Australasian Dirt Bike — June 2017

http://www.adbmag.com.au JUNE 2017| 89

onadirttrack.“Don’tblow itupon
me,” Tom warned. “It’s not geared for
thissortofstuff.”
My little 125, complete with
knobbies and motocrossgearing,was
probably never going tobother the
biggerbikes,but I’d still give it a red
hot crack. When it was my turn to go,
Iopened the throttleandcharged
towardsthefirstcorner. It’s timeto
seeifIcangetthis thingsliding.

GEOMETRY
My onlydirt-trackexperience was on
aspeedwaybikeunderthetutelageof
Crumphimself. As I tore down the
startstraight,Itriedtoremember
whatIhadlearnt.ButasIhitthe
corner,Ibecameawareofafew
notablethings.First,thisbikehad
brakesandgears.Aspeedwaybike
does not. Second, speedwaybikes
have completely different ergos and

geometry.Third,thisisnota

speedwaybike.

Fortunately,Iamadirtbikerider,

somynaturalinstinctwastohitthe

backbrakeanyway.Ifelttherearstep

out and allofasuddenIwassliding,

if only for a moment. This was a hell

ofaloteasierthantryingtoslidea

speedwaybike.

Both dirt trackand speedway

require commitment. To get thebike

sliding, you need to commit and hold

your speed right upto the entrance of

thecorner.

Down thebackstraight, I held the

little125flat. I was ringing the

thing’s neckandIfeltlikeIwas

hookingalongatadecentpace. But

then a mobof 450s came flyingpast.

The 125 had nothing left to give,but I

was stillhaving fun and that was the

aimofthegame.Ireturnedtothepits

andgaveTomhisbikeback.

Crumpywent out on his KTM

450SX-F and he wasn’t holdingback.

Although he maybeabetter

speedway rider than a dirt tracker, he

was arguablythefastestbloke out

there. “What do you reckon mate?” he

asked in his Aussie/British hybrid

accent. “DidIlookfastout there?”

By this stage, I had decided that I

want to give the 350 a run. Although

anendurobikeisn’t themost suitable

steedfordirttrack,the350was

probably going to have an easier time

carrying my frame than the 125.

Onceagain,IwasintheBlue class

and found myself against actual

dirt-trackracers.

The officialpointed at me and I

opened the throttle. The 125’spunch

off thebottom was missing,but as I

builtupspeed the torque tookover

andIfoundmyselfmovingalong

quite nicely. Then I hit the corner. I

I soon learnt

that this event

is the epitome

of “run what

you brung”

4

1

3

2

FUNDAYI SIDEWAYS SCRAMBLE, ACT

MAIN:Plucka (Tom) is late for filming

1.There were plentyofdress-ups

2.Look out, here comes the Spidey-gang

3. Dress code: neatcasual. Guardsoptional

4.Oi,ya idiot,you cut me off!