Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2018 i Dirt Action

MEDITATION Quiet moments are what those in touch with their inner selves believe are good for revitalising the soul. Well, one day we decided this Super Ténéré should have a quiet moment after we’d treated it like a bad donkey all day. We let it meditate in tranquil surroundings for a good five minutes before getting back on and making this mud hole about three feet deeper. Yeah…it’s the quiet moments that count. MEDITATION — PART TWO The moment before all the bikes at a trailride have been fired to life and the morning sun just peeks its head over the campsite. There might be some sore heads after a night of shenanigans but once those first few bikes start and the sweep riders start getting busy, the day starts…

The Sydney Motorcycle Show was a huge three days of bike porn. There wasn’t a hell of a lot of new stuff to see for us dirt squirters but there was still heaps to do and see all day, every day. Yamaha had an insanely large presense with everything from current-model bikes to race bikes, ATVs, side-by-sides, PWCs and the Active8 Yamaha guys on hand. KTM and Husqvarna had a great stand with some nice reveals and special one-offs like Robbie Maddo’s waterbike. Kawi went all in with a smaller but jam-packed display and we were even there with the debut of our Suzuki RMZ450 giveaway bike, which was looking mint in its new MotoKit livery. We snapped some shots of a bunch of the bikes that grabbed our eye…

MotorCycle Holdings made a massive move in late 2017, acquiring the Cassons Imports business for a reported $123.3 million. Cassons is the importer of a huge number of brands for both motorcycles and bicycles (including ONEAL), and also owns the Motorcycle Accessories Market (MCA) stores. MotorCycle Holdings’ managing director and founder David Ahmet said, “The acquisition increases the scale of MTO’s existing retail accessory business, expands our distribution network and provides opportunities to improve margin by sourcing additional Casson product for retailing through the MTO dealer network.” The acquisition is expected to increase MTO’s annual revenues by approximately 30 per cent to $310 million, with EBITDA doubling to approximately $30 million, before synergies. In FY17, Cassons generated revenue of $76.5million (FY16 $74.0million) and a pro forma EBITDA of $16.7million(FY16 $16.6…

Former Australian supercross and motocross champion Dan Reardon has announced he will race in the UK. “I will be racing in the UK in the Arenacross World Series,” said Reardon in an announcement on social media. “I will be riding under the iFly JK Yamaha team and will get the chance to race the best British and European riders there is.” Reardon will team up with Flo Richier in the series in an attempt to win the Pro Class in 2018. “The I-Fly JK YAMAHA TEAM are really pleased to announce Flo Richier and Dan Reardon as their Pro AX team for the UK and World Championships.” said Dicki Dyer, Team Manager iFly JK Yamaha. “This year we won the ProLite Championship but didn’t perform as we wanted in the…

Ryan Dungey’s career splits people right down the middle. Half think he’s a great champion and half think he did it the easy way, chasing podiums instead of wins. Some believe he was just what the sport needed and others think he was boring. But in sport, numbers don’t lie and they have a way of telling a large part of a story you may never have wittnessed. If you’ve never seen Michael Jordan play but you looked at his numbers, you’d understand how great he was. Same with Kelly Slater and Tiger Woods. Ryan Dungey’s numbers are not just good — they’re outstanding. And I wasn’t a massive fan, I’ll admit that. His calm demeanour never fired me up like so many others who expressed themselves freely. And it…

An American, a German and a Frenchman walk into a bar. After a few drinks they get a little rowdy, a scuffle breaks out and the bartender kicks them out, so they move on to another bar. The trio continue down this path all night long, hitting a total of 17 bars until there is one man left standing. And this, my friends, is exactly how the 2018 Monster Energy Supercross championship is likely to play out with a German, a Frenchman and an American going BAR to BAR over the course of 17 rounds, with only one walking home with the grand prize. #cornydadjoke. Twenty-eighteen is shaping up to be a very interesting year of supercross action with a host of changes to the racing format, the point-scoring system,…

FIT ALL GEARBAG The one and only Ballard’s Fit All gear bag has all the features you need in a bag. With separate compartments for your boots and goggles, along with a pull-out change mat, the Fit All lives up to its name. $139.95 VENTED PROTECTION UNDERSHORTS There is no delicate way to say this, but these undershorts protect all the important bits. There’s a removable coccyx panel along with high-impact plastic side panels for the femur area. Available in sizes S-3XL. $39.95 LUGGAGE PACK The Too Easy gear bag has four internal pockets to keep gear organised along with a separate boot compartment and two small side pockets. The Goggle bag also has four pockets and multi-pocket storage in the lid. The Boot bag has a mesh front to…

