We take a close look at Blake Baggett's 2015 Suzuki RM-Z450
Blake Bagett’s 2015 Suzuki RM-Z450
THE RIDER: BLAKE BAGGETT
The main thing we concentrated on with the bike was to fit the controls and cockpit for a short guy like me. We got everything kind of bunched up for me and keeping it low so I feel comfortable on it. Basically, the ’bars are back, the seat is cut and the pegs are raised, typical things you do for a short guy. We are changing things a little every weekend, though. It’s kind of a work in progress.
THE MECHANIC: BRANDON ANDERSON
Just like any rookie coming into the 450 class, it takes time to gel with the power and the ergonomics. Blake’s strengths are corners, so getting everything else up to his strength and keeping his strength was a priority. That sounds like a roundabout answer, but having a set-up that fits all – we’ve got to have him doing whoops, too, we can’t have him just blazingly fast in corners, so having him sitting on top of whoops, and driving as he should into the face of things, just making sure we’re balanced.
THE TEAM MANAGER: MIKE WEBB
We were lucky to get Blake, he’s a good rider and, with the situation with James [Stewart], we’re down to one rider. Concerning Blake, a lot of the focus was him getting used to the bigger bike. The weight, the power, the inertia, you put it all together and it adds up. And where James wanted a certain power, maybe more rideable, Blake wanted it more radical, but we hit a really good combo that Blake is happy with.
FIVE THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT BLAKE’S RM-Z450
• Blake Baggett runs his suspension softer than James Stewart.
• Baggett runs a bit of flywheel weight to smooth out the power delivery.
• The brake rotors are works units.
• The Yoshimura exhaust system is full titanium with a carbon fibre muffler.
• The triple clamps are works units and, according to mechanic Brandon Anderson, are constantly changing in material makeup and configuration.
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