Damien Koppe tells us of his trip to Bathurst to race a Long Track Beta RX300 and why it’s one of two must do races.
While out at our local flat track circuit practicing on my KTM 450 SX-F, Tony Taylor, the salesman at local bike shop Burdekin Motorcycles, started chatting. A few beers later he offered me a ride on the Beta RX300 he had with him, a stock bike with a trials tyre on the rear. The last two-stroke I had ridden on a track was a 2004 RM125, wow have they changed! For the rest of the day I did not give the bike back, and I was sold, this bike was awesome.
Weeks later, the Bathurst Longtrack entries opened and Tony asked if I wanted to ride his bike. I jumped at the opportunity! I only attend two meetings a year, Bathurst and the Mackay Grasstree Beach races they are a must have in the diary. Bathurst is known as being one of the last great Showground tracks and pulls a lot of top level riders. The track is around 800m around, while the Beach races are 750m long (1500m loops) and I just love going fast.
The shop has a dyno and a tuning shop and I joked that everyone ran the fancy downpipes on flat track bikes. A week later the shop had put on a new FMF system, played with the squish in the head and made the bike run on methanol. Dave at the shop said it was pulling similar dyno numbers as a standard YZF450!
We did some practice starts just prior to heading off, then packed the bikes. We had limited time for any testing, so it was going to be a trial by fire. From Townsville, it’s 22 hours of driving to Bathurst. My old man and I did the huge stint there and back non-stop.
We entered the Two Stroke Unlimited Class but being a 300 it was the baby of the group. Most bikes within this class were big-bores from yesteryear. Honda CR500s’ bulked out the class, so the little Beta had some strong competition. I was unsure how it would fare, thinking I was going to need cunning and run it tight on the corners to gain whatever advantage I could get.
Dave, owner of Burdekin Motorcycles, came down for Bathurst as well. After our first practice laps we pulled the plug and checked over the bike. Smoke was pouring out the stinger, the expansion chamber was bluing up and the plug was white. Dad said “looks pretty lean to me”. Dave made the call and handed him two main jets from his pocket so we used the bigger one of the two and after the second practice we checked the plug again and it looked good.
The bike basically had standard suspension, stock geometry and stock gearing. With only limited options gearing wise, the only change we could make was to change the front sprocket up one to 15/48 (14/48 is standard). In retrospect we could have run stock gearing as we rarely went beyond 4/5th gear on the track. The motor felt really torquey and third gear starts were possible even with the 15t gearing and I ended up using second gear starts in the finals then snapping third quickly.
The Beta felt like riding a MTB with an engine, it was so light and nimble. Even with the speed of the track doing 130km/h you can stand on the brakes and turn or change lines mid corner.
Compared to my KTM 450 SX, which pushes hard on the front, the Beta felt better geometrically in terms of flick ability and turning on a sixpence. I could change lines mid-corner, it felt very easy and nimble. The torque of the motor surprised me by how well a little two-stroke could pull. The lap time difference between my 450 vs RX300 was just half a second.
The old bikes were drifting wide, while the modern 300 could carve the line and turn back inside on them. Even when holding a high line the CR500s were neck and neck with me. There was very little difference in it power wise. This motor is strong!
Returning home, I asked Tony: “when did you want me to drop this bike off?” He replied “just hold onto it for the Beach Races!“ How could I say no?
With some further tweaks and time to set it up, we believe this bike can be ultra-competitive. We feel there is more in it yet! Should we run it in the 500 class again and upset some more folks? Or see what sort of a lead we can find in the 300 class?
I 100% recommend the bike. While I can’t say I’ve ridden many modern two-strokes, this bike impressed the hell out of me. It handles so well, feels so light and the motor is super torquey.
DAVE MUIR (BURDEKIN MOTORCYCLES PROPRIETOR)
We have been a Beta dealer for 18 months and are very happy with the brand and it’s great to see it selling well and getting noticed in the mainstream. We have had a dyno for 18 years and do a fair bit of tuning and flat track bikes. I have a Beta 430 myself that I run on Dirt track and love how they steer.
Tony owns the RX300 and when they were released last year he put the cash down to have one for himself. The Monday after that first practice meet with Damo, Tony came into work bright eyed and thought we could bling this up for Bathurst. I have known Damien since he was a toddler and knew he would do well on it. We both nodded thinking this was a good idea and proceeded to strip the bike down.
We started with a timing wheel to see where the factory timing was, port timing etc. Not much was required so we tidied up some clearances, and added methanol. On the Dyno that added around 6.5hp from stock. It’s a conservative approach, we could go for another 3-4hp if pushed further.
The beauty of this setup is we can easily swap the jetting back and ride enduro the next weekend. The bike still has a strong midrange, and this setup could be easily duplicated. It’s a great development platform. Beta RX bikes are only released as limited numbers in Australia so be quick if you want one!
GREAT RACING AT BATHURST IS MORE THAN JUST V8 SUPERCARS
This year’s Group One Site Services Bathurst Long Track Masters was an absolute cracker with around 2000 spectators, 250 riders, and great track conditions. It was completely regraded again for the finals thanks to a mid-day dump of rain causing a two hour delay. Racing wise, it was top tier and everyone gave it their best to put on a real show for spectators.
