DBT Race Report: Legacy Racing VT Battleground

Coming off a disappointing first race with our 2023 CRF450X due to some freak mechanicals (which you can read about HERE), we came back to the Legacy Racing Association’s VT Construction Battleground 338 mile point-to-point race outside Caliente, NV looking to redeem ourselves and find out more about the bike. Before we get into the race, we’ll go over some of the changes we’ve made with the bike after what we learned at the previous round, as well as discuss some changes we plan to make going forward.

Our CRF450X race build is heavily modified including using a CRF450RX top end, ECU tuning, and more. After running 13/50 gearing at the previous race, we upped to 13/48 for this race in desperate need of more top speed and to be easier on the motor. Although better, we feel we can pull a little taller gearing and plan on trying 14/50 gearing for the next one.

The handling of the CRF450X is one of its strong suits and TCS Powersports has our bike feeling really comfortable.

For this race, we’re running a Kenda K270 5.10×18 on the rear. Interestingly enough, all four Open Pro teams were equipped with this tire.

Our usual Kenda Washougal II front tire.

As of now, we’re still running a complete RX top end, but have swapped out the Vortex ECU for one from Honda.

After cooking our Pro Circuit exhaust at the last race, we had to rebuild it and expect to have to after nearly every race this season due to the sustained high speeds and hot motor.

Our bike, 57x, lined up with friend and competitor 22x of the Skaggs Racing/TAS Insurance team.

Overall, we had a lot of positives to take away from this race in regards to the bike and how it performed. Starting at 5:30am and leaving the line 4th (last in class), our early miles were tough with low visibility due to the dust and low hanging sun. In addition, all of the rain and storms throughout the spring and winter left a lot of washouts, rain ruts, and exposed rocks covered by weeds/plants which only made it that much harder in the early miles. Still, the general layout of the course as it circled around Caliente was very fun and liked by most all the racers.

Starting in fourth, we quickly moved up to 3rd Overall when the 22x team went out with a tire/mousse malfunction just miles into the race. From there, we settled into a comfortable pace as we tried to push when the dust cleared but stay safe when visibility was minimal. Just after 100 miles into the race, one of our riders suffered a big crash and injured his thumb, slowling the pace for the rest of the day. However, we were still able to get a good gauge on the bike and how it’s progressing in race situations. The handling of the bike is superb and is definitely its strong suit at the moment. The heavier scale weight translates to a planted and stable bike that offers a lot of comfort and feels safe to go fast on. We’re slowly figuring out the speed with gearing and ECU tuning and are just a few missing pieces away from having the bike completely dialed in.

Thanks to those who supported us!

American Honda, DirtBikeTest.com, 1-800-Dent-Doc, Kenda, TCS Powersports, GPR Stabilizer, Pro Circuit, IMS Products, Maxima USA, DDC Sprockets, TM Designworks, Bullet Proof Designs, Nitro Mousse, Modified Machine Works, Acerbis, RAD Custom Graphics

DBT Race Report: Legacy Racing VT Battleground

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