Brilliance In Billet
Brilliance in Billet
VERTEMATI 2002
Uncommon Thumper
JIMMY LEWIS
REMEMBER THE VERTEMATI BROTHERS? NO? WELL, here’s a quick history to bring you up to speed. The Italian duo ran the Grand Prix motocross team for Husqvarna, then Husaberg, until they decided they could build better bikes themselves-which they did, handcrafting some seriously scrumptious berm-busters. Fairly unconventional, with bolted-together frames, non-primary forward kickstarting, three-speed transmissions, etc.
Sounds like a VOR, you say? That’s ’cause VOR purchased the rights to produce the Vertematis’ first Thumper. Apparently, the contract lacked a “no-compete” clause, though, because the boys are at it again.
Get a load of their C500 beauty for 2002. The C is for Cross (there are Enduro and Supermotard models coming) and it looks like something that just rolled out of a works transporter, right down to the billet engine covers. Cycle World got an opportunity to ride the first production 500 brought into the country by importer MX Imports (54 Hoag St., San Rafael, CA 94901; 415/457-2139). Sort of a shame to pitt scratches and scu Ills on such a piece of art but, hey, SOt11COflC had to.
The first thing that strikes YOU about the hike is how tiny it is. l'his is supposed to be a big Thumper, yet it looks and feels like a 125. 1'he steel perimeter frame, especially around the upper spars, where the gas tank normally would be, is excep tionally thin, with seat padding that rides all the way to the steering head! l.Jnderneatfi lurks an airbox, .......“.......the fuel tank taking up residence below the carbon-fiber seat base, utilizing a crankcase-pressure fuel pump to get gas to the carb.
Ratchet out the forward-kicking (but now primary-driven) kickstarter, and it’s child’s play to get this thing fired. The motor settles into a nice idle with lightning response from the throttle, even without an accelerator pump on the 38mm Dell’Orto. This is accompanied by a bark of intake noise from under the seat, but the exhaust note is nicely muffled through a trick Ti pipe, and the gear-mesh noises common to the VOR have been damped out.
For the U.S. market, even the Cross will have a six-speed gearbox. Our testbike was geared shorter than we’d like, prompting easy third-gear starts! Power was plentiful, even though our 500 wasn’t yet fully broken-in. Typically, these Singles take a good 10 hours to get up to optimum performance, so the top-end was tight and not as free-revving as it would have been had we kept the Vertemati for a few days. Regardless, there’s a very wide spread of power, similar to past VORs we’ve raved so much about, with maybe a bit more urge in the midrange. This is the kind of motor that loves long, flowing tracks and a rider who hates to shift. On SoCal's (lien Helen cir cuit, `here a Yammie 426 uses three gears, the Vertemati was happy to be left in one gear, fourth.
Claimed dry weight is 238 pounds, on par with the Yamaha, but definitely up on the new-wave four-strokes from KTM and Honda. Plus, the Vert feels heavier than it is maybe it’s the monstrous pull on the bars or all the rotating mass inside the gear-driven sohe motor. Word is that a slightly racier 450, quicker revving and lighter feeling, will be available, soon.
Overall, stability is really good, though the 500's front end didn’t want to stay down in rutted turns. But, boy, did
the bike flat-track though smooth corners! The works-type WP fork has extremely well controlled damping and is as consistent as you can get. The linkageless rear end is a bit stiff initially, but uses the rest of the stroke effectively.
This little teaser ride was just enough to entice us. The Vertematis have built a sexy showcase Thumper. And with tricked-out $9500 project YZ42ÓS about as common as cord wood these days, you could really stand out with a C500, same price. £
