DIRTBIKE

over the past couple of years I must say that
thisbike doesn’t comparein peak horsepower
toaKirkGibbs’ Motorex KTM, a Matt Moss
Motul Suzuki or a Dan Reardon CDR Yamaha
andisnowherenearthefastest bikeIhave
ridden in recent years, Jay Marmont’s 2014
CRF45 0 R supercrosser,for example.
But a bike with that typeofpunch would
almost ripFaith’s arms out of their sockets. It
may seem difficult to compare a 250 with a
450 but when comparingDecotis’ 250 with
Faith’s 450you have two engines that are
almost a carbon copyof each other. Just one
hasmore cubes.
Both engines have enormous amounts of
torque, flowinginto a smooth and strong
mid-range with verylittle top-end over rev.
Withoutgoinginto exact horsepower readings
itisfair to say that Decotis’CRF 250 R puts
out somewhere in the low 40 horsepower
range while Faith’s 45 0 reaches right up close

to 60hp. Both motors have had a lot of

thought put into their development and make

riding seem easier thanitquite often does on

otherbikes.

SUSPENSION

Here is where we get some differences in bike

setupbetween the two riders. Mytime on

Faith’s bike (keepin mind his Arenacross

background)proved that his suspension was a

tad different to his smooth motorpackage.

The suspension had been set up to reward

aggression and loved beingpushed hard into

the face ofjumps. And as I wasquickly

remembering, supercross suspension allows

you to over-jumplandingramps to touch down

wayout on the flat with ease.

The suspension on Faith’s bike was

noticeablyfirmer than that ofDecotis, while

the riding position was more stretched out.

The handlebar on Decotis’ bike was cut down

to be quite narrow while Faith’s was stock

length andfelt extremely comfortable.

To be honest, I could go and race Faith’s

450 with no changes to the ’bar, suspension

or chassis. The onlychange I would make

would be to add a bit more mumbo to the

top-end.

ERGOS

The main thingyou need to consider with

these two riders is that one is possibly one of

the shortest top-level riders on theplanet,

while the other isquite the opposite.

Faith is tall, with longlegs, arms and torso,

while Decotis has short legs, short arms and a

short torso. The different body types callfor

quite different bike set-ups.

Faith’s bike has a wide handlebar that is

positioned further forward. Everything feels

spaced out and positioned nicely on Faith’s

bike with plenty of room to move around.

With Decotis’ 250 and Faith’s 450

you have two engines that are almost

carbon copies of each other

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