Bulgaria Hard Enduro is Forest Winner for Bobcat Megatron

Megatron, the Authorised Dealer for the Bobcat and Doosan ranges of equipment in Bulgaria, was a lead sponsor for the recent Karnare Hard Enduro motorcycling event. Despite its isolated location in the forests in the centre of Bulgaria, the event was watched by over 5000 spectators and the races were shown on national television.

Very popular in Bulgaria and throughout Western Europe, Enduro motorcycling is a tough sport, which tests the strength of spirit of the human body. According to Megatron, it is therefore the perfect complement to the Bobcat One Tough Animal campaign promoting the Bobcat range of equipment around the world.

Against the backdrop of excellent Bobcat branding on all the courses running through the forests of Karnare, the Hard Enduro event was also the perfect stage for Megatron to demonstrate to visitors the power and productivity of the Bobcat forestry cutter system and other products from the Bobcat range.

The Hard Enduro race involved three disciplines. The first was forest riding, where the competitors race through the forest and have to navigate along a prepared track with GPS, or by markers on the trees. There are different tracks of between 50 and 70 km in length to distinguish the different Pro, Expert, Hobby and Women events.

In the second discipline called the X-Track, the courses comprise a shorter closed Enduro track but with a lot of artificial obstacles to negotiate such as tyres, trees and large stones. The third discipline was Hillclimbing – the Bobcat branded hill proved to be an almost impossible obstacle for the competitors to climb. From the 20 riders who tried, with each having three goes, only one of them was successful, with the other 59 resulting in riders rolling down the hill.

There was also a Bobcat Megatron Team taking part in the Karnare events and the team celebrated two podium finishes in the Hobby and Women classes. Andon Chulev, the team’s rider in the Pro class, faced problems with the cooling system on his bike in the middle of the race, but he is one of the best young talents in Bulgaria and he achieved second place and the loudest applause for his performance in the X-Track race.

Held over two days, the Karnare event is one of several events that make up the Bulgarian Xtreme Enduro Championship, which also includes races in some of the most beautiful parts of Bulgaria – Kurdjali, Kazanluk and around Sofia. The Karnare race has the distinction of being the most difficult Hard Enduro race in the Bulgarian calendar. In 2014, from the 30 riders who competed in the Pro class, only five finished. This year there were nine finishers from a field of 32 but there was record entry of over 170 riders for the races at Karnare.

Next year, the organisers are promising three more days of races together with a number of surprises and, of course, Megatron and Bobcat will be there, providing even more support for the event.

The Bobcat forestry cutter attachment is the only system of its type on the market specifically designed for use on high hydraulic flow compact tracked, skid-steer and all steer loaders. The forestry cutter is compatible with the Bobcat T320H, T770H and T870H compact tracked loaders, S770H and S850H skid-steer loaders and the A770H all wheel steer loader.

Designed for continuous use in shredding and mulching bushes, shrubs and small trees, the forestry cutter is ideal for fast removal of thick undergrowth. Applications include cutting fire breaks in woods and forests, clearance of heavy growth alongside roads and clean-up work after storms and floods. The forestry cutter is part of the comprehensive Bobcat range of attachments for forestry, estate management, amenity and landscaping work, which includes stump grinders, woodchippers, brushcutters, flail cutters, augers and tree transplanters.

Equipped with a drum with 24 fixed carbide teeth, the forestry cutter has a working width of 1500 mm. It is designed for continuous work on bushes and trees 100 to 120 mm in diameter, intermittent use for trees with a diameter from 180 to 220 mm and occasional use on trees 250 to 300 mm in diameter. The forestry cutter, which has an operating weight of 1265 kg, has an overall width of 1834 mm, a height of 1600 mm and a length of 1288 mm. The hydraulic flow requirement for the forestry cutter is 127 to 142 l/min and the maximum tip speed is 43.6 m/sec. A pressure gauge visible from the cab helps the operator to run the attachment at peak efficiency.

To ensure safe operation of the forestry cutter on the loader, a forestry applications kit protects the loader and operator from flying objects and debris. The kit includes a bullet-proof laminated polycarbonate door, which must be installed in order to operate the forestry cutter. A safety feature stops the cutter drum from turning if the loader door is opened.