A few weeks ago I head that the annual KTM Natural Terrain Motocross event was on again at Tumbulgum Farm in Byford and thought what the heck, I’ll have a crack at that!

Next question: What do I ride?

All the modern ADR compliant four-stroke enduro bikes are plenty quick enough and with any of them it would certainly not be a case of the machinery holding the rider back… Rather the reversal of that scenario.

The easiest to ride enduro bike I have ever sampled was not a four-stroke. Husqvarana’s ripper little two-stroke WR125 takes that mantle. But in the deep sand of Western Australia I prefer a four-stroke and the most rider friendly high performance four-stroke bike I have ridden is the CRF450X.

When traversing the Brindabella Ranges in the ACT aboard a CRF450X last year the bike let me get away with things that I hadn’t thought were possible within the realms of my limited dirt riding abilities. I gave it the nod, as the extra power of the bike is welcome when out for a casual trail ride away from the tighter confines of the track.

Prestige Honda Service Manager Dave Stephens (30) is the reigning State Enduro Champion. Stephens didn’t need the power of the big bore to take outright honours against a strong field of larger capacity machinery in 2005 as his weapon of choice was Honda’s CRF250X, another reminder that size and power isn’t everything. Stephens also has a swag of State championship class wins including a hat-trick spanning 1999, 2000 and 2001 and it was this pedigree that made him the natural choice for advice in getting started.

The CRF450X comes complete with an extensive spares kit that includes a set of handguards and competition specification tyres. Generally when working on motorcycles I tend to break three things in the process of fixing one, so I thought letting Dave twirl the spanners was the safer option - safer for the bike, and my sanity.

The bike is certainly quick enough in standard form once de-restricted and the suspension is quite taut, perhaps even a little stiff for my liking, so we backed off the compression damping six clicks at each end and reduced the high speed compression a little. The only real requirement from standard to get the bike ready for scrutineering was to ensure the bar ends were plugged and the handguards took care of that side of the equation. Even the sidestand didn’t need to be removed, I would just have to secure it in the up position with some cable ties come race day.

So with the bike taken care of, my attention turned to getting me fitted out in some dirt riding gear for the occasion.

M2R is the only Australian owned helmet manufacturer so I fitted myself out in one of their new Rev X-2 helmets ($349) to protect my head. Helping to prevent gravel rash, I chose Fly 208 pants ($239.95), riding jersey ($69.95) and gloves ($49.95). The Sidi motocross boots ($499.95) that I have had for over two years are still going strong as is the No Fear body armour ($199.95) and Knox back protector ($199.95) that I have also been using for some time both on and off road. This is all good quality gear that is around the middle of the price ranges compared to a lot of the other gear on the market except perhaps the boots which are a little more in the upper range price bracket. But with one fused ankle and a buggered other ankle I don’t want to compromise on boots. The fact that the Sidi’s have a pivot point down near the ankle also help to give me that little bit of leverage through my forefoot to use the rear brake. Sidi have recently released another variant on this boot dubbed the crossfire that also has an extra pivot point around the top of the calf muscle for yet more ease of movement.

So how did I go?

Well I was very pleased to make my first goal of managing to complete the event with all limbs intact.

My second goal was not to finish last and I am pleased to say that I managed to complete that one also. Racing in the Novice class I finished about halfway down the field in the first moto. In the second moto I was getting ready to get a good run off the line, eyes down on the gates waiting for them to drop, clutch at take up point, plenty of revs on, then I see all gates drop but mine… Doh!... I rocked the bike back and forth into the gate a few times to get it to release, by which time the whole field was at turn one! Not to worry, I just plodded along and managed to pass probably around ten riders before race end. In the final moto I got away well and just did my best to avoid the carnage and bring it home safely once again about halfway down the field.

I managed not to fall over all day which was probably just as much due to luck as good judgement. The bike did nothing wrong and I didn’t bother changing anything on it all day apart from lowering the tyre pressures a little further down to 13psi as the track really chopped up and got quite muddy in places.

And how did the proper racers go?

Over 5000 people filtered through the gates at Byford’s Tumbulgum Farm lfor the two Natural Terrain Motocross event held on April 22 and 23, 2006. Saturday saw nearly 200 juniors roost their way around the 2km Tumbulgum layout which chopped it up nicely for the near 300 strong senior contingent come Sunday.

Camden (NSW) youngster Daniel McCoy (Motorex KTM) took out the pro category after some intense battles with team-mate and hot favourite Timmy Weigand. Weigand got the better of McCoy in the first race and the pair were chased home hard by Huntingdale teenager Louis Calvin (KTM).

The second race was an absolute cracker with McCoy and Weigand swapping the lead at nearly every turn. But early on the second lap the pair clashed in a slow and muddy right hander which allowed WA Pro Lite champion Michael Addison (Belmont Tools KTM) to sneak past and take the lead. Weigand remounted and managed to close on Addison but as he was getting set to pounce in the closing stages of the race a big crash before the largest jump pitched the Californian over the bars. Addison went on to take the chequered flag and McCoy brought home second place.

When the final points were tallied McCoy came out on top in the Pro Class with 69 points, and Shoalwater bricklayer Dean Porter (Honda Country) took out second place by a single point over Weigand. Things were tight in that battle for the overall podium positions with Calvin missing out by a single point. He was also trailed closely in the points chase by Addison and Hothersall (Five Star Yamaha).

Motorex KTM teamsters McCoy and Weigand also rode in the over 250cc four-stroke class and this time it was Weigand’s turn to take the top step on the podium. Third overall went to Addison ahead of Hothersall.

Dean Porter also rode in the combined 125cc two-stroke and 250cc four-stroke class and brought his Honda Country sponsored CRF250R home for the win ahead of WA Enduro Champion Dave Stephens (Prestige Honda). Chris Errey took out the over 250cc 2-stroke class while Brad Beresford came out on top in the Enduro/Headlight category. A big field of Veterans also took to the Tumbulgum layout with Vernon Strange winning the 30-39 year division while the greybeard 40-100 year category was dominated by Martin Astwood. Ben Martin and Tim Wisewood topped the novice categories.

Ben Hoeve top scored in the 125cc junior division ahead of Daniel Kreppold. Shining lights in the 85cc class were Jacob Roche, Dylan Sexton, Blake Murray and Daniel Strickland. The 80-160cc four-stroke category went to Zac Marchetti from Jessica Murray. Robbo Lovett got the better of Courtney Hurst in the 65cc class while Jacob Schaafsma and Brent Blakers won the 50cc divisions.

KTM sponsored the event and General Manager Jeff Leisk was happy with the turnout, “KTM will work with Trail and Enduro Motorcycle Club to grow the event even bigger next year.

“WA residents are travelling great distances to compete, giving the event a fantastic reputation as rider entrants and spectators continue to grow.

“KTM will assist in encouraging top factory riders to compete in the event, but at the same time we don’t want to lose the grass roots appeal of the event to encourage riders of all abilities to come along and have a go. The event is continuing to be a great fun family day out for competitors and spectators of all ages”.

Will I do it again?

For sure. Unfortunately it seems every enduro or natural terrain based event in WA clashes with a road race or motocross round that I have to cover, but I’m hoping the planets suitably align in the near future for me to be able to enter an upcoming enduro or pony express type event.