E3 Spark Plugs Asks – Is New Off-Roading Event the Toughest Yet?



King of the Motos must might be the toughest off-road motorcycle challenge yet. Photo by Dirt Rider Magazine.

Here at E3 Spark plugs, we’ve seen a lot of crazy off-roading excursions and competitions. But this one really got our engines racing. Last week, 21 brave, or just plain naïve riders suited up for the inaugural King of the Motos motorcycle race. When the mud stopped flying, the rocks stopped rolling and the dust settled, only six were left standing.

The grueling 65-mile race took three hours to complete and sent competitors across sand-filled washes, through largely impassible boulder fields and over massive hills throughout the Johnson Valley OHV (off-highway vehicle) terrain in Lucerne Valley, California. It’s a new addition to the Griffin King of the Hammers and it mercilessly pits the nation’s top motocross racers against rugged earth usually reserved for custom-built four-wheeled crawlers.

The inaugural King of Motos featured an invitation-only class of riders – most of whom ended having to walk their rides out of the rocks. Mechanical breakdowns or pure pain and exhaustion claimed 15 riders who braved the first-ever event that combined high-speed Baha-style desert racing with extreme terrain, including 10 miles of rocks. The no-holds-barred competition placed no performance limitations on bikes but also provided no pit support. Nor did the course include many marking, forcing riders to rely on GPS units to make sure they were heading in the right direction.

Two hours, 57 minutes and 19 seconds after the start, it would be British endurance specialist Graham Jarvis who crossed the finish line first and claimed the $10,000 prize. It was a winner-take-all event, so there were no runner-up prizes save for sheer props. So, E3 Spark Plugs sends mad props to Kyle Redman, Destry Abbott, Mike Slawson, Cody Webb and Jimmy Jarett.

Planning your own off-roading excursion? Pick up a set of E3 motorcycle spark plugs or ATV spark plugs and leave your buddies in the dust.