MICK
CARUSI TURNS HIS MIGHTY HANDS TO
FLAT TRACK RACING CORNER CARVER
Factory KTM Australia team mechanic Mick Carusi is one of the silent achievers of our sport. For over a decade he’s been building KTM off-road racing team bikes that have claimed outright wins in every kind of major off-road event in Australia. His skills aren’t limited to getting results on the domestic scene, as a few of the race bikes he built have been shipped overseas to win their class at International
Six Days Enduros. You would have to say that Daniel Milner’s 2018 KTM 500EXC-F ISDE winner would be at the top of his list of builds (see page 72).
When everyone’s world got turned upside down last year, Carusi found himself with a lot more free time than he’d planned. But instead of sitting around and waiting for things to get back to normal he used the lull to finish off his one-of-a-kind 500SX-FT.
Top. Former KTM engine
and Mick
get the good news Right. The attention to detail on this bike is
and Grabbo loved how it handled
One glimpse at this machine will tell you that, in typical fashion, Mick’s left no stone unturned. I have been lucky enough to ride some extremely trick bikes, but the combination of factory parts, custom bits, titanium, carbonfibre and obsessive attention to detail, puts the 500SX-FT head and shoulders above any dirtbike I’ve seen or ridden. COVID issues aside, Carusi’s build has come at a good time, as Aussie dirt track racing recently saw the birth of the Sultans of Slide Flat Track Cup that kicked off late in 2019. Before that, flat
WORDS // BEN GRABHAM PHOTOS // BERNIE DEN HARTOG
guru Danny Apro
Carusi
amazing
track racing in Australia lacked the structure and quality US racers have access to.
If Carusi had built the 500SX-FT before the introduction of Sultans of Slide I would have told him he was insane and had wasted his time building such a trick bike. The Aussie flat track racing I grew up with requires bikes that have insane amounts of horsepower, throw roost like machine guns and destroy $190 rear trials tyres faster than a roll of toilet paper disappeared on supermarket shelves during the pandemic, and that was about it. Don’t get me wrong, the old format
I started thinking maybe I should let Carusi ride it and hope that he’d mark it or crash it first
WHY I DID IT (AND NO I’M NOT SORRY)
In between building KTM Australia’s off-road race bikes and travelling all over Australia to national off-road events, I have been following AMA flat track racing for the past few years and have grown really fond of the look and style of the bikes. When the opportunity came up through work to use an old SX-F race frame we had, a light bulb went on in my head. Building a flat-track bike is something I have wanted to do for some time. Among the hurdles of this build were things like trying to fit a 500cc engine into a 450SX-F frame, as the 500 is taller so the hanger brackets had to be modified to allow for the taller cylinder head and it was a bit tricky to fit wiring and control cables between the tank and engine while trying to keep it neat and tidy. Everything else was fairly straight forward and I couldn’t be happier with the end result. Michael
Carusi
provided me with some of the most fun I’ve had on a motorcycle, but because of the short, generally four-lap, races and harsh roost it was not the kind of place you take a new motorcycle, let alone one like Carusi’s. The Sultans of Slide is based on the American Flat Track series that has proven successful for decades. The rubber is restricted to 19-inch, AFT control tyres that are designed for clay, last 10 times as long as a trials tyre and, with limited grip, there’s no point spending endless money chasing horsepower, plus there’s much less damage to your bike and body from roost. The races are generally double or triple the length of those we are used
to, meaning you can’t get away with a 1999 CR500 with 100 horsepower running on methanol that only lasts five minutes before it blows up. Carusi knows how much I enjoy my flat-track riding and that I know the amazing crew who run Cowra Motorcycle Racing Club’s Woodstock flat track/ speedway (page 193), so it was no surprise that he contacted me as soon as the 500SX-FT was ready to go. Initially Carusi was just keen to get it on any dirt track but with how trick the 500 looked I was not letting him run it in anywhere other than a track that looked as good as his bike. Even though Woodstock was a slightly longer drive
for Carusi, he agreed to head west after seeing pictures of the track.
Our plan for the day was to get ADB’s honorary photographer, Bernie DH, to shoot the static images while the bike was still spotless, and then I would ride it. But after seeing the thing in the flesh I was a little intimidated. I knew Carusi built nice bikes, as he’d built the majority of my KTM race weapons, but all his COVID-induced free time had allowed him to go next-level.
