WHEN WE RODE RICKY CARMICHAEL’S 2002 WORKS CR250R TWO-STROKE: THE WEEKLY FEED

For 2002, Ricky Carmichael made a controversial swap to Honda. Some followers initially turned away, however as quickly as he began profitable, Ricky was as standard as ever. Mid-season, Honda gave us the chance to trip the works CR250R two-stroke that Ricky used to seize the Supercross championship that yr. It had been on show on the Hard Rock Cafe since RC gained Vegas. We additionally received to select the brains of Honda teamsters Chad Watts and Erik Kehoe, mechanic and supervisor, respectively, for Team Universal Studios Honda. We received a glimpse into the preferences of RC and the way a lot totally different his indoor sled is from his out of doors bike.

No doubt about it, Ricky Carmichael’s swap to Team Honda paid off. Despite his first-round DNF and one other nasty get-off at Pontiac, RC had a stellar Supercross season, profitable 11 mains, 12 heats and his second 250cc indoor title. He’s began off the out of doors season in dominating vogue, too, profitable 10 motos in a row. Yep, Honda must be happy, profitable its first indoor title since McGrath did it in ’96. The break between Mt. Morris and Southwick, was our alternative to trip Carmichael’s championship bike.

“My very first lap on the Honda at my supercross track at home,” mentioned Carmichael, “I set my all-time lap record. The bike is so stable I could go faster without working as hard.”

“Ricky took the bike home to Georgia,” mentioned Chad Watts, “and when it came back the bars were rotated down, almost to the tank! The steering head is taller on the CR, so Ricky wanted the bars lower and further back. It’s funny, Ricky uses the #999 McGrath-bend bars, and McGrath uses the Ricky bend.”

Sebastian Tortelli was RC’s teammate in 2002.

It additionally appears RC is quite a bit like former Team Honda star Jean-Michel Bayle in that, as soon as he finds the setting that works, he sticks with it. “He may want a click here or there, but the basic setup doesn’t change from track to track, race to race,” says Chad.

As for us, we had a troublesome time even driving the #4 Honda at Glen Helen’s Supercross observe. According to check pilot Spud Walters. “It’s like riding the world’s fastest minibike. His bars and levers are so weird that it actually hurt my clutch finger after a few laps. Actually, if you rotated the bars to the “normal” place, the levers could be good for old-schoolers. As for suspension settings, RC is very like MC in that he likes his bike very low within the again and the fork stiff, which makes the bike really feel like a chopper. And what might be extra steady than a chopper?

Just as McGrath likes his shock to settle and keep put, Carmichael takes the thought to new extremes. Give the Carmichael bike the seat-push check, and it’ll transfer an inch then cease chilly. Press more durable, and it presses again, refusing to budge. Likewise, carry the rear fender, and the rear wheel comes off of the bottom. There’s a lot compression and rebound damping within the works Showa shock that it seems like The Dead Zone. When it settles, it’s like having solely six or seven inches of journey left, and it virtually bottoms on the faces of jumps. It works for Ricky, although. Up entrance, the fork isn’t almost as damped because the shock, but it surely’s fairly darned stiff. Spud by no means bottomed it, because the O-ring indicator confirmed we had a very good inch of journey left. There’s no spike or mid-stroke harshness of any kind, and the bike turns extraordinarily effectively, regardless of being arrange for Ricky’s back-it-in driving fashion. “Ricky steers with the throttle and his hips,” mentioned Watts.

One factor is for certain, RC’s motor is as quick as his chassis settings are bizarre. The manufacturing facility Honda Gieken Asaka engine places out some 56 horsepower, equal to a KX500. Response is instantaneous, though it’s a little bit wealthy off of the very backside. It comes on within the decrease midrange and builds energy extraordinarily shortly into an eye-watering, white-knuckle top-end. It’s like being shot out of a cannon. And why not? The HGA crank, particular gearbox, handmade pipe, digital ignition, cylinder, head, works Mikuni carb and Delta V-Force reed work effectively collectively and accommodate Ricky’s whiskey-throttle hand. We appeared for a titanium throttle cable or one the dimensions of a clutch cable. Nope, Chad simply retains a watch on the OEM unit. He does use heavy-duty clutch springs to assist the motor take care of Ricky’s zealous left hand, although. Reliability is large with the brand new CR250R mill. “We use the same motor for five races,” mentioned Watts. “We’ve received these actually killer metallic containers, and I Fed-X them forwards and backwards between races.

Chad and the staff change frames and swingarms each 5 races, then they swap out the parts to staff observe bikes, thereby saving the brand new manufacturing facility bits for the race bikes. To additional decrease the again of the bike, Chad additionally cuts down RC’s subframe and makes particular cuts to the seat foam. “HGA also sends us seats, so Ricky has a choice from track to track.” As for tires, RC can be set in his methods. “No matter what, RC wants a 756 rear. Fronts are either a 739 or the factory 742,” Chad mentioned.

HGA radiators enhance cooling capability over inventory, so RC by no means has to fret about overheating, even on the hottest out of doors races. RC has by no means misplaced some extent from a flat tire as a result of he runs bib mousses indoors and out. Nor does he like the broader 2.5-inch rear rim for hard-packed tracks. Also, though he runs a large 280mm entrance disc, a 240mm rear disc and works Nissin master-cylinders and calipers. He likes a nylon brake line as an alternative of the manufacturing facility braided-steel ones. It’s additionally very free on the lever, a lot in order that it smacked Spud’s hand below braking. Hinson offers staff baskets and stress plates. Chad not too long ago did a motor that had 11-12 hours of racing and observe on it, and the basket’s tangs have been simply beginning to groove.

Yep, the Honda guys are stoked. RC goes sooner than ever, and now he’s driving pink. Cliff White did his homework effectively in organising a machine that RC would love, and the staff has gelled behind its new star. “When anyone at Team Honda wins, everyone gets a bonus,” added Chad. How are you able to beat that? You have a man who’s simple on gear, devoted to coaching like no different, pushed to win all the things in sight (together with observe) and so humble he doesn’t even run his #1 plate. And, for those who assume Honda’s latest successes are all because of Ricky, take into account that Sebastian Tortelli is commonly the quickest man on the observe, as soon as RC units it on cruise management. Tortelli is on the identical machine as Ricky and has produced a few 1-2s for the staff, so a few of that pace must be the bike. And the staff behind it.

Spud Walters was the DB check rider for RC’s bike.

MOTOCROSS SET UP
How RC’s MX trip differs from the SX bike

Speeds are greater and so are the temperatures throughout the out of doors season. Long earlier than this MX season began, Team Honda was testing in earnest. The powerband needed to be moved up and made wider, suspension settings needed to be finalized, as did steering geometry and ergonomics. Here are the issues that have been performed in another way when constructing RC’s out of doors bikes.

• Fork: Lighter damping and spring charges, fork dropped in triple clamps for extra high-speed stability.
• Holeshot system: Removed for the concrete start-pads of the MX sequence, as RC desires as a lot rear-wheel traction as doable.
• Handlebars: Rotates them ahead a little bit for extra front-end traction.
• Engine: More top-end energy and over-rev via revised cylinder and ignition settings.
• Gearing: Where RC runs 14/53-56 in supercross, relying on the observe and soil, he runs 14/50-53 outside. The wheelbase varies barely relying on sprocket alternative.
• Shock: Lighter damping and spring, linkage unchanged. • Maintenance: Watts swaps engines each 4 races as an alternative of 5.

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