I remember being eight years old when my family gifted me my first cycle. I learnt how to ride it within a week, and before my parents could say ‘Jack Robinson,’ I was sliding around the cemented driveway, locking the rear brake, leaving behind tyre marks in abundance. It wasn’t long before I started to practice the art of the wheelie (this meant crashing many, many times). The inherent nature of wanting to feel the adrenaline rush from riding the fi ne line between regular fun and what others would perceive as madness is, in all probability, something a supermoto does to you, too.
Talking about supermotos, the Honda FMX 650, the ‘Funmoto’ as Honda rightly called it, had made its way to me right in time to feature in the nostalgic issue. The FMX 650 was built around a single-cylinder, air-cooled 649cc engine, derived from Honda’s XR650R. This engine provides a good deal of power and torque to tackle the urban jungle, and then some. While it isn’t the most potent supermoto in its range, it sure is a whole lot of fun to ride, and for an 18-year-old motorcycle, that’s pretty darn good.
The bike’s supermoto design, characterised by wide 17-inch wheels and road-orientated tyres, allows the FMX 650 to handle well on paved roads while still retaining enough capability to kick up a bit of dirt, too. The front suspension uses a telescopic fork with 41-mm tubes, offering a good balance of comfort and control, while the rear gets a Pro-Link monoshock, which provides adequate damping for some spirited riding. Aesthetically, the FMX 650 features a rough and tough look. It has a low-slung, aggressive stance and a broad, muscular frame that reflects its hybrid nature as a supermoto bike. And this particular yellow shade just looks so right on the motorcycle.
Having ridden a few big singles of late, the single-cylinder, 649cc engine from Honda does well to remind me that big singles have a tonne of character, just waiting to be let loose. Well, most of them anyway. The FMX 650 is quite the eyeball grabber, for as long as it stays in your range of vision at least. Because it is a motorcycle that brings out your inner hooligan, all eyes are probably already on you. The next step would be to lose them. Easy does it then.
Riding the FMX 650 around town in the wee morning hours felt ever so slightly mischievous, like I was tiptoeing around carefully, looking over my shoulder before setting off with one wheel in the air, entering a corner with a little slide, and disappearing before someone caught sight of me. Once the morning crowd started filling the streets, I was back to filtering through traffic, stopping at a red light just like the guy next to me, making it look like I fit right in, not suspicious at all. Or so I thought. But it is not the type of motorcycle that blends into its surroundings. No, the FMX 650 stands out, and proudly, too. The bright yellow colour, the dual exhaust, the dirt bike stance, and the fact that it is a pretty rare sight on Indian roads all factor in.
Coming to the sport of supermoto racing itself, don’t you think that it is just wild that riders at the peak of their respective riding disciplines, be it road racing or motocross, come together because they don’t feel challenged enough and decide to take part in a fusion of the two to see who is the best? If you are not already aware, we motorcyclists believe in competition just as much as we do in camaraderie and brotherhood.
There are many theories as to how and where the sport originated, but most say supermoto has its origin in France, where some guys at a bar had a good back-and-forth going on about which discipline of motorsport had the best ‘Motards’ (French slang for motorcyclists), eventually setting up a competition where every element of 2-wheeled motorsport comes to play. The format included road racing on tarmac, mixed with sections of off-road track — typically sand, dirt, or gravel. Now, the legitimacy of this theory can be debated, but the idea does seem like something that the spirits would encourage, if you get my drift.
With the increasing popularity of motocross, which had become a dominant form of motorcycle racing in the United States and Europe in the 1970s, European racers began experimenting with motocross bikes on road racing circuits, blending off-road and on-road features to improve versatility and adaptability. They would take dirt bikes and modify them, making changes such as installing slick tyres, adding street-orientated suspension components, and modifying the chassis for better road handling. This hybrid approach ultimately led to the concept of supermoto.
American motorcycle enthusiasts and professional riders, many of whom were already familiar with both motocross and road racing, were quick to adopt the sport. In the 1980s and 1990s, the supermoto concept gained traction in the United States. In 1999, the U.S. hosted its first official Supermoto Championship series, which helped establish the sport’s presence in North America. The introduction of the AMA Supermoto Championship in 2002 solidified the sport’s position within the American racing scene. The championship grew in stature, attracting top-tier riders and manufacturers, including prominent names like Kawasaki, Honda, and Yamaha, who began producing factory-issue supermoto bikes. That’s where road-legal, production supermoto motorcycles come into the picture.
Today, supermoto racing is a well-established sport that takes place worldwide, with national and international championships attracting top-tier riders. The bikes used in supermoto races have evolved significantly, with manufacturers constantly refining their designs to meet the demands of modern racing. While traditional supermoto bikes are still heavily influenced by motocross machines, they are now equipped with advanced features such as improved suspension, high-performance engines, and sophisticated electronics.
Coming back to the FMX 650, it is a motorcycle built with the simple intent of being a hoot to ride. No fancy riding modes, no wheelie control, no ABS, but most importantly, no restriction on fun. As minimal as it seems, it was on motorcycles like these that a lot of people discovered their capabilities, all while managing to walk the fine line between fun and outright madness.
