ASK DR PHIL:

HOTTING UP KAWASAKI'S KLX250S

Hi Dr Phil: I'm the happy owner of a 2010 Kawasaki KLX250S and I'm looking at improving the power delivery. When reading the full maintenance manual (for the US, Canada and Australia models), I'm surprised to see the US model has 50 per cent more power than the Aussie model (in stock form). Not sure if ADR compliance is behind this? Regarding improving air flow, I understand some people replace the stock snorkel with a KDX200 high-flow snorkel, others remove the air snorkel altogether and others remove the full air box cover (including the snorkel). Do you have a view on what is best for the bike? I'm also intending to replace the carby slide or fill up the holes in the stock slide. Is filling up good enough or would you advise to buy a new slide? I always use the bike in off-road conditions and it is a relatively elevated area (the southern highlands in NSW). Many thanks and keep up the good work!

-- Rod via www.trailzone.com.au

Thanks for your email, Rod. I’m stunned by your suggestion that the power spec is 50 per cent different! But I’m sure you checked it many times once you’d noted that. And if indeed it is true, then, YES, you can be sure that Australian ADR requirements was the reason. The best advice I’ve got for you is contact the TRAIL ZONE office on (02) 9905 9663 and have Tania send you back issue number 29. It had a story in there on a really trick KLX250S that a mate of ours that works at Kawasaki Australia built. His name is Tony Jacinska (pictured) and he knows the KLX250S inside-out. It’s an awesome read as he'd put a 300cc kit into his bike and it did go really well. But be warned ... for the sort of money YOU’D have to spend for the same work, you’d be crazy not to just buy something like a WR250F or Honda CRF250X or of KTM 250 EXC-F or Husky TE250. Think long and hard before spending too much cash! Best of luck with it.

-- Dr Phil, www.trailzone.com.au

CHECK IT OUT:

WONKA SCORES THE TROPHY OF THE YEAR?!

Check this out: word is just in from the steamy tropical reaches of the Top End of the Northern Territory that the annual Kamfari swamp race has just been run and won over the weekend.

Turns out that Motorex KTM Off-Road race team boss Brad 'Wonka' Williscroft emerged victorious, in what was a thrilling all the way to the chequered flag duel with Yamaha-mounted Victorian off-road hero, Jehi Willis.

Sounds like the boys had a real ding-dong battle through the swamps and mud flats of the Kamfari course outside Darwin, and for his efforts, Wonka scored what has to rank as the first place trophy of the year ... now that's horny!

(Photo courtesy www.advrider.com)

PRESS RELEASE:

HONDA ANNOUNCES DEALER OF THE YEAR

Honda Australia's National Dealer of the Year Award for 2010 has been awarded to Victoria's Freestyle Honda.

The winner, along with seven state winners, was announced during the 2011 dealer trip which took place in Beijing, China earlier this month. Honda Australia's Dealer of the Year Awards reward excellence in dealership management and customer service.

Honda understands the importance of rewarding those who have particularly excelled, as a company it also appreciates the vital role dealerships play in directly reaching out to customers and listening and responding to their needs.

The state winners of Honda's Dealer of the Year Awards include:

New South Wales: Hawksbury Honda

Queensland: Rising Sun Honda

Victoria: Freestyle Honda

Tasmania: Circular Head Motorcycles

South Australia: Honda World

Western Australia: The Honda Shop

Northern Territory: Desert Edge Motorcycles

A rigorous performance review is undertaken on all of Honda Australia's dealerships over a 12 month period in order to calculate the winners.

Tony Hinton, Honda's General Manger of Motorcycles was lucky enough to present the awards in China this month. He recognizes that the dealerships are vital in upholding the Honda Philosophy in the marketplace.

"Honda Australia is proud of all of its dealers and particularly of those who strived for higher levels of excellence," he said.

Honda Australia would like to extend their congratulations to all Dealer of the Year Award winners.

PRESS RELEASE:

KTM LAUNCHES 'SILENCE' AKRAPOVIC BONUS OFFER

KTM Australia is teaming up with renowned sports exhaust manufacturer Akrapovic to release their latest promotion on the 2011 EXC model range.

Right now when you purchase a new 2011 EXC model you will receive a SXS titanium Akrapovic factory silencer for free.

Both the two and four-stroke silencers are made from the finest titanium and carbon-fibre and were developed in conjunction with the KTM factory enduro racing team. Each of the silencers improves performance on the track with lower weight, maximum top-end and the perfect torque gradient. Both silencers can also be maintained with re-packing kits available.

