VERTEMATI SUPERMOTO (2002 - 2004) Review

Vertemati is not alone amongst its fellow Italian factories in bobbing helplessly between solvency and insolvency. And on that basis alone it’s a tough call to recommend them. However, the range of bikes they did make in-between crises are powerful, stiff, hard bastards that need an expert’s hand to get anything like the best from them. The Vertemati Supermoto is no exception 

Dutch suspension experts WP supply the Vertemati Supermoto's  suspension, including the upside down forks. You need to be very aggressive or the chassis feels too stiff and the rate of turn terrifyingly quick. The four-piston Beringer brakes work brilliantly, with plenty of power and bite. The Vertemati Supermoto is so vibey bulbs blow and bolts shake loose.

The most popular Vertemati Supermoto engines are the 450, 501 and the 570. The SOHC motors use gear-driven cams, rather than a camchain, for greater reliability. There’s no rev limiter and they grumble on a steady throttle with intrusive surging. These are race bikes, raw, rough and meant to be held wide open. Early Vertemati Supermoto engines have a problem with over-pressurised crankcases. The 450 kicks out about 45bhp, the 501 about 47bhp and the 570 about 55bhp. Very late Vertemati Supermotos have fuel-injection.

You shouldn’t even think about buying a Vertemati Supermoto unless you’re a confident mechanic who’s not afraid to make what they can’t buy. It is essentially well-made, but sourcing bits that snap, like the stupid kickstart, requires acts of dogged perseverance to make Sisyphus blanche.

You’ll never be able to your Vertemati Supermoto again unless you find a racer with a penchant for fettling and a loathing of following the herd. But since the herd ‘sensibly’ plump for the extra availability of, say, KTM and Husaberg spares, you’d be mad not to follow suit. But then if you were sane you wouldn’t buy a Vertemati Supermoto in the first place. Find a Vertemati Supermoto for sale.

With your Vertemati Supermoto you get a kicker and an electric start, a cassette gearbox, Renthal bars, a virtually useless headlight and a transparent tank.