Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127832
What the pros had to sa Terry Poovey. 10-time AMA Grand National winner and former factory Honda rider. This Is the best motorcycle I've ever ridden as far as it's not a real dirt tracker that you're building. but rather something that you're trying to make work. It's trick. It's bad. I like the way that I can really slide up 0" the seat. If I'd had my handlebars on it Icould have rode it even better. It doesn't have as much as 'torque or horsepower as my race bike. It needs just needs a little bit more. It didn't slide much, but I think that was the race track. There was so much rubber down. It would be really good on the ioe, and the electric start, I like that a lot. There's nothing bad about it, and believe me. I'm the kind of guy who's real picky. For $8000 it would be a bargain for a guy to start off with. It's a real good piece. quality is evidenced in such items as the Talon billet hubs, Brembo 263rnm twin-pisJon front and 220mm singlepiston r.ear brakes. Other innovaHve items such as the hand-fabricated aluminum airbox and billet triple clamps abound. Our test machine also featured Domino hand controls mounted to AFAM dirt t.rack handlebars. The 19inch front and rear Takasago Excel rims are shod with the same Goodyear DT tires used by the Grand NaHonal riders. Like we said, the 598cc air-cooled SOHC Rotax is de rigeur in the world of 600cc dirt track racing. A good tuner can modify a race version of the powerplant to produce up to 70 horsepower, but in the interest of ultirnate reliability, a stock version of the Rotax is housed in the MR chassis and utilizes the same wide-ratio transmission found in the rest of the family. Oh yes, that stock version also happens to feature something that you will not find on any other dirt track racer - elect.ric start. HOW'S THE RIDE? In a word, surprising. Although it is equipped with a kick starter as a backup, the starting drill on the MR is painfully easy. Simply rotate the handlebar-mounted choke lever, click the ignition switch to the "run" position and thumb the starter. The motor will fire up and then settle into a steady chug. After warming the machine for a brief period, you're ready to rock. And rock we did as Grand ational veteran and race promoter Steve Morehead invited us to flog the prototype version around the banked, grooved dirt half mile at Volusia County Speedway in Barberville, Florida, on the Tuesday of Camel Motorcycle Week. We hammered the machine all right, enlisting the help of several riders who we knew would push the MR harder than we could and thus discover any flaws that rnight be hiding. Our panel of testers included young, aggressive Experts in Josh Butler and 1995 AMA Grand National Rookie of the year Paul Morgan ill as well as veteran and Texas dirt track legend Terry Poovey, who was obviously on top game that week if his performances at Daytona Municipal Stadium on Friday and Saturday are any indication. Poovey is also well known for being one of the most finicky riders in the world when it comes to bike setup. But we took to the track first, and there the ATK made an instant fan out of us. Handling is first-rate. The machine's wheelbase provides an inherent stability at any speed and just flat makes the bike stick. Slides into the corner are extremely predictable, allowing the rider to constantly up the pace as he gets more comfortable_ Once up to speed, the bike simply doesn't do anything stupid. Steering is precise. It won't push. It won't get loose. It just lets the rider drive it in as hard as he Paul Morgan, 1995 AMA Grand National Rookie of the Year. It handles real good going Into the comer. That's where it's pretty strong. You can run it off In there as deep as you want to, really. The left peg drags a little bit. Just moving the footpeg would be a real big help. And the shock feels real soft. It seems to be squatting when I come off the comer. The front suspension feels real good. If it had more motor, it would be really good. The brakes seemed to work pretty well. This bike would be a good starter for a 250 guy coming up. later you could just do your motor. you'd already have the chassis. The electric slart Is the best part. .Jo.h Butler. lIIinol.