With so much talent on hand it was bound to be tight racing and it certainly was, the winners were separated by feet. The best thing about the event was that the large crowd on hand were able to witness some spectacular racing from the country’s best Long Track riders.
The headlining class of this year’s Bathurst Long Track Masters were the Pro 450s and to say that they put on awesome racing would be quite the understatement. With close to 70 entries, the racing was closely fought out throughout the qualifying heats. In the final, it was a battle between youth and experience, and on this occasion, it was youth who came out on top. Harrison Ryan chased down and passed local veteran Ben Grabham in the middle stages of the final and went on to take an outstanding victory ahead of Grabham in second and another standout youngster in James Sawdy in third.
In the Long Track Sliders, the final was claimed in impressive fashion by Jack Morrison. Morrison was one of the form riders throughout the event in his class and came away with the win in the final by defeating Broc Hall and Lawson Black in second and third place respectively.
The Womens Open class provided some of the most spectacular racing of the event and saw the overall honours go to Briony Hendrickson. That was only decided in the fourth and final race, when Amy King was pipped on the line by Tayla Street for the win following a rider error and consequently missing out on the overall spoils. It meant Hendrickson, who had finished third in the fourth and final race, claimed the top overall honours ahead of King and Street.
Like a lot of competitors, local favourite Ben Grabham was running multiple classes over the event, and in the Over 40s, he emerged the winner in the final. Grabham used his local knowledge to his advantage and took out the final by downing Joshua McCosker in second and Jason Morris in third.
Cody Lewis was the form rider in the 250cc Four-Stroke class and by virtue of this came out on top in the overall honours. Joining him on the podium were Angus Hutchinson and James Sawdy. In the 250cc Two-Stroke class, Rory Hutchinson dominated all four races in impressive fashion and took out the overall win ahead of Paul Edwards and Andrew Smith.
In the Unlimited Two-Strokes, veteran Damien Koppe showed his class throughout the heat races and then went on to take out the final in solid fashion. Daniel Wicks and Thomas Herrick finished behind Koppe at the fall of the chequered flag in the final.
The night time portion of the Bathurst Long Track Masters saw the Bathurst Unlimited and Flat Track 19 classes join the program and the racing was fast and furious. In the Bathurst Unlimited final, Harrison Ryan managed to score the win by defeating Damien Koppe and Jarred Brook. Split into two categories, the Flat Track 19 (A) was won overall by Jarred Brook and behind him were Thomas Herrick and Daniel Wicks. In Flat Track 19 (B) Kristian O’Donnell came out on top in the overall honours by defeating Mackenzie Booth and Darcy Klaver.
Other class winners in the Senior ranks were Kenny Angel (Hooligan Twins) ahead of Damien Bombardiere and Kristian O’Donnell. The Pre 90s Classic went the way of Daniel Wicks who outpaced Corey Banks and Paul Edwards. Matthew Davies emerged the winner in the Long Track Sliders Evos ahead of Ricky Schafer and Shane Baker, and the pairing of Corey and Tom Banks dominated proceedings in the Dirt Track Sidecars final finishing in front of Jim Jobling / Tom Northey in second and Corey Forde / Darren Freudenstein in third.
The stars of the future in the Juniors certainly put on their own impressive display of racing from beginning to end during the Bathurst Long Track Masters. In the Junior 85cc / 150cc 9 to Under 13 Years final, Sam Dare picked up a dominant victory by downing Jake Paige and Jed Fyffe. In the Junior 125cc / 250cc 13 to Under 16 years final, Bodie Paige scored an impressive victory ahead of fast finishing local Jett Carter in second and the final spot on the podium was filled by Lachlan Russell.
The entire Panorama Motorcycle Club, the Bathurst Long Track Masters hosts, would like to thank everyone for their support of the 2023 Group One Site Services Bathurst Long Track Masters, which includes the event’s major sponsor in Group One Site Services, along with all the valued associate sponsors and supporters.
Apart from sponsors and supporters, the Panorama Motorcycling Club says special thanks to all the spectators, competitors and crews, officials and volunteers who are all played a vital role in making the Bathurst Long Track Masters one of the country’s premier Long Track motorcycle events.
For more information about the Bathurst Long Track Masters, visit www.panoramamcc.org.au or LIKE them on Facebook or FOLLOW them on Instagram by searching Bathurst Long Track Masters. You can also call Wade Carter (vice president of the Panorama Motorcycle Club) on 0448 737 892.
Race results:
Pro 450s (Final)
- Harrison Ryan
- Ben Grabham
- James Sawdy
Over 40s (Final)
- Ben Grabham
- Joshua McCosker
- Jason Morris
Unlimited 2 Stroke (Final)
- Damien Koppe
- Daniel Wicks
- Thomas Herrick
Bathurst Unlimited (Final)
- Harrison Ryan
- Damien Koppe
- Jarred Brook
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