Shortly after reading the October 2012 Issue of RC Driver I headed down to my local HobbyTown USA in Centennial, Colorado to see what I needed for my latest project.  When I walked through the door, one of the employees told me they had just gotten in the new Atomik RC Brian Deegan MM 450 Dirt Bike, the same bike that Paul Onorato had review on page 60 of the latest issue of RC Driver.  We proceeded to talk and they offered to let me take the bike for a spin.  I admit I was a bit timid at first, I have had other RC motorcycles in the past and I have broken my fair share of parts trying to perform the delicate balancing act of trying to keep the bike up on two wheels.  At the same time I also had flashbacks of the magazine article and Paul indicating that with a little practice driving the bike became easier and that even with some horrific wrecks the bike stood up to the abuse, so I said “let’s do it!”

We plugged the battery into the ESC and the first thing I heard was the gyro spinning within the rear tire of the bike.  My first thought was, is this a bike or a jet.  We went out to the parking lot and they demonstrated how easy it was to drive the bike.  I was still thinking that they have most likely been practicing for days and I was going to take home a $500 dirt bike in pieces.  I took the controls and provided a fair amount of throttle, similar to what older RC bikes required to stay upright and the bike sprung into an instant wheelie.  I let off the throttle and the front wheel came back to earth, the entire time staying on a straight and stable path.  The performance of the bike blew my mind.  At low speeds the bike was stable and easy to control.  Basic maneuvers seemed effortless.  Once I got the feel of the controls, I started taking high speed passes in the parking lot and the bike was still easy to control and very responsive.

Atomik RC has done an amazing job with the E-Gyro Brushless Stability System on this bike.  The hardest part of driving this bike is not keeping it up on two wheels, but trying to keep the front wheel on the ground.  If you hammer the throttle, I am pretty sure the bike would do a backflip, but I would not recommend trying this.

Add another item to my list of must have RC vehicles and a special thanks to the employees at my local hobby shop for giving me the opportunity to take this amazing vehicle for a spin and don’t forget to support your local hobby shop.