This is a neat Motocross action magazine video feature done on a beautiful yz250 built by Michael Shaw for Jared Leshar.  We have been playing around on the engine combo some to chase the delivery needed for Pro Supercross, and a lot has been learned in a short time!

We have a GET CDI installed, and we have been playing around on maps to get the best combo of snap and over rev.
One thing we have learned is very little time is spent at peak HP!  These guys are always looking to get the bike to lug down as low as possible, come out aggressively then continue to pull well past peak hp.  Little tiny changes in ignition curve and powerjet function translate to big feel changes on track.  If we pull 1 deg of timing Jared can notice.  

On the cylinder head, luckily Luke at Phathead was able to pitch in and send a billet head that allowed us to rapidly test different head inserts for best feel and overall power character.  Interestingly - we ended on a very low compression combo, but thanks to the rapid insert change ability we have been running a higher compression insert for the arenacross rounds Jared Has hit

Porting wise, I've made a few small tweaks from our std package with the goal to maximize power as the powervalve is opening - but at the same time minimize the hit.  We found in our first combo that the powervalve would open it it would hit like a mule making it hard to control on jump faces. Jared said "it liked to be lugged" in early feedback, and after some questioning - what he meant was - if I don't lug it - it snaps on too hard.  So we altered the relationship between main exhaust port and auxillary exhaust ports to make the powervalve opening transition smoother.  If we chase this another season - we will chase wider and wider power vs more power.  Of course more power would be great too.  We have a request in with FMF on something a little special too - if we can get lucky on that.

The piston is a wiseco we run - it's not a yz250 piston, but it allows us to do some things in porting the OEM doesn't allow. It's a single ring piston, and we really like the overal durability and performance it allows us.

The carb is stock size, with a STIC metering block.  We feel the improved throttle response and over rev are hard to match any other way with the carb.  The jetting is relatively consistent week to week due to the stadiums being indoor - but Michael uses and iphone app that displays Relative Air density and as needed, we fine tune for the local conditions.

A flywheel weight was added early in the SX series - and that really helped.  I think all YZ250 owners should run one - it just helps put the power down.  Even in the quick snap demands of SX it has been better.   
Starts have been an issue - with Jared struggling to keep the front end down!  Not what we expected but it's a big issue!  We have a prototype product in the works to hopefully assist with this for the last couple rounds, I strongly feel if we can get him in position off a start to qualify - his riding has been good and he can put it in the main, which would be the first two stroke in the big boy class since 2006!


Be sure to follow Jared's social media - and reach out to him if you'd like to support him. He is truly stringing this along out of a sprinter - with the help of just good people and companies.

We have been hard at work developing our ECU's for the 2022.5 and 2023 KTM group bikes.  We are now shipping ECU's for all models, from 250, 350 and 450 models.  

We have a full range of maps available, and the add on's of traction assist and launch control are proving their capabilities in Pro Supercross aboard the USA Factory Hondas 250 tea, using GET ECU's, Traction Assist, and Data Systems.  The 450 squad has been using GET data systems and RPM dash.
With Jett and Hunter Lawrence taking home nearly 85 percent of all the races run in 250 class this season, things have been looking really great for the honda 250 squad aboard GET products.

MXGP has kicked off now, with a host of teams running Athena GET ECU's and support products.  It's an exciting time in the industry - and with the incredible power the modern bikes can put down, we have found that the capabilities the GET ecu's provide can be of extreme benefit on track.  Factory honda Europe, Beta, Yamaha, and a host of support teams are using GET ECU's and products to Control their bike needs.

We recently powered Tyler Stepek to multiple holeshots at Daytona RCSX 250 pro class with just an HP Race Development Get ECU, Race Fuel, and and a pipe on his 2023 ktm 250sx-f.  If that's not a testimonial, I don't know what is!  Check back on our youtube and website for more details and products headed to market.  

The all new 2023 yz450f had a host of updates, including the ECU connector.  We are now shipping a fully mapped and developed Athena GET ECU for the 2023 yz450.  The GET allows full smart phone, custom hand held tuning as well as the ability to add on the LCGPA to get tuneable launch control and fully tuneable traction control from level 0-10.   This is the exact same launch and traction control used by factory HRC racing with Jett and Hunter Lawrence, Chase Sexton, Tim Gaiser, and Colt Nichols.  