The promotion extends to the award winning 2011 EXC two-stroke range including the 200, 250 and 300 EXC. Also included is the championship winning 2011 EXC four-stroke range including the 250 EXC-F, 400, 450 and 530 EXC.

The Akrapovic two-stroke silencer has a RRP of $1,188 and the four-stroke silencer a RRP of $1,218. The promotion begins April 15, 2011 and runs while stocks last.

For more information visit www.ktm.com.au or visit your nearest KTM dealer to take advantage of the SILENCE promotion.

TRAIL BOSS BLOG:

THE SMELL OF PREMIX IN THE AIR ... IN THE WORLD ENDURO CHAMPS!

The 2011 Maxxis FIM World Enduro Championship has fired into life in recent weeks with back-to-back events in Spain and Portugal.

In the E1 class, Husqvarna is celebrating the efforts of Juha Salminen, who is atop the points standings after four days of competition, leading Ereo Remes (KTM) and Rodrig Thain (Honda).

In the E2 division, the much heralded arrival of KTM's new fuel-injected 350 EXC-F thumper didn't quite go to plan at the series kick-off in Spain, with KTM team leader Johnny Aubert sidelined by mechanical hiccups on the new bike and leaving the two days of competiton with zero points.

So Team Husqvarna rider Antoine Meo made hay while the sun shone and ripped off two bigs wins in Spain, then backed it up with more strong results in Portugal to now sit atop the world title standings ahead of Pierre Alexandre Renet (Husaberg) and Ivan Cervantes (Gas Gas).

Aubert meanwhile fired back to top form at the second event in Portugal, ripping off back-to-back round wins and now sits seventh in the championship with a lot of ground to make up.

In the big-bore E3 class, Mika Ahola has stepped up to the heavyweight division with Honda and holds the championship lead aboard his CRF, but he's making a lonely stand for the thumpers in the class.

Save for Team KTM's David Knight who is eighth in the title chase (after DNFing the first event with a hip injury), all the other bikes in the top-10 of the E3 class are two-strokes. That's right, the smell of premix lives on in the World Enduro Championships!

Gas Gas rider Christophe Nambotin and Husaberg team rider Joakim Ljunggren (pictured) hold down second and third in the E3 battle and both are on big-banger strokers and are aiming to take the fight up to Ahola's four-stroke all season long.

Another 12 rounds in six countries of World Enduro Championship competition continues.

-- Clubby, www.trailzone.com.au

INVITATION:

DAKAR RALLY WORKSHOPS IN AUSTRALIA WITH CHRIS EVANS

Have you ever dreamed of racing the Dakar Rally? Yeah, that's a loaded question: because we've all dreamed of doing it!

But if you're actually even halfway serious about making that dream a reality, then you have to take note of this message we just received from Aussie Dakar racer, Mark Davidson:

Hi Clubby: Please find attached a flyer outlining a series of Dakar Rally workshops facilitated by Chris Evans. Chris is the UK and Australian representative for ASO (organisers for the Dakar Rally) he has been Cyril Despres’ team manager for the past three years and has been involved in the last 14 Dakars. The purpose of his visit to Australia next month is to help those who are thinking of competing in the Dakar hit the ground running and maximise their potential. He will be holding two workshops: one in Sydney on May 14 and the other in Perth a week later on May 21, 2011. The workshops are free but numbers are limited. Justin Hunt of the Australasian Safari has been kind enough to lend us his database to help get the word out, but I’m concerned we may not reach everybody who is thinking about running in Dakar. So could you please please place this information on your web site?

-- Mark Davidson, via www.trailzone.com.au

No worries, Mark, can do!

So there you go all you Dakar dreamers: get along to a Dakar workshop near you next month and start to turn your Dakar dreams into reality!

TRAIL BOSS BLOG:

DAKAR CHAMP FLIES HIGH WITH FMX HERO

What happens when Dakar Rally champ Marc Coma hooks up with American freestyle MX gun Ronnie Renner?

You get some impressive aerial antics ... at least from a bloke on a 450cc rally bike who is normally best known for belting through the countryside at 170kmh with both wheels firmly planted on the ground!

Check out this photo of Coma and Renner getting big-air together, after they recently hooked up in the Arab Gulf states of the middle east.

Their free-ride session came just days after Coma had won the annual Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, and saw the Spanish ace take on a few tips from his fellow Team KTM rider.

Clearly Coma put Renner's tips to good use ... and how!

-- Clubby, www.trailzone.com.au