Every single part was either custommade, factory KTM or WP, carbon or titanium. The clean and uncluttered handlebar setup was impressive. I started thinking maybe I should let
MORE TRICK STUFF
Renthal
Titanium brake pedal tip
SSB lithium battery
Vortex ECU ignition
Oversized radiators
Hinson clutch cover
Carbon bashplate
Carbon engine hangers
PowerParts caps for clutch master, rear master, oil filler and fuel caps
WP
Cone Valve
52mm fork has been lowered and revalved. No front brakes in AFT, just chuck it sideways and pray
Custom titanium header and FMF muffler hang off a carbon-fibre hanger. Rear brake is a Brembo factory unit
Strikeseats did the ribbed cover, Kustom MX did the graphics and the engine covers are Cerakoted
WP Trax shock was lowered and revalved for flat track use, for which it needs to be on the firm side
Mick is running a 48-tooth Renthal sprocket with an EK non O-ring drivechain. Hoosier FT40 tyres run on 19-inch rims
Funnelweb air filter keeps the dust mites out. Starter button is buried near the top shock mount somewhere
Carusi ride it and hope that he’d mark it up or crash it first, as I definitely didn’t want to be that guy. Pretty sure he had the same plan for me and that’s why he insisted I ride it first!
The fun wasn’t over, though, as Mick had played hide the starter button. Purely for that custom look, Carusi has fitted the start and stop buttons on the frame, near the top shock mount.
Now that I’d found out how to start the thing, I was off. Probably my biggest concern was the Hoosier tyres Mick had chosen, but only because I’d never seen them before and didn’t know how they would feel.
I did know that Hoosier has a big speedway background with cars so I figured, or hoped, they couldn’t be too bad. I find riding a flat track bike properly a bit like riding a Jetski and by that I mean they don’t really turn unless you are using the power to turn. Kinda hoping for the best, I decided to try this straight up on the 500SX-FT and you could say I was very relieved when I tipped it into the first turn, twisted the throttle and everything felt great. The Hoosier FT40s gripped the granite track as well, if not
better than, anything I’ve used on the Woodstock track.
Top. Grabbo thinks the 500SX-FT might be too aggressive for some Above. Xtrig Roks tripleclamps stop factory fork from wandering. There are PHDS ’bar mounts fitted
I have tried some fast flat track engines, as well as raced KTM’s 500EXC Finke race bikes, so I had an idea what the 500SX-FT motor would feel like. The biggest difference in the power delivery is that the SX-FT engine spins up a lot faster, which is a bonus on flat track as the straights are much shorter than Finke!
OUR BOY IN AFT
Aussie dirt track fans like Mick Carusi have even more reason to follow The American Flat Track series this year with the signing of Queensland teenager Max Whale, 19, by KTM Factory Racing to ride a 450SX-F alongside former champ Shayna Texter-Bauman. Since turning pro at 16, Max has finished fourteenth and ninth before a stunning second overall last year on semi-privateer Kawasakis in the AFT Singles, in which the capacity limit is 450cc. Sorry, Mr Carusi. The series kicked off at Volusia in Florida, on March 12.
The five-speed gearbox in the SX-FT is much better suited to flat-track racing than the six-speed in the EXC.
Even though flat-track ovals generally stay very smooth, the SX-FT’s WP Cone Valve fork and Trax shock give it a very planted feel. The 52mm fork gives a really direct, predictable feel when you are relying on the front to stick around corners.
Even though the 500SX-FT is littered with factory parts and bling it still doesn’t guarantee wins like some would think. The beauty of this style of racing is that the rider is still a massive part of the equation, especially when you consider that the brakes aren’t really used, the limited grip means only so much power can get to the ground and the races go longer so you can overcome a bad start.
Even though I found the SX-FT very easy to ride, I don’t think a clubman dirt-track racer would think so. The big horsepower could easily get them into trouble and the firm suspension could say “get off” if it was not being ridden correctly. Full credit to Carusi, his KTM 500SX-FT is easily the closest thing to a factory flat track bike in Australia. It’s also at the top of the list of special bikes I’ve ridden.