The recent visit by former supermoto world champion Boris Chambon to the United States to take on some of the best supermotard riders we have to offer (such as Jeff Ward, Jeremy McGrath, Mike Metzger, etc.) was revealing for a few reasons. Although Chambon didn’t stick around to compete in the delayed final, his heat race and practice sessions revealed that he had the measure of the Americans.
He also ran a different set-up on his bike. Appearing to run full motocross suspension travel (while the Americans ran shortened forks and shocks), Chambon could hang with motocross gods like Ward and McGrath through the dirt sections, yet pull away from the Americans on the high speed straights aboard his factory KTM.
Indeed, Chambon’s KTM 450 had acceleration and top speed over the tuned, Honda 450s run by McGrath, Ward and Metzger. The difference? Probably, cam timing and ignition timing.
The Europeans have been at the supermotard game long enough to know that different powerbands work better at different tracks. Chambon raced in the United States at a track with a very high speed straight (more than 100 miles per hour), and his bike walked away from the American’s machines. The Americans, apparently, were running stock, motocross cams, while KTM is sophisticated enough to change cams (and change powerbands) from track-to-track, depending on the conditions (tight or high speed, or something in between).
Give it another year, and the Americans will set up their bikes optimally, and begin running the pace of the Europeans. For now, the Europeans have it figured out, and we don’t.
