Rieju Marathon 450 - 2009 |
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Tough first test for Rieju Marathon 450 Debut  Spanish bike manufacturer Rieju may not be well known in the world of Enduro but that is about to change in a big way.Rieju’s debut outing for its Marathon 450 model, in the hands of WOR Events boss Steve Ireland, proved to be a tough but rewarding test at last weekends MWTRA Ceri Enduro. The Marathon 450 is basically a Yamaha WR450 engine in a Sherco frame with KTM radiators, Marzocchi front forks and Excel rims. The very best parts put together to produce a very competitive, tough Enduro bike.  Steve Ireland has won the Ceri on many occasions but faced this outing on a new and untested bike, received on Monday, prepped on Tuesday and run-in on Wednesday.Before the start of the race both the 450 Marathon and the 250 Marathon (WR250 lump in a GasGas frame) were on display and received favourable comments from everyone who saw them. Ireland’s cautious approach during the first few laps paid dividends as bike and rider got to know each other and progressed rapidly through the field to second place with an hour to go before losing his rear brake pedal and eventually take the Silver Award following 13 laps of the 11Km course, not the win Ireland was hoping for but a good start for a first outing. The proven heritage of Yamaha’s WR engine combined with the superb Sherco frame has the potential to be a real winner but, as with every new model, there are a few small gremlins, which need ironing out. Yamahas WR uses the frame as part of the oil system but the Marathon does not and two oil outlets are blanked off. The Marathon showed signs of leakage from these blanking points and they will need to be developed and improved during the next few weeks, but this is to be expected from a bike’s first outing. All the testing in the world will not replicate race conditions and as every manufacturer knows, fine-tuning development really starts when racing starts. A very positive outing for a new bike, which possessed bags of power and plenty of grunt in all the right places with excellent handling. The name Rieju (pronounced Ray-oo) will definitely become much better known throughout next season.  Watch this space. Review by Steve Ireland of Wor Events Ceri Enduro. 18.10.09 from Tim Tighe on Vimeo. Techincal Specifications Engine : 449cc 4T DOCH, 5 Valve Diameter x stroke : 95,0 x 63,4 mm Gear Change: Constant mesh, 5-speed Cooling: Liquid cooled Carburettor: Keihin FCR-MX39 Start-up: Kick start and Electric start Chassis : Highly resistant semi double-cradle steel Front Suspension : MARZOCCHI inverted SHIVER Ø45 Rear Suspension : SACHS with PRS system Front/Rear Tyre : 90/90-21" , "140/90-18" Front brake : Galfer Wave Ø260mm. Rear brake :Galfer Wave Ø240mm. Distance between axes : 1.485 Length : 2.190 Max-height : 1.230 Max-width : 810 Seat height : 800 Dry weight : 115kg Petrol Tank : 8.5 L
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