sunblock racing

Found this bike for $600 on craigslist. Had a charging issue but was complete. Seller included misc spare parts including a rack of carbs and vacuum gauges. Replaced the alternator rotor and now the bike runs like a raped ape. Bought this with the intention to turn it into a bobber but it appears the DOHC version of these bikes dislike having the stock air box removed so we may go with more of a cafe look instead. Slapped a quick rattle can paint job on it and am riding the bike daily now to make sure its worthy of putting more dough in it, but so far it continues to impress.

We were almost ready for the annual E2S meet at Busco Beach. A new tow vehicle was purchased (7.4L 2500 suburban), new jets had been installed in the Drakart and everything looked promising. Things then began to fall apart, one minor problem after another surfaced until the final event when it became evident that the trip was just not meant to be. Yes, these 34 foot 11 inch trailers need a lot of room to make a turn as my now defunct mailbox could testify. Better luck next year I hope.

In my love of all vintage things, I have always wanted an old aluminum travel trailer. I just didn’t know much about them and was afraid to jump in blindly. I located what seemed to be a great deal on this one and just could not pass it up. After searching craigslist nationally for the past month there was only one other 34′ from this era priced for less, and it was gutted on the inside. The first word that enters your mind when you envision these old trailers is Airstream, and for good reason. They are great campers, very well known and still in production today. (their current 34 foot model is priced at $98,000). When I first came across the ad for this camper I thought what is an Avion. To my surprise there were actually quite a few builders of aluminum campers that competed with Airstream, Avion having been around since the 1950′s. All of these have gone out of business though mainly due to the rising cost of materials to build these campers. Avion was a family owned company and Airstreams main competitor. They were bought out by Fleetwood who used the name for awhile, but eventually closed the plant where these campers were built. There is near unanimous consensus in the RV community that the Avions of the 1980s are among some of the best campers ever built with the 34 foot model being the pinnacle and they are also structurally superior to the Airstreams of the same era. After spending days researching these campers I realized what a good deal this one was and had to have it. Now team sunblock will have a mobile headquarters for our trips to Busco and beyond.

Many people (including myself) find that the stock Honda ART pistons to be more desirable than a Wiseco. Each has its advantages though. I shot a few pictures of both just to help illustrate this.

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Everybody loves that show on the BBC Top Gear. They are always entertaining watch. On this episode the guys at Top Gear test ride a Drakart, even though they end up preferring the EDGE buggy, its a fun video to watch. They say the Edge is more advanced but I dont see how and they never say. Edge buggies are sold as kits where you build it yourself, pick your engine and so on, so there can be great variances between each machine. Honda pilots are also highlighted, but no info on the Odyssey.

Josh, AKA Muffin had been on a few trips with us and was learning the ropes on the ATC 200x. We cautiously let him take out the ATC 250R on this trip and before the end of the day he was showing us how it was done.  We all took turns jumping this nice little hill but Muffin put us all to shame by nearly clearing the entire mound (20-30 feet or so) a few times.

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During the off season we had the left rear axle rebuilt by the guys at www.axlesunlimitedinc.com. The new axle is very beefy but somewhat larger. The clamp on the outer boot slightly rubbed on the rear trailing arm mount to the point where it popped the boot off. Prior to that it was running great and we managed to get some footage of our new dare devil rider Muffin out at busco beach. The last clip is a near wipe out when the nose of the buggy hit the jump before the tires.

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With the recent snow we have had here in NC, the guys at team sunblock selected to try out the ATC 250R and 200x in the snow. We got a bunch of footage but have only produced these quick clips so far. Look for more in upcoming weeks as we get the hang of video editing.

double click video to watch in HD

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before

after

More details later

Sporting a clean gas tank and a new over sized fuel filter team sunblock took the 2000 Drakart formula cross out for a test run Friday. Things seems to go well. Jetting changes led to performance improvements and the recently added header wrap on the expansion chamber cured nicely and made a major reduction in heat in the cockpit. Unfortunately a hard right turn pushed the suspension to the max placing increased stress on the plunging rear axle resulting in the destruction of the left inner CV joint. We are in works with a axle specialist in Charlotte NC and hope to have very beefy replacements for the stock axles.

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