Keegan and Kyle Howe are about to take part in one of the biggest extreme enduro events on the Planet from the 25th of July, Red Bull Romanics.
The Sunbury, Victoria based brothers are two of the nice Wildwood Rock Motorcycle Club members that are heading to Romania this week for their first international extreme enduro event.
Also known as the “Beta Brothers”, these two riders have been putting in the hard work both on the body and bike to get fit and ready to take on the four day event. Before they headed off on the 23-hour flight, Steve Braszell Wildwood Rock Motorcycle Club had a chance to ask the brothers a few questions.
First off can you tell us what is Red Bull Romaniacs?
Red Bull Romaniacs (RBR) is described as the toughest hard enduro rally on earth, which takes place in the Carpathia Mountains in Romania. The event consists of a prologue, which is set in one of the main streets of the city of Sibiu, followed by four gruelling days of off-road terrain, varying between 100km and 150km per day, depending on class.
Can you explain the classes and what class are you competing in?
There are four classes at RBR, Iron, Bronze, Silver and Gold, as listed from tough to extremely difficult. We are both competing in Silver class and are planning on riding the event together, that way we will be able to help each other out in the really tough sections should we get stuck.
Are there any other Aussies competing?
There are approximately 40 Aussie riders competing in the event, which is a great turn out!
What is your goal?
Our goal is definitely just to finish the event.
What are you most looking forward to?
Really looking forward to a new bike as our bikes we have at home are now trowelled. We both have purchased new Beta 300RR Racing models from Beta Romania for the event. Following on from that, riding the prologue and through those Red Bull arches to finish each day is going to be unreal, with the crowds of people watching and cheering on.
Is there anything that you have been doing to train for the event?
We have been seriously training for hard enduro for over a year now. We now ride at least twice a week. We have done serval GPS based rides to familiarise ourselves with using a GPS while riding. We ride at Wildwood Rock on practice days and race both the club events and plan on entering the extreme event in October. Twice a week we also do a circuit based gym class at Limitless MMA & Fitness in Sunbury.
On the bikes, is there anything that you are doing to set these up for the event?
Yes, there is. Given that the event is for four days it is crucial that the bike lasts. So we will be fitting Propower International Billet Radiator Guards, a Propower Linkage Guard, a Billet Front Disc Guard, a Billet Rear Disc Guard and a Force Accessories Pipe/ Plate Combo to protect the bike.
We also have Sunline unbreakable levers and full wrap around hand guards. We will fit a gripper seat cover from Topline Upholstery. To keep the bike cool, we are fitting a thermo fan which will be powered by a modified stator and a Trailtech regulator/rectifier. This modification changes the regulated DC circuit on the bike from about 35W to about 70W allowing the fan to run and at the same time charge the battery.
We will lower the gearing by installing a 12T front sprocket, rather than 13T that comes fitted from the factory. The front forks we will soften by moving up the preload clip and changing the inner fluid to a 3WT fluid. We will be fitting mousses to the front and rear, with the rear fitted with two rim locks. And finally, we have Kriega haul loops to fit to help us drag our bike through those tricky sections. Most of these items we are taking over with us, so fingers-crossed our baggage allowance is going to cut it.
Are there any differences between both bikes?
The bikes will be set up identical – we won’t know who’s is who’s until they have copped a few dings and dents – sure this will not take very long giving what we are up against. This is to keep the competition between us as fair as possible.
Can you give us a run down on what you are carrying with you on the trail?
So we are both running a bumbag and hydration pack. The regulations for the event require the following survival equipment to be carried; a lighter, a mobile phone, a torch, flares, a compass, a distress mirror, thermal survival blanket, a wind/waterproof jacket, a pencil, a spare spark plug and a spare set of batteries, so we have all of these items packed.
We also each have a basic tool set, selected nuts and bolts, tie wire, cable ties and metal epoxy putty. Between us, we will carry 1 set of levers, a shift lever, brake pedal and 19mm socket and adaptor to remove the swing arm in case the chain derails and gets caught up. It is handy that we are riding together so we split these items up, as it is a lot to carry.
Finally, who is the better rider?
There is very little between us…
To follow the boys on their trip head to www.redbullromaniacs.com.The event runs from the 25th to the 29th of July.
Australian Competitors:
SILVER CLASS
Nicholas Kirk #135
Adam Giles #141
Melissa Bruce #164
Adrian Harry #158
Gary Player #154
Kye Anderson #165
Leigh Monkhouse #202
Owen Lock #150
Thomas Howe #147
Damon Starkey #210
Dean Minichiello #152
Ben Forsyth #160
Anthony Solar #140
Keegan Howe #197
Kyle Howe #198
Tim Gibson #118
Adam Poole #108
BRONZE CLASS
Grahame McKenzie #354
Leigh Fernance #400
Nicholas Barnes #344
Joel Nix #393
Lachlan Wishart #518
David Horne #414
Paul Isaacs #348
Jason Bradwick #389
Steven Fripp #403
Amber Lock #443
Timothy Styles #368
Ben Dinnerville #351
Shane Bowden #366
Emma Broadbent #379
Eduardo Robaina #525
IRON CLASS
Matt Polson #632
Andy Baker #623
Phillip Gemelas, #663
Rachel Ryan, #649
Anthony McGuire #620
Robert Burrows #603
Editorial courtesy of Steve Braszell – Wildwood Rock Extreme Enduro