Thunder Thumper

Thunder Thumper

Plight of the Underdog

"SO, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT racing the Husaberg at Daytona?" The voice on the other end of the phone line belongs to Chuck Sun, former 500cc national motocross champion currently working as Husaberg race team manager.

“Are we talking the Daytona Supercross or the Alligator Enduro?” I query.

“Roadrace!” he shoots back.

Long pause. “Well, we’d better gear for the moon, Mr. Sun,” I quip.

Puns aside, the high banks of Daytona can wring the guts out of any motorcycle, let alone a converted single-cylinder motocross bike. There are, however, several short courses on the AMA national roadrace calender, such as Loudon, the new Pikes Peak Speedway or, say...the season opener at Phoenix International Raceway is fairly close to home...

So began our plan to field a Husaberg FC600 in the inaugural round of the AMA’s new four-stroke formula class, Pro Thunder-basically a revived Battle of the Twins with Singles and Triples added.

Already a winner in SuperTT events, the bike in question was equipped with Husaberg’s factory supermotard parts. The $2500 kit consists of wide, 17inch wheels complete with hubs and spacers; a billet triple-clamp with 20mm-reduced offset; Brembo Goldline four-piston front-brake caliper, 320mm floating rotor and braided-steel line; and heavier-rate fork springs. For Phoenix, Pro Action shortened the front and rear suspension one inch, giving the bike an aggressive-looking stance. Team Husaberg crew chief Russ Fletcher treated the engine to a mild port job and a highercompression Wiseco piston. A Silent Sport exhaust pipe was installed along with a 16/42 PBI sprocket combination-the tallest we had. A final bit of roadrace prep involved spooning on a set of Michelin

250cc GP slicks in place of the treaded Pirelli MT60 Corsa radiais Sun uses for SuperTT events.

After only a few laps around the 1.5mile track during Friday practice, we knew our gearing was much too short. A 34-tooth rear sprocket was procured at Premier Motorsports, a local Husaberg/KTM dealership in north Phoenix. Didn’t know they made sprockets that small for motocrossers? They don’t, but shop owner Barry Noblitt used his lathe and drill press to make some ancient oddball street sprocket fit our application.

Back on track the following morning, the Husaberg’s midrange grunt still pulled well off the banked final turn, but now I had enough revs on top to carry me down the front straight.

The 21 -bike field was divided into two heat races, the results of which would set the start grid for Sunday’s 25-lap main. I was first to finish my heat...just not in first place. Starting from the third row, I had a killer launch going when the bike ahead of me violently swerved to avoid something. That something was a Triumph T509 sitting dead in the water, looking as though it could use a bump-start. WHAM! At 40 mph, my front wheel glanced off its rear, the sudden impact sending me into a handstand above the bars. I came down draped over the numberplate, nearly kissing the front tire as I wobbled to the sidelines and did a head plant.

We made our way back to Noblitt’s shop that night for some damage control. Using a soldering gun and one mutha of a buck knife, Barry welded up multiple cracks in the Husaberg’s plastic firel tank and front fender with plastic grafts shaved from a donor part. The front end was realigned via eyeball, and a host of other minor details addressed.

My heat-race DNF relegated me to the back row of the grid for the final. A top-10 finish had become the goal, catching ’em while their pants were still around their ankles the strategy. Prior to the race, Grand National Champion-tumed-roadracer Chris Canoffered me tips on the classic onehanded mile-track tuck. I was ready.

Elbows and spirits high, I bulldogged my way up into a seesaw battle over eighth place that lasted the duration of the race. Every time I managed to gain a position in the infield, it was quickly relinquished on the front straight. In the end, I crossed the finish line in 10th place-but what a blast I had mixing it with the faster, more exotic Twins and Triples.

Having always been one to root for the underdog, it was a bonus to learn afterward that the Phoenix crowd had been cheering for the ding-a-ling on the dirtbike. -Don Canet