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/128335
P~ace:'Love and So re Bums: KTM's Scot Harden (left) flashes the ~ e sign fo r the camera. Harden escorted Carruthers and Speed Channel 's."Greg White on a dual-sport adventure between the .: O!ocross and supermoto portions of the a~venture. en the initial phone call came from KTM's Ron Heben , it sounded too good to be true . It was a pipe dream . Motocross in the morning, dual sport to lunch, supermoto in the afternoon. All in one day. Yeah, right, Ron, call me back when you get that one set up. But he was serious . Completely. And set it up he did. And the more times he called to follow up, the better the deal sounded. Not only was I going to get the opportunity to sample at least three different KTMs in three completely different applications, I was going to get to do it with KTM factory stars Ryan Hughes , Grant Langston and offroader Scot Harden. Just to make sure my enthusiasm didn't get out of hand, they 'd also be flying in Greg White, the bald-head ed babbler who has made himself famous as the hard -working star of Speed Channel 's 2-Wheel Tuesday. The two of us would get to race around the Cahuilla Creek motocross track with Hughes, then W hop aboard the giant KTM Adventurers for an iron-butt ride over Mount San Jacinto with Harden to Apex Raceway, where we'd get to burn laps on the supermoto track with Langston. My hands were bleed ing just thinking about it. And despite not having thrown a leg over one of the motorcycles yet , I already needed a plastic surgeon to remove the smile from my face. Upon arrival at Cahuilla we were greeted by a perfectly groomed motocross track that for most of the morning we'd have to ourselves. White was already there when we arrived, gargling to get his television voice honed to perfection. The box vans were already there with our factory mechanics in place, led by tech nical guru Tom Moen , Hughes was en route, the bit of motocross, so I wasn't a total fish out of water. That honor would go to Greg , who to this point had done very litt le offroading in his life. When Hughes arrived, he gave us a few pointers, we adjusted our handlebars, and away we we nt. I started on the 450 with me stiff-arming Greg to the 525. It turned out to be a good move , as the 4S0 is a "The two of us would get to race around the Cahuilla Creek motocross track with Hughes, then hop aboard the giant KTM Adventurers fo r an iron-butt ride over Mount San Jacinto with Harden to Apex Raceway, where we'd get to burn laps on the supermoto track with Langston. My hands were bleeding just thinking about it" After spending a few weeks bragging about my upcoming day to everyone who would listen, the morning of the big Super Day finally arr ived with Heben picking me up at my home (how 's that for service?) and shuttling me off to Cahuilla Creek in his brand -new Nissan Titan pickup truck. bikes were being warmed up, and all we had to do was get geared up and drink Red Bull. So far so good . I was a tad on the nervous side, not wanting to look like a bonehead in front of Hughes, the television crew, or my factory mechanics for the day. Fortunately, I ride a www.cycleneW5.com more forgiving motorcycle, and clearing the mind of everything that the Red Bull didn't proved to be an easier task on the less powerful 450 . After our initial laps, I was nice enough to let Greg have a go on the 450 . I was also pleasantly surprised to find that the 525 was nothing to fear. Far CYCLE NEWS • AUGUST 4,2004 61