MWR | 2019 KX450 & HUSQVARNA INTRO AT BAKERS FACTORY

On Jun 21, 2018 Last updated Jun 25, 2018

#WHIPITWEDNESDAY

Rider: Zach Osborne
Bike: 2018 Husqvarna FC250
Lens: 300mm f/2.8
Focal length: 300mm
Exposure: 1/1250sec
F-stop: f/4
ISO: 2000
Photographer: Brian Converse

TWO-STROKE SPOTLIGHT: THOMAS EGGER COLLECTION

Talk about a collection. Who wishes this was their man cave.

“At first I have to say ‘Thank you!’ MXA for doing/making such a great magazine! I enjoy every single issue! I have followed you since my first MXA issue in 1990 when I was 17. As a privateer I raced the whole 1990s in the Austrian MX Nationals and did some offroad enduro races too. In 2014 I started to put my Moto-Life together and created a website of all pictures & videos I found from family and some friends since the mid-1970’s. I still update it with current ride days at www.motopark.at/gallery and I have made a few videos as well. On the website there are several two-stroke rebuilds I did since 2012.

“I started back in 2011 when I was looking for a CR500 to rebuild, but ended up 2012 with a 1991 KX500.
The nice story behind the KX500 is that is was my uncle’s KX in 1991. I raced and won my first ever race on it.
How did it come back? My uncle sold it to a floor guy in 1992 and he kept it. In 2012 the same guy, who was an old friend worked in our house and after 3 meetings and “some beer” he agreed to sell me the KX500 for €1.500,00.

Now, I’m in the closing stages of covering all Honda CR250R models in my ride-life (not every single year but model-type-style): (88-89) (90-91); (92-96); (97-99); (2000-2001) and (2002-2007). As you can see by my unfinished bike wall photo.” –Kind regards from Austria.

EDITOR’S NOTE:Please keep those submissions coming. If you would like your bike to be featured in the “Two-Stroke Spotlight,” please email me at [email protected]. All I ask is that you give a breakdown of your bike and a detailed description of the build. Please also send a few photos of your steed. By submitting your bike for the “Two-Stroke Spotlight,” you agree to release all ownership rights to the images and copy to MXA. Please don’t email me spam or try selling me Taylor Swift concert tickets or email me spam. I already celebrate T-Swizzle’s entire collective, and there will be “bad blood” if you send me junk mail. See what I did there? Happy submitting your smoker.

MOTOCROSS ACTION READER SURVEY: LET US KNOW WHO YOUR ARE

Make sure to take our detailed MXA Reader Survey so we can accommodate to you better.

MOTO | TRIVIA

Name the rider. Answer at bottom of page.

KURT CASELLI FOUNDATION DOFFO WINERY EVENT

Make sure to check out the Doffo Winery to support a good cause.

Press Release: The 5th Annual MotoDoffo event, An Evening with the Kurt Caselli Foundation, will take place on Saturday, June 23rd at Doffo Winery, 36083 Summitville Street, Temecula, California. The doors will open at 4:00pm and the event will go into the night with two trials show performances by Red Bull’s Geoff Aaron, a raffle and live auction, as well as a KCF presentation including the Fall 2018 Scholarship winner and AMA’s presentation of the Friend of AMA award. Please join us for an evening of friends, family and fun as we remember our hero Kurt Caselli and raise funds to Protect and Support the Lives of Off-road Riders.

An Evening with the Kurt Caselli Foundation:
Save $5 + Free KC66 Wine Glass with each Pre-Sale Ticket
Geoff Aaron Red Bull Trials Performance
Live Band
Great Food, Wine, Beer & Coffee
Limited Edition Kurt Caselli Wine & Beer; Special Packages Available
Raffle
Live Auction
KCF booth with KC66 apparel, hats, socks, stickers & more
On Display: The custom 2019 KTM 300 XC-W TPI KC66 Edition Giveaway Bike
More than 150 rare, vintage and unique motorcycles on display from MotoDoffo Vintage Motorcycle Collection and sponsors including Kurt’s race bike and rally bike

The Foundation has a $120,000 safety budget for 2018 in 3 major areas: Race Course & Safety, Rider Safety during events and Injury Management. Projects include: the addition of a Race Course Safety Advisor, the KCF Safety Kawasaki Mule donated with medical service devices to the GNCC series, supplying major off-road race series with over 200 KCF Caution Flags and over 300 high visibility KCF Safety Bibs to youth riders and much more. Learn more about the 2018 safety budget and projects on our website.

