Posts Tagged ‘GNCC’
Slavens KTM 350 Shines in Dirt Bike Magazine Test
Thursday, March 17th, 2011
Tags: BRP, Bullet Proof Designs radiator guards, Dirt Bike Magazine, Dirt Rider Magazine, Flexx handlebars, FMF, GNCC, KTM 350 SXF XCF EXC, KTM Talk, Scotts damper, Simon SmartBody
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Jason Raines Off-Road Riding School Colorado Springs, Co August 21-22
Monday, May 31st, 2010
School Length: 2 Days
Class size: Maximum 10
Items Included in Class: Full Circle Training Manual, Full Circle Nutrition Guide, T-Shirt, Access to “Members Only” page on website.
Raines’ Riding University will be quite the experience; you will leave with plenty of knowledge and experience on and off the bike. The intensity of the camps is very high and I will be there as long as you want. There are no time constraints and if you want to work till the sun goes down then we will! If you are looking to become a top-level racer or just want to be able to blow by your buddies on the next trail ride, Raines’ Riding University is the place for you! I will provide you with all the necessary tools to help you achieve any goal you want to reach. You will learn all the secrets I have used to go from an average Joe racer in the C class to a Multi-Time National Champion.
The riding schools will cover all areas of motorcycle competition. Some of the areas we will be working on are physical training (optional), mental training, bike set-up, diet and motorcycle technique. On the motorcycle technique we will be training on a local woods/hare scrambles course. The areas covered will include, hills, rocks, roots, balance, clutch control, throttle control, braking, accelerating, overall speed, coordination, corners, body position, vision focus and how to properly weight the bike. I will also show you my secret “speed drill” that will make you faster each and every time you get on your motorcycle!
Jason Raines
2009 East Coast National Hare Scrambles Champion
2008 AMA National Hare Scrambles – Overall Champion
2008 AMA Eastern Hare Scrambles Champion
2007 AMA National Hare Scrambles Champion
2004 AMA National Hare Scrambles Champion
2004 GNCC Series 2nd Place
2003 AMA National Hare Scrambles Champion
2003 GNCC Series 2nd Place
3 ISDE Gold Medals
1 ISDE Silver Medal
38 National Offroad Victories
Click HERE for more information.
As a consultant and engine builder/designer for Team Am Pro Yamaha, I’ve had the pleasure of working with Jason for many years. He’s a very naturally talented rider with a training and work ethic second to none. Unlike other off-road riding instructors that visit Colorado, Jason keeps his class size small (maximum 10) so that he can give each student individual instruction. Jason will definitely give you your money’s worth. I highly recommend and endorse the Jason Raines Riding University.
Jeff Slavens
Tags: Am Pro Yamaha, GNCC, hare scrambles, Jason Raines Riding University, Jeff Slavens, KTM, Off-road riding schools, OMA, Randy hawkins, Shane Watts, Slavens Racing, trail riding, Yamaha
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Profile
Monday, January 4th, 2010
Racing in central Illinois - Circa 1973
Jeff Slavens is a 36 year veteran of the motorcycle industry, having worked as a line mechanic, factory mechanic, dealership owner/operator and current owner of Slavens Racing.
In the 70s he and his two brothers raced Maicos. It was kind of a Team Maico Slavens but as Randy Hawkins once stated, too many stallions in the same barn is not always a good thing. Every race day their mother was worried sick because when the gate dropped (back then it was actually a rubber band) the brotherly love was gone and the race was ON and they thought nothing of taking out the other in the pursuit of the win.
Those early Maico days are where Jeffs engine and suspension skills began to develop. Maico Brake-O was not allowed if you wanted to beat your brother so there were endless hours devoted to repairs, rebuilds, tuning, and suspension mods. He and his brothers studied magazine pictures of the factory Maico team bikes and cut, bent, and welded their frames to accommodate a lay-down shock position and increase wheel travel. From there shock and fork mods were developed by Team Slavens because there were no off the shelf items available.
His first affiliation with factory race teams was in the 80s with the then dominate Team Husqvarna. Later in the 80s and 90s it was with Team KTM and Team Suzuki and from then until now with Randy Hawkins Team Am Pro Yamaha.
When he worked for the Husky team he ported cylinders and did head mods for the entire team (enduro, HS, desert, mx). Boxes with dozens of cylinders (for the many National Champions and up and comers like Randy Hawkins) would arrive several times per year and of course they always needed them yesterday.
Also during the 80s he started a long working relationship with then new comer Rodney Smith, who rode MX for Team Yamaha at the time. They first met just a few minutes before the first moto of a Washougal, Washington National MX. Jeff was there tuning for a top ten Yamaha support rider when Rodney rode up and asked for help. His YZ125 was a dog so Jeff took it for a little test spin in the jetting area. He returned and told Rodney to run up to the start line and pick a starting position while he rode the bike over to Rodneys pit and started barking out orders to Rodneys dad whom he had never met. They tore the carb apart in record time, changed some brass and Jeff blasted up to the starting line where engines were running. Rodney hopped on the bike, pulled the holeshot, and they’ve been friends every since. Rodney went on to win 5 Brazilian national Championships, placed 3rd in the World 250 MXGP, 3 National HS Championships, 5 National Reliability Championships, 6 ISDE Gold Medals (top American twice), and 5 GNCC Championships.
Cagiva bought Husqvarna in the late 80s and ran it in the ground so the team riders were all looking for work . Many of them switched to Suzuki so then Jeff became the engine guy for that team. At approximately the same time Team KTM asked for some help and Jeff built the 290cc engine that Kevin Hines used to win the National Enduro Championship.
And then came the Javelin, Randy Hawkins. Jeff had built engines for the new young punk from South Carolina while he was with Team Husqvarna but the funny talking kid came on strong when he got comfortable on his Slavens ported, Dale Stegal tuned RMX and later on YZs. Randy went on to win 73 Nationals, 7 National Enduro Championships, and 12 ISDE Gold Medals with Slavens Mule Motors. He was recently inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame.
Now at age 56 Jeff enjoys traveling the world with his wife Sue to see the sites, architecture, learn about different cultures and find new friends and great places to eat. During the summer and fall you’ll find him riding the Gnar on some of Colorados gnarliest trails.
Tags: GNCC, Jeff Slavens Racing, KTM, Profile, Randy hawkins, Rodney Smith
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