Transmoto Cooby Dam

It’s been three years that I have heard about the event that is Transmoto. With my two years spent working for the crew at MXstore I was very educated to what Transmoto events were but never attended one due to other commitments or not feeling like I had the right bike for the event. The right bike for the event? Ya these are 8 hour races that you can choose to do solo or as a team and the average laps are 30 - 45 depending on the track laid out on the private property that these epic races are held on. I’m not an off-road guy so I knew my prior motorcycle wasn’t ideal to rip a 30 - 40 minute lap across grass tracks, rocks, roots and even stream crossings. This doesn’t stop the majority of riders that race Transmoto 8hrs as they “just have a go”. The ideal bike is an off-road set up but it’s a mix bag of bikes when you have guys like Matty McFerran riding his XR600 and now my crew on Stark Vargs.

I was sent a DM on Instagram by Ryan Sherrington who’s an early adopter that rides a Stark Future Varg about joining his team for the Cooby Dam 8hr. Jeff Leisk and I spoke about competing in these events on the Vargs and having Ryan ask us expedited this for us. It was on! We were going to race the Vargs with two other Varg owners as a team of 4. The 2024 Cooby Dam Transmoto 8 hr was the first one that had a kids and women’s ride on the Saturday during registration. With my oldest son Mason loving moto it makes it tough to go riding without him so having this class for him on the day before made this event that more attractive to me. Mason got do an hr riding session “not a race” on half of the track where he would experience rock gardens, fast dirt roads and some creek crossings on his MC85. Over the hour he did one fuel stop, and water break where his dimples were popping from the smile on in his face. Riding off-road is so great for your skill set as I know my many years of riding Ocotillo Wells and Glamis have given me a great foundation of natural terrain riding skills. After his session we threw Masons bike up on his stand and talked about his first experience on an off-road track. It was simple he loved it but still wants to hit big jumps lol.

Mason changed out of his gear to hop on his mtb to ride around with some of the other groms and I put some Alpinestars gear on for the Leatt Launch start challenge. The Transmoto puts on some really great activities mid afternoon on Saturday tp raise money get a prize but better yet it gives everyone something to do on the day before a long race. There is a Dunlop tire toss where some guys and gals throw a Dunlop tire across the paddock to see who the biggest meat head is. They do a boot race where you can pay for a preferred starting position and the winner of the boot race starts up front. Seeing a bunch of competitive 40+ men doing a running race after a few beers is a sight to see. The turn limbo is a fun one as well where they build a rut under a pole for a limbo event. There are some riders that aren’t scared to blow out a knee for some Transmoto fame. I did the start challenge where my Varg was blasting roost into the crowd but somehow the Motorcycling Australia official ruled me out after a very dominant ass whooping I put on my competition. Nonetheless the Saturday activities are amazing and it creates a great vibe before the raceday . Saturday night Jeff and I did some bench racing with some fellow Varg riders and industry leaders. Mason and I slept in the Van, while Jeff and his daughter Sienna chose to sleep in their swags with some crisp temps over night.

It was race day and our 4 man Varg team was ready to have an epic day. Ryan would start first, J. Logi our hard enduro weapon would go 2nd, I was third and the legend Jeff Leisk was our stable anchor. The track forecast looked dusty and once the bikes hit the tracks the forecast proved correct. Ryan had a great first lap, Logi ripped off next and then tagged me in with a transponder change. I was on a complete MX set up with a 19’ tire and MX suspension. The 30 minute lap was so much fun with flowy single track, and option filled paddock turn tracks and some technical rock sections that kept us on our toes. I completed my lap with a dusty grin and put the Varg back on charge using 46% at a 48 horsepower setting with 80% regenerative braking. Jeff finished our first team laps as the dust kept getting worse. Although the conditions were challenging the track was still a blast to ride. We had a short brake for a few injuries on the track before we got going again. The “Varg 1” team was running smooth and efficient with no issues. The dusty conditions didn’t affect our bikes with no air filters needing cleaned. We would just put some chainlube on the bike plug it into the generator and we were ready to go for the next lap.

We did it! The first ever Stark Future Varg team completed a Transmoto 8hr with zero issues. After we finished up we gathered most of the other Varg owners for a special pic in front of the Transmoto sign. We were all dusty, tired and ready to pack it up but also eager to share our experiences on the day. I had an absolute blast the entire weekend! The festivities on Saturday, the camping vibes and some fun but competitive racing on Sunday. The Transmoto 8 hr had it all for all levels but the messaging behind the event is what I love. It’s not a race to get a Factory ride our potential sponsors, it’s a race to flex on your friends, make memories and showcase your equipment on and off the track.

I look forward to my next Transmoto 8 hr event. There isn’t much I would change other than I will make sure to ride the Off-road spec bike that Jeff and I built for him for some more comfort from Costanzo suspension. Now the question is? Are the Transmoto 8 hrs a good event for you and your Mates? If you are a beginner or novice rider with good bike handling and in a decent level of fitness I highly recommend it. The Transmoto team welcomes you with open arms and your fellow riders are there to support you on and off the track. Bring some extra air filters, or pressure washer based on what mother nature brings you and of course a few beers for the bench racing the night before as it might help with arm pump. The communication prior to the event about what’s needed and the follow up with event images and results is as good as it gets from my personal experience.

Stark Future Varg Stats

Jeff Leisk - 45hp 80 regenerative braking

Mike Sleeter - 48hp 80 regenerative braking

Lap time 30 - 35 minutes

Battery 🔋 usage. 45 - 53% per lap.

Charging time - 53 - 60 minutes back to 100%

A Big thank you to the team at Transmoto for allowing me to use these images for this story.

To learn more about the Transmoto events click HERE