-b••ed Expert. CozIehr Harley-DavJct.on: It handles totally different from a DTX bike. I've ridden a lot of those. It's more Similar to a regular race chassis. The look Is the only tliing that would make you think that it is a MXer. All you have to do to make it a short tracker is move that footpeg. That could be their best market. wants with the same result every time. We have never ridden a more confidence-inspiring dirt track machine, let alone one that is production-based. A DTXer it ain't. Corning off the turns, the motor's seamless power production keeps the bike hooked up with the wheels in line. It never quit pulling down the st.raights although once we put more time on the machine, we would have liked to gear it just a bit tighter for Volusia, perhaps adding a tooth on the Iear to help it. snap of the corners a little better. Braking, though a bit weak at first, seemed to improve as we put more laps on the MR. We have to admit that we never t.ried the front unit, because we were on a half mile and not a TT course, but having ridden other new ATK off-road models that were similarly equipped in recent weeks, we would surmise that the front units will do a good job of hauling the machine to a stop when called upon. The WP suspension remained supple and composed all the way around the race track - even when negotiating the small ridges that had formed up on the low line through three and four as a result of the previous night's racing. Associate editor Scott Rousseau managed to hit the ripple once at speed and lose the front end for several feet. Upon slamming the throttle shut, the bike simply stood up but didn't swap, allowing him to get right back on the gas and keep on rolling. Such forgiveness should make the machine the ultimate learning tool. We reached our speed limit long before the AlK did, but in the process we discovered the one really annoying glitch that the production model has. As we continued to circulate at increasingly higher speed, we began to hear a rather unsettling scraping sound. As it turned out, we found that the left footpeg was digging into the ground, and while it wasn't really affecting the handling, the grating was annoying, and the one thing that needed to be changed. We changed it by simply removing the footpeg altogether, but we've since learned that ATK has addressed the situation by drilling a mounting hole in the frame where an accessory footpeg can be mounted back and up out of the way like on a regular dirt t.raCker. That would make the bike perfect. Well, maybe not perfect for everyone. Though all of our top-level pros liked the machine, they all suggested that the stock motor was simp1y lacking the type of hard-hitting horsepower that they were used to, although they all did say that it would be perfect for anyone from the beginner to the advanced amateur. But that's the real beauty of the ATK 600MR. It allows you to grow. If down the road you shOuld decide that more engine performance is what you're (left) ATK's unique single-sided perimeter frame design was utilized for the MR, but the chassis geometry is dirt track-specific. (Right) All testers gave high marks to the ATK's WP Roma front suspension. Poovey even used the powerful 263mm twinpiston Brembo front brake to help bend the longish-feeling bike Into the turns on the half mile. (Below) As usual, the Rotax motor does an excellent job of supplying power. Only Pro-Ams and Experts may want more than the stock unit provides. (Right) The IInkageless WP rear shock Is a "sawed down," internally changed version of the same units found on the ATK off-road line and proved adequate for the MR. (left) Achilles heel: As delivered, the ATK drags the left-side footpeg, which Is rather annoying. ATK has made provisions on the frame for an aftermarket peg, however. 1998 ATK 600MR Specllicatlons' Uat price Dl.p _ EntiM type after, then adding bolt-ons or simply removing the engine and delivering it to any of the dirt-oriented tuners for treatment should be just what the doctOI ordered. At least the chassis will already be done, and that's a damn Sight more than can be said for the current "construction" method of obtaining a "real" dirt track racing motorcycle. And though we only tested the machine on a dirt track, we should point out that the MR designation stands for Multi Racer, which means that if dirt track or TTs are not your thing, if perha ps you'd like to build a supermotard-style bike or if you just want to create a street tracker of your very own, the ATK could be what you're after. With a suggested retail price of $8495 for the kickstart model or $8995 for the electric start version, we think that if and when the ATK hits the showroom floor, a lot of folks will be after one. CN - - siogte-cytioder four-stroke _ 97.Omm x 81.Omm 9.5: 1 __ Co_, 1'liiio 1IIIa $8495/$8995 (ES) 598cc Air-cooled. SOHC, r, ••••••••••••••• CMNo lID Mikuni 45mm ...... . ..•......BectroniC, 190-WIllllIghting coil T_....1lon . . 8IulIng.,..... Fuel fltlIIIlCIty _ • M .....eIT 57.0In. 25°/3.2 in. 33.0 in. 27.0 x 7.5-19 in. Gc>od)'ear 27.0 x 7.5-19 in. Gc>od)'ear WP Roma/7.0 ir1ches 01 wheel travel WP Side Unk/6.0 Inches of wheel travel . .. Brembo twin-piSton caliper wI 263mm disc s.e WgIIt ,.-1Ire ...... lira ,.- ",p, II .......,p, n.Ia Front lll'llke .. ...... ....... .at flve.speed wide ratio KickfElectric CESl .. 3.6 gal. . ...Brembo single-piston caliper wI 220mm disc FItoeI drlw welPt lao '-II Chain 260 Ibs. • Speo/icatlons Slilect to change For mOIl! infonnation, contact your local A dealer or TK 800/ATK·USM.