Luke Clout is no stranger to the top step of the podium. In fact, he’s no stranger to holding that championship cup aloft at the completion of a season. When it comes to bike setup and riding style, Clout has a distinctive way of doing things. Partly brought on by an extremely aggressive riding style, Clout’s suspension and overall bike setup is designed for someone who holds the throttle to the stopper, brakes at the very last minute, and then gets back on the throttle just as quick. And that hasn’t changed on his latest weapon, his Empire Kawasaki KX450.

I’ve had the pleasure of riding many of Luke’s factory racebikes over the years, from his championship winning Serco Yamaha YZ250F early in his senior career to his dominant CDR Yamaha YZ450F at the peak of his career. And now I’ve thrown a leg over his current steed, the Penrite Empire Kawasaki KX450. All the bikes have very similar traits and it is easy to figure out what Luke expects and needs from a bike. Some of the characteristics of the bikes have changed slightly over the years, such as handlebar height, but the general feel is always the same.

Let’s take a closer look at the #4 machine of Luke Clout.

RIDING RIDE PARK

The test of Luke’s green machine took place on the impressive Ride Park circuit situated near Bacchus Marsh, about 45 minutes west of Melbourne. Normally the track would be prepped, fluffed up, watered and looking good for the public on any given weekend of the year, but on my request Anthony and the track crew left the track rough, beat down and a little dry on purpose. In other words, very similar to how a national level ProMX track would look at the end of a race day. There is no use testing a bike of this calibre on a smooth and prepped track, as much as this is what I’m used to these days.

The track was filled with sharp-edge bumps, both in braking zones and acceleration zones, with all the ruts, ledges, hidden holes and pitfalls you would expect on a tough MX track. The scene was set and I was champing at the bit and ready to go.

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

Walking up to the #4 machine I couldn’t help but stop to admire this work of art. Long-time Aussie race technician Brad McAlpine plays an integral role at Empire Kawasaki, ensuring no stone is unturned when it comes to both the performance of the team’s racebikes along with their appearance; Clout’s Empire Kawasaki KX450 really is one of the cleanest and best-presented bikes in the paddock.

The first thing that catches the eye is how seamlessly the package comes together, from the ultra-clean looking Penrite Empire Kawasaki graphics by SPP that blend in perfectly with the ‘Guts’ Gripper seat cover, to the finer details such as the factory Dunlop tyres, Pro Circuit Ti6 exhaust system, and the 38 holes drilled into the bright green airbox cover for better airflow to the fire-breathing engine. The whole package demands your attention.

GRAB YOUR T-BARS

As mentioned, Luke Clout has always run a unique setup with his racebikes and in the past, whenever I’ve had the opportunity to test his bikes, I’ve always moved the ’bars and levers before doing my warm-up laps. Clout loves to run his handlebar quite low and rolled back towards him, but this time I decided to ride his bike exactly as-is.

As obscure as the setup felt to me, I wanted to try and get in the head of Clout and really feel this motorcycle as it was meant to be felt. I even tried to ride this bike a little more aggressively than I normally would, braking a little later and revving the engine out a tad more than I usually would on my 450. I knew that the #4’s engine and suspension had been developed for this style of riding and so it would no doubt be at its best when the pilot rode it that way.

OUT ON TRACK

There was no real time to tip-toe my way around Ride Park. The combination of a rough and ready track combined with a world-class rider’s suspension setup meant that anything less than a fast pace would make this bike feel like I was riding a BMX around Saddleback raceway in the 1980s.

I set off for my initial warm-up laps with my concentration and line choices locked in. Sure enough, there were some surprises as I completed my first lap and picked up the pace a little more. First up was the brilliant, smooth and potent engine package; not the type of power that rips your arms out of your sockets, but the type of power that comes on smooth and strong before building effortlessly all the way through the range. This engine would work anywhere, from the deep sand of WA to the rock hard clay at Appin in NSW.

The next thing I noticed was the balance of the suspension, which was mind blowing. The rear shock was like butter and soaked up everything on the tricky and technical ‘Ride Park circuit. In contrast, the fork was so firm that I felt every tiny bump on the track, to the point I almost thought the team had accidentally bolted on Clout’s supercross fork instead of the outdoor Factory Showa unit. The setup made sense only after chatting with race team technician Brad McAlpine, which I’ll explain later on in this review.

 

FAVOURITE THINGS

My favourite thing about Luke’s bike was the engine, although this was a tough choice because the rear shock is so bang on! Basically, the setup is exactly how I would have my engine and rear shock if I could build my dream bike.

