This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

650 Berg wins Mackay beach races

M

MaicoMark

Joined Sep 2012
14 Posts | 17+
Queensland, Australia
image_zpsecsn6ojj.png

A few weekends ago the motorcycle beach races were run at Grasstree beach , just south of Mackay NQ , after a couple of years break. The all in , 5 lap , King of the Beach final was won by a methanol burning , big bore 650 Berg piloted by Townsville rider Damien Koppe . Second home was 15 times former winner , Mick Hanson , on a nitrous oxide injected CR500 Honda that was reportedly putting out 107 HP on the dyno and having a top speed around 195 KMH on the beach . The all in final featured many interesting bikes , such as a Yamaha R1 with knobby tyres and an intercooled , turbocharged YZ450 . The final was interesting in that it wasn't all about power and top speed . The R1 led for the first lap before being run down by the CR500 . The CR500 appeared to have more top speed than the Berg , but with different lines and tactics the Berg made up ground driving out of the corners and eventually came away with the win . The big road bikes have trouble slowing down and taking the sharp corners and eventually dropped out of contention.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 14 people
That's awesome..... Would love to be there to see all the different machinery! That CR sounds like a weapon. Might put it in the diary for next year.....

Damo
 
http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m605/Husky500evo/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsnn6isrcs.png
Here is a pic of the CR500 , showing the nitrous oxide bottle in front of the rear wheel . The chassis is from an RMZ450 Suzuki , which is apparently longer than the aluminium Honda frames and has more room in the cradle for the CR500 motor . Mick Hanson has a big bore ( Liger ?) top end to go on for next year and may be experimenting with fuel injection as well . But I think that the Koppe family owned , Future Sport Motorcycles , may also have a few tricks up their sleeve with ongoing R&D on the Berg motor . Exciting stuff and I can't wait for next year's event .
 
Last edited:
There is footage of the final on YouTube , if you search Grass tree beach races 2016 King of the Beach . I don't know how to post the link up . There is also some more close up video of the finish corner , where most of the passing was done , on Facebook and I will see if I can work out how to post a copy of it here . There was over 3500 spectators at the event , so more video footage might show up.
 
Do I love the way aussies do it! All classes here are N/A :(
Thanks for the report, made my day!
 
Damien is a very talented rider. I've been working with him for three years now. got all my mods on it. still got a couple left.

regards

Taffy
 
He was lucky the straightaway wasnt a little longer. The cr passed quite handily and just need a little more lead into one corner and he would have won it.
 
Pleased to report that the Damien Koppe on the '05 Berg 650 , has backed up last year's effort by winning this year's King of the Beach final at the Mackay Beach races , held last Sunday . It seems like the hotted up CR500 Hondas had reliability problems , with legendary 15 times former winner Mick Hanson , melting a piston in an early heat . I have to change to another image hosting site , to post up some pics , seeing as photobucket is no longer a viable option .
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
that's brilliant. I have been working with Damion on his bike and we still have more to come. I don't know him but I reckon he's some rider as well.........
Taffy
 
Unfortunately , due to work commitments , I didn't make it to this year's event . But looking at some of the YouTube footage , it doesn't seem like the final was as exciting as last year's . This was probably due to the open class two stroke guys having mechanical issues and not making it through to the final . There is one interesting YouTube clip which shows the first corner action in the final . The Yamaha R1 gets the holeshot , as you would expect , but the 650 Berg just effortlessly slides in underneath and exits the corner in front and runs away with the rest of the race . I think rider skill plays a big part in this race , as well as a fast , reliable bike .
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person

Similar threads

bushmechanic
Grass Tree Beach Race
Replies
1
Views
1K
berglsmerg
berglsmerg
R
Le Touquet Beach Race
Replies
4
Views
2K
vbenedic
V
N
Nicks FE570, first race report
Replies
5
Views
1K
uaeberg
U
NorIll804
AMA Supermoto Round 9 - Nashville, TN
Replies
2
Views
1K
NorIll804
NorIll804

Register CTA

Register on Husaberg Forum! This sidebar will go away, and you will see fewer ads.

Recent Discussions