Tacos & Dirt

Words: Bill Bryant | Photos: Geoff Kowalchuk

Seven Years Ago, Team Biltwell Ate Both on a Harley in the NORRA 1000

Prologue: Aboard a modern dirt bike, the NORRA Mexican 1000 is one of the most challenging things you can do on two wheels. Entering the race on a Harley Sportster—even a highly modified one—is a recipe for disaster. Nevertheless, racing a V-twin desert sled 1,300 miles from Ensenada to San Jose Del Cabo, Baja, was exactly what we set out to do in 2018. Starting was foolhardy. Finishing would be a miracle.

On April 22, 2018, NORRA organizers waved the green flag on another edition of their legendary all-terrain rally in Baja. Run for the first time in 1967, the NORRA Mexican 1000 pits desert racers and their purpose-built two- and four-wheeled machines against some of the harshest terrain on earth. That year’s stage race thundered past free-range cattle and clapped-out farm trucks over boulders, beaches, and silt beds down both coasts of the Baja peninsula before crossing the finish line in San Jose Del Cabo. For the first time in the race’s history, Biltwell Inc. co-founder Bill Bryant—with massive support from co-workers, family, and friends—saw the checkers on an H-D 883 Sportster. Doing their part in this history-making endeavor were Team Biltwell co-riders
Mike Deutsch, Erik Westergaard, and Chris Moeller, along with crew chief Rob “Rouser” Galan.

Bill brings it into the wash just west of Loreto after a very long day.

NUTS AND BOLTS

To vastly improve the odds of simply finishing, Team Biltwell enlisted part-time master motorcycle mechanic and full-time surf nerd “Rouser” Rob Galan to customize and service the Frijole XL883. Upgrades to the essentially stock 2000 Sportster included suspension mods; redundant onboard electrical systems; and vastly superior handlebars, hand controls, and foot controls. Knobby tires with airless inner tubes on strong, lightweight alloy wheels helped the V-twin tractor navigate harsh terrain as efficiently as machines with half the weight and twice the Vmax. Onboard equipment
for bike maintenance and rider safety included a tool kit, reflective blanket, Lowrance satellite with iPad Google Earth backup, fuel, food, water and a huge wad of cash. Trust us when we tell you, we needed all of it.

DETAILS MADE THE DIFFERENCE

Team Biltwell’s strategy for the five-day event called for two riders to swap seats at speedy gas stops in strategic locations. None of the riders missed their checkpoints at any time during the race. Every evening, Rob changed fluids and filters, tightened spokes, checked nuts and bolts, and replaced worn parts as needed. After sleeping on an army cot next to his hand-built Harley, Rob and Team Biltwell rose before the sun for 6:00 a.m. check-in at each day’s starting line.

All things considered, riding the Frijole was surprisingly easy… until it wasn’t. Frijole’s low-end grunt was perfect in the sand—it simply ploughed right through it. On rocks at low speeds our 500-pound desert sled was less predictable, but the weight had positive gyroscopic and momentum effects every rider learned to anticipate and control. High-speed washboards and twisty ascents were a blast. If we did it again, we’d add a permanent kickstand, hotter cams, and a longer swingarm to improve stability at high speeds. As it was, Frijole 883 performed as capably as anyone could hope for a Harley on such diabolical terrain.

Westy with the day-one starting line butterflies

According to NORRA race results, 43 motorcycles started the 2018 edition of the Mexican 1000, and 32 finished. Our Frijole 883 was among 21 so-called modern motorcycles in its class, and finished 14th. None of the 13 motorcycles ahead of the Frijole 883 started life as an American V-twin cruiser, and few if any weighed over 300 pounds. In full race trim we barely squeezed 70 miles per fill-up out of Frijole’s stock Harley gas tank. Wise men say you shouldn’t bring a knife to a gun fight; we brought a WWII Sherman tank. When the dust settled, however, everyone on Team Frijole 883 was a winner. After the race we parked the Frijole—still crusty from a week-long desert race—in our HQ’s showroom to prove what’s possible when average people combine talents to do extraordinary things.

Epilogue: As of this year, no one has yet finished the NORRA 1000 on a Harley like Team Biltwell did.Otto in one of those early mornings that only Baja can deliver

Moeller lived up to his Mad Dog nickname the whole week!

This mission would have been impossible without Rouser’s tireless work ethic

Want action? Watch the full-length race video HERE. 
Want specs? Get the full explainer video HERE.