Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

slower - obviously - and I was only were amazingly stiction-free, so my Mr. 'Berg was pretty much out of bottoming the suspension once per problem was simply a case of a too- reach, but that I had Kit to shoot for and hold onto the bar with all my stiff spring rate for a slow rider. again. might, it wasn't really necessary: the lap (on a harsh G-out). The rest of my left index finger from the clutch I ratcheted up my aggressivity bike never shook its head once, and the time, I wasn't using much of the At any rate, the Husaberg gapped stroke, so I was getting more feed- me in the middle part of the lap. I level, nailing the throttle harder out of the only time I could feel the damper back than I prefer - the rear rebound- closed a bit on the downhill near the corners and leaving it on longer on through the bars was in a slow, full- ing and skating out on acceleration end, and I saw him catch and pass the straights (the bike doesn't mind lock left turn around a log. bumps and the front jarring my wrists on braking bumps. The suspenders Kit for the lead on the moto track to begin the final go-around. That meant being revved out). In the former Unfortunately, Kit had seen me instances, the N-Style gripper seat and wicked it up as well, and I never cover prevented me from sliding was able to get him in my crosshairs. back, and in the latter instances, I I ended up third, and although I was appreciated the Scotts stabilizer. I happy with my ride - and in love with took the choppy, high-speed ridge- Abbott's KX - the bike no doubt top trail the fastest I had yet, and judged me a poor replacement for although I made a point to remove Abbott. CN Abbott wiIJ be making some major bike changes next year, but for now, the heart of his KX is the Pro Circuit· modified motor and suspension. For the former, the head is cut and cylinder ported, and then a PC pipe and long MX silencer are bolted in place. "It's just kind of a basic motor," says tuner John Braasch, "not really a top-end or a bottom-end focus. It's just Pro Circuit's basic porting, although we do use a '98 tranny for its lower first gear, and there's a flywheel weight to calm it down." Abbott is much more finicky about his stock Kayaba suspension, which he has set up to his specs by PC, and he spends countless hours testing, especially on the fork. Out back, he is very particular about ride height, and he constantly alters his valving depending upon the conditions he's rIding. Again, Braasch says the suspension is pretty much middle-of-the-road, although slower riders would find it to be on the stiff side. Handlebar placement is also critical for Abbott, who is a big boy, so he runs BRP triple clamps that move the bar forward. All of this is bolted on to a stock KX chassis that has been stripped of its paint, gusseted and painted fluorescent green. Some parts are protected by Works Connection guards, and a clear IMS tank with dry break is used. By the way, although Braasch sets up the bike initially and periodically goes through it. Abbott does much of his own maintenance. "He's in Arizona and I'm in California, so I taught him some stuff," Braasch says. "He was pretty bad at first, but he's gotten pretty good." getting up on the seat. One of Suzu· w .... w ~ w o ~ w g :> 10 § . -=.,. perhaps what I liked best about the ki's other works race bikes is fitted engine was how easy it was to man· with a custom-made aluminum tank age. And I really appreciated this on that gives the DR-Z a flatter layout. the last lap, when I realized I needed As far as the Oregon race goes, I to wick it up in order to preserve my really couldn't have asked for a better second-place position, because Chris bike to be on • even for me, a two- was rapidly closing in on me. Luckily, stroke guy. I felt the motor was the DR-Z didn't sap all of my energy extremely compatible for the variety during the first 50 minutes, so I had of conditions that we encountered: enough left in me to bust out one last from tight trails to wide-open dirt good lap and keep second. Had I been roads, to ultra-slick mud, to ultimate on any other bike, I'm not so sure I traction. The motor handled it all, but would've been able to hold on. eN The DR·Z430 that I rode was actually the same race bike that Kiedrowski rode during the first half of this year's off-road season. He has since swapped to a fresher machine, though it's still nearly identical to the one J rode in Oregon. (Greg Albertyn will ride this exact same bike in the upcoming Lake Elsinore Grand Prix.) The only difference between Kiedrowski's current race bike and the one I rode was the lower fork legs. While Kiedrowski's current race bike uses full·on Showa works bottoms, mine used stock lowers. According to Yoshimura's head technician Kenny Kato, and Satoshi Momma, the two main tricks that tum the stock DR-Z into a serious off-roader are developing more useable power out of the motor and discarding the conventional forks for more sturdy and larger (49mm) inverted forks and works clamps. "The stronger fork improves the DR's stability and gives it a more solid feel," Kato said. "We also made a lot of changes to the motor," Kato said. "We experimented with larger pistons and longer strokes but settled on the stock bore [and piston) and going with just a longer stroke. The longer stroke gives the bike better power without changing the over· all characteristic of the motor. Our high·rev kit makes a big difference, too." Kiedrowski's bike also uses a works exhaust header pipe, a Yoshimura tailpipe, and a Yoshimura carburetor jet kit. Most of these parts aren't available to the public yet. Of course, Kiedrowski's race bike features many aftermarket bolt-on products that you can buy, such as a 3.2-gallon IMS tank and footpegs, 909 handlebars, controls and sprockets, DSP engine case guards, frame guards and front·disc guard, BP brakes, Cycra hand guards and radiator shrouds, a Regina chain, N-Style graphics and seat, Motorex oils and Dunlop tires. cue' e n e _ 55 NOVEMBER 14,2001 21

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