Super moto racing machines

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Super moto racing machines

Full steam ahead

The Super Moto DM has been decided. Hibernation? Think. MOTORRAD grabbed the bikes of the drift elite and wanted to know what’s up? on the slopes and on the test bench.

Wachauring in Melk / Austria. It’s been a little longer than a night since the fighters of the Super Moto DM laid down their arms. The Oberdrifter together with the new boss Thierry van den Bosch let it be. Head and body need rest? but more because of the efforts of the master party than the season.

Only for Achim Trinkner, the ninth of the DM, things are going well. Together with Markus Barth, Superbike World Championship crack and MOTORRAD tester, he does the test laps. And for the wide-tire sub-sets of the upper league, there is also nothing to take a breather? at least not for the best of any brand. The Suzuki from Dirk Spaniol, the Egli-MZ from Swiss comrade Beat Gautschi, the Husaberg from newcomer Jens Hainbach, the Kawasaki from DM third Mika Sironen, the KTM from Vice-Champion Klaus Kinigadner and the Husqvarna from Achim Trinkner, which with that from King Thierry is identical. Not every day the program: slope, scales, acceleration test, test bench. Pants down, in a way.

Markus is the first to hit the slopes with the Suzuki. With a displacement of 400 cm3 there is not much alarm to be made – everyone thinks. Only a 41 series Keihin flat slide carburetor and an exhaust from the Swiss Suzuki dealer Siegi Zachmann stir up hope for more power than the 46 hp of the production version. Nevertheless: The small DR pushes just 53 paws onto the asphalt. For Dirk Spaniol, however, enough to leave more than half of the championship field behind in 17th place. And enough for Markus at first. Because gentle thrust and a cultivated, easy-revving motor make the bonsai super moto racer very easy to control. In addition, there is by far the softest suspension of the sextet, a handy chassis, and the Super Moto entry-level speedster is ready. Only Achim would like to have the 490 cm3 kit now, which should pave the way for Dirk in the coming season.

The MZ would like to strike that too. Especially since the Swiss tuner legend Fritz Egli really lent a hand. The Swiss increased the displacement of the single-cylinder from the Yamaha XTZ 660 to an impressive 740 cm3. Two 34 Mikuni flat slide carburetors feed the single. In the end, no less than 80 hp push the exotic woman forward, and that “easy to control and with a lot of pressure from below,” as Achim explains after the practice laps. In view of the overweight of more than 20 kilograms, the MZ also needs a lot of power. Markus’ respect goes to the braking system. The carbon disc not only saves over a kilogram in weight, it also “doesn’t degrade a bit after many hard-braked switchbacks“.

In the meantime it is Husaberg’s turn. Amazing: The changes compared to the street legal version tested by MOTORRAD in issue 13/2000 are limited to a lighter exhaust from FP and the change from the 40 Dellorto to the 39 Keihin carburettor ?? what the 600 compared to the 68 hp series machine ultimately costs eight hp peak performance. Which the Husaberg technicians knowingly accept “in favor of the much better controllability of the engine”. Seems to be right, because Markus whirls the lightest asphalt / gravel sprinter around the piste with impressive speed. While Super-Moto-Crack Trinkner actually “lacks some power and the rear is too high”, Markus in turn is enthusiastic about “the excellent front brake and the easy-to-use clutch”. About the brake because of the Brembo four-piston caliper, about the clutch because of the hydraulic actuation by Magura.

Meanwhile, Achim rattles around the ring with the last competitive two-stroke engine in the super moto scene, the half-liter Kawasaki. The Braunschweig Kawa dealer Popko heavily upgraded the KX 500 as the basis of the green bolide. The two-stroke engine, which has been bored out from 500 to 535 cm3, sits in a modern bridge frame of the quarter-liter Crosser KX 250. Handy chassis geometry, slim tank-seat line and plenty of freedom of movement included. Nevertheless, Achim first carefully feels his way to the limit. Because the stately 74 HP want to be well controlled. Despite exhaust control, the Kawa engine is noticeably more aggressive than its four-stroke colleagues. What needs a lot of talent on slippery ground brings meters on asphalt. And Markus later notices: »The Kawa goes off like neighbor Lumpi, but Mika is not so careful with the chassis balance. Hard behind, buttery soft in front. “

To do this, he is now switching to the pack’s first machine, the 660 KTM, which is used directly from the factory. The Austrians also surprise. The engine, which is also used in rallying in this displacement variant, is more geared towards drivability than performance. A tamer camshaft than in the desert unit does not allow more than 72 hp despite the 41 Keihin carburettor and a large displacement. A second oil spray nozzle on the piston crown ensures more stability in the Super Moto. In fact, “the KTM has a brutal amount of pressure from below” enthuses Markus, but qualifies “that it gets a little tough at the top”. Achim, who is spoiled in this regard, still has a fly in the ointment: “The tank-bench combination is relatively wide, even if it doesn’t bother you.” Nevertheless, both of them lose the extra pounds, not least because of this and especially in comparison with the Husaberg the LC4 on. In addition, works driver Kinigadner is not very picky about the chassis: “The fork’s response behavior could be better, but the rear is okay,” says MOTORRAD man Barth.

Und because, firstly, as a Husky contract driver, Achim has to forego a statement about his own subset and, secondly, it is precisely this comparison between the two brands that set the tone in the Super Moto that is of interest, Markus immediately hops on the Husqvarna. The same weight, almost the same performance, with 577 cm3 but almost 100 cubic centimeters less than the KTM. But a lot of technical effort: titanium exhaust system, Ohlins chassis, sharper camshaft, the inevitable 41 carburetor from Keihin. His impression? “Compared to the KTM, the engine has less punch from below, but it can be dosed even better and rotates more freely at the top,” says Markus and enthuses: “The front brake is very sharp, but handling and chassis are phenomenal.” And so: Although the MZ is the strongest, the Suzuki the handiest, the Kawa the most brutal and the Husaberg the lightest, the Husky and the KTM form the most homogeneous mixture overall ?? which, by the way, could also have been read from the DM results.

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