WHY I SAID YES When CFMOTO came knocking with the keys to a 450MT and the idea of building it up for a genuine Romaniacs campaign, it was one of those offers that scared me before it excited me, which is usually the sign it should be a‘ yes’. The 450MT off the showroom floor is a genuinely capable adventure bike. But a showroom bike and a Romaniacs bike are two completely different animals, and there is a decent amount of work to do to bridge that gap. If it was going to be a dead stock bike, I’ m not sure I would have pushed play on this campaign.
THE BUILD Smash cut to an Akro exhaust with a proper race map to actually use the engine’ s character rather than fight it. A TFX suspension package front and rear, because soft adventure-bike suspension and Romania’ s rock gardens do not get along. SOS / Excel wheels with mousses in, because‘ always’. Insert a DNA air filter, full protection package, Moto footpegs, Renthal bars that I am used to, lock-on grips and Metzeler Medium / Soft Enduro tyres and presto; a 450MT that should be pretty competitive in the Adventure Core Class. Every part of that build has been about closing the gap between a good adventure bike and a bike that can survive four days of some of the harshest terrain in hard enduro. And I am lucky enough that the Authentic Spirit team in Romania will have all these mods dialled in before I even start the race. If we don’ t make it to the finish, it’ s unlikely to be the bike’ s fault.
96 KIWI RIDER