[Features]

Throwdown No.228 – 05/03/15

9 years ago

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What could be the most watched start in GP history took place over the weekend and it certainly wasn’t a let-down in terms of drama. As 28 riders went around the first turn, all eyes were instead focusing on the one rider who wasn’t – Ryan Villopoto. Read all about RV’s unfortunate FIM Motocross World Championship debut (as well as Jeffrey Herlings’ MX2 victory and Max Nagl’s MXGP triumph) in this week’s MXGP Insider column, penned by David Bulmer.

Click here to check out the official highlights from the opening round of the 2015 FIM Motocross World Championship.

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Husqvarna-mounted Aussie riders, Todd Waters and Dean Ferris, both put in very respectable rides at Qatar, going 15-13 and 23-17 for 14th and 20th Overall, respectively. We can expect the boys to improve as the season continues, working towards top-ten results.

Ryan Dungey and Marvin Musquin made it a Red Bull KTM sweep as the 2015 Monster Energy AMA Supercross series returned to Atlanta over the weekend. Australia’s Chad Reed was leading the 450SX Main Event for a little while, but a minor mistake saw him finish in seventh Overall. We’ll be very surprised if Dungey doesn’t take home the 450SX title, and we expect Musquin to hold off Jeremy Martin and Justin Bogle to take home the 250SX Eastern Regional crown. The series now moves to Daytona for Round 10.

Craig Dack and Glen Bell rode together in their teens, faced off for national titles as men, and drove each other to all-new heights. The two virtually owned Australian motocross and supercross between 1986 and 1992, but they were never in the business of trading pleasantries. Dack was brash and often in the limelight, while the introverted Bell shunned media attention. But out on the track, all personality traits were put to the side as these two men forged one of the Australian MX’s fiercest rivalries. For a fascinating insight into that rivalry, and how Dack and Bell now reflect on it, grab a copy of the March-April issue (#49) of Transmoto Dirt Bike Magazine.

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The second round of the 2014 East Coast MX series, presented by Transmoto Dirt Bike Magazine, is taking place this weekend in Canberra. If you’re in the area, head out to the ATCMCC to check out all the Junior (Saturday) and Senior (Sunday) action.

We’re now at the halfway point of the 2015 New Zealand Motocross Nationals after two action-packed rounds in New Plymouth and Timaru. The series has just had a weekend off, with racing resuming this coming weekend at John Phillips’ track near the tourist mecca of Rotorua. For all the information you need, check out this week’s NZ Insider column.

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America’s Mike Brown proved to be to good for his Aussie competition at the second round of the 2015 InsureMyRide Australian Enduro-X Nationals, winning all three Pro finals aboard his FE350 at the Sydney Dragway on Saturday night. KTM’s Tye Simmonds finished in second Overall, while Yamaha’s Josh Green secured third. To check out the official highlights from the event, produced by Transmoto‘s Kurt Teague, click here.

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In our recent 300cc two-stroke shootout (featured in the Nov-Dec issue), Transmoto‘s Andy Wigan surmised that Sherco’s 300SE-R had enormous potential and was only a few set-up tweaks away from being a class-leading machine. So, now that we’ve been given the opportunity to perform those tweaks, has he been able to develop the bike into a class leader? Well, here’s an insight into what Wigan’s done to the 300SE-R and why, and how it’s improved the French machine’s performance and/or durability. For the full-length feature, pick up a print or digital edition of Transmoto Dirt Bike Magazine’s March-April issue (#49), on sale now.

The arrival of the all-new WR250F finally puts the modern era’s two most successful 250cc four-stroke enduro bikes back on equal terms. We let the high-tech Yamaha and KTM (250EXC-F) lock horns for two days to figure out which one deserves your hard-earned bucks. Check out a teaser here, before checking out the full-length feature in the March-April issue (#49) of Transmoto Dirt Bike Magazine, on sale now.

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Back in mid December, Transmoto’s Andy Wigan attended the launch of Yamaha’s all-new 2015 YZ250FX over in New Zealand and, as his ride impression on the cross-country machine indicated, he came away very impressed with what is essentially a hybrid of the 2015 WR250F and YZ250F models. In that article, Wigan also pointed out that Yamaha Motor Australia was working on a special retro-fittable “Cross-Country Kit” for the FX for the Australian market. Well, the make-up of that kit has now been finalised. So at a recent test, we asked YMA’s test bike technician, Darren Thompson, to bring a kitted FX along and take us through the Cross-Country Kit’s inclusions, costs and benefits.

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Twelve of the world’s best freestyle motocross riders, including four former Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour champions (Tom Pagès, Levi Sherwood, Dany Torres and Mat Rebeaud) will be battling it out in front of 38,000 spectators in the planet’s biggest bullfighting arena in Mexico City this weekend when the 2015 championship kicks off. Sherwood’s win in Mexico City in 2009 made him the youngest Red Bull X-Fighters winner ever at age 17, and he won last year’s season opener at the same location. Pagès took first place in Mexico in 2013, paving the way for his championship run. Rebeaud has won in Mexico City twice (in 2006 and 2008) and Torres won once (in 2007). Reigning Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour champion, Australia’s Josh Sheehan, will miss the first round this year, but will be back for the next four stops in an attempt to defend his title.

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Click here to find out what’s inside Transmoto Dirt Bike Magazine’s 2015 March-April issue (#49), and be sure to grab yourself a print or digital edition. You can grab a print edition at your local newsagents, or a digital version via the App Store or Zinio.

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Got a dirt bike you want to sell? How about some used gear, parts or accessories? Thanks to the Transmoto Trader, you’re going to be able to advertise what you’ve got to sell in front of a captive audience of over 100,000 unique website browsers per month, more than 320,000 Facebook followers and 12,000-plus Instagram followers. Create an account via Transmoto’s website (it’s quick and easy to do, and you can even log in using your Facebook account) and start posting. Start buying, selling and swapping your unwanted bikes, gear, parts and accessories.

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Want to win tickets to the third and final round of the 2015 InsureMyRide Australian Enduro-X Nationals, taking place at Melbourne’s Calder Park Raceway, March 14? If you’ve got an Instagram of Facebook account, you can. Click here to find out how.

Sadly, Conondale’s iconic Green Park circuit might not be on the MX Nats race calendar in 2015, but with entries for this weekend’s 2015 KTM Conondale Cup extended by special demand, you’ve still got the chance to have a crack at the epic rolling grass hills of its natural terrain layout. Yep, the accommodating crew from the Sunshine Coast Motorcycle Club (SCMCC) have not only extended the entries for a few days; they’re actually allowing racers to rock up and nominate at the track on the Saturday of the event! More information can be found here.

A digital tool that measures your bike’s fork and shock sag in real time via a retractable “slacker” cable? Yep, the thing exists! Motool’s Slacker Digi Sag Scale comes with a universal magnetic mount and remote display so you can set your suspension’s sag by yourself. Check it out here.

Villopoto’s stall, one more time… Sorry, RV…

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