YAMAHA SM TEAM BLOT
Une matinée d’hiver, en ballade sur le pôle mécanique d’Alès, nous tombons par hasard sur Stéphane Blot qui fait prendre le soleil à ses 2 Yamaha championnes de France de Supermotard, l’occasion était trop belle…
Stéphane m’a évidemment rattrapé et a finalement accepté de me prêter ses 2 motos championnes de France. La 250 YZF S3 d’Alexis Marie-Luce, plaque verte, et la 480 de Stéphane Blot qu’on retrouve en catégorie S2, plaque jaune.
One winter morning our bike test rider, Laurent stumbled upon the two Stéphane Blot prepared Yamahas that compete in the French Super-moto championship, and he just couldn’t resist.
Stéphane caught up to our erstwhile tester and in the end let him have a go on the championship winning bikes. The green plated 250 YZF S3 of Alexis Marie Luce and the yellow plated 480cc, which Stéphane Blot rides in the S2 category.
And we’ll start this two bike test with the 480, which is a serious bit of gear. It sports an ultra-stiff suspension and brake system from another planet and has tons of acceleration. It is a little surprising at first, especially when mounted on slicks and an air temp of just 2 degrees Celsius.
Once the tyres reach temperature and Laurent figured the bike out, he began to enjoy himself. Despite all its power, the Super-moto is exploitable even though Blot is the only one capable of pushing it to its limits.
An impressively powerful 64 bhp, powerful but manageable brakes and massively effective shocks, this is far from anything standard issue and the question must be posed. How can anyone ride this bike flat out over the course of a race without becoming totally knackered?
Before getting in over his head, Laurent makes a sage decision to first try the 250. While it is just as sophisticated as its big brother it is a lot livelier and lighter…
While the engine isn’t nearly as powerful as the 450’s, it has nothing to be ashamed of. As you climb through the revs the small mono-cylinder keeps on delivering and you could almost mistake it for a two-stroke.
The brakes are the same as on the 480, large six-piston Beringer and you have to hold on as tight as you can each time you squeeze the right side grip.
Now, its time to take a closer look at the two in detail…
Both are based on Yamahas motocross machines, the YZF 250 and the YZF 450…
These competition bikes have little in common with production bikes. The suspension, forks and shocks are from the Wide Power catalogue.
The 250 comes with a single Devil Titane muffler, while the 480 is doted with Devil Titane’s twin pipes adding power but also quite an impressive sonority.
As we said earlier both have massive six-piston brakes creating a perfect blend of power and feeling.
The 480’s fork tee is a Lagar concept sculpted from one solid piece of aluminium, while the 250’s is a simply splendid unit from Bud Racing.
The engine on the 250 underwent some serious work from the folks at « Duex Roues » and sports a Bud Racing cdi box
The 450 has been bored out to 480ccs and also has the Bud Racing cdi box as well as a modified air box.
And it goes without saying but all the same a big thanks to the lads at the Alés motor sport complex as well as Stéphane Blot and his crew…and here’s wishing Blot good luck in 2010 where he’ll try to defend his French and Spanish titles.
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