King of The Motos is right around the corner. It’s the first race of the new AMA Hard Enduro series and a subset of the off road car race King of The Hammers. This year they removed the night race and now it’s a full day of gnarly riding where you follow the GPS. Signing up to the race is very confusing with the bad website so I’ve created this tutorial to help. Hope to see you guys there! 
-Trailbound Chris
 
KOM Full Event Details
https://ultra4racing.com/what-you-need-know-about-kom-2020
 
KOM Address
Google Address: "King Of The Hammers" 
34.4146875, -116.5076642
Out in Johnson Valley in Southern California
 
Race Day
February 8, 8am (mandatory riders meeting February 7 6pm)
 
Registration 2020
Nov 25th 2019 - January 25th 2020 
 
Create account
ultra4racing.com 
Login > Crete new account 
 
Create a driver account
My account > edit > upgrade moto driver account > (driver number: you can leave blank or put whatever you want like 6969. Your actual race number will be assigned to you based on your sign up number.
 
Race Sign Up
https://ultra4racing.com/race/54
‘racer tab’ > scroll down > select: moto amateur > register now > select: yellow brick tracker > add both to cart > go to checkout 
 
 
Price 
Amerture Moto: $250
YellowBrick Tracker: $125 (some say you get this back after there race but not sure)
Parking and camping fee: ??
GPS unit: depends if you have one or can borrow one 
Parking: (maybe $15 at gate? But at the cost of the race that better be included)
 
Total: $375
 
 
Event Schedule
Nov 25th 2019 - January 25th 2020 - Registration
Sign in at the gate -- 24 hours a day once HammerTown opens (Friday, January 31st)
Feb 7th from 2 PM to 5 PM - GPS download and tech
Feb 7th 6 PM – Mandatory Rider meeting
Feb 8 7:30 AM - Prologue staging
8:00:00 - 1st pro rider out
8:15:00 - 1st Amateur rider out
9:30 - Main race staging
10:00 - Main race start
4:00 PM - Race course close
7:00 PM - Podium
 
 
MISC
 

Garage Address
Assigned spaces
Map
You’re going to get an email about garage address, you dont actually need one if you’re just racing moto, they’ll announce the location at some point and it will usually be outside that main area. However I hear this spot is noisy and dusty 24/7 so could be worth it to get a garage space with some buddies. 

GPS devises approved (1/24/20)
Please note - New suitable models are added each year, if your GPS is not on the list please send an email to ask if we can accept this specific model.

Garmin

• Colorado Series: 300, 400c, 400i, 400
• Dakota Series: 10, 20
• eTrex Series: Touch 25, 35, 20, 20x, 30, 30x
• GPSMap Series: 60, 60 C, 60 CSX, 60 CX, 62, 62 S, 62 SC, 62 ST, 62 STC, 64, 64 S, 64ST, 76 C, 76 CS, 76 CSX, 76 CX, 78, 78 S, 78 SC, 276 C, 376 C, 378, 478
• Montana Series: 600, 610, 650, 650 T, 680
• Oregon Series: 400 C, 400 i, 400 T, 450, 450 T, 550, 550 T, 600, 600 T, 650, 650 T, 700, 750
• Overlander Series

• Voyager and Voyager Pro unit with GPX file loaded on micro SD card.

GPS Recommendations 

Cody Webb: I have two Garmin etrex 30. One up close one from far. I got those because that’s what the euros run for romaniacs
Garmin Etrex: RMATVMC https://bit.ly/38Dqcby AMAZN: https://amzn.to/2TTBKmU

Eric Hanson: The best ones for the race would be the Garmin Etrex or the Trailtech Voyager Units. They have the best mounting hardware available for them and do everything you will need. With the etrex its worth considering running 2. The oregon and montana are popular adventure GPS for riding but the mounting methods may be more compromised. With unites like the montana, oregon, and trailtech voyager you can wire them into a 12 volt source. The Etrex you would need 5v to do that.  I have the TwoRide single handle bar mount but two of them, not the double setup they also sell. Works good and pretty cheap/durable. Plus i ran run one on the mountain bike or trials bike.
Garmin Etrex: RMATVMC https://bit.ly/38Dqcby AMAZN: https://amzn.to/2TTBKmU
Tworide: Etrex rubber case

 
EnduroNV: Only one I know anything about is the Trailtech Voyager, which is pretty good for navigation in the race but not great for anything else. All you really need to do is be able to follow a line on the map, and identify the virtual checkpoints when you pass through them. The Voyager is fine for those purposes, but the screen resolution is very basic and won't show much detail on any kind of topo map or anything you might download. It's also pretty tough if you buy the metal mount for it
Voyager Pro:  RMATVMC https://bit.ly/2TWh8KG AMZN: https://amzn.to/3aGiIq0
Voyager Pro Bar Mount: RMATVMC: https://bit.ly/2U4Wqsj AMZN: https://amzn.to/2RnZjCr

Colby Barr: I don’t know all the new models but I have the Garmin GPSMap Series 64 which is what Tony also likes for his Baja rallies. A lot of European hard enduro guys run eTrex non-touch. Problem w touch is if you accidentally hit the screen or crash you can lose your location easier. Plus the 64 has more buttons which gives you a couple of easy ways to swap between pages w one click.
I’ve owned bigger ones like Colorado etc but not good for these “follow the line” races. And for general nav they’re not as good as Gaia on iPhone. 
Garmin GPSMAP 64s: AMZN: https://amzn.to/2sYqhaA
 
 
 
Tips for GPS use and navigation

• Running GPS with full backlight on helps reading the track with direct sunlight. However, it will consume a lot of power. We STRONGLY recommend the use of Lithium (non rechargeable) batteries, and carrying extra batteries with you or hardwiring the unit to the bike battery.
• Running 2 units is better than 1. Besides the obvious backup unit, the rider can use one unit at “zoom in” and one unit “zoom out”, allowing quick recovery in case of exiting track.
• Touch screens are not recommended for off road - every time you clean the screen from dust, rain or mud, the track moves and requires time and button press to bring it back on.
• Learn how to switch on and off tracks view and how to load new tracks. You will need to do that again every loop.

GPS Case/Bar mount

When I’m running my iPhone Gaia GPS + Mobarmor holder I’m a big fan of the Ram ball mount setup as if you crash and hit something then the gps pivots and doesnt take the impact as hard. Look an amazon to see if theres a ball mount attachment for your model GPS. 

I’ve tried many of the bar mounts to ball but this is my favorite:
Ram handlebar ball base: bolted to the hand guards: RMRATV: https://bit.ly/30O64kj AMZN: https://amzn.to/2Rom0Xh
Ram Double Ball Swivel: AMZN https://amzn.to/2NW0y9Y
 
Tworide: Etrex rubber case 
Tworide: Extres rubber case double gps case

• This is the most common case for the European hard enduro’s 

Extra Fuel

Might be a good idea to bring a little 1 gallon jug for the remote pit. The loops will be approx 35 miles for bronze, 35 for silver, and 15 for gold. That's with a lot of sand, tire spinning, falling over, plus other things that cause poor gas mileage.

They will have somewhere for people to drop off their fuel jugs ahead of time and then they will haul the gas out to a remote spot on the course about halfway through the loop. You could always carry your own fuel too, but just a way to lighten the load.

Are you going to be out at KOM? If you've done it any advice or GPS recommendations? Would love to hear about it down in the comments!