Australasian Dirt Bike – June 2019

38 |JUNE 2019 http://www.adbmag.com.au

LOCATION
The 300cc shootout put on by the ADB
boys would have to be one of the best
I’ve attended. Not because of the food
and booze at the Taralga Hotel [which
was great, by the way – Ed] but
because of this year’s tracks and
scoring format. In previous years,
ADB’s shootouts have been on one
epic loop, usually singletrack.
But this year, with the aim of
mixing it up a bit, ADB used a private
property that featured a grasstrack,
endurocross circuit and hard enduro
loop. The three sections were scored
separately and a winner chosen for
each. ADB felt these three racing
disciplines were the best way to
showcase a 300 two-stroke’s abilities.
The property was near Taralga,
NSW, and conditions were primo.
Rain in the lead-up ensured the
surface had traction, with the
grasstrack circuit settling in perfectly
during the day forming ruts, bumps
and off-camber turns.
The endurocross track had a great
blend of matrix logs, rock pits, log
heaps, tyre jumps, balance beams and
difficult corner obstacles. As for the
hard-enduro loop, it started with a
near-vertical drop into a creek which
wound its way through water and over
boulders before climbing nearly 300
metres out of a valley on sandy, steep
string of singletrack.
It wasn’t over there though,
dropping back into the creek on an
off-camber goat track that saw a few
riders cartwheeling bikes all the way
down. It had pretty much everything
you’d encounter on an awesome days
trailriding on a 300 smoker where a
300 smoker should go!

TEST PACK

To ensure the fairest possible

outcome we enlisted the services of

riders who had no brand tie-ups and

had ridden a plethora of dirtbikes. We

also tried to get testers of all shapes,

sizes and skill levels.

Unlike our motocross shootouts, we

did not use manufacturer-affiliated

pros because we didn’t feel we needed

to have the best in the business to test

the latest technology at warp speed.

This shootout is also not a “puff

piece” that bangs on about how

awesome everything is. Nothing is

perfect and we’re not afraid to say it,

so make sure you read between the

lines, so you can pick up on the pros

and cons of each bike. We also

encourage you to pay particular

attention to the feedback of a tester

who sounds like they are close to your

skill level, size and age.

HOW THEY’RE SCORED

For this shootout there will be three

winners, one for each category:

grasstrack, endurocross and extreme

enduro. Each bike gets its own

scorecard for each track and each

scorecard is broken into three

weighted sections: suspension and

handling (50%), motor (40%) and ergos

(10%). The scoring components in

each scorecard are different to suit the

criteria of that particular discipline.

The bike with the highest weighted

average score from all the testers is

the winner in the category. When

scoring each bike, the tester is

required to think like a 300cc two-

stroke rider. Weighting the scores

means personal things like ergos do

not count for much of the total.

Pick your weapon, folks, any weapon for the 2019 Taralga Hotel two-stroke debate

The

brains

trust

BEN GRABHAM

Age: 37

Build: Short middleweight

Current ride: 2019

Sherco 500SEF Factory

Preferred terrain: Trail

Speed: Fast, tough and crazy skills

OLLY MALONE

Age: 28

Build: Tall middleweight

Current ride: 2019 Gas

Gas EC300

Preferred terrain: Hard enduro

Speed: Fast trailrider

JARROD BEWLEY

Age: 33

Build: Light heavyweight

Current ride: 2004

Kawasaki KX250

Preferred terrain: Race track

Speed: Pro pace and fi t as hell

JOHN PAYTEN

Age: 32

Build: Heavyweight

Current ride: 2017 KTM

300EXC

Preferred terrain: Hard enduro

Speed: Extreme-enduro bullet

AARON VINCENT

Age: 31

Build: Featherweight

Current ride: 2017

Husqvarna TE300

Preferred terrain: Singletrack

Speed: Clubby with balls

2019 SHOOTOUT #5 | 300T ENDURO