DIRTBIKE

THE BACK END |FACTORY RIDE

CHAD REED’S YAMAHA YZ450F

RENTHAL TWIN WALL 998 HANDLEBAR

KYB SPRING FORK

LIGHT SPEED BASHPLATE

XTRIG HANDLEBAR CLAMPS

132 | APRIL 2016 http://www.adbmag.com.au

5

FIVE THINGS

YOU DIDN’T

KNOW ABOUT

CHAD REED’S

BIKE

1

The last time Chad Reed raced a

Yamaha was in 2008, when he won the

AMA Supercross title for the second time.

2

While there are other Yamaha-

mounted riders in the AMA, a Yamaha

factory team has been absent for some

years. Reed’s switch to Yamaha marks the

blue brand’s re-entry as a factory team

under the name Monster Energy/360fly/

Chaparral/Yamaha Factory Racing.

3

Chad says the stock Yamaha motor is

awesome, “it’s a tractor”. He says

there’s been some work done to it but

nothing crazy.

4

Reed has used the same tyres since

before the Monster Energy Cup In Las

Vegas, even in Australia. They are Dunlop

Geomax MX32s with 13 pounds in the front

and 11.5 pounds in the rear.

5

His subframe is cut a little bit lower

but the geometry is very close to

stock. The links are not longer than stock

or anything like that.

THE RIDER: CHAD REED

The bike I’m on now from the bike that we had for the

Monster Energy Cup [in October] is quite a bit different.

And we’re happy. We’ll chase a little bit here or there

but we’re happy with the bike so far. I need to work on

my starts a bit, although we figured out some things.

I don’t believe I’m close to the JGR Yamaha set-up,

I’m off on my own direction on the bike. A lot of times

you’ll leave a race and have this or that to work on but

we’re pretty set. We’ll try some things and it’s early but

I’m pretty happy with my Yamaha so far.

THE MECHANIC: SHANE DREW

(CHASSIS DEVELOPMENT)

He [Chad] definitely likes really stiff rear suspension

and although his front suspension is reasonably stiff,

I’ve seen other guys like Tomac who go way stiffer on

the front-end. But the rear is about the stiffest of any

rider I’ve worked with. We’re on KYB spring forks and

he tried the air stuff at first. Everyone thinks Chad

hates the air fork but he didn’t hate it, he just thinks

the spring fork is better. I think the KYB air stuff works

a little better than the components he had at Honda.

His ability to test is great, he’s a pretty damn good test

rider. If he’s struggling a bit, he can go off on his own

ideas. But when he’s on his game, he knows what he

wants. He’ll put in the time testing and be there all

day, every day if that’s what it takes. And he’s got a

great memory, he can remember what he ran in 2003.

He’s a pretty neutral guy as far as set-up is concerned.

Nothing really crazy. He runs his levers closer to the

fingers than other guys. Stock seat and super tacky

Renthal grips with a standard-width handlebar.

with Steve Matthes

TRUE BLUE BLOOD

1. KYB shock is set up very stiff
   to suit Reed’s riding style


2. Chad will only say ‘some work’
   has been done on the engine


3. Factory Effex somehow
   conjured up a graphics kit that
   included all the sponsors
   123

PHOTOS: SIMON CUDBY