No, I am not being paid to promote JGI, but these guys are doing a lot for the riding community and are definitely worth mentioning to all. After the success of their first fun ride (remember the one where we obtained bragging rights?) they realised the demand for similar events. This was when they came up with the “RAK Attack weekend.”
The ride was from their facility in Dubai to the Bin Majid Beach Resort in Ras Al Khaimah for an evening of “relaxation” in RAK. Again they had several markers with tags and these had to be collected by the teams. I was very keen on this event as I decided it was the perfect event to introduce my son John-John (11 years old) to “competitive” riding. I was however reminded several times by Bradley that it was a fun-ride and not a race.
The event got healthy attention and a total of 20 bikes and 15 quads joined the “assault” on RAK. This might not seem like high numbers, but these events have “complicated” logistics that limit the riders. Only those who have wives that are willing to drop them early in the morning and then continue to the final destination, only to await dirty, smelly and tired loved ones are fortunate enough to go. JGI did offer a “bike return” option, but still you needed to get back to where your bike was going to be. Considering this the numbers were very good.
I attempted a practice ride of just over 100km with John-John the weekend prior to the RAK Attack. Less than 2km into the ride, the quad was pouring fuel from the carburetor and the ride had to be abandoned. This problem I had to rectify during the week and after work. After the third attempt of taking the carburetor off, re-adjusting it and reinstalling it, the darn thing was still slowly leaking fuel. This was when my temper got a hold of me and I made one final adjustment before possibly setting fire to the thing. Eureka, the leak stopped! I was however a bit nervous that maybe I over adjusted the float and took the quad for, what I thought was a far enough, test ride. All was fine and we were ready for the RAK attack.
Just for those who don’t quite understand the technical detail, let me explain as it becomes relevant later in the article. The purpose of the float level in a carburetor is to ensure that there is enough fuel accumulated and flowing into the carburetor, that you always have enough to supply the engine. If the float does not work then the carburetor will overflow and could flood the engine with fuel. If the float has been set to close too early, then the quad does not have sufficient fuel and especially at high power settings could cut due to fuel starvation. (Can you see where this is going?)
As this event had more of a social agenda, there was no rush to get going and only once we were all ready did Bradley present the safety and general information briefing we needed to attack RAK safely. Our team with Oliver, Hilton, John-John and myself were the last to receive the starting signal, as I did not want to put any pressure on John-John. We were off to a good start, but as we got to the sand JJ fell behind. I was leading and saw Oliver assisting JJ with starting the quad and taking it for a short test ride. By the time I reached them, JJ was back on the quad and off we went. Less than 2km later JJ was again stationary. He told me that the quad would go fine and then starts to run rough till it cuts. I immediately knew that I had over adjusted the carb and that there was no way to fix it at the time. I knew what could be done to “compensate” for this, but there was no way JJ could do this. The problem now was that I had to ride JJ’s quad, Oliver mine, as the GPS was fixed to a special bracket on the Suzuki, and JJ had to take Oliver’s quad. Oliver was maybe not over the moon about JJ riding his quad, but knew there was no other way.
How did I compensate? Well the moment you are not using power the fuel flow into the carb is higher than the consumption. This would then “semi-fill” the carburetor. I would thus ride in short powerful burst accelerating as fast as possible, then pull the clutch, let the engine idle whilst the bike decelerates, and thus allowing the carburetor to again “semi-fill” with fuel. By the time there was enough fuel in the carb, you drop the clutch and go again. After a while I had it down to pat and managed to keep a good average. I think I must have used the clutch a thousand times and my left wrist knew all about it. Despite this we did very well and our team was the first quads to arrive! I was very proud of JJ’s riding and he also enjoyed every kilometre on Oliver’s “custom quad.” Oliver said something to the extent of “it was like driving a bus” but I think he enjoyed my quad (haha).
The resort was a great final destination where the riders and families spent the afternoon relaxing around the pools and bar area. As part of the arrangements, JGI secured an area for those who wanted to camp, rather than stay in the resort. This the South Africans took to heart as Alex and Driekus set up an impressive camp for the night. This seemed to also become the main attractions as most riders joined them for a braai (BBQ) on the beach.
As Bradley stated in the morning briefing: “We are not doing this for the money, but rather to support the riding community.” This I can concur, because what we paid for the ride was almost nothing considering that we received not only the fuel at one of the stops, the support vehicle and their effort in arranging everything, but also an awesome Just Gas It cap and t-shirt. Great value!
Thank you for this! We, the riding community, truly appreciate it. For those who want to learn to ride bikes or quads in the desert, I can strongly recommend Just Gas It. You can find them on Facebook.
Ride safe and go for gold,
John
