Multitasking! Supermoto set-up on the CRF flat tracker.

So a few weeks back I promised that I would be more timely with my posts. Since I haven't made any updates in over two weeks, I'd have to say I broke that promise. Two reasons why I have been truant with my writing: the first one is that I am taking a Social Media for Business class at the local community college. I do it all online, but it requires me to write lots of blog posts and do a lot of online research. Ultimately it will help me do better with this blog and with all my social media works, but it does take my time. The second reason is that I have been very active on the weekends with Motorbike related fun. This post is about some of that fun and the results of having good friends in the motorcycle community. Have a read and enjoy!

Take a look at these beauties! A friend and flat track mentor of mine is putting together another framer race bike. Those can take a bit of cash to complete so he decided to sell off a some of his parts stash to help out with the funding. One of the times we chatted at his house, I was drooling over his supermoto set up he had. Knowing I wanted to get a set of real sumo tires & wheels one day, he offered them to me at a price that even my wife was excited about. I picked them up after raiding my savings account and brought them back to the shop to marvel over. I couldn't wait to fit them up!

These shots are to show you what I have. They will also explain some of the challenges I had fitting  up the wheels. The hubs are Talon hubs in a great looking gold anodized color. The rims are Excel rims. The front is a pretty standard 17" x 3.50" size that will let me have pretty unlimited choices in tires. The rear is a 17" x 5.50" monster that has a seriously wide tire on it! The tires are Bridgestone race slicks that are prominently marked "For Racing Purposes Only" and have plenty of life left in them for my skill level. The hubs are in excellent shape. The rims show your standard signs of  tires changes and track use. The super wide rear also has a bit of chain rub that left some marks in the rim lip on the left side of the wheel. Nothing to worry about as far as strength goes, but they are not as pretty as they could be. The front rim is black and the rear is lightly polished aluminum.

The front end swap was pretty straightforward. I swapped the stock brake disc over to the supermoto wheel set easily enough. The size and weight difference between the sumo tire and the flat track tire wasn't big. The brake disc-to-wheel diameter ratio should improve the braking performance some, I hope. The flat track tire had more room to get my hand tools into the spokes than the sumo wheel did however. I was able to get thing tightened up with my box end wrench and socket without scratching the rim or hub or even better busting my knuckles any. Can't beat walking away from a project like this with intact skin and no blood loss! 

The rear end swap was a bit more involved than the front. Mostly it is because the rear end setup is so ridiculously wide! In order to fit the wide tire on the bike, the hub has been offset to the sprocket side of the wheel. I also have a spacer to move the sprocket out a few millimeters more. I had to flip the counter shaft sprocket on the engine around to use the small protrusion on the sprocket to space the chain out wide enough to avoid major chewing of the tire. Getting the big tire into the swing arm also required some finesse. I had to remove the chain guide under the swing arm and weave the rear brake caliper mount into the rim in a specific way. It took a few tries, but I was able to get it all together and get the chain aligned. I adjusted the chain tension and gave it a quick spin around my cul-de-sac. Everything seemed ready to rock.

Once I had the bike back on two wheels, I gave it a good bath and let it dry in the sun. I couldn't help but take few glamour shots of the bike in supermoto form. The slicks just look so mean when paired with with the bike's lowered flat track suspension. I especially like the black and gold combo of the front wheel. After I burn through these tires, I may replace the rear rim with a slightly smaller one and get it in black when I do to match the front set. I only have some slight rubbing of my fork protectors on the edge of the front tire. The melted sides of the front slick grad the left side fork protector and make it pop back and forth in the forks. I think I'll squeeze the protector together with a zip tie to keep it out of the way. Maybe the heat gun will get employed if that doesn't work.

So there you have it. A great deal from a good buddy combined with the the super flexible platform of my CRF450 makes for an awesome project. I absolutely can't wait to get out to Adams Motorsports Park of Apex Racing Center to try these out. I will have to be careful to get the tires nice and hot since I don't have tire warmers. These racing slicks are particular about temperature. If you have some outdoor, asphalt, go-kart tracks near you, see if they will allow bikes out on track. For about $40 you should be able to get some extra fun track time with all of the adrenaline of a big track and a lot lower chance major damage if something goes wrong. Stay safe friends and get out and ride!

Blue