Supermoto - How to get ready and where to go ?

The exciting new sport of Supermoto is starting to fire all around Australia. Momentum is building for a ripper new Queensland series while in Victoria they are continuing to expand their series. In Perth things are also progressing nicely.

So what do you need to do in order to prepare a Supermoto bike? The answer is not all that much just to get out there and try it. But you are sure to get hooked and will inevitably want to take things further in regards to your machine.

I already had a road registered DR-Z in the garage and after owning four different DRs over the years must admit to having something of a loyalty to the model. I have never had one let me down yet, and I have covered nearly 100,000 kilometres on various models since 1997 including a Perth to Melbourne return trip.

The DR-Z is much more of a trail riding machine than one of the new full competition Japanese 450cc motocross machines but it still provides a good base to work from.

The 400cc single cylinder engine is powerful enough for me in the dirt but on the tar a little more horsepower was on the wish list. The first step was to open up the airbox and put a good pipe on the machine. This resulted in around a 10% increase in power. Exhaust systems vary in price wildly but through much experimentation I found that the systems which start off with a modestly sized header, and then taper up to a very large size at the muffler inlet performed the best. This tapering up in size seemed to be the way to go, especially as we increased performance further through other means.

Next step was to send the cylinder head off to Phil Tainton at PTR for a quick head job. Phil prepares the race engines for Suzuki Australia’s road and off road racing activities so he was the perfect man for the job. A clean up of the ports along with a slightly more aggressive inlet cam resulted in another 10% improvement. We were now up to around the same level of power that a standard 450cc motocross bike produces.

But we had a capacity deficit to the others of more than 10%. The answer?

The barrel was removed and sent off to Serco to be sleeved in order for the capacity to be raised to 440cc. Obviously a new piston etc. is provided as part of the Serco big bore service. With the machine bolted back together we then saw another 10% power increase complemented by a big boost to the bottom and mid range power. Now we were cooking with gas!

On went a set of 17” KTM Supermoto rims shod with some Metzeler Rennsport rubber and we were ready to attack the tar. Funnily enough the KTM rear rim slotted straight in to the DR with no modification needed. The front was a bit more of a problem but that was overcome with some spacers and a little bit of head scratching.

Next up was the suspension. Up front the conventional DR-Z forks were removed and placed in a corner while in their place slipped a nicely prepared set of RM upside-down forks. The front end on the machine performs flawlessly while pushing hard on the tar. Every time I have let the rider of another machine ride this bike, they have come in raving about the feel and grip from the front end. So I definitely got this one right.

DR-Z machines from 2002 onwards scored a much improved shock over the original model, for now we have left this alone. Although with my not inconsiderable bulk and the improved front end we should really stiffen the spring and also modify the valving to improve performance further. This is a step we have yet to complete.

With the power of the engine combined with the grip afforded by the sticky 17” tyres the next improvement had to come in the braking area. EBC do a reasonably priced kit for most machines which provides an oversize 320mm brake disc. An adaptor plate is supplied in the kit and this moves your caliper out to the larger disc. I have been using this set up and can’t see myself needing any more braking performance than it provides, popping the rear wheel in the air is a one finger process.

To improve the aesthetics of the machine we added some high quality UFO bodywork and complemented this with a full 'Factory Effex' graphics kit and seat cover.

But obviously to get out there and get a taste for what the sport offers you don’t have to go this far. A particularly entertaining quartet in Perth ride XR80 Hondas in the slower group and are having an absolute ball while doing so. At the last meet one even went out in a Santa suit and pitched lollies over the fence to kids while he rode around the circuit.

Fun is what supermoto is all about and you certainly don’t have to be on the fastest bike out there to have a smile so wide you get stretchmarks to your ears.

So where can you give it a try?

Queensland

This weekend is round one of the Queensland Supermotard Extreme Series with Mark Willis and Mark Avard set to do battle in the 450cc class. Willis will pilot his Australian Championship winning Noyes Honda CRF450, while Avard has switched from his Husaberg FS650 to a more nimble FC450.

The series is set to explode with the first round on the 25th of January at Toowoomba & Lockyer Valley Karting Circuit. Over 80 entries have already been received, with the 450cc “Sport” class shaping up to be the largest. For more information contact Mark on 0409 999 005.

Victoria

The South Morang Grand Prix Training Centre will this weekend play host to the fourth round of the Victorian Supermotard Championship this weekend, Sunday 25 Jan.

Bathurst’s Graham Cheney, Bendigo’s Greg Moss, Croydon’s Adam Altham and local hot shot, Trevor Thomas are among the countries leading Supermotard riders and they will have a chance to duke it all out on the tight mixed track.

Not only will spectators enjoy the sliding antics of Australia’s newest motorsport, Supermotard, Fast 50’s and Freestyle MX jumping will feature at the same venue throughout the day and evening.

The day will commence with practice from all disciplines and racing commencing around 12PM. The racing will continue all day until the finals culminating around 8.30PM.

The complex is located around 30 minutes from Melbourne’s CBD in the suburb of South Morang. 456 McDonalds Rd, South Morang. Parking will be available opposite the complex. Catering is provided by GPTC. For more information please call 0409 52 10 34.

New South Wales

Mark Avard in conjunction with Circuit Breakers are running a Supermoto practice day at Oran Park on Saturday, Jan 31. A protective jacket with nylons is the minimum requirement. Lunch, water and nibbles provided. Rider briefing at 9am. Contact Mark on 0419 971 161

Western Australia

Things are picking up in Perth with a number of ride days being staged at Cockburn Raceway on Gemma Road in Henderson. The twisting and undulating 11 turn layout provides the perfect venue for supermoto. Recently an extra feature was added to the track. A 180 metre dirt section was constructed to add that last vital ingredient, dirt and jumps. With that addition the track length now totals a healthy 1.25 kilometres.

At the Cockburn ride days you can ride in Nylons, but organisers do prefer that riders wear leathers if they have them available. As far as your bike is concerned, very little preparation is required to get you out on track.

You can run on motocross tyres, but I recommend that instead you look for some more road biased tyres of which there are some available to suit motocross rims. But of course to really get some pace going you need to invest in some road sized rims which then opens up a wide variety of choices for sticky road race tyres.

The next Supermoto day at Cockburn is scheduled for February 22nd.