The engine is comparable to the peak power made by both Jed Beaton’s Monster Energy CDR Yamaha and Kyle Webster’s Boost Mobile HRC Honda. Perhaps not quite the arm-wrenching midrange punch of Jed’s engine but certainly with the smooth roll-on torque of Webster’s engine. I’d really be splitting hairs trying to find a major difference between these three racebike engines, and there should be no surprises with that.

Clout has made a transition in recent years from being a 450 rider known to rev the engine a little too high in the rev range (much how a 250 four stroke would be ridden) to now riding a lot lower in the rev range most of the time; this is something that Luke and the teams he has ridden for over the years have worked a lot on. However, every now and then when things go pear shaped for Luke out on the racetrack, he will go back to revving the engine a little more. This made it important when developing this engine that it could be ridden low in the revs or high in the revs without any major repercussions, and from that point of view this engine is a major success.

The Showa A-Kit rear shock is the next best thing about Luke’s bike. When I first sat on the bike, before I even started it up, I pushed up and down on the fork and bounced a few times on the rear shock. The fork felt firm to push down on, but it was the shock that had my mind ticking over; it seriously felt like a supercross-spec rear end. I could only push it down about a quarter of its stroke and the rebound felt really quite slow and sticky. I was certain before I went out for my first ride that it would be the fork that felt reasonably plush and the shock that made me feel every bump on the track, but I was completely wrong.

I’m not sure how the team has achieved this but the shock soaked everything up with ease, from the small choppy bumps to the big holes and ledges. The massive takeoffs and landers to the huge jumps at Ride Park were a breeze on this bike. The rear end didn’t feel too firm and, sure enough, the rebound didn’t feel slow and sticky. It’s just an incredible package that handled everything I could throw at it.

The factory Dunlop tyres also deserve mention. It’s always special riding on factory Dunlop tyres and I’ve had this opportunity several times over the years on various racebikes such as those run by as Dean Ferris, Todd Waters, Jed Beaton and Kyle Webster. It goes without saying that the whole package comes together to the nth degree with these tyres, and this is certainly the case with the #4 Empire Kawasaki; the factory Dunlops have a way of giving traction where it doesn’t feel like there should be any. Of course the trade off is these tyres wear out quickly, which is why they aren’t available to the general public.

FORK ’N’ BAR

There were a few things I couldn’t get used to when riding Luke’s KX450. As much as I tried I just couldn’t gel with the fork setup. This is something the team has been working closely with Luke on – trying to get a slightly softer and plusher setting in the fork – but each time they give it a go, Luke says it is too soft and needs to be firmer under braking so the forks hold up more. When you watch Luke on race weekend it all makes sense; he rides so hard and brakes so late in turns that the front of the bike dips in the roughest part of the corner. This means that if he doesn’t have a very firm fork setup, especially in the first part of the stroke, it makes him feel like he’s going over the ’bar.

Aside from obviously being noticeably slower that Luke, I like to ease off the brakes a tad coming into a turn and try to let the front end ride a little higher to absorb the braking bumps. For this reason I just couldn’t get the fork to work for me. Even when I tried to charge in and brake later I couldn’t get the fork to sit in the nice part of the stroke… but it clearly works for Luke and is one of the distinctly different parts of his bike setup.

One thing that did pleasantly surprise me was the handlebar and lever set up. I had a lot of things going on during my first few rides of the bike and the fact that the rolled-back ’bar position and levers didn’t enter my mind once told me that I had gotten used to the setup really quickly. I actually found that the rolled-back ’bar seemed to complement the bike setup. The lower ’bar definitely helped in turns and I didn’t once feel cramped on the jumps. I even found myself crouching down into a Luke Clout seated position on a couple of occasions without even thinking about it.

VERDICT

Overall I was extremely impressed with Clout’s race machine and can easily see the direction he has gone in when developing his racebike. The highlight for me was the engine and rear shock, and I feel that with an hour or two of testing fork tune with Brad McAlpine, I’d have myself a dream setup. Luke’s fork setup is simply a byproduct of a gun racer and his unique way of tackling a motocross track.

Watch for the #4 Penrite Empire Kawasaki up the pointy end of the field at a track near you.

Specs

Cylinder Head: Empire Kawasaki spec

Cams: Empire Kawasaki

Spark Plug: NGK8

Clutch: Hinson Complete Kit

Ignition: Vortex custom

Airfilter: Unifilter

Gearing: 13:50

Chain: DID

Fuel: VP Roo

Bar: Pro Taper SX Race

Grips: Pro Taper Full Diamond Soft

Levers: Zeta

Brakes: Nissin

Suspension: Showa A-Kit

Tyres: Factory Dunlop

Exhaust: Pro Circuit

Oils: Penrite

Radiators: TSR Fabrication