Kitten Car Care is a name synonymous with the motorsport industry, not to mention a standard household name, so it was no surprise when late last year they teamed up with ATV promoters 47industries to support their programs by supplying them with a brand new Polaris Ranger RZR S. After a quick visit to Magic Signs in Adelaide, the Kitten RZR was born, and it has not stayed still since.
From setting up the Thumb Pump 300 and Highbeam 100 tracks, to trail rides as a support vehicle, this little monster seems to pop up everywhere to assist with all things ATV.

Her latest outing was to travel right across the country from her home in Adelaide, to Queanbeyan NSW (a suburb of Canberra) to be used as the support vehicle for the officials at the second round of the QRCV Tri States Motocross Series. The little buggy had her work cut out for her, shuffling media around the track to get photographs of the racing, taking drinks out to the flaggies during the event and assisting with communication between the key officials. All of this made the event flow a lot smoother than it otherwise would have, however her biggest role of the weekend was the recovery of broken down quads. Pete Wilhelms and myself (Mick@47) from Thumbpump.com spent hours in the Kitten RZR, dragging back blown up and broken down quads to the pits, not to mention their riders.

On behalf of the officials of the event we would like to thank the team at Kitten Car Care for their support of quad riding and racing in Australia and for their enthusiasm to see the sport grow.
Support those who support our sport.
Mick@47

Why? "because I can"

David Wade, from Colac Motorcycles in Vic, is no stranger to building custom race quads for his son's to race, his LT80 (one of the winningest junior quads in the country) and the first MA legal water cooled blaster in Australia are both testament to that. But, this quad is something really different, a combination of 2008 Suzuki LT-450 that started with 5 hours use and using a 50 hour old 06 Suzuki RM-Z450 as a donor bike, we had the opportunity recently to have a good look and a ride of Wadeys latest machine.

To begin with Dave wanted to build this quad purely for MX use (as a Pro class quad for his eldest son Cam) so everything that could be lightened has been resulting in a race quad that is 27kg lighter than a standard LT-R, the RM-Z engine itself is 8kg lighter than an LT-R engine as you would expect with no eletric starter motor, no counter balance shaft, no heavy flywheel and only a 4 speed gearbox, although they are very heavy gears compared to an LT-R. Also gone are the heavy LT-R wiring harness, voltage regulator and high output stator along with the fuel pump (the RM-Z motor is carbed, more on that later), thermo fan and oil tank.

Helping with the LT-R's weight loss is an RPM Dominator axle and Houser Sli-Cast long travel A Arms (almost a kilo saving from the stock gear), Fox Float Evol X shocks upfront and a Fox Podium X rear shave another 3.5kg off the total along with an RK lightweight race chain, Tag allot rear sprocket and a full Titanuim FMF system with powerbomb header. Dave reckons it could still be lighter though and there are some more places that weight could be lost though some of them might start eating into the reliability of the quad.

The RM-Z engine was an obvoius choice to Dave as along with the weight saving they share a few interchangeable components with the LT-R engine such as the clutch and the cylinder head and they also share the same bore and stroke spec, much more of the two engines is similar in design and there would seem to be no real reason why either motor could make more power than the other.

How does it fit?

First up with any engine transplant the engine mounts and spacers for the swing arms pivot had to be machined up, as the engines are so similar bolting the RM-Z engine in was a relatively straight forward job, although the sprockets did not line up so a dished front sprocket was made up initially to off set its centreline by 6mm and the rear sprocket also spaced out by 6mm required for it to line up. (once the project was complete Dave had a custom counter shaft made 12mm longer than the standard RM-Z one so as to not have to run spacers in the rear sprocket).

The kick start lever is from a Yoshimura LT-R kick start kit but with a custom made knuckle to allow for the lever to clear the frame and the IMS heel guard on the right hand side was also heavily modified for the kick start to be able clear it. RM-Z's have a different water pump design to an LTR so the water pump cover was modified for the inlet from the radiator to clear the exhaust. The air intake between the air box and carb have also been modified to give clearance to the rear shock as has the rear shock it's self, the Fox Podium X having to be installed with the remote reservoir outlet toward the rear so as to clear the carb bowl.

Inside the Engine.

