Miles by Kory Ellis

By Kory Ellis

 Instead of my normal behind the scenes press intro story, I think I’ll tell something different this time around. It’s a fairly recent story of the time I went to the ’06 Yamaha brochure shoot in Macon, Georgia. Joining me was Keith Little and Bill Ballance.

Right from the start, the trip had its problems. I’m used to that type of thing though. After all I’m a frequent traveler and I’ve grown accustom to some of the pitfalls of traveling. No doubt, I’ve had far worse traveling stories in the past. This one is more of an average day in the life of me – the frequent traveler of many Miles…

The past year has been a whirlwind for me and the sport as a whole. It is an exciting time to be in the sport with all the new products and models coming out. It’s even more exciting to actually get to test the new products before anyone else even knows they exist. I feel really fortunate to be where I am as a factory backed ATV racer. It’s really a dream come true. In short, I’ll take every one of these traveling mishaps and hassles if that’s what it takes to keep doing what I do. Anyway, on to my little story.

 When I arrived at the rental car counter at Atlanta’s International Airport, they told me that they had a mid-sized vehicle for me. After the shuttle bus dropped me off in the rental car parking lot, it quickly hauled away and into the distance.

As I walked to parking spot number 245, I could barely hear the bus. As I approached I could see my mid sized car was not what I bargained for. It was a scene right out of Steve Martin and John Candy’s “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” – well, maybe not quite that bad. Anyway, I was left starring at a red four cylinder Ford Mustang convertible. In my opinion, it’s the perfect car — if you’re a teen-aged girl. I preceded to open the trunk and tried to force my two large gear bags in. No use, one would be riding behind me in the backseat. I got in with my big gear bag and took off to Macon.

The next day I arrived at the track early. I was excited and a bit anxious to get going since this was the first chance I had to ride the 06’ YFZ and Raptor. There was only one problem – I was the only one there. After about three hours of waiting, waiting and more waiting everyone had finally arrived. I felt like a little kid getting to open his Christmas presents. It was finally time to unload the new bikes and ride. The photo crew got the camera equipment ready and we got dressed. Unfortunately we spent the entire rest of the day riding in circles. Lots and lots of circles! So many circles that I almost got sick in my helmet. O well, that’s the way it goes. It’s all about getting the perfect shot and that’s the real reason we were there.

For a little excitement while they were shooting Bill or Keith, I was giving Mustang-converible rides to Yamaha employees. I got them back for torturing us with all those circles by giving them a little taste of their own medicine. I practiced several high speed four wheel drifts, Rockford-style reverse-spins and plenty of grassy donuts. I guess the little red Mustang was good for something after all.

The next day, I arrived early so I could practice my waiting skills again. I guess I didn’t learn my lesson from the previous day of waiting. I soon found out that the main shot that I was there for was not going to be taken until the next day. One of the models for that day’s shoot was not there however. To keep me from going insane, they said that I could do the photo shoot instead of the model. The shoot was for an ad that would only show the rider behind the ATV. Because the shot required no rider face shot and no label identity, they had me change my clothes. The photographers had specific gear picked out for the pose. When I went to get the gear, I was met with an entire outfit that might have fit a fourteen-year-old boy about half my size. Regardless, I squeezed into the gear. It was pretty comical. Especially when I sat down for the catered lunch. I worked really hard to squeeze into those clothes, and I wasn’t about to take them on and off again on the account of lunch being delivered. I sure did get poked fun and laughed at while I tried to eat and move around in the little boy outfit. I tried not to laugh myself though since I could barely breath in the tight fabric. I can only imagine how stupid I looked in those photos. I’m thinking they wont be able to use the shots in the brochure. If they do you guys will get a kick out of what a dork I look like in the shot.

Once again, bright and early, I showed up at the track first. Today’s problem was more of an issue of time. In order for me to make it to my flight on time I had to be out of there by five. When the photographers arrived they gave me the news that they wouldn’t start shooting until three. “That should give you plenty of time to get to the airport”, someone said. Yeah right, I thought to myself. Maybe if I had the 5.0 liter Mustang and not the now clapped-out-bald-tire-four-banger. As usual there was a hidden agenda. By the time I started to shoot it was 4:30. Usually, it takes a couple of hours to get the shot just right. We hurried , and I was out of there at 5:30. One the way to the airport, I let all four of the little cylinders do their thing as fast as they could. I have always hated Mustangs and still do, but I’ll admit, it did indeed get me there in time. I somehow made it just in time to turn in my dream car and get on my flight. The important part of my trip was to ride the new YFZ and Raptor 700R, and I accomplished that.

My opinion of the new YFZ and Raptor
Now to the part you really care about. What did I think of the new YFZ and Raptor? The most surprising was the Raptor. The changes include, well it’s a whole new bike. There’s too many to list. Basically I didn’t even recognize it. It is so different from last year’s model, you can hardly find any resemblance. One of the first things you notice when you walk up to it is the motor and cool looking frame. The plastic is totally redesigned as well. It also features a new hybrid frame. The new Raptor uses a half steel and half aluminum configuration. Once you sit on the seat you can feel the difference in the position and the handlebar to foot peg relationship. Be prepared, there is no pet cock for the fuel. This is because the 686cc motor is now fuel injected! To say the least, I felt as if I was sitting on a model that was very close to my personal YFZ, with a Raptor-like variation. The handling has completely changed from the ’05 model, this improvement was also very easy to distinguish. The front of the bike stays planted on the ground very firmly. The Raptor is very stable through the turns. It’s definitely one of the funnest quads I’ve ever ridden. You can hear and see more of my comments (as well as Keith’s and Bill’s) in the video segment found below.

Yamaha felt that the YFZ was already an accomplished bike, but they decided to make some changes anyway. To name just a few, they now have a true 450cc motor, and a round housing eccentric hub style swing arm. I seem to fit on the new stock YFZ a little better since they lengthened the stem and made a larger seat to pegs to bars distance. I like this a lot. I also liked their new seat. It’s more friendly and forgiving. I feel that these changes, along with several others, make the YFZ as close to perfect as any sport quad on the market can get.

As usual, I encountered small problems during the trip, but also as usual, I enjoyed the experience along the way and learned a lot about the ’06 models that Yamaha has been working on. I have to say I was impressed. I think you will be too.

PS
Don’t worry, Bill got plenty of time on the new Yamahas, we just happened to have a few shots of him waiting patiently and couldn’t help but use them.

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