#JimHatch

Since my conversion five years ago to dual-sport from pure dirt bikes, with the purchase of my 2013 KTM EXC 500, the question of tires has been an ongoing experiment. My tire requirement list covers a wide range of needs. My favorite riding spot is about 25 miles from the garage including a quick freeway trip, a country road, then a winding paved climb where I practice my supermoto skills. From there, the dirt is your typical California mountain fare: super loose silt, baby-head sized rocks, roots and everything in between. The goal has always been to find a tire that can endure the pavement abuse, corner like a street bike and then inspire that rare confidence in the dirt – hooking up like we actually have had some moisture in the last six months – while lasting a good long while.

Twenty four hours on a motorcycle is a true test of both man and machine, and doing it on a dirtbike around Glen Helen is one way to separate the men from the boys. Here, our own J. Burns gets his friend Jim Hatch and his cousin Craig a ride aboard Yamaha’s finest off-road machine for the fabled Dirt Rider 24-hour at Glen Helen. The year was 2003, the bike was the YZ-450F, and the trio’s tale of mixing it up with some of the biggest names in motorsports is below. For more pictures of this adventure, be sure to visit the photo gallery.