With the engine it self the LT-R cylinder head was retained as is has a steeper intake angle than the RM-Z which was needed for the carb to clear the frame, but was ported and flow tested in the US by ATP, who are known for their engine work for many Pro-Am and higher grade riders in the AMA ATV MX series. Along with the head work, ATP spec valves, springs and custom ground cams (set to ATP's cam timing spec). As the donor engine was from an 06 model RM-Z it was completely striped and re-built, including replacing all bearings and seals. A Falicon race con-rod was installed on the crank along with a high compression CP piston, later model oil pumps were installed for their higher volume of oil flow and rounding out the internal work is a complete Hinson Clutch. The carb, a 39mm Keihin FCR modified by ATP to do the job, was opted for as part of the weight saving as it allowed for the removal of the fuel pump and battery. ATP have shown that they can get similar HP and tractability out of a well set up carb as they do with EFI.

As this engine is running a carb there is only a need for a Vortex X10 CDI attached to the RM-Z harness. There has been a fair bit of trial and error involved in getting the auto de-compresssion on the exhaust can working right for the and initially the engine was very hard to start but by the time we got to have a ride Dave had got it pretty well sorted and it starts first or second kick most times now.

And the rest.

There are a few more bits and pieces to be mentioned yet, a light weight Tag MX bumper sits up front and Cam's choice is to run Pro Taper ATV Race bend bars, the is also a Maier front race fender with a Precision steering damper hiding underneath. Douglas Ultimate beadlocks on the rear normally with Kenda Cutters, the lightest rear MX tyre available (There were Klaws on when we tested this quad though) and Douglas Ultimate rolled edge rims up front. There is a high flow air filter kit fitted and the Tiger patter graphics are from Ringmaster images.

So, how does it go?

Like I said at the beginning of the story, we did get to have a ride on this wonderous beast (twice even) and well.... The first time I rode it I had the chance to hop straight on to a standard LT-R right away and let me tell you that the weight difference is appreciable, the tall gearing with the four speed gearbox in the RM-Z engine is also noticeable if you are riding on anything slightly technical although with the torque that this engine produces you can comfortably clutch your way out of most situations with out troubling your left foot too much. First gear starts are the order of the day though when the gate drops. But this quad does have legs, it is tremendously fast if you can use all the power available and because of the power delivery it is a lot of fun to ride, but it also makes for a tiring quad to ride over a 20 minute moto (it took Cam most of the season to really get used to how the RM-Z engine behaves and be comfortable doing 20 mins on it). Cam's setup did feel a bit cramped however, with the Pro Tapers rolled quite a long way back it felt quite low and that I bend over to hang on to the bars properly. Pro racer Paul Smith also sampled Wadey's hybrid on the same day making the comment "I know how to make it lighter - get rid of 1st, 2nd and 4th, it revs to oblivion and pulls so hard all the way through it doesn't need any more than third" and also picking up on the same issue with the bar setup, though Smitty did notice, along with myself, just how light this LT-R feels both in the air and through the turns.

Dave couldn't supply us with a HP figure as the quad hasn't been on a dyno for more than a little tuning but tells us that up against Cam's 2008 season LT-R (which read around 50HP at the wheels) it is muck quicker in every way. Dave also reckons it its much easier and faster to work on than a normal LT-R , and if need be the engine can come out in around 15 minutes.

A project like this doesn't just happen like a normal race build and Dave has lost track of the amount of man hours that have gone into the development and there is quite a list of contributors including these guys who also contributed financially, Vortex Performance, ATP Race Engines USA, Falicon, Kenda, Motul, RK and Colac Motorcycles.

Also on the list for thanks for helping out are ATP again, Les Bowen Engineering, Shane Hardiman, Race Radiators, Ciscos, Izzy at Suspensions R Us, Richard at Vortex Performance and Colac Motorcycles of course.

 

The range of junior capacity ATV's that are ready to race off the showroom floor is pretty small here in Australia, let alone models that are competitive out of the crate.. The Australian distributors of the APEX Pro Shark are forging the way in the junior market developing these two models to be not only race ready out of the box but stronger, better handling and more reliable that the previous Pro Shark ATV's.

Apex ATV Australia is the APEX Pro Shark distributor here in OZ. Grant (who runs the show) has been working closely with the factory to develop and refine the Pro MXR models into something suitable for our junior racing conditions as well as being more affordable for parents to put their kids on something competitive and reliable.

Long Life ATV's

Both the Pro MXR quads share the same chassis and running gear from the factory, which means in the long term that with a junior riders progression from the 50cc class up in to the 90cc class means is a simple as an engine change rather than having to buy a whole new ATV.

