| Author | Message | ||
     Trojan |
Anyone been following the rise of the 450 SuperSingle series that Gavin Trippe/Roland Sands are planning for WERA/AMA next year? From what I have read so far it appears to be an extremely attractive and competitive race series run to a strict formula that will ensure close competition and keep a lid on costs too. It looks to have the support of the big 4 Japanese manufacturers and luminaries such as Kevin Schwantz are on board too. The basic concept, and what makes it different to existing Supermono typre classes, is that the racers must use stock 450 dirt bike engines, frames & swingarms using modifed road forks, bodywork and shocks. You can see more at www.450moto.com and roadracerX and cycle world also gave it some coverage recently.  Looks like a sure fire winner to me  | ||
| Jayvee |
Wow, that sounds like a "blast" to ride. I had two different SR-500 bikes, I like big singles anyway. Too bad Buell won't have a "stock 450 dirt bike engine" to use now ! | ||
| Josh_cox |
Interesting concept. I'd rather be on a GP bike myself. We deal with PM all of the time. I don't expect any of their "kits" to be reasonably affordable. Hasn't Honda shown a 250 and 450 4stroke GP pair before? Josh | ||
| Trojan |
We deal with PM all of the time. I don't expect any of their "kits" to be reasonably affordable. There is a full list of proposed kit prices on the Roland Sands web site, and although not cheap they would build into a very nice bike. Alternatively it would be very easy to build a competitive bike by sourcing parts elsewhere. The Kawasaki that he built uses ZX6R forks/triple trees (the Yamaha uses R6 forks/wheel), shortened Ohlins shock and RS250 GP Honda bodywork. The 'fuel tank' is just a glassfibre cover over the stock dirt bike tank. The Suzuki 450 prototype is the only one not built by RS and utilises a lot of stock Suzuki road bike parts. Supermoto wheels are available that would be a lot cheaper than the RS wheels used on the prototypes, and you could always use ZX6 wheels etc. You could also sell a lot of the original dirt bike parts to cover the cost of replacement race parts. I think a competitive bike could be built for under US$5000 including the donor bike. Given the big names backing this project (Gavin Trippe, Troy Lee, Roland Sands, Kevin Schwantz) I really can't see this not succeeding. Now I just have to afford that new Benelli 450 dirt bike to start with | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Maybe unrelated but at Willow Springs we have a 500 singles class running Blasts and Ascots. Blasts are super cheap to race (a pair of Pirelli's is under $130) and last mechanically, but still cant get hardly anybody to race. The handfull of Blast racers regularly pass (in the corners) bikes with twice the HP and 'real' suspension. Small singles racing isnt a new idea, even with 'limits' on the bikes, I just dont think it will take off in this country. I would love to see it happen and maybe Buell might take the Blast (or some derivative) seriously. or maybe I missed the point of this thread on a Buell themed website!  | ||
| Trojan |
Supermono racing has been around for years now, and was even once a support race at WSB races. There is a very popular supermono series running in the US at present, although it runs in amongst the classic racing series with AHRMA I believe, so doesn't get any coverage at all. In Europe there is a very strong Single cylinder race culture, with national and European championships. These bikes are absolutley dripping with technology, as there are almost no limits to tuning and modifications allowed. For the last few years we have seen a big increase in the amount of 'mini-mono' machines competing. These are 450 MX engines in 125 GP frames. Again there is no tuning limit so costs can be incredible. This new series doesn't bring anything really new to the table. However what it does bring is some serious political clout and some sensible and easily policed formula rules. Most importantly, it has the backing of the AMA, the major manufacturers and some very big names, and this is what will set it apart from current single cylinder race series. I firmly believe that this series will run at major AMA events in 2009, and will fill the gap left by the demise of 250GP racing. Because of the strict formula rules it will restrict costs so that it is much more accessible, particularly for younger competitors. It would be great to see Buell get involved with their forthcoming (?) 450 dirt bike motor/chassis, but even without their involvement I think the series will provide a great spectacle and a lot of diversity in machines. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
"In Europe there is a very strong Single cylinder race culture, with national and European championships". Given the way motards have taken off here lately, maybe there is some hope in this country for singles racing. Unfortunately the 'go big or stay home' attitude is ingrained deep in our culture. Still sounds like a great idea though. What I'd really hate is to see another mc sport dominated or run by the 'Big Four' only to boost their sales. I remember a very boring time back in the late 70's early 80's, when it was just HD, BMW and the 'Big Four' in choices for motorcycles, the 'Big Four' having killed just about everything else off (or anything else was really expensive or unavailable). Sorry, I think my attitude is showing! | ||
| Trojan |
What I'd really hate is to see another mc sport dominated or run by the 'Big Four' only to boost their sales I agree, and I think this is one area where the organisers of this series have missed a trick. It appears to me that only specified bikes will be alllowed to compete, and that these will all be from the big 4 Japanese manufacturers. The 450 class is dominated by small scale European manufacturers such as KTM, Husqvarna, Husaberg, Aprilia etc and there are more and more 450's arriving all the time. Just think what this series would be like if it was open to ANY 450 MX'er, then we may see Benelli, Highland, Hyosung, BMW and even Buell enter the fray very soon |