Get your $15 pre-sale tickets for An Evening with the Kurt Caselli Foundation now at www.KurtCaselli.com or click here. Only pre-sale tickets will receive a free KC66 wine glass upon entry. Must be present to redeem. Tickets are $20 on day of event.

An Evening with the Kurt Caselli Foundation Sponsors: KTM North America, FMF Racing, Red Bull, K&N Filters, Torco USA, District 37 & Doffo Winery.

WHAT THE MXA WRECKING CREW IS UP TO

Last week we got our hands on the electric start 2019 Kawasaki KX450 at Pala Raceway. The media had the track to themselves.

Kawasaki brought out the semi to make us feel like factory riders.

Monster Energy Kawasaki freestyle rider Axell Hodges was out making the new Kawi look good.

The King, Jeremy Mcgrath, had ridden the bike a few times before the launch. We used some of his setup tips on the new bike. The next day Jeremy drove up to Mammoth to race.

MXA chief test rider, Dennis Stapleton moves some earth with the 2019 Kawasaki KX450.

On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday of this week the MXA wrecking crew was in Florida for the 2019 Husqvarna intro at the Baker Factory, where the factory KTM and Husky riders train.

Prime Supercross tracks under the morning sunshine.
2019 Huskys for as far as the eye can see.
Zach Osborne graced us with his presence at the Husky intro. Zach is in recovery mode after his shoulder injury in Thunder Valley.

The man himself, training guru Alden Baker, showing us around his compound.

The Husky crew getting MXA‘s 2019 Husqvarna FC250 ready to ride.

Dennis Stapleton tearing up the Florida soil on the 2019 Husqvarna FC450.

Another shot of Dennis exploding a corner.

2018 SUPERCROSS REWIND WITH MALCOLM STEWART

AUTOGRAPH SIGNING AT ATLAS CYCLES THIS FRIDAY

Press Release: The parking will be in the lot same as last year (behind Sheets). The spectator line is covered from rain! Ben Bridges will kick things off around 4:00 p.m. with games and door prizes. Smoker and the Bandits will be set up with free BBQ sandwiches. GRIPP Energy will be on hand sampling drinks. Advance discounted tickets will be on sale until 7:00 p.m. Atlas Cycles T-Shirts will be on sale and radio station 99.3 “The X” will broadcast live.

RIDERS SCHEDULED TO APPEAR (subject to change )
Ken Roczen, Jeremy Martin, Chase Sexton, RJ Hampshire, Cameron Macadoo, Eli Tomac, Joey Savatgy, Austin Forkner, Garrett Marchbanks, Weston Peick, Justin Hill, Jimmy Decotis, Enzo Lopez, Justin Barcia, Alex Rhea, Aaron Plessinger, Dylan Ferrandis, Justin Cooper, Jimmy Barry, Jed Haines, Benjamin Lee and the possibility of Mike Brown lingers and more.
Riders will sign from 6pm-7pm.
Atlas Cycles
2377 Lee Hwy
Bristol, Virginia 24202

THEY SAID IT | HIGH POINT NATIONAL

Justin Hill: “High Point was gnarly. You could not go around a single section without your teeth rattling out of your head. It was not my style of track. It was less about technique and more about powering through everything. I feel like Muddy Creek will be more my style. Historically, I haven’t done well at High Point, so I am happy to get out of there with a top-five finish. I had a brake issue in the second moto, so I wasn’t able to catch up to fifth place, but I was running a decent pace. My first 450 National taught me that I have to make things happen right away. I didn’t get the holeshot in either moto, but I tried to make good moves and work toward the front.”