The chassis has been gusseted around the main stress points along the main vertical spars of the frame and around the swingarm pivot which have traditionally been weak points on the previous Pro Shark models, The swingarm pivot itself has been moved down to be brought inline with the rear of the engine which adds to the available rear wheel travel. The swingarm itself has extra bracing and now holds a round house type eccentric axle carrier for quick and easy chain adjustment.

Up front the camber adjustable long travel A Arms are held up by 370mm gas charged shocks (co-incidentally the rear shock is also the same length) and Honda style steering cast steering knuckles tie the whole lot together.

Also upgraded for the Pro MXR models are the alloy wheels. Dual rolled edge wheels with Kenda Klaw MXF front tyres and Duro Rear MX tyres now adorn both models.

The Engine Room

At the heart of the operation is the A-One water-cooled two stroke engine with CVT transmission. As part of the evolution of this model there is a larger alloy radiator than on previous water cooled Pro Shark models along with an Apex Performance tuned pipe and muffler. A K&N type gauze air filter feeds into a 24mm Carb (21mm on the 50cc) then on through a Koso intake manifold and reed block. This really livens the whole motor up out of the box and dispenses with the need to source carbs, pipes and reed blocks as aftermarket items when chasing more performance.

The CVT has also had some treatment with the fitment from the factory of a performance high speed front varitator and an Apex performance rear clutch for better drive straight out of the box. There is also the inclusion of a recent innovation for these small capacity CVT models which is a slipper drive sprocket, designed to slip under reverse torque loads and help protect the transmission gears. Quite a common problem with these kind of transmissions in the past has resulted from the torque transfer back into the transmission from free spinning wheels touching down from a jump, quite often ending with broken gears or a broken output shaft. Also helping out in the trannie protection department is a case saver plate behind the slipper sprocket to prevent the output shaft of the transmission from suffering the same reverse torque issue.

Controls and Safety

Alloy bumper bar, rear grab bar and pro-peg nerf bars with integrated heel guards are notable additions to these to junior ATVs, as are alloy handle bars replacing the steel items on the standard Pro Shark models.

Braking has been improved with the inclusion of stainless steel braided brake lines on the front and rear disc brake systems, also a change to a foot operated only rear brake rather than a hand lever on the left handle bar.

Also included from the factory is a Pro Design style kill switch fitted to the wiring harness , making these ATV's truly M.A. legal to race out of the crate.

Wrap Up

All in all these two Pro MXR models seem to be good value for money ATVs which is really where Grant is aiming with the development of the 50cc and 90cc, to encourage more junior riders into the sport around the country and part of the way to do that is to have available affordable junior class quads that are also tough enough to last a junior riders career.

Price: Pro MXR 50 - $5,500 RRP

Pro MXR 90 - $5,750 RRP

Pro Shark Recreation Model $3,250

Where to get one:

Grant Gartside is not only the owner of Apex ATV Australia but also the distributor for E-ton ATVs and KOSO Performance parts. Grant has a son and a daughter that both race and ride recreationally hence his desire to help grow the junior ATV racing scene.

For consumer and dealer enquiries for Apex ATV's Grant can be contacted on 0409 192 634

Spec Sheet:

For Pro MXR 50 and Pro MXR 90

Chassis: -Gusseted Cro-Molly Steel Frame 1120mm/44" total width

-Fully Braced double A Arm front suspension with 240mm Travel

-Braced Swingarn with billet alloy round house style bearing carrier with 240mm travel

-370mm/14.5" Front and Rear Gas Shocks

-Heavy Duty Axle with alloy lock nut

-Front and Rear Disc Brakes with stainless steel braided brake lines

-Alloy dual rolled edge wheels

-Kenda Klaw MXF Front tyres 20x6x10

-Duro rear race tyres 18x9.5x8

-Alloy Handlebars

-Anti-Vibe steering stem

-Alloy bumper and grab bar

-Alloy Pro-Peg nerfbars with integrated heel guards

-Alloy fuel cap

Engine: - Pro MXR 50: 49.3cc - 21mm Carburettor

- Pro MXR 90: 89.2cc - 24mm Carburettor

- Liquid Cooled A-ONE engine

- Large alloy radiator

- Apex Performance pipe and muffler

- KOSO intake manifold and reeds

- K&N type air filter with pre-filter cover

- Case saver with slipper sprocket

- Performance high speed front variator

- Apex Performance rear clutch

- Race wiring loom fitted with Pro Design style kill switch

Colours: Available in:

Red, Black, Blue, Orange