Seth Shackleton got a Factory ride at 14 with the BCP Honda Factory Junior Team. Here’s his 2023 Honda CRF250R factory ride.
RIDER – SETH SHACKLETON
AGE-14
HOW DO YOU LIKE TO RIDE AND WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR WHEN SETTING UP A BIKE?
I like to charge really hard wherever I am on the track and sometimes that means smashing through things rather than finessing my way around. This riding style means I need to set up my suspension a little firmer than other riders my age and weight. The motor is another really important thing for me as there are parts of the track where I roll the power on right from the bottom, but I also love to the rev the bike quite hard at times. When building a race motor it needs to have power right through the range and not just in a certain part of the power curve.
MECHANIC – BRAD SHACKLETON
WHAT PARTS AND MODIFICATIONS HAVE BEEN MADE FOR SETH?
Seth’s race bike starts its life as a production Honda CRF250R. From there we bolt on some A-Kit Showa Suspension that has been valved and custom tuned from Krooz Tune in Victoria. Seth is really quite particular with his suspension set up so many hours of testing take place to get that perfect set up for him. The motor has a cylinder head ported by Jarrod Pyne who also does the full assembly of the engine. It uses a longer rod, a high compression piston, a Vortex Ignition, Akrapovic exhaust system and ETS race fuel.
MANAGER – LEE HOGAN
WHY DID YOU SIGN SETH?
I’ve had the pleasure of coaching Seth since he was a young 6 year old grommy whenever I ran my BCP riding schools in WA. We’d have a small crew of them always rocking up to the schools together that would include Seth, Kayden Minear and Regan Duffy. All young riders with a long list of Aussie Junior Titles to their name. I knew from an early age that Seth would be a fantastic addition to the Factory Honda Junior Race Team but it wasn’t until last year that we managed to pry him across and onto the red machines. It is fantastic to have him on a multi-year contract and watch him grow week in week out as he tests himself in the ultra-competitive MX3 Pro MX class.
WHO ARE YOUR SPONSORS?
Honda
Fox racing
Michelin tyres
Honda genuine oils
Akrapovic exhausts
SKDA graphics
Cannondale bicycles
Showa suspension
Krooz tune
ETS racing fuels
Gas imports
Odi grips and bars
Pod active knee braces
Mountain Shade tents