Backing it in

A Supermoto rider hits the road

Through the dirt

A KTM Supermoto

Supermoto (also called Supermotard due to its strong foothold in France) is a cross-over or evolution of motocross and road racing. Races are commonly held on road racing or medium sized go-kart tracks with an off-road section in the infield. Most supermoto race tracks are typically configured with approximately 70% tarmac and 30% dirt with small jumps but a dirt section is not required. The motorcycles used are frequently custom-created combinations of off-road motorcycles and road-racing rims/tires. Riders also wear a combination of road race and offroad equipment, normally leathers and a motocross helmet and boots. Unlike normal motorcycle racing, the emphasis lies on slower (<100 mph / <161 km/h), short and twisty tracks, where rider skill matters far more than outright machine performance. Image File history File links Supermoto2. ... Image File history File links Supermoto2. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2629x1673, 1016 KB) Summary Supermoto Rider. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2629x1673, 1016 KB) Summary Supermoto Rider. ... Image File history File links Supermoto3. ... Image File history File links Supermoto3. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 720 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (918 × 765 pixel, file size: 123 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) KTM 2000 SMC 625 I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 720 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (918 × 765 pixel, file size: 123 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) KTM 2000 SMC 625 I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Kronreif & Trunkenpolz, Mattighofen (KTM) is an Austrian motorcycle manufacturer. ... A rider using a berm to corner during a motocross race in Australia Motocross (often shortened to MX or MotoX) is a form of motorcycle sport or all-terrain vehicle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. ... Road racing can be a term involving road running, road bicycle races, or automobile races. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Off-roading. ... A close-up view of some freshly-laid tarmac. ... A scooter (left) and a cruiser Motorcycles have been produced in myriad different models for innumerable purposes. ... Modern leather-working tools Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. ... Miles per hour is a unit of speed, expressing the number of international miles covered per hour. ... Kilometre per hour (American spelling: kilometer per hour) is a unit of both speed (scalar) and velocity (vector). ...

History

Supermoto has its origins in the 1970s where ABC’s Wide World of Sports was the highest-rated sports show in the United States. In 1979, ABC commissioned a made-for-TV event to be included in the series, named Superbikers, whose intention was to find the ultimate all-around motorcycle racer. Superbikers was then manifested as a yearly event run at southern California's Carlsbad Raceway. The show's tarmac-and-dirt courses were intended to draw on talent from the worlds of off-road, flat-track and road-racing. World and National Championship-winning motorcycling greats such as Kenny Roberts and Jeff Ward, whose respective sports at the time were road-racing and motocross, participated in the races. The Superbikers quickly became a huge Nielsen rating contender, running until 1985, at which point ABC was forced to cancel the show due to new management and cuts; its cancellation also initiated a long sabbatical of the sport in the USA. The European racers who participated in the sport at Carlsbad, however, brought it back to Europe with them, where it quickly gained popularity in countries such as France. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... ABCs Wide World of Sports is a long-running sports anthology show on American television. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) operates television and radio networks in the United States and is also shown on basic cable in Canada. ... Kenny Roberts on the 500cc Yamaha Kenny Leroy Roberts (born December 31, 1951 in Modesto, California) is an American motorcycle dirt track and former World Champion road racer. ... Jeff Ward is the first motocross rider in history to win every major AMA national motocross title. ... When TV viewers or entertainment professionals in the United States mention ratings they are often referring to Nielsen Ratings, a system developed by Nielsen Media Research to determine the audience size and composition of television programming. ... This article is about the year. ...

2003 signalled the resurrection of the sport in the United States with the birth of the AMA Supermoto championship and with the ESPN X-Games Supermoto championship. Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... AMA Logo The American Motorcyclist Association is a U.S. organization of more than 280,000 motorcyclists that organizes numerous motorcycling activities and campaigns for motorcyclists legal rights. ...