Justin Barcia: “All-in-all, it was a solid weekend. The first moto I struggled a little bit with arm pump fighting the rough track conditions. I felt like I could have had my bike a little bit better for the first moto, so between motos we made some good changes and I felt good about them heading into Moto 2. Unfortunately, going into the second corner I tagged somebody and bent my front brake rotor so I had no front brake the whole race, which was super challenging. That’s a really difficult track to ride without a front brake, with the deep ruts and all. To be back on the podium was definitely the goal. I definitelywas a little frustrated but it is what it is. We’ll take a podium on a bad day any day. The team worked really hard to get the bike ready for the second moto and I felt like it was a really good direction that we’ll take into Muddy Creek next weekend.”

Alex Ray: “Overall, it was a solid day. My goal for High Point was to put two consistent motos together. I know I can be better, I just need to eliminate the mistakes heading into my hometown race at Muddy Creek.”

Austin Forkner: “I was going to make it as hard as I could for guys to pass me in that second moto. I had pressure the whole moto from multiple guys and was able to keep it together. The track was really gnarly and the weather was tough being so hot and humid. It makes me feel like we can go to Tennessee, be aggressive and have a good weekend.”

Joey Savatgy: “The track was really gnarly and everyone was going fast so it was hard to make up a lot of ground when I didn’t get good starts,” said Savatgy. “In the second moto I was in a groove and was passing a lot of guys but made a mistake that ended up costing me a finish. We’re going to regroup this week and be back for Tennessee.”

Marvin Musquin: “The first moto I was really comfortable behind Eli and I was relaxed, but in the second moto I could tell Eli picked better lines, had a better rhythm and he was on it. It was really hard to duplicate the first moto, that’s all. That was my goal, but unfortunately, I came up short. Obviously in the first moto I had better lines and I was able to capitalize on that, but not in the second moto. I gave my best, I fought really hard and the crowd was going crazy all around the track and that’s what we want, we want a battle like that. I’m really proud of the effort I gave today. I’m happy to win the first moto – unfortunately I got second overall – but it was a great result and I showed good speed today.”

Phil Nicoletti: “This was my first round with the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory racing team. I think I prepared well coming into the race, but California tracks are nothing like the track here at High Point so I kind of had to relearn a few things and make some changes. I got taken out in the first turn of the first moto, then went down two more times after that. I ran up front for awhile in the second moto, but ran out of steam and ended up ninth in that moto and 11th overall. I’m ready for next weekend.”

Ken Roczen: “I kind of struggled with the track, especially in practice. I wasn’t really gelling with the new layout. As always, I went to the first start confident. I got a decent jump, but there was a big pileup in the first turn that I was involved with. I got run over, had bikes on top of me, and was basically at the bottom of the pile. Luckily nothing was hurt or wrong with the bike, so I just had to come from behind and made my way up to seventh. After the first moto, I came back in and just tried to get as much rest as possible before the second race. I told Oscar [Wirdeman] that I was going to get the holeshot and I did, so I was pretty stoked about that. I tried to run up front as long as possible, but I didn’t have it today and faded. I still finished third, which is good. I have to be okay with it, even though I’m a little bummed. The first start crash could’ve been worse, and I’m happy I was able to bounce back in the second race with a good start and be up front for a bit. I’m happy with fourth overall.”

Kyle Chisholm: “It’s definitely a bummer way for the weekend to go. I recovered well over the break and felt great coming into the day, but I just caught my toes on the outer edge of the rut and that was all she wrote. I wanted to get out there and represent sponsors but also am trying to have a big picture attitude this season. Thanks to everyone for the support.”

Eli Tomac: “Today]was good. I was able to get out front early so I didn’t have to deal with a lot of roost. This track always has a tendency to get rough, so it was good to make things easier on myself [by getting good starts],” explained Tomac. “The first moto was tough. I wasn’t as good as Marv [Musquin] in that one. I was fighting myself and wasn’t flowing. I regrouped and got closer [in Moto 2], but Marv was still all over me. I was just able to hold him off.”

Aaron Plessinger: “We had a really good day at Glen Helen, but then my bike didn’t really work well in Colorado. We did some testing during the off week and I think it showed today. We got some good starts and I was able to ride my own race. In the second moto I worked my way to the front and then something happened to Jeremy Martin’s bike, so we ended up with 1-1 finishes.”