The new YZ450F is the most powerful it's ever been - managing that power is our primary concern for even top level Pro's.  Here at HP Race Development we feel the unique ability of the user to both tune their aftermarket ECU via their phone coupled with the traction assist functionabiloty is un matched by any product on the market.  More throttle, less clutch, more hook up means faster lap times.

We have custom maps available for various fuels and pipes.  Contact us for any details

We have been hard at work developing maps for the new KTM250 sx-f and husky FC 250 which applies to 22.5 and 2023 models.  With improved fuel control and ignition control, combined with all the special features accessable inside an ECU, we have been able to make massive improvements in power, and on track performance.  Over 1 full horsepower gains almost everywhere in the curve is possible with pump gas, and we found an amazing 3 full hp when using our custom maps and pro 6.

You can check out these dyno results in our youtube video below.  We have other fuel maps available and can custom create any style of map that applies upon request.

This ECU and map combo has proven itself in amatuer regional championships already, and can be found in a couple pro bikes racing ama pro motocross.

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We recently published a youtube video about a ktm 112 supermini build.  Our title hints at these bikes being the fastest on the track, and I wanted to go into detail on why a supermini is arguably the most potent weapon in racing!  Let's do a back story and then some neat math to see if this is true.

In 2017, hp race development powered Ty Masterpool to 2 supermini championships aboard a TM 100.  It was a true 100cc's of size and on our dyno it produces just under 30 hp in race trim.  At that time, the KTM was it's previous generation engine with an archaic 105 cylinder that was at least 20 years old in development.  A lynks 112 in that year made about 27-28 hp in full race trim on our dyno.  A really good Pro Circuit kx109 would tickle about 27.5 that year, and the best 150r we ever built about 10 years ago was 25.

In 2017 our unobtanium 85cc mod package (sold a very few of these) used a custom modified pipe, huge amounts of R&D, and could knock down similar numbers as those aforementioned supermini builds.  But the larger engines did have some power width advantages.  To get our KTM supermini package dialed, we generally stuck at 105cc, our cylinder had huge amounts of epoxy within the transfer ports to reshape and redesign the ports more modern like our good 85's), we had a specially welded and reshaped exhaust port, and a special redesigned head sealing surface with orings moved to the head, the inner oring groove filled in on the cylinder, and a the cylinder beefed up to prevent the base nut tabs from cracking off which occurred often at good power levels.  A really good super ktm could knock down about 31 in this trim - and was truly amazing for what is started at (out of the box, about 21-22hp on a 105 of that era for us).  The cost of doing this was huge and i'll never do another one again!

Now - while it's not easy, eclipsing that power mark requires far less effort, as ktm has really done a fantastic job on the new cylinder 

Back to 2017 - Ty raced on the same exact track on back to back motos as 250A/Pro class, there was no track work between, and that year was the year of Justin Cooper.  If you go look, Ty aboard his supermini was able to turn his fastest lap about 1 second a lap off cooper's fastest lap on his Yamaha 250f.   On identical tracks, back to back.

It was a spectacle to see - and I truly feel no one has ever turned any size motorcycle better than Ty did that year - he was little at the time and fit that size bike perfectly. 

So let's talk basic power to weight numbers!  
A KTM 112 is approximately 160 lbs in race trim. Let's factor in a supermini rider at 120 lbs (ty was 105!) and you have a combined weight of 280 and a power output at the time of 29.5 for a power to weight of 9.49 lbs per HP

A Yamaha 250f of the time in race trim was about 233 lbs, and a rider would be around 140lbs
Combined weight 377, on our dyno a Yamaha of that era in cooper race trim was about 41 hp (yeah yeah sure, 50hp - nope....we dyno'd some bikes of a Texas pro on that same build)

That's a power to weight of 9.2lbs/hp. 

The edge here goes to the 250f, however you also need to factor in the additional rotational inertia of the 250 wheels - which basically evens them out.  Now - that said, the 250f has MUCH wider power which allows it to have a higher avg power output at all times...

However with the right rider (Ty) on the right track (loretta's) we got to witness a supermini get really really close to the next prodigy's best lap time.  Pretty cool, I'd say!


