Before the King of the Deep racing kicked off, we spent a few days doing what Busco Beach is really known for: riding, testing, hanging out, and getting absolutely covered in North Carolina clay.
This was Mud Bash weekend, so the park was packed. Everywhere you looked, there were wild builds, familiar faces, new riders to meet, and plenty of machines getting buried.
We spent most of our time riding with Rotex Rednecks and his crew, and it ended up being one of those weekends that makes the drive to Busco completely worth it.
Sloppy Trails and Slick Clay
The trails were sloppy, sticky, and slick all weekend.
That clay had everybody sliding around, drifting through turns, and fighting for traction in places that looked easy until you actually dropped into them. It was the perfect kind of riding to put the Aztex XX tires to work.
Most of our seat time was on the new Gen 3 Can-Am Outlander XMR models. I was riding an 850, and Chris was on his XMR 1000 Outlander.
Chris had his machine set up with:
- 34-inch Terache Aztex XX Tires
- 20% Terache Gear Reduction
He was seriously impressed with both.
The tires hooked hard in the slick clay, and the gear reduction gave the machine a completely different feel. You get better control of wheel speed at lower RPM, which makes a huge difference when you’re trying to crawl through ruts without blowing the tires off.
It also lets you use high range more comfortably for skimming puddles, hitting ditches, and carrying speed through the messy stuff.
Going Places in Two-Wheel Drive
One of the coolest parts of the weekend was how often we were making it through sections in two-wheel drive while other machines were already stuck.
The Aztex XX tires just kept finding traction.
We were crawling through ruts, sliding through slick sections, and pulling through holes that had people stopping to watch. In that sticky North Carolina clay, there really wasn’t another tire at the park performing like these.
Chris putting the 34-inch Terache Aztex XX tires and 20% gear reduction to work in the slick Busco Beach clay
Testing the 33-Inch Aztex XLs
We also had a 2014 XMR 1000 Renegade in the group running 33-inch Aztex XLs.
That machine performed really well all weekend.
The XLs give you great tread spacing, solid traction, and especially strong reverse traction. They don’t have quite the same lug depth as the XX, so they don’t pull through a hole quite as aggressively. You have to work the machine a little more.
But they still go just about anywhere.
The big advantage is how light and easy they are to live with. They don’t rob as much power, fuel economy is better, and they’re easier on the drivetrain thanks to the ultra-light construction and roughly 1.625-inch tread depth.
For a rider who wants a tire that can handle serious mud but still ride trails all weekend, the Aztex XL makes a lot of sense.
Hanging Out at the 50/50 Hole
Of course, no Mud Bash weekend is complete without spending some time at the 50/50 hole.
We had a blast hanging out there, watching people send it, sink stuff, recover machines, and try again. That spot always turns into a show.
There were a lot of great people out there too. 336 Mud Mafia was in the park, Jim Garrett was there, and we got to ride with JP Stevens on the power lines, skimming a few holes and having a good time.
Keep an Eye Out for Terache
One of the coolest parts of a weekend like this is seeing how many cameras are out.
There should be a lot of Terache tires and products showing up in videos from other riders and YouTubers from the weekend. Mudpuppy also has a couple videos he’s editing and posting from the trip, so keep an eye out for those too.
Between the slick trails, the big crowds, the clay holes, the power line rides, and all the good people we got to meet, Mud Bash at Busco Beach was an awesome weekend.
Busco is always worth the drive.
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