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It features the Kiwi`s latest news, pictures, profile etc.
COPPINS TO RIDE A FOUR-STROKE:
Motorcycle ace Josh Coppins has announced he will ride a 450 four-stroke
Honda when he leads the New Zealand team at the Motocross des Nations next
month.
The Kiwi expat, a nine-year veteran of the world championships, has ridden
two-stroke machinery all his life. But a rule change in the world\'s premier
class this year has seen the rise of the thumpers and Coppins is keen to
give one a try.
\"I\'ll ride the CRF450R, the bike my CAS Honda teammates have been
campaigning in our Motocross GP class this year,\" commented Coppins, 26.
\"I rode one briefly at the end of last year but basically I\'ve been on
two-strokes since the age of four, as I came up through the classes.
\"I\'m having a bit of a rest this week after the final grand prix last
Sunday, but next week I\'ll hop onto the 450.
\"I have a full two weeks\' riding to get used to it and I think that\'ll be
plenty of time to adapt. The bike is not much different in layout from my
Honda 250, although the power delivery is quite a change.\"
Championship organisers revitalised the former 250 class, the world\'s
glamour category, by allowing 450 four-strokes to run against the
predominant 250 two-strokes this year. By season end many experts believed
the bigger bikes had the edge on Europe\'s mostly hillside circuits.
\"There were definitely times the four-stroke would pull away up the hills,\"
commented Coppins. \"But then again the two-stroke had the edge in tight,
technical stuff.
\"Much of the time it came down to what you are used to and best at riding.
But I\'m keen to give the 450 a try.\"
The Motocross des Nations, often called the Olympics of motorcycling,
brings together three-man teams from all of the world\'s top motocross
countries.
This year it is being staged for the first time in the grounds of the
Formula One car circuit at Zolder, Belgium, on 5 October.
Under new rules, all three riders can choose any capacity of motorcycle.
Coppins\' fellow team members Ben Townley and Shayne King have indicated
they will also ride big four-strokes.
Last weekend Coppins scored a podium third spot at the final round of this
year\'s world championship, ending a horror season on a high after he fought
back from surgery to his spine, an ankle and both feet.
Last year he was runner-up in the world 250 class and he is expected to be
a serious challenger for the world crown next year.
Ian RJ Miles
