Stefan Granquist – Triumph Australia TF 250-X – Team Manager/Owner/Rider

“Some of the biggest changes I made were around gearing. I played around a lot to try and get the bike to pull the best out of corners. Right now, I’m running 14/50 gearing, which means I can use second gear and carry it from corner to corner, as long as it’s not too far. That gearing has been a big thing.

It’s got a Rekluse Torque Drive Clutch – still a manual clutch, just a high-performance version. It makes the clutch feel lighter thanks to the stainless-steel sleeves on the basket and adds an extra clutch plate, which helps with drive.

It’s running a FunnelWeb air filter, MSC throttle housing and a bunch of CNC-machined parts that don’t break. Renthal ’bar and the new lock-on grips, also from Renthal. The seat is a One Gripper seat cover with tall foam because I’m a bit taller. Metzeler tyres.

And suspension – I’ve done it myself. The shock is still stock, I just added a firmer spring for my weight. I think it’s around a 6.0, but I’d have to double-check that. For the fork, it has stock springs, but I softened the compression valving because it felt too harsh in the bush. Time’s been a bit limited, but I plan to do more and find the right person to work with on suspension.

The engine is completely stock. Even running the stock map. I put an Akrapovič pipe on it a week or so ago and found it was slower with the stock mapping. I’ve since ordered the Wi-Fi module so I can tune it properly, but I didn’t have it in time for last weekend’s race, so I just ran the stock setup again.

I’ll go back to the Akro and change the map to suit. I’ve also spoken to the guys at A1 about possibly getting a GET ECU in there, and they’ve talked about helping out with some custom mapping once we get it. That’s all still in the pipeline.

It’s running Parts by Sweden rear sprockets and a Fracture Brembo front brake caliper, just left over from previous racing days.

The deal got started at the ADB 250 shootout we did last year. At the time, we didn’t have a ride and were talking to different manufacturers over the previous six to 12 months. Then we got in contact with Triumph, and after about a month of discussions, we came up with a deal.

We’re directly supported by Triumph through the local dealership, Bryson’s Motorcycles in Newcastle. I guess you could say we’re the official off-road effort at the moment – we’re the only ones – but we’re definitely not a factory team. Triumph doesn’t want us to call it that either, but they do aim to head in that direction eventually. Right now, I’d say we’re officially supported riders.

The Triumph enduro models are here now. The plan is to ride them first and then go from there. We’ve spoken with Triumph about how we’d go about the switch, and I think they’d like us to be on them as well. But nothing’s set in stone yet. We’ll see how they feel first.

I’ve always leaned towards being a smoother, more calculated rider. More of a torque-type guy. I’ve been on bigger bikes the last few years, so I tried to carry that same feel to the 250. But I realised pretty quickly that wasn’t going to cut it – the 250 just isn’t fast enough if you ride it that way.

So I’ve had to be more aggressive on the bike, but I’ve still tried to set it up for more grunt and bottom-end pull. That’s why I’ve been fiddling with the gearing, to make second gear more usable. Third isn’t as strong, so I’ve geared it so I can stay in second and really use it everywhere”.

5 Things we didn’t know

  • Stefan is half Swedish and lived there for the first part of his life and frequently goes back
  • His dad is the legendary Pelle Granqust
  • He is engaged to Emelie
  • He snapped his collarbone at the latest round of AEC
  • He is a carpenter by trade