesn't get stuck sweep eight yeah okay
46:38that's sweet seven that it and then they're feeling confident they can get it out yeah okay
46:43they already pick them up or no they're they're with them that's all i know we're waiting for
46:47justin and the dr big to arrive in the sweep vehicle we're on the side of the road just getting
46:51prepared to switch the clutch back if there's enough time if not we're just gonna have to head
46:56the la pause do it there and get ready for the final stage tomorrow
47:11the next day
47:15so i got stuck
47:23first guy came to help stop one guy no two people passed me that i was they were racing with me you
47:30know i told him go because i don't need to ruin their time because i got stuck but um and then this
47:38guy stopped and he was like i'll help you and he he couldn't help me he really get it out and then
47:43the next guy that stopped right after him he helped me and it was no problem we got out in a minute and
47:50a half two minutes but i fried the clutch no no i just give me a just start it the plan was to get
47:59to la paz as soon as possible to fix the clutch and minimize my time penalty i would be getting the
48:04maximum time but we weren't sure how it was going to be calculated so getting to the
48:08finish line as fast as possible was very important but baja has a way of rearranging every well-laid
48:18we're behind a teacher's strike on the only road to la paz and it's going to be at least two hours
48:24so i'm going to get two more hours added to my thing do you know what the max penalty looks like
48:30i don't know i think it's probably eight hours so that means that my whole race day is going to be like
48:3415 or 16 hours i'm basically going to race for not to get last place now um but
48:44it is what it is if i didn't break we wouldn't have this problem if i didn't
48:48screw up so it's my fault we're here
48:51but what we do
48:58i turned in my time card at the finish line it looked rad everyone was partying and i was they
49:02were like oh where'd you go in the back of my van so uh we're gonna go get the clutch in it now we're
49:09gonna go to airbnb pull the bikes apart and fix what's gone wrong and tomorrow we're gonna go flat out
49:21this should be the color of normal steel they're blue
49:31these should be in one piece but they're not
49:37these should have pieces of fiber on them they don't
49:41they're gonna go man i i screwed up so bad
50:02at end of day five and we just finished re-prepping the bike and fixing uh the clutch it's all prepped
50:08now new clutch new tires new air filter full of oil um full of gas ready to go so the goal now
50:16is to get the same across the finish line but first we gotta start it up and make sure everything works
50:29that's a relief
50:51this is the final day of the rally and it's time to start fresh
50:55we're now in 16th place overall after that hard time yesterday but this is the very last push from
51:01la paz to san jose del cabo there's just 248 kilometers or 154 miles between us and the finish line so
51:11we're in 16th place overall yeah overall fourth in class i'm two and a half hours out of
51:18third place in class two hours and i'm sorry 33 minutes so i'd have to make up some some big time
51:28big time to uh catch up that's okay it's all about finishing at this point we uh you know we had some
51:35some issues and that was my fault and now we're just gonna get it to the end and enjoy it enjoy the ride today have fun
51:42it's like frogger in there okay those cars they have two missions they're loaded up trucks in deep
51:54sand and they don't want to stop and there's a bunch of people who want to come and watch you and they're
51:58looking for cars not bikes careful when you see road crossings down there you know pay attention when
52:05you see a car it's probably not going to stop because it doesn't want to get stuck so be cautious of this
52:11the waypoints this is the last chance to show what the bstrom 800 de is capable of since we're now out
52:17of the running for a podium it's time to let it all hang out and post a fast time as a sword of redemption
52:23i'm feeling good and the bike is running great so i'm just gonna pin it
52:41so
52:53This is a tractor!
52:55It's like...
53:19Good cow!
53:21It's only 100 kilometers, so if I can average 50 kilometers an hour, which I
53:51should be able to do, maybe, then I should be okay, because the trucks probably haven't
53:57even started yet, I hope.
53:59Trucks were running, right?
54:01Oh, God.
54:02At the end of the day's first stage, we posted the third fastest time overall, just seven
54:07minutes back from the leader.
54:08Unfortunately, we had one more final technical gremlin.
54:12Somehow, I kicked the retaining clip off the shock reservoir hose.
54:15We're still going to go for it, but probably with a little more caution as there's no damping
54:20left in the shock.
54:21There's nothing to do but race to the end.
54:51There's nothing to do so to day's second performance.
54:54There is nothing to do.
54:55It made it the best.
54:56And it's worth it.
54:57Here we go.
54:59Here we go.
55:01Here we go.
55:02Let's go!
55:32We made it, oh my gosh, we made it.
55:57We reached the finish line crossing it with a new riding button.
56:00The shock, it slowed us down a bit and we still managed an 8th place finish in the last stage.
56:06This is a huge accomplishment.
56:08We just finished the Nora Mexican 1000 on a Suzuki V-Strom 800DE.
56:13This is so amazing.
56:16Oh, it feels good to get to the end.
56:18Even though I missed part of it.
56:20It was awesome.
56:21I'm passing all these people.
56:22There's so many people out there in the sand wash training on.
56:25It was so sick.
56:27It was good.
56:33I just couldn't go super fast.
56:35That's all.
56:36I had to go easy but it kept me safe because there's a lot of really hard left and right
56:42in the mountains where if you screwed up, no one would find you.
56:46You would just go sailing.
56:48So, uh, but I could let this thing eat when it got smooth.
56:53I was just super, super rad.
56:57So, I got a little lost right at the finish but other than that, it was good.
57:01Like, it was just like, so many turns coming so quickly and you're trying to stay up on top of the sand.
57:07You're like, oh, oh, oh.
57:09Like, you couldn't even roll the roll chart fast enough.
57:11So, it was good.
57:13So, okay, so knowing what I know and even in the beginning I was joking about, hey, how many miles, how many hours do you have in this thing?
57:20And it wasn't a lot.
57:22It was either going to be instant failure or, and then it wasn't.
57:28When that first inspiration for the DR Big Rally project hit me, I thought, sure, let's go race.
57:34It'll be fun.
57:35But I didn't realize the life-changing experience this project would bring me.
57:39Not only did we put up some competitive times, we fought through our issues and we had some very heartbreaking moments.
57:45But, above all, we had one heck of an adventure and made a ton of new friends.
57:51I'll never forget any single second of this race, ever.
57:55You don't beat Baja, you survive it.
57:58And a piece of this beautiful place, an amazing group of people will stay with you for the rest of your life.
58:03Bikes like Suzuki's VStrom 800DE are so versatile and they allow you to find your adventure.
58:09We found ours here in Baja.
58:11But, where will you find yours?
58:13Go out, get an adventure bike, and then do the thing you've always wanted to do.
58:18You won't regret it, I promise.
58:43Let's do this home run.
58:49Let's go!
58:50Let's go again!
58:52What is the Hell Angels?
58:55Go out, make a special creep.
58:59You won't be like this.
59:00There are Androans of Northern Earth.
59:01If we still keep a square in the Pandora.
59:06You won't regret it.
59:07You've just got too close.