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into). It is effortless to just keep the gas hard on over most rough terrain. This is made easier still for a die-hard biker like me, with the change of the usual quad trigger throttle for a more conventional fast action twist grip. This helps throttle control immeasurably, enabling precise inputs to be metered by your wrist instead of a less rigid thumb flapping about on the end of your arm. On this machine there is also the thumb lever facility in addition to the twist grip. The bike was built especially for a continental 12-hour endurance race where one of the three riders was not accustomed to a bike-like throttle. A splitter box and both systems were used to ease machine switch over. The six ‘P’s, piss poor preparation equals piss poor performance, are an important set of rules to adhere to and, without doubt, the third and sixth ‘P’s are uppermost in the build of all the KIK team’s machines. Every part has been attended to, either by improving it with after-market items to save weight or polishing and cleaning it to help looks and maintenance. The huge Honda ‘Pro- Link’ swing-arm for instance glistens after hours of buffing (as do many other parts of this immaculate machine). A standard TRX450R is a great quad racer, of that fact there is no doubt, but this version is massively improved. The team riders who get this version are very lucky guys indeed. From front to back the set-up and finish is exemplary. Keith Knowles, the boss (and ex-quad racer himself) strips each one of the teams machine’s and then re-assembles them using only the very best parts VITAL STATS Engine: Liquid-cooled four-stroke single four-valve SOHC Unicam Akrapovic full titanium exhaust, tuning by SCT Capacity: 449cm Bore stroke: 96 x 62.1mm Compression ratio: 11.5:1 Power: 56bhp@ 9000min Torque: 38ft-lb @ 7000min Transmission: Five-speed wet clutch chain final drive Starter: Kick (with great conviction) Frame: Stock Honda steel cradle powder coated Suspension: Front: Independent double-wishbone fully adjustable PEP ZPL shocks, Houser long travel arms Rear: Pro-Link® fully adjustable single PEP ZPL shock Front brake: 174mm dual hydraulic discs with twin-piston calipers Rear brake: Single 190mm disc Front wheel: 20 x 6 x 10 knobbly Maxxis Razor radial Rear wheel: 18 x 10 x 8 knobbly Maxxis Razor radial Length: 1846mm Width: 1177mm Wheelbase: 1251mm Weight: 159kg Fuel capacity: 12 litres Colours: RRP: Contact: Red, black £5590 (HRC engine kit £346; add another £10k plus for the racer seen here) KIK quads Tel. 01200 441247 www.quadbikes-uk.co.uk NOVEMBER 05 67
alongside his years of knowledge amassed at top-level competition. The engine, based heavily on the power plant found in the awesome CRF450 motocross bike, was fast before but, with a little work, is now a fiery beast. It has a good spread of power from low down to high up in the rev range. All of this power comes at a price of course and the engines require regular stripdowns after every 12 hours of competition use. They are tough units though and usually nothing more than the valve set-up, and maybe a set of rings, is all that is required. But still better to be on the safe side and have a good look. While much work has clearly gone into the engine with specialist HRC parts, titanium Akrapovic exhaust system and work carried out by top tuning shop SCT, there has been an equal amount of development put into the chassis and suspension. Often overlooked in many machines, the frame and cycle parts of this racer literally shout out for a mention so good is their teamwork and competency. KIK start by junking most of the Honda running gear, keeping the steel tube chassis, swing-arm and the brake systems, but replacing everything else with the very best of after-market parts. This modded TRX is agile beyond belief; the suspension ensures this, allowing you to throw the big capacity quad around at will. Handling midcorner is helped by a lengthened rear axle, several inches wider than standard and the superb PEP ZPL (Zero Pre Load) shock keeps the rear wheels in contact with the dirt whenever possible. PEP have taken the off-road world by storm of late with their radical thinking on spring pre-load. Basically, they don’t employ any, and use three separate springs per shock instead of the usual one; any combination of these can then be used to get the suspension right for any terrain without affecting ride height. The complex array of arms that make up the front suspension are all Houser-made items, giving a longer travel and an increase in width, just like the lengthened rear axle, for greater cornering speed and stability. These are once again controlled by a pair of PEP shocks, the result is the easy going, tackle anything, ride you get on the TRX450R. With the wheels now in constant contact with the dirt, even the brakes work ridiculously well for an off-road race bike. On wet, slippery grass the anchors dig in and stop you. The Honda brakes provide tons of feel through the lever and bags of power when it matters. My opinion of quad riding has changed since riding the TRX450R. Don’t get me wrong, I was having a great time before, but now I have experienced the way things can be, when the set-up is correct, things will never be quite the same again. Where’s the start line? 68 NOVEMBER 05
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• SCOOTERS, BIKES & QUADS • CUS
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42 DAELIM NS125 DLX A solid and rel
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Put your writing on The Wall... Tha
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SCOOTERS QUADS 500QT-15 RETRO CLASS
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feel the force Bursting on to the s
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XTC125 £2,999 OTR RRP INSURED* FRO
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Page 20 and 21: MUSIC Arctic Monkeys - five minutes
Page 23 and 24: Easy rider CP gets his motor runnin
Page 25 and 26: gives the best getaway). This shows
Page 27 and 28: After the success of last year’s
Page 29 and 30: A marshal’s point of view Two rid
Page 31 and 32: Words and pics: Paul Robinson WHO D
Page 33 and 34: From its inception, the Madass alwa
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Page 37 and 38: Pics: Words and Joe Brown There’s
Page 39 and 40: A long time ago in a galaxy far, fa
Page 41 and 42: Mersea Island2005 Island 2005 With
Page 43 and 44: Daelim NS125 DLX Words: CP Pics: St
Page 45 and 46: Words and photos: Iggy More photos
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Page 51 and 52: BSSO SCOOTER RACING Words: Iggy Pic
Page 54 and 55: TEENAGE KICKS part 50ccSHOOTOUT 50c
Page 56 and 57: CP SAYS: Sitting at the upper end o
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Page 62 and 63: CP SAYS: The whole concept of the D
Page 64 and 65: CP SAYS: Almost in a league of its
Page 67: Honda TRX 450R race quad Words: CP
Page 72 and 73: VITAL STATS Top speed: 100mph Cruis
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