01 THE SMELL There is no better smell in motor racing than that which emanates from the two-stroke. It’s the smell of racing, of fun, of legends and good mates. 02 THE SOUND No four-stroke has ever come close to topping the sound of a two-stroke, especially in racing. The sound as a screaming 125 held on the stop, or a 500’s epic build as it destroys corner after corner — we can listen to a soundtrack of a two-stroke race without vision. Maybe with one of those two-stroke candles burning so we get the smell as well. 03 THE HISTORY So many legends. From Hannah to Leisk, Thorpe and McGrath. Reed at his absolute finest. RJ, RC, Bubba, then to the offroad greats like Walker, Blazusiak and Shane Watts.…

CDR Yamaha has retained the talents and services of Dylan Long for the 2018 racing season. Long started the 2017 season slowly as he battled injury but has come alive in the back half of the year, improving at every round of the MX Nationals before really stepping up when the lights came on in supercross. He charged home in fourth place in the championship amongst a star-studded SX1 field. His determination and hard work didn’t go unnoticed by CDR Yamaha and team owner Craig Dack was satisfied with the progress Long had made and rewarded him with a new contract for the 2018 season. “We can all see Dylan is an exceptional riding talent but his work ethic and dedication since his return from injury has impressed me the…

The MSC Africa Twin Adventure Footpeg is engineered so that the tread platform starts close to the bike rather than losing valuable tread space for the mounting lug that is standard. Expert designer Mark Cumming understood that by mounting the footpeg closer to the bike he could provide a larger treadplate — an impressive 120mm-wide plate — while ensuring the Adventure Footpeg does not protrude out off the bike any further than other brands that can only provide 90mm of tread. The large 120mm x 60mm tread plate allows the maximum amount of the rider’s boot on the tread, offering more stability and grip with less boot wear. MSC MOTO ADVENTURE FOOTPEG FEATURES: 120 x 60mm platform size Solid billet CNC machined 7075 aluminium 9 stainless studs with integrated machined…

In putting together a tribute to Peter Melton, we had so many options available — from reprinting old interviews and race coverage to speaking to way too many people for it to all fit on one page. In the end we turned to Scott Bishop and Ross McWatters, two guys that knew Peter well from two different perspectives. SCOTT BISHOP I wasn’t there the day Pater passed away. But I think I would have a fair idea of how his day was spent and the laughter and good times that he shared in it. Peter and his life-long friend Nathan (aka Sheep) — theirs was a friendship formed over 40 years built around a love of riding dirtbikes — loaded up the van and headed to a local ride park…

The 300cc two-stroke is arguably the most popular iteration of the oil-burner and the world’s unwillingness to let it go could well have played a part in saving the species in the great four-stroke invasion. Certainly here in the wide, brown land, it’s a permanent favourite and one of KTM’s biggest sellers year after year. There are a number of reasons to choose a 300 over another bike. They’re light, nimble, torquey and incredibly versatile. Not too many bikes are as at home in the Finke Desert Race as they are at Erzberg. And when it comes to extreme enduro the 300 has a record that speaks for itself, with guys like David Knight, Taddy Blazusiak, Graham Jarvis and Jonny Walker each pushing the sport further and further, often on…

Have you ever heard of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)? It’s a bit of a mouthful but it might be time you got to know what it is and how it will almost certainly come to affect the sport we love. Head knocks are an unavoidable part of riding dirtbikes. We often dismiss them as having ‘rung our bell’ or in worse cases taking a dirt nap, and it’s usually laughed off as no big deal. There are more serious cases of course, but as racing fans we tend to just want to know when a rider will be back on the track and don’t think too much about the long-term consequences to their state of mind. But recent studies have shown that CTE is something that can’t be ignored. Very…

01 Genetically modified Planarian Flatworms can regrow their head. You cannot. You get one chance to look after your nut… don’t screw it up with a shitty helmet. Enter 6D. 02 6D’s exclusive patented Omni-Directional Suspension system is a stunning rethink of the modern helmet design. 6D is researching and improving year on year with a unique approach and a fresh outlook. 03 Designed by riders for riders. Not lab jockeys that ride to work on a seven-speed Malvern Star, but guys that actually know what it’s like to hit the ground off a motorcycle. 04 100% 3K carbon is a pretty nice and comforting material to have your head wrapped in. All the 6D helmets are made of the best composites but its carbon-only lids are schmick. 05 Nothing…

Wade Young overcame three days of brutal racing to win the 50th edition of the ‘Mother of Hard Enduro’, the Motul Roof of Africa in Lesotho. The South African raced into the history books after claiming his third victory in the event, leading home fellow countryman Travis Teasdale and British legend Graham Jarvis. Young said: “To get back on the top of the Hard Enduro podium and do it at home in the 50th edition of the Roof of Africa is very special. “It’s been a tough three days of hard racing. Travis kept me honest all week. I managed to break him on one of the climbs and kept it together until the end.” Riders had to navigate isolated mountain trails and contend with a mixture of rocky terrain…

Husqvarna Australia is excited to announce the signing of 2016 Australian Off-Road Champion Daniel “Chucky” Sanders to the Husqvarna Factory Off-Road Racing Team for 2018. The 23-year-old from Three Bridges, east of Melbourne, shot to international stardom after winning the E3 category of the 2015 International Six-Day Enduro, and finishing fourth outright, before returning a year later to win E3 a second straight time and claiming second outright for 2016. Sanders spent 2017 competing in the World E2 Championships for the KTM Factory Team but has now returned home to attempt to reclaim the Australian Off-Road Championship he dominated in 2016. Adding substantial firepower to the already successful Husqvarna team managed by former motocross pro Christian Horwood, Sanders has been contracted to take on the AORC, A4DE, Hattah as well…

Craig Anderson is having more fun riding than he has for years. You can always tell when Ando is enjoying his riding and he inevitably rides better when the fun factor is up. The reason? In part it’s the bike. A 1989 Honda CR500 to be exact. The CR500 is one of the most iconic bikes ever built and the 1989 model is thought of as one of the best, if not the best, of the big rigs. We sat down with Ando over a couple of beers and a Thai beef salad (that’s us — he had something more manly) to get the story of how the ’89 came into his world. We’ll let Ando take it from here… DREAMING OF THE BIG RIG The first time I rode…

It’s an interesting time to be one of the ‘fringe’ brands. With word that KTM isn’t going to compete in the 2018 World Enduro Championships (a fact that blows our tiny minds), and that Husqvarna is following the lead of its big brother, the door is open for the likes of Beta, Gas Gas and Sherco to shine and take a huge leap ahead over the next 12 months. And it’s somewhat good timing for the three given they are sitting on arguably the best model line-up they’ve yet offered (specifically the EC3000 for Gas Gas, though more is on the way). So, should Beta come away with plenty of chicken dinners in 2018, can it back that up with a quality stock bike range for the rest of us…

“I THINK THERE’S ONLY ABOUT FIVE OF THESE IN THE WORLD IN THE MOMENT.” What you see here is a 2018 Kawasaki KX125. Say what? Kawasaki stopped building the KX125 in 2008; however, Jay Cox has crafted this work of art into what is essentially a current-model 2018 KX two-stroke. From a distance, this bike is impressive. However, up close you're stopped in your tracks; the intricate details that Jay has perfected on this bike are amazing. “This bike started as a 2008 KX125, the last model which Kawasaki built. I bought it with the upgraded 2012 SFF forks and brakes front and rear. Other than that and a pipe, it was pretty stock,” Jay explained as wandered around his bike “I then gave it a complete strip down and…

Suzuki’s last RM125 was a good one. In 2006, Kawasaki had just cut its KX125 and the writing was on the wall; the end was close. The 2006 model 125s just couldn’t compete with the 250Fs. Racers didn’t want to ride them and sales plummeted. Only Yamaha and Suzuki made any substantial changes to the 2006 models and they were both outstanding bikes as a result. Jess Foreman grew up never more than three feet from a spanner or a motocross bike. His father, Jay Foreman, is in his 22nd year building bikes and guiding riders and teams and has one of the best win records as a team manager in the business. So it stands to reason Jess would catch the bug. We saw this epic RM on Jess’s…