Copypaste Dave Mossin FB:stä:
With the Moto America event coming shortly to Sonoma Raceway (Sears Point) and AFM being the exhibition class, there's a lot of excitement on the West Coast for the 450 riders.
Thanks again to WMRRA for giving me 2 minutes at their Ridge race event to stir up interest in the concept and the Moto America event.
For those that want a snap shot, it is a fully functioning 600 engine that is mapped as such. Generally the harness connections to the fuel injectors are disconnected (#3 cylinder is common) and "dummy" injectors harvested from another air box and throttle body are filled with brake fluid, capped and installed into the open connectors to avoid limp mode and error codes.
For those with an R6 from 2006 to current you can get a harness from Marcus Zarra that eliminates the shower injector in the airbox (mzarra@mac.com)
Others choose to use a switch under the seat.
Where did this concept come from? The nation of tinkerers, New Zealand. The idea is aimed squarely at families as there is nothing between a 300 and 600 and the power differences are huge.
A 300 puts out 30-40bhp depending on build, a 450 puts of 65-85 and a base 600 is 110. Nice steady jumps in power, one bike for the family to buy and one bike for the rider to learn over many years. Steady progressions, consistent learning, less risk.
As always with the cool toys, the adults borrow them frequently so AFM has now seen almost 40 of the 450's over the last 4 years. Everyone that has ridden one has built one. The concept is spreading all over the West Coast rapidly, so I am hoping that we get some road trains heading to Sonoma to join the Club 450 compound behind the grandstands.
The tinkering Kiwi's have perfected a counter weight to remove the piston and rod (illegal in the US) and that has now become part of their National series. They see 90bhp+ on their bikes.
Longevity? With a standard 600 motor, over 120 days at the track on one engine, no failures.
Oh yes, how fast can the 450's go? The top 5 riders could have qualified for the National 600 class at this event a couple of years ago. We will see if that is possible in August.
There are a host of cheap 600's from 04-06 out there for next to nothing. If you want to go to the track, start with this concept. You will quickly learn why you actually are braking far too hard, how much corner speed you can carry and why a modern 600 chassi is a far better choice than a 650/700 chassis.