Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2018 i Transworld Motocross

“I CONTINUE TO BE INTERESTED IN NEW THINGS THAT SEEM OLD AND OLD THINGS THAT SEEM NEW.”—JAQUELIN T. ROBERTSON In addition to the 24 regular TWMX Race Series races we promote each year around Southern California, TransWorld Motocross hosts three major stand-alone events: the TransAm Vet Classic, the Mini Major, and the SLAM Fest, which went down just before this issue went to press. The oldest in our trio of special events, the SLAM Fest has grown into a three-day celebration of dirt bikes that starts on Friday with the Industry Cup, continues on Saturday with the main festival day that includes free riding, the SLAM Pro Race, and the Hell On Wheels/Rusty Butcher flat track races, and wraps up with the final round of the TWMXRS Terra Firma Series.…

POD K8 KNEE BRACES Price: $399.95 (single); $799.95 (pair) What It Is The POD K8 knee braces are the latest take on protection by the Australian company. A forged carbon fiber frame and adaptive cuffs handle fit, durability, and energy dispersion while synthetic ligaments made of Vectran fibers, a material that claims to be five times stronger than steel, is used in the synthetic ligaments to mimic the natural motion of the human knee through the joints. The braces boast a number of certifications, including CE certification against impact via the knee cups and medical certification for prevention prior to and support after injury, and an antimicrobial liner that is safe for contact against surgical wounds. Hits • With five frame sizes and the adjustable Velcro straps, it’s easy to…

Nothing beats a day at the track. It’s enough to keep us from repeatedly hitting the snooze button on our alarm clocks, as there’s nothing like being loaded up and on the road before the sun rises over the horizon. A quick stop at the gas station for the necessary tank of fuel, a cup of coffee, and ice for the post-ride beers is the only thing that keeps us from being the first person at the front gate, but we’ll gladly wait the extra few minutes while the sacrificial lambs cut fresh lines in the muddy track. The time between motos is even enjoyable because those bench racing talks with friends about the latest bikes and gear or the most recent pro race remind us of what brings us…

“ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING CHANGES TO THE RM-Z IS THE ADDITION OF THE HIGH-PERFORMANCE KYB COIL SPRING FRONT FORK.” In 2018, Suzuki gave its tried-and-true RM-Z450 an extreme makeover with a new chassis, suspension, and bodywork. In traditional fashion, those same changes have now found their way onto this year’s new RM-Z250. While still extremely functional, the market had grown weary of the long-unchanged aesthetics of the RM-Z and yearned for an exciting new look. More importantly, though, customers desired a more compliant suspension package that would complement the Suzuki’s amazing handling, and in a class where effective power is paramount to performance, serious competitors found the old Suzuki falling short of the competition shortly after entering the midrange. WHAT’S NEW Following Suzuki’s new mantra of “The Winning Balance:…

Earlier in the year, Dunlop invited TransWorld Motocross to join them at Central California’s Zaca Station MX before its gates closed to test its excellent new MX33 front and rear motocross tires. Making things even more enticing was an invitation from Dunlop’s Jay Clark to test a very special project bike he’d built up: a big-bore Honda CRF250R. In stock condition, the 2018 Honda CRF250R was already one of our favorite machines of the year, and the prospect of riding one with the extra “oomph” that a few added cubic centimeters could offer was exciting. Clark’s goal with his project Honda was to increase the power output, yet maintain a high level of reliability. The stock bore and stroke of the CRF250R is 79 mm x 50.9 mm, which results…

When it comes to full-sized dirt bikes, only three manufacturers continue to offer a full range of two- and four-stroke machines: Husqvarna, KTM, and Yamaha. Though four-strokes dominate the racing landscape at the pinnacle of the sport, are the more expensive and more powerful four-strokes really the best option for the average rider? That’s a debate that can last an eternity, as factors like the lower maintenance and repair costs of a two-stroke definitely come into play on one hand, with the easy-to-ride nature of today’s thumpers and technological superiority on the other. To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever done a four-bike, two-stroke versus four-stroke test before, and that encouraged me to collect some data and try all four bikes out back-to-back, to gain some experience…

For many motocross fans, it would be a dream come true to make a career out of your passion for two wheels. For Duncan, Arizona’s Jason “Rango” Montoya, his current role as Malcolm Stewart’s mechanic is just that. Growing up racing at an amateur level, Montoya realized early on that he had mechanical skills. “My grandfather was a mechanic, and I always felt mechanically inclined, so I went to MMI right after I graduated high school and that was it,” Montoya said. Upon graduating, he landed a dealership job that helped lay the foundation of skills needed for his next chapter. After landing his first race team job wrenching for Horton Yamaha’s Cole Barbieri, Montoya realized a dream of sorts when he was connected with Malcolm Stewart to fill a…

We’re always pumped to learn that someone entered their first-ever motocross with the TWMX Race Series, and 19-year-old Carrington Fowler took his first gate drops at the Terra Firma Series finale at Milestone MX Park on the final day of this year’s TransWorld SLAM Fest. Fowler first became interested in the sport when he attended a Supercross, and he’s attended the last couple SLAM Fests, but he never thought he’d be racing himself one day. At Milestone, Carrington was part of a sizable contingent from Bikes Over Bang’N, a Los Angeles-based organization with a great mission statement: Bikes Over Bang’N intends to decrease gang violence, gang-related deaths, substance abuse, juvenile delinquency, and academic failure, by providing at-risk youth living in the inner city a pro-social outlet. By pairing the youth with…

Like it or not, pedal-assist mountain bikes are gaining popularity and picking up steam, especially now that major players in the cycling marketplace are throwing their hats into the ring. Intense Cycles is a SoCal-based mountain bike brand with heavy roots in the gravity side of the sport, and we’ve been hearing rumors of an Intense pedal-assist bike for several months now. Intense has also long been a supporter of motocross racing and currently sponsors GEICO Honda racers Chase Sexton and Christian Craig, and we were pretty damned excited when we got an invite from founder Jeff Steber a couple months ago to join him on a secret test ride of sorts. “Bring your riding gear and pedals” was all he told us, and we happily agreed. The Intense Tazer…

“IN STOCK CONDITION, THE ‘19 KAWASAKI KX250 IS AN EXCELLENT MACHINE THAT HAS PLENTY TO OFFER IN ALL AREAS OF PERFORMANCE.” You can always tell when a new bike is the focus of a manufacturer because other models in the lineup get very little, if any, attention. That’s exactly what happened with Kawasaki this year, as their full efforts went into the KX450, and the KX250 received only very subtle cosmetic updates. It’s worth noting that 2019 marks year three for the current generation of the KX250, a design that was first debuted in model year 2017 and then received a number of updates and refinements for 2018. There were 50 changes in total between the 2017 and 2018 models in an attempt to improve the torque and throttle response…

“FIRST GEAR WAS REMARKABLY LOW & MADE IT POSSIBLE TO PRACTICALLY IDLE THROUGH THE MOST TECHNICAL SECTIONS.” This month, Yamaha flew TransWorld Motocross to Union, South Carolina, to test the 2019 Yamaha YZ250FX and YZ450FX at seven-time National Enduro Champion Randy Hawkins’ personal ranch and AmPro Yamaha training grounds. Laid out on 2,000 acres of rolling hills with trees, fields, and creek crossings, the singletrack trails we tested on were nothing short of amazing. Based on the familiar YZ250F and YZ450F motocross models, the FX bikes are purpose-built for closed-course off-road racing with the addition of several key features that make each of them much more effective in the unique conditions encountered off-road. YZ250FX Though the Yamaha YZ250F motocross bike is all new for 2019 and now matches the look…