roadracing a 450 supermoto

It's a cut and rewelded FS450 unit, 2016 IIRC.

 

That's the plan this year if everything works out! Hank can smoke me at another form of racing.

 

I’ve been curious about trying flat style lowering for road racing. Kinda make it a lightweight hooligan bike. Seems like it could work pretty well.

 

Thanks for the summary. How was reliability for you and were you checking valves regularly?

My big track days are probably done, but it's interesting to see how the bikes hold up to it.

 

Reliability was great. I rebuilt the top end before the season and set the valves then. Change the oil every weekend. Had zero issues and put about 40hrs of hard abuse on it. Brainerd beats on motor like this.

 

Finally getting around to setting up the 450 for a road course. Tackling gearing first. I'm planning on 16/40 per @G2G's experience.

Vortex is putting me at 114 links (I selected the 450 SX-F from their calculator), but it looks like gearing commander has me at 118, but I haven't entered a sprocket distance. Any idea what the sprocket distance should be and/or what I should be measuring? Is it literally the length between the two sprockets?

 

Id just buy a 120 link and cut it to the right length. I run 15-38 as 16 tooth won't fit.

 

Need to update the dirtbike fleet for next year, got a lot of trick stuff and spares for the 15-18 kx but engine/transmission parts are getting hard to find and the trick stuff is getting wore out.
I always have 2 bikes, both supermoto, one for the kid, one for me/rain for the kid. In the winter my bike is the ice bike.
Leaning pretty hard towards KTM. CRA has some very good contingency this year and our suspension guy has a tricked out SMR 450 with almost no miles on it. For my bike I was thinking about the 500EXC- anyone have experience with it? Roughly same chassis as the 450? Thinking it might work a little less hard on a road course.

 

I'll sell you my 22 KTM at the end of the year. I'm looking to ride the contingency train into a 25

 

That kinda makes it hard for me to get the contingency too lol.

 

Haha. Yeah just KTMcash. You still qualify for Jensales and Adrenaline money.

 

If it helps any my GPS had me at 114mph consistently with 15/40 gearing at heartland park on a stock ‘22 SMR.

 

What bike do you have? a 16 fits Husky FS's as I run it all the time

 

KTM.

 

Did you run the same gearing at Hastings?

 

No. I tried 15/40 at Hastings but I never needed 5th gear. Plus the 3rd to 4th drop felt huge at that track. I swapped to 14/40 and it’s just about right. Maybe touch on the too low side but close enough that all my other short comings are slowing me down much more.

 

Awesome, thanks man. I plan on the bike seeing a lot of Hastings and Pueblo/PPIR, so that gearing should work. Appreciate it.

 

Dirtbikes on pavement is always a hoot. Here's a green KX450, blue Yamaha YZF450, and red Honda CRF450 (camera bike) on a road course from 13 years ago:

 

Where were you having clearance issues? I assume front sprocket was contacting something?

 

Husky (and KTM?) has some killer deals going on right now!
2025's are showing up in dealerships sitting on a bunch of 2024's. I recently picked up a '24 FE 350s for $8990. (before fees.) Original MSRP was $13,599, I believe? the 2024 FE's received substantial changes, compared to the 2023's. 2025's only got hydraulics updated from Braktec to Brembo.

Looking for sets of both 17" and spare dirt wheels now.