South Bay Moto Motor Review

I would like to introduce myself first. My name is James Hegarty and I will be racing GNC Motocross for the 2003 race season aboard a 2002 Walsh Race craft /South Bay Moto Cannondale. My previous rides were an Aren’s 265r and a 400ex.

Well it seems like you can never have enough power when racing. I was looking around on the internet for awhile trying to see what performance modifications I could get for my Cannondale. Some people referred me to Trinity Racing for their Port and Polish. I was considering doing that, but I really wanted more than the 2-3 horsepower they claim. I was then referred to Southbaymoto.com. After checking out their website I decided to give them a call. I spoke with Dustin Lundee at South Bay. Talk about customer service!! He had no problem spending long periods of time explaining in great detail all of the modifications they can do to the Cannondale. He also gave me some background information on South Bay Moto. I was a little skeptical at first about sending my motor out to them because no other company’s had performance modifications out there except pipes and maps. After talking more and more with Dustin and hearing about what all their engineers had designed and the amount of R&D time they have done I was hooked.

A few of the things that grabbed my attention was the short turn-around time and their modifications that increase reliability over a stock motor. They were the ones that brought the Crank-case Stud Problem to Cannondale’s attention. I really liked the customer service I received from them. When my motor was a few days behind schedule South Bay OVERNIGHTED me my engine at their cost just so I could have it for my race that weekend. That was very surprising and showed how much they care about keeping the customer happy.

I had South Bay perform their Comp IV kit which is the best kit they have available so far. There are many more modifications they perform than what are listed on their website. Among many of the modifications was a cast iron sleeve, billet 440 piston, complete engine blue-printing, custom crank-case stud fix, custom FI Map, titanium valves, Beryllium coated valve seats, lighter wrist pin, port/polish, re-angled fuel injectors, and a few other modifications that I don’t remember right now. They totally go through the motor and replace any parts that are worn, which in my case was the cam chain and sprockets and the oil pump gears. I also had him put in a new clutch just to be safe. The Comp IV comes with your choice of a 440 or 450 piston. I chose the 440 piston to stay in compliance with the AMA rules for the production and 4-stroke classes. During the entire time my motor was there South Bay would call and update me on their status or I would hound them to see how it was coming. During the time my motor was there I talked with Wade Wilcox who is the engineer that actually designs and build the motors. He is very nice and easy to deal with.

When I received my motor back I went right to work and started putting it back in the frame. Wade recommended at least 3 hours for proper break-in of the motor. He had me use a non-detergent motor oil in the top-end for break in. Break-in went off with-out a hitch.

I then changed my oil and I was ready to take the quad for a real ride. I was only able to ride in the street due to all of the snow here in NJ. All I can say is the power is INCREDIBLE. I also have a stock cannibal that I compared my bike to. It is night and day difference going from the stock one to the South Bay motor. It is very powerful. The power in the South Bay motor was SOOO smooth. There was not a hard hit in the power-band at all. I felt that I could ride it hard all day with out getting tired at all. The power gain is over the entire power-band but the emphasize was on low and mid-range. It is incredible how fast the bike is. I know it will definitely be faster than the CRF450’s and YZF426’s that I will be competing against. As of now I am running a full HMF exhaust and 13-39 gearing. I tried 13-42 gearing and thought it would be good for tighter tracks. I will be running the South Bay Moto Carbon Fiber exhaust once they finish welding it.

Overall I am ecstatic about the power gains. I can not wait for the 460 stroker to be developed. I feel this made the Cannondale everything anyone could want. It pulls all the way from the bottom end all the way up to redline. I really do not think anybody could want anymore power for Moto-Cross racing. I still have a little fine tuning to do with the gearing to suit my local tracks. It is definitely worth the money to get the South Bay Moto modifications. I will have some pictures ASAP.

Thanks

James Hegarty

If you have any Questions or Concerns you can call Dustin at South Bay Moto. Tell him James Hegarty referred you!