Mx Injection

MX INJECTION

TALK ABOUT A TECHnological revolution! At the opening round of the 2006 All-Japan motocross series at Sugo, Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha entered fuel-injected versions of their current works models, two of which had never before been seen in public.

Yoshihide Fukudome raced an injected CRF450FM, which was kept undercover until the start of the race.

Even then, a carbon-fiber cover kept prying eyes from seeing too much. Fukudome was 11th in the first moto but suffered a nasty crash in the second and had to be stretchered off the track.

“It’s a new challenge,” admitted Honda team manager Kouichi Kawamura. “We’re currently fine-tuning the basic settings. Injection doesn’t really add more power, but combustion is more stable. And EFI can suit any weather condition.”

Suzuki’s Hiroshi Nakayama carded 18thand 1 Othplace finishes on the new RM-Z450.

“Right now, we’re collecting data, also from Europe and the U.S., from hardpack, mud and sand, so that we can offer optimum settings to future users of this bike,”

said Suzuki’s Minoru Kageyama. The system also will see duty on the RM-Z250, which is earmarked to receive an aluminum frame.

Yamaha’s injected YZ450FM debuted last year at the final round of the All-Japan MX series and, apparently, not much has changed since. It differs from the Honda and Suzuki in its use of a plastic, as opposed to aluminum, gas tank. Rider Taichi Kugimura posted 13thand 1 lth-place finishes, respectively.

That leaves Kawasaki. Engineers claim to be working on fuel-injected versions of the current KX250F and KX450F. Neither bike was present at Sugo, although factory riders Tomonori Nakamura and Tetsuya Mizoguchi placed higher overall than their EFIequipped counterparts. Maybe there’s still a future for the carburetor.

Laurent Benchana