What about at 33 hp? 
Well, now the super gets the edge with 8.48 lbs per HP.   If you paid attention in physics - F=MA and when you have a low M, and a big F, your acceleration A is the best!  
If you saw our 2022 factory edition KTM250f video, you'd see we  have managed to squeek out 46 now with our ECU, and VP racing fuels Pro6

I weigh 165 - bike weighs, in race trim, 230 ish - for a power to weight of 8.58 lbs per HP.
I can tell you this - I don't think I'd want to drag race our supermini build on my 250!!!!  Maybe that's a video for another day...

We will have a longer video on this bike on the dyno with some pipe testing and mapping changes, but for now, we figured it be neat to post up a little insight in to the building of a 70 hp ktm 450.

The key to power on these is the head - and while we don't show exact details about the final port, this is the process we undergo to get there.  The stock 450 is about 53 hp as delivered off the showroom, with a pipe and an ECU we usually see 55.  To take it up to 70 is a huge gain - one that we are really proud of on our dyno.  This is coupled to our custom tuned GET ecu, race fuel, and a megaphone pipe.  With a conventional exhaust, this package is good for about 66 hp. 

With the 2023 models just around the corner and the 22.5 models basically here, I've decided to publish a mini pipe shootout. 

To be fair to each product - we tested on the same bike, same day, and did tons of pulls to make sure all data was repeatable.  The purpose of this test isn't to showcase one product over another, or to say one works better than another - but rather to really point out that stock pipe to aftermarket pipe tests without a proper tune up are a very POOR test. 

What most people experience in feel when changing a pipe - is what the pipe does to mapping.  Much like what the smartphone tuning apps do to bike feel - a pipe will alter all areas of the mapping similarly in their own unique way.  This is where track feel and feedback are as important as dyno feedback.  We all want the fastest bike, and most power - but getting good track feel is important too.

Check out our test - I shot a ton of video that didn't make it through edit - but check back for a track test of a few of these options soon!

Since 2016 HP has offered an in house 270 kit for the KTM group of bikes.  It's a strong performer and outshines the other kit on the market by a good bit.  We briefly stopped selling our kit when the big manufacturer kit hit the market because of their tremendous advantage in pricing, but after testing back to back, I decided to start making the kits again due to our large performance advantage.  It's my opinion people don't just want a bike that IS 270cc, but a bike that RUNS like it's 270cc.   We've attached a short youtube of everything you need to know about the base level 270 kit.  It's available in our store and is in our opinion the single best budget mod you can do for a 250 ktm, gas gas or husky.

Our Kit uses a custom designed, CP made piston, with a DLC coated pin, anti friction skirt coating, low tension oil ring and optimized, lightened shape that minimizes any excess material.  We have 2 versions, but are mostly selling the 15:1 piston, which CAN run on pump gas.  This kit works best with a properly tuned EC, which can be clearly seen in our youtube video.  If you own a bike 21 and newer bike, you can NOT reflash the OEM ecu.  We are working towards ideas around this - but for now an aftermarket CDI or fuel piggy back controller is needed.  These bikes flat out RIP and are about as much fun as you can have on 2 wheels.  You can couple our custom ground camshafts and valve springs for even more power. 
I've also attached a chart from a different bike and test (using stp correction rather than what we publish now days of SAE which "reads lower") of a perfectly tuned 270 kit from the other offering on the market that had a vortex ecu and dyno tuning vs our kit with same ecu and different tunign to match ours.  The difference was quite large in this case - but in other testing we usually see a 2 hp difference.  It's a little bit baffling - as we really like all the parts of the other kit, but it just hasn't performed as well for us.

Let's take a short dive into the showa 49mm spring fork.  This fork is found on honda, kawasaki models.  It's a very good fork from a design perspsective - basically the same as a kyb SSS.

Some questions we hope to answer for people in a future article is the ACTUAL damping difference between this showa 49mm fork and say a KYB "SSS".  NO guessing and "feeling" and actual real world facts.  What we hope people who care to improve their knowledge and riding results will learn - is that most of the time - what you FEEL is the chassis feedback.  Often times you can not get rid of certain feelings via a damping change. 

Check back soon for a DEEP dive inside showa and KYB forks