Ian Blythe - In the last few years we at STR have witnessed
Ian become an ever more impressive rider/racer both in the
USA and Internationally. Never satisfied, Ian travels and competes
world wide fulfilling his passion.
STR Equipped (speed bleed valves, rear caliper radiator, rear brake
pedal plate, clutch cover guard).

Brian
Vaughan - STR Equipped(speed bleed valves, rear caliper radiator, rear brake pedal plate,
clutch cover guard).

- "System Tech Racing
offers a wide variety of products that give your bike that factory look, while
adding performance."
- "System Tech's brake
cooler paired with their extended brake reservoir eliminated my brake
problems."
- "System Tech's oil fill caps look cool and
eliminate the chance of your stock KTM cap from coming loose."
Ned Suesse - Top American Finisher @ Dakar 2012 - STR Equipped
(speed bleed valves, rear caliper radiator, rear brake pedal plate,
clutch cover guard).

- The Dakar has
fascinated me for many years- I love long, technical loops, racing comes after
riding and exploring for me. The Dakar goes from the Atlantic to the
Pacific, and across the Andes in the middle, so it is the longest and
most technical ride I could think of. After studying the race for many years, I
decided it was 2012 or bust, so I did whatever I had to do to get to the start
line. Turns out, that is a lot!
- My goal for the race was
simply to finish, so my plan was to stay within my comfort zone and not worry
how I was doing relative to anyone else. The biggest challenge
in Dakar isn't any single obstacle, it is the sheer distance involved
(think Fairbanks Alaska, to Miami Florida, PLUS 500 miles),
and keeping the law of averages from catching up with you.
- The race bike was a 2009
KTM 450 XCW that I built it as simply (and cheaply) as I could, with the
logic that the same bike is as capable and reliable as a trail bike, it would
work well for my goals at Dakar. That turned out to be true- it held up
perfectly through the entire 9000km race! I'm never a fan of just bolting parts
on for bling, I chose STR parts for function and they worked perfectly. The
Fork Bleeders are the only ones I've tried that are never stick open and hold
up to abuse- don't get me started on the silly rubber caps on some other
brands! Same for the rear caliper radiator- on a bike as heavy as the Dakar
rig, the brakes get used hard and I was able to avoid boiling my brakes with
the help of that part.
- In the end, everything came together. The bike
worked perfectly for my goals, I managed to avoid any serious crashes, and
after 14 stages and 9000 km, I got to cross the finish line
in Lima, Peru as the only American to make it to the end. A big
thanks to John and System Tech Racing for helping me achieves my dream.