Machines

Prior to the 1990s, supermoto bikes, including the precursor motorcycles used in Superbikers, were converted open-class two-stroke motocross or enduro bikes desired for their lightweight and jumping abilities. The motorcycles currently used for Supermoto racing are predominantly single-cylinder 4 stroke powered dirtbikes with 17" or 16.5" wheels. The 17" rims allow the use of up to 5.5" wide superbike road racing slicks. Slick tires are often hand grooved on the rear tire to facilitate slightly better acceleration on the dirt stretches of a supermoto course. Suspension is lowered and slightly stiffened in comparison with a stock dirt bike, and braking power is improved with oversize front brake rotors and calipers. Despite the lack of trees on supermoto courses, 'bark busters' (hand guards) are frequently added to supermoto bikes due the extreme cornering angles achieved by riders. Hand guards also greatly improve survivability of the brake & clutch levers during a fall making supermoto bikes highly crash resistant and often able to quickly re-enter the fray during a race following a crash. For the band, see 1990s (band). ... The four-stroke (4 Stroke) cycle of an internal combustion engine is the cycle most commonly used for automotive and industrial purposes today (cars and trucks, generators, etc). ... Up until the late 1960s, motorcycles came in three basic formats: Working Bikes: Generally below 250cc, low powered for the average working gentleman to get to work General Bikes: Generally below 500cc/650cc, as working bikes but as they had higher power could also be used for fun at... A wheel with a slick tire. ...

In 1991 Italian manufacturer Gilera released the 'Nordwest' model, the first factory produced supermoto. Other European manufactures quickly followed suit, among them KTM, Husqvarna, Husaberg AB and CCM Motorcycles; all manufacturers whose emphasis were off-road models at the time. Models were developed for both track and road use. It took another 10 years, until the mid 2000s for Japanese manufacturers, such as Yamaha (2004), Honda (2005) and Suzuki (2005) to start introducing supermoto models in the European market. Most of the supermoto bikes sold to the public are more domesticated models for road use rather than outright racing, for example the Suzuki DRZ400SM. Slower and heavier but rock solid dual-purpose motorcycles such as the Kawasaki KLR650 are good examples of this. In the spring of 2006, Italian bike manufacturer Ducati announced their entry in the class with the "Hypermotard" machine which has more in common with streetfighter-type motorcycles than realistically being considered a true supermoto bike capable of surviving jumps and crashes. KTM currently has available a 950 "V" twin that could be described as the ultimate road going Hypermoto, and a brand new (and well appreciated) the single cylinder KTM690SM. Aprilia also has two new (450 and 550) SXV v-twin track oriented supermotos for sale. Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... Gilera exhibit Gilera is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer. ... Kronreif & Trunkenpolz, Mattighofen (KTM) is an Austrian motorcycle manufacturer. ... Husqvarna is a manufacturer of power lawn equipment, sewing machines and formely mopeds. ... Husaberg is a former Swedish manufacturer of off-road motorcycles. ... Clews Competition Motorcycles or CCM for short, is a British motorcycle manufacturer based in Blackburn, England. ... The 2000s are the current decade, spanning from 2000 to 2009. ... Yamaha Motor Corporation (ヤマハ発動機株式会社) is a motorized vehicle-producing company, initially part of the Yamaha Corporation. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the Japanese motor corporation. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Suzuki Motor Corporation ) is a Japanese multinational corporation company producing a range of automobiles (especially Keicars and small SUVs), a full range of motorcycles, ATVs, outboard motors, wheelchairs, and a variety of other small combustion-powered engine products. ... The Kawasaki KLR650 is a dual-sport motorcycle intended for use on both paved and unpaved roads. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ducati Motor Holding is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer. ... The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ... An Aprilia RS125, model of 1998. ...

Due to the popularity, versatility, excitement and durability of these motorcycles, some owners modify them for street use. In order to do this, headlights, taillights, horn, mirrors and street-legal tires among other occasional modifications are needed. Some state motor vehicle departments take a dim view of turning off-road bikes into street legal bikes. In Europe most Supermotos are sold street legal from the factory and later tuned for race use. Supermoto type bikes make excellent city-goers as their upright seating position provides great visibility in traffic. Their narrow frames and light weight also make them incredibly maneuverable, as well as easier to ride in twisty or less than ideal road conditions that make most sportbikes have to slow down.

External Links

Supermoto at the Open Directory Project The Open Directory Project (ODP), also known as dmoz (from , its original domain name), is a multilingual open content directory of World Wide Web links owned by Netscape that is constructed and maintained by a community of